OT ~ Digital Camera Suggestions

Bamboo

Bamboo

Joined
Dec 16, 2004
Messages
2,315
Any advice or recommendations on a compact digital camera?

Budget is $350, but I'd love to spend less. Basically looking to take everyday pictures, download them onto the PC, email them, etc...

In the future, I'll need to take high quality photos of some woodworking projects, so I'm hoping to get something that will do this well (or at least adequately)

Any makers you like/don't like ...
Options/specs I should look for ...

thanks!

Bamboo
 
How many mega popsicles are you looking at?

I gots a cannon. It has worked well thus far.

mug_right.JPG
 
I have been a little disgusted with my Canon. It takes decent pictures, but the battery life is pathetic. Oh, and spares cost upwards of $70. :barf: I can only take about 40 or 50 pictures on a charge, and if the battery stays in the case for a week or two it needs to be charged before I can use it. So battery life is a big issue to me. I'm still using the Canon, but after Blade this year I decided to look into getting a new one, and this Fujifilm looks tempting for right about $300-350 depending on where you buy. Do a google search and you can find a fair number of favorable reviews online.
 
Mine takes 4AAs. I've been using NiMh with great success. :)

Maybe if you had a car battery strapped to your belt...
 
I'm with Bruise. My Cannon uses 2 AA Batteries; mostly NI-MH rechargeables. If out I can always just use cheapies. Al
 
.
.
www.steves-digicams.com
(I see Nasty beat me to it :D)
has great iinfo
&
comparison pix from various digicams


agree mightily on digicam that uses AA
NiMH preferable,
but due to lower voltage (1.25V vs alkaline 1.5V)
not all digicams will

640x480 is OK for some uses (onscreen/quick-reference/)
2Mp can work for snapshots/onscreen
3Mp is great for snapshots/onscreen-fullscreen/some cropping
4-5+Mp very very nice

Optical zoom means everything !
try to get 10x (or better)

Digital zoom means nothing

[actually 2x digital is useful sometimes
but digital zoom throws away pixel resolution
It crops the image & blows it up
You need enough Mpixels to throw away
still have good enough resolution left]


I like my Olympus.
Kodak has poor durability reputation.

search here & Gadgets forum
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=731


~
~~~~~~~~~
<> THEY call me 'Dean' :)-fYI-fWiW-iIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TiA-YW-GL-HH-HBd-IBSCUtWS-theWotBGUaDUaDUaD
<> Tips <> Baha'i Prayers Links --A--T--H--D
 
BY THE SEVEN HAIRS OF BRUISE

That's a great cup!!!






(BruiseLeee paraphenalia merchandising?...untapped market, hmmmm)
 
Thanks guys,

That is the kind of info I was looking for. I'll float around online and continue researching, then go to see what I can get my hands on.

~ Bamboo
Great cup Bruise ...
 
Another vote for Olympus. You can't argue with good glass, and the Olympus and Nikons have that in spades. Mine has only a 3x optical zoom, and it has proven enough. Uses 4 x double A, rechargables, or corner store while on vacation. Takes XD card (super-mini), as well as smart card and micro drive.
 
I've got a little Sony Cybershot that I like pretty good. Trouble is they're obsolete by the time ya get 'em home it seems.:rolleyes: :grumpy: ;)

Whatever camera you get if it doesn't come with a battery charger be sure and get one. Mine uses the AA Ni-MH batteries as well and does pretty well with lasting a fair amount of time.

One of my biggest problems is I forget I have it and therefore forget to take pictures.
I've been kicking my ass because I didn't get any pix of Munk.:rolleyes: :mad:
 
Kodak DX4530 here. I don't even know if they sell them any more. 5 megapixels, takes 2 AA, and it was cheap. It's all flimsy plastic but I haven't managed to break it yet...perhaps Kodak uses high quality flimsy plastic.

That coffee cup rules.
 
I like Steves digicam's for info and reviews too.
That is how i decided on my Canon PowerShot S1 IS.
A great camera with 10X optical zoom and image stabilization, priced right around $260 right now as Canon has (is about to ) release a newer version with a 12X optical zoom.
The S1 IS has 3.2 mega pixels, good enough for everyday shooting.
It uses AA batteries and the rechargables are worth it.
It also uses compact flash cards which are affordable these days.
Not a pocket camera (my wife has a Sony CyberShot DSC T7) both are great for what they do, no camera does it all.
Considering your described use and budget I recommend the Canon S1 IS.

hope this helps
 
I just got a Canon S2 IS, the 5 megapixel version. It takes good photos, but if I didn't have a problem with rubber - no jokes here- there are other models I would get - the Canon Powershot G6 is one.
I have a small Olympus Stylus film camera that takes great photos and fits in your pocket.
My wife loves her Olympus.
The Canons are good, but I would also check out the new cameras by Sony and Fujii. The Sony cameras use Zeiss lenses, and Fujii has theirs made by Leica. If you are careful, you can get a good camera from any of the major companies.
I tend to think in terms of Canon (I love my old rangefinder), Olympus, Nikon, and - I am not sure what to make of the Minoltas. I like my old manual focus Minolta SLRs, but you have to see if the camera feels good in your hands. If it is too small, it may be hard to use. If too large, it is not portable. Your needs may be different from mine.
 
I've got the Vivitar Vivicam 3915 5.0 MPs. Great for distance, landscape shots. Group photos, shots of the car, the kids with the family dog, priceless.

Take a closeup of Bruise's mug? Great mug, BTW. Cain't figure it out. Not a bad camera, but I wouldn't buy it again.

Brian
 
I very much like the Kodak 6490. 10 to 1 OPTICAL zoom. Many of the pictures I posted here were taken with this camera. Seems like it was less than $400 with the dock. Good battery life.

Stay away from the digital zoom. Really bad news.

Bought my Kodak at Costco. Awesome return policy on everything but computer parts. No limit on time. Bring anything back anytime and get a refund.

They stopped this on computers because people were buying one and when a new model came out, returning the older computer and buying the newer model.

Just got a deal on a Panasoic DMC-FZ10, 4 mp. Fye's they wanted $300 for a demo model that was missing battery and charger, so I got them down to $150 and bought a battery and charger from eBay for about $25. 12 to one optical zoom and also has great closeup. Pix of the chinese sword were taken with this.

Personally I think that 4 mp is more than enough. Mostly I am emailing or posting pix anyhow and have to resize the pictures down to about 800x600. I like CorelPaint for this, but have been a long-time Corel fan.

Most of my friends use Photoshop.

Strongly suggest this site for reviews and good info.

http://www.dpreview.com/
 
BTW...this camera question isn't off topic...we like pics of knives and stuff! :)

.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top