Solid mid-range digi cam?

Andrew Lynch

Andrew Lynch

Joined
Feb 6, 2000
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My old digi seems to have screwed up (won't recognize any cards). Can someone please recommend a good mid-range digicam (3 MP's an up)? It will be used largely for taking close-up pics, but will not be limited to that.

I'm thinking of getting one on Ebay; is that the best option?

Thanks a bunch guys :D
 
Digital is cool, but IMO, it'll never surpass film, ever ever ever.

Nikon makes very cool stuff, digital and film alike.

I just got a Nikon 4300, which pulls 4megapixels and is fairly "midrange." I'm not sure how it holds up with macro settings (if at all). But the Nikon 880, Nikon 3100, and Nikon 4300 are all very cool cameras that will pull probably what you're after.

The canon powershot series, specifically the Powershot S45 seem to be very nice, although I have not had a great deal of first hand experience with them.

I strongly suggest you check www.dpreview.com if you haven't already. It'll have just about everything you're looking for, and you can side-by-side compare different models/brands. For the amount of money you're going to drop on a digicam, it's worth doing some searching around.

I've had good luck on photography equipment at:
ritzcamera.com
bwayphoto.com
keh.com

Especially on keh.com, although I primarily only purchase SLR film stuff from them. Ritzcamera.com and bwayphoto.com often have good deals on things, although their prices tend to fluctuate greatly, therefore one is not better than the other. Sometimes ritzcamera will have something for a great price, while bwayphoto might try to pull something at MSRP, or vice versa. Example, ritzcamera offers the Nikon4300 at 450.00 or so, while bwayphoto asks 360.00. Shop around.
 
I bought a Nikon 885(off Ebay). It's 3.21 mp and pretty easy to deal with. I also bought a cloud dome(off Ebay) (http://www.clouddome.com/) which really helps with lighting. I learned from a friendly knife dealer that having good editing software makes a big difference as well.

Phillip:)
 
I posted this a few months back:

some general Digital Camera advice

2Mp is adequate for most people's use and actually way overkill for web and e-mail work.

The main reason to get higher MegaPixels is to be able to print larger - for fairly critical viewing 300ppi (pixels per inch) is used which means
2Mp at 1600x1200 will yield close to a 6"x4" print of good/critical quality.
3Mp at 2048x1536 gives close to 7"x5"
4Mp at 2272x1704 will yield close to 8"x6"
5Mp at 2560x1920 gives a little under 9"x7"

Only you can decide if larger prints is what you are willing to pay for.

At the 3Mp level which is pretty much in the consumer mainstream (therefore reasonably priced) the recent Canon A70 seems to have had good reviews - with this very enthusiastic one:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_a70-review/index.shtml

Here's a pretty comprehensive one:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/A70/A70A.HTM

I've seen the Canon A70 low priced at about $260

l280PSA70.jpeg
 
Originally posted by grommit
I am still waiting for something useable in the $75 dollar range.
Click to expand...

I think you may have to wait just a bit longer on the digital front.

But if you want to produce top class images of knives and small objects and pages from manuals and catalogs - for well under $75 you can consider a flatbed scanner - you may even already have one.

Images from a flatbed scanner for small objects and pages can rival and better most digicams.

Here's a post that may be useful:

some general flatbed Scanners advice

BUT you can get a 35mm film camera that's literally world class in quality -
the Olympus Stylus Epic 35mm autofocus (low priced at under $75)
102320.jpg

The Olympus Stylus Epic was the subject of a Popular Photography article announced on the cover of its April/2003 issue as: "Best Camera Buy Ever A Superb 35mm for $79!" (on page 42) here's the article on-line:

http://popphoto.com/article.asp?section_id=2&article_id=626&page_number=1
 
I heartily recommend the Sony DSC-S85. It has 4.1 megapixel resolution, and is overkill for what I do. Very easy to use, and it comes with a rechargeable battery and charger. Some of the digital cameras use expensive lithium batteries, and will put you in the poor house quick. Plus, the Sony comes with really easy to use software. Even a computer illiterate like me figured it out. Once the software is installed, I simply connect a USB cable to my camera and to a USB port on my computer. Windows XP automatically calls up an easy menu, and about 4 clicks of the mouse later, my pictures are loaded. This particular Sony camera can be found for under $500. Another great feature is the Carl Zeiss lens.
 
"Digital is cool, but IMO, it'll never surpass film, ever ever ever"
You should be worrying for 20 grand you can have a digi cam that is better then film in good time everyone will be able afford one since the prices drop like bombs
 
The QuickCam and other webcams that only have 320x240 show way too much scanlines to be much more than thumbnail sized printed. That is 3/4x1 inch with 300 pixels per inch. The original VGA standard of 640x480 has 4 times the pixels and is only about 1/3 MPixel. This will be slightly larger than 1.5"x2" which is almost a nice wallet size. However if all that is needed is email or fax quality, this is plenty if you can frame the original picture properly. It does not allow for much cropping. This is the type of output that I am looking for and hoping for less than $75.
 
Originally posted by grommit
The original VGA standard of 640x480 has 4 times the pixels and is only about 1/3 MPixel. This will be slightly larger than 1.5"x2" which is almost a nice wallet size. However if all that is needed is email or fax quality, this is plenty if you can frame the original picture properly. It does not allow for much cropping. This is the type of output that I am looking for and hoping for less than $75.
Click to expand...

Well in which case you are in luck - technology has moved on so much and prices have dropped that a VGA digicam (that's 640x480 - but 1.3Mp internally interpolated) can actually be had for less than $75. Not only is it inexpensive it is actually quite elegant, very compact and handy - credit card sized.

Logitech Pocket Digital Camera
LT-POCKET.jpg


What appears to be even better value is one can actually get a real 1.3Mp (native CCD) digicam for under $75 too:

Hawking Technology PocketCam 1.3M Digital Camera/PC Cam
2297754Lg.jpg


Few dollars more:
Creative Labs CardCam 1.3Mp
2360033Lg.jpg
 
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