Digital Camera

[liotte]

Posted: 9/26/05 at 5:03pm

I need to buy a digital camera. Any suggestions as to a good one? (especially with a zoom lens)

[KelRel]

Posted: 9/26/05 at 5:03pm

Do not buy a Cannon Power Shot. They are awful! *fights urge to beat mine with a hammer*

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 9/26/05 at 5:05pm

I'd suggest visiting My Product Advisor. That's where I found the camera we just bought for the office.
My Product Advisor link

[Aigoo]

Posted: 9/26/05 at 5:08pm

We have a Cybershot (the commercial where Stephen Tyler walks in and EVERYONE'S panicking to get out their cameras, such and such. And all the coffee and cream is spilling in slo-mo, and the one lady, just takes out her Cybershot and pushes the lens down and takes the picture with one hand.)

It's a very thin camera, and very convenient. The picture quality is GREAT. Only problem I seem to have is that the size is HUGE when you transfer it to your computer. So you have to shrink it down to around 1/2, 1/4 it's normal size.

Also...it's pricey. Around $500 when we got it, but it might've gone down?

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 9/26/05 at 5:13pm

I have a Canon Powershot A95 and found that it was perfect for my trip to China.

It was not too small, so I did not drop it mutliple times, and its lens closed so it would not scratch.

Maybe I just got lucky.
Updated On: 9/27/05 at 05:13 PM

[liotte]

Posted: 9/26/05 at 5:41pm

I'm looking online at different cameras and I'm just so confused. I have no idea what any of the numbers about MB and pixels and all that means. *sigh*

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 9/26/05 at 6:15pm

Here is a link to some info from ZDNet - it includes reviews of cameras:
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/4566-6501_16-0.html?tag=ont-cam

In general, the higher the pixel, the better quality the picture. But, for the amatuer photographer, 6 megapixels should be more than enough. Think of pixes as dots that connect the picture. The higher the pixel count, the better the resolution.

The memory issue addresses how many pictures the camera can hold. It is also dependent on such things as how fine the photo setting is. You can have different qualities that affect the size of the picture. Cameras come with very limited internal memory. You have to buy a card or memory stick to actually expand the memory to hold a decent amount of pictures.

Also, there are different types of memory - smart digital cards, compact flash cards, and proprietary memory cards that are harder to replace.

One of the most important things in my opinion is whether or not it takes a proprietary battery. Make sure that it will take any double A batteries, not something unique to the manufacturer. If you are traveling, it can be a killer to find a matching battery if yours goes bad.

Hope that helps. I am sure there are others who can add more info and details. I would also recommend going to look at Consumers Report. I believe the July 05 issue has some info.

Deb

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 3:07pm

Bump -

In case someone has some other advice or suggestions for liotte.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 3:26pm

We just bought an Olympus Stylus 500 before our Alaska vacation.

Olympus made excellent lenses before the digital age and they still do now. We wanted to take panaorama shots and Olympus has a technology that simplifies that. Spend a little more to get as much optical zoom as you can (ours had 3x optical), then you add the digital zoom on top of that (ours had 4x digital for a total of 12x). The optical zoom comes from the lens itself, like in an old-fashioned zoom lens.

The new cameras are up to 8 or 9 megapixels, but most people don't need (to pay for) that level of high resolution. Plus, you have to reduce the size of the picture files before emailing them or posting them on a site like BWW, so you really don't need more than 5 megapixels. (Unless you're planning on making big blow-ups.)

You can see the Alaska pictures we took with our new Olympus by searching for the "PalJoey on Ice" thread.

[Millie42]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:14pm

I'd suggest a Cannon... they are good and reasonably priced.

I like mine, though it doesn't have much of a zoom. GREAT for travelling.

But it is very important that you get one with a rechargeable battery... It will save you money in the long run. (Before it was stolen) I had one that required AAs and it ate them like crazy...and it wouldn't accept rechargeable ones---only name brands. What a snob!

PS-I found the best prices on amazon.com, but be sure to shop around.

[Patronus]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 4:20pm

I have the Nikon Coolpix 7900 and LOVE it.

Here is a link on Amazon:


Coolpix 7900 Updated On: 9/27/05 at 04:20 PM

[Elphaba]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:13pm

liotte, check the ratings with Consumer reports. How much do you want to spend? I have a Kodak DX6490, 10x Zoom....expensive, but was rated the best when I bought it.

What do you want to use the camera for?

I ask because I also have a Sony Mavica, a lot less, but it's usually the model realtors use.

[Plum]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:17pm

Cnet is a good site for tech consumer information, generally. I've used a Canon Powershot SD400 before, and while it's startlingly tiny to someone who's only used film cameras before, you get used to it after a while. It's also nice to have it fit in your purse. And you can always get a case if you're scared of damaging it.

[liotte]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:17pm

Thanks so much everyone! I just went out and got my camera, it's a sony something with 5 something megapixels and has 3x optical zoom and 4 times something else zoom (digital maybe?) and it's brand new from sony. I will report back on how it is! I'm sure much better than all the disposable cameras I've been using! Thanks for all the suggestions, you all were very helpful in explaining stuff to camera-stupid me :)

[Plum]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:31pm

The specs sound fine. :) Have fun.

[ikmbway]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 5:40pm

Enjoy the Camera. I love my Pentax Optio s4i the Optio s5z is much cooler but I'm not getting another one. I spent enough money on it. Updated On: 9/27/05 at 05:40 PM

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 7:32pm

Beware of digital zoom... it's not really zoom.

[Plum]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 7:55pm

But digital macro still made me squee with joy when I first tried it.

[liotte]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 8:00pm

I don't know what digital macro is.... But I'll look at the owner's manual when the camera arrives and give a full report!

[Yawper]

Posted: 9/27/05 at 11:24pm

macro settings and/or lenses are for taking close-up shots of small items