Which Digital Camera?

I use a Hewlett Packard brand HP215. It only cost $129.00 at Walmart. The pix on my site are from that camera (they need to be a bit smaller than they are on my site to be clearer, but since I have to work the site myself now, that may take awhile). It's a good camera and easy to use. I always get complements on the photos I take when I go to shows and such.

J. Neilson
www.mountainhollow.net
 
Well that depends on what you plan to
do with it. If just for the internet
then a 1.3 pix would do you just fine.
If your planing to make prints, the more
pixs you have the better.

I have a Hewlett Packard 315 -2.1 an it does
ok.
 
I'm trying to make the same decision. Our family will be growing by two feet in another two months.

My train of thought (easily derailed) has been to get the maximum pixel count possible. I've been checking out the new Kodak DX4900 (sugg ret $499, internet price ~$350.) It's a 4 Meg pixel. The photos look quite impressive.

Anybody have any experience with the Kodak digital cameras?
 
A couple of years ago, I bought a Sony Cybershot CS-50 digital camera with 2.1 megapixel resolution. At the time, this was mid level as far as price and resolution. The camera cost me $500. I love the little camera and am able to take pretty good pics, even with my minimal knowledge of digital cameras. I can even take 30 second movies. Like somebody already mentioned, 2.1 megapixel resolution is more than enough for what you have described your uses will be. This is more camera than I know what to do with.

Sony has updated this model, and slightly changed the style. Features are still the same, maybe even more features. What also has changed is the price. Now, you can get this camera for under $300! I would recommend this little Sony camera; especially at the new price.
 
Well, I took all your advice and went shopping for a camera today and all I got was a headache!!! I think I need to shop over the internet...I hate when someone is helping me and I know more then they do...and I know nothing.....:barf:

Thanks for all your help!
 
Dammit, I lost what was a great link for all this. Anyhoo, when I was looking for mine I searched for "digital camera reviews" on google and got a bunch of info, which led me to my Nikon Coolpix 775, which in turn is about perfect for my needs :)
 
I've got an Olypus D-490 2.1 megapixels, and I am quite happy with it. I picked it up last August on half.com for about $300. I think Olypus has updated and no longer produces the D-490 but you might be able to pick one up at a good price.
 
I just went through all this a few months ago and it's mind boggling. I also sell 'em.
Couple things to look for. Get at least 2 megapixels, more is better.
For small (ie 3x5 or 4x6") pics or low resolution pics for the web, a 1.2 megapixel will do good enough. Any pic's larger than that, and pic quality will suffer. When you get one, everyone will want to use it to send email pics, family pics, etc.
Look for a macro zoom setting since you will want close up's of your knives. If it doesn't have a macro setting, (many don't), look at the minimum focal length, you'll want a minimum of no more than 12".
A macro setting will allow close ups of just a few inches in many cases. This makes for neat looking pics of your knives.

Look for optical zoom and not just digital zoom. The digital zoom just enlarges and crops what your optical zoom captures. Optical is better. Many have combination optical and digital. These are fine.
Don't forget battery life. These things flat eat batteries up. Plan on getting two sets of rechargeables, so there's another $50.
Expect to spend at least another $50 to $100 for photo editing software. If your camera comes bundled with good (ask the salesman)photo software; that matters, most come with very minimal software.
Memory that comes with the camera is another gotcha. 16 megs is minimal. That is about 12 pic's at maximum resolution. Another 32 meg card(chip, stick)will help. There's another $30 to $50 depending on what kind of memory it needs.
Microsoft and Adobe both have photo editing software for $100 that works quite well and doesn't take a computer science degree to operate. Paint Shop Pro is also around a $100 and will do (a lot)more but is less (a lot) intuitive to use.
A pic taken using a $40 tripod with a cheap camera will often look better than one taken with a more expensive camera and no tripod.
Hope that helps. Good luck.
 
Nikon Coolpix - Current or older models. The 800 series and the 700 series are respectable performers. I have the 950 - an older model. I bought it because I needed a good all around camera that I could also do close-ups and macro work - in this regard it beats all the competition.

The Coolpix series also uses a USB connection. I use a Mac, so I just take a pic, plug the camera into the Mac, adjust the picture in Photoshop (or any other image editing software), size it to a managable jpeg and upload it -all in a few minutes. If you check my recent post "My first Knives" that was a quickie job done with the Coolpix outside. (I've done better).

I would check this forum , http://www.dpreview.com/. It is considered the best reviewer of all past and present digital cameras. Thera are lots of user posts along with lengthy, exhaustive reviews, so you can make an informed decision.

Bob
 
Well, I'm overwhelmed with all the comments!!!! Geeze in this day and age there are still AWESOME people. Thank you all again.:D
 
I have a Coolpix 775 I got around xmas for about $300.00. It has 2.1 mpixels, real Nikor lenses, a 3x optical zoom with macro mode, fits comfortably in my pocket for my non knifemaking related adventures. It also comes with a lithion ion battery with charger. The lithium battery won't build up memory like a nicad and saves you from always having to buy batteries as digicams eat them up. I bought a 128mb flash card with it and I can take about a hundred high res pix with flash before killing the battery. 2.1 megapixel will let you shoot 1600 x 1200 and prints up tp about 8 x 10. This camera got many great reviews and nearly every shop I went into raved about it. It has great auto modes and the USB interface works well on my McIntosh G3 laptop (work machine) as well as a Windows Me and a Windows XP box at home so I know the compatibility is great.

Just my (well researched) opinion.

jmx
 
JMX, the same camera here stung me US$550....with 32 megs:eek: :eek: :mad: :mad:
Great camera though :)
 
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