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I'm looking to buy a somewhat decent digital camera within the week. Can anyone please help me out and recommend some brands or models to look into? I'm not looking to break the bank but I'm willing to spend no more than $500 Canadian (including taxes).

Question split from the graphics tools and resources sticky.

Olympus

www.imaging-resource.com
www.stevesdigicams.com
www.dpreview.com

Dalton wrote:Olympus

They are good, my dad has a C-3040Z and it takes great pictures (though obviously not up to par with something like a Canon EOS-10D)

Remember, don't buy any memory cards over 64 megabytes because it would make it too easy for you to use the camera for child pornography.

Sea Skimmer wrote:Remember, don't buy any memory cards over 64 megabytes because it would make it too easy for you to use the camera for child pornography.

WTF provoked that remark? Have the brownshirts started arresting people for having too much memory in their cameras or something?

Enlightenment wrote:

Sea Skimmer wrote:Remember, don't buy any memory cards over 64 megabytes because it would make it too easy for you to use the camera for child pornography.

WTF provoked that remark? Have the brownshirts started arresting people for having too much memory in their cameras or something?

A California State senator seriously proposed such a law a couple years ago. Somehow the concept of "switch the memory out and go back to abusing" didn't occur to him.

Sea Skimmer wrote:

Enlightenment wrote:

Sea Skimmer wrote:Remember, don't buy any memory cards over 64 megabytes because it would make it too easy for you to use the camera for child pornography.

WTF provoked that remark? Have the brownshirts started arresting people for having too much memory in their cameras or something?

A California State senator seriously proposed such a law a couple years ago. Somehow the concept of "switch the memory out and go back to abusing" didn't occur to him.

WTF? Are you sure about that? I reposted something similar to SB from HP&WE but it turned out to be bullshit (actually, that one was about megapixels)

phongn wrote:

Sea Skimmer wrote:

Enlightenment wrote:

WTF provoked that remark? Have the brownshirts started arresting people for having too much memory in their cameras or something?

A California State senator seriously proposed such a law a couple years ago. Somehow the concept of "switch the memory out and go back to abusing" didn't occur to him.

WTF? Are you sure about that? I reposted something similar to SB from HP&WE but it turned out to be bullshit (actually, that one was about megapixels)

Not sure, but it wasn't something I saw here and it was specifically memory capacity.

Geez, what a moron. There should be minimum knowledgability/intelligence reqs for public offices.

It's people like these who get manipulated by lobbyists that introduce laws like the DMCA and CBDPTA (CBDPTA is pretty much dead though, sp?). These lobbyists target tech moronic senators like Fritz Hollings.

phongn wrote:www.imaging-resource.com
www.stevesdigicams.com
www.dpreview.com

Very helpful! Thank you!

& no I'm not planning to use this camera for porn!

Leaving aside the foibles of idiot politicians for a moment...

Get the biggest Megapixel size you can find, the quality is much better the higher you go.
Get one with rechargable batteries already in it, ones that require you to buy and change batteries will be a major pain in the ass. Trut me on this.
Get at least 64 meg memory for it, either in it or as a card.
View screens are great for previewing photos to tell if you screwed it up, but suck up the battery power. Only get one with a screen if you have rechargables in it.
USB is fastest for transferring files, forget serial stuff.

Kenny_10_Bellys wrote:Leaving aside the foibles of idiot politicians for a moment...

Get the biggest Megapixel size you can find, the quality is much better the higher you go.

NO! Greater megapixels does not neccessarily correspond to greater quality!

Get one with rechargable batteries already in it, ones that require you to buy and change batteries will be a major pain in the ass. Trut me on this.

NO! You'll be sorry when the batteries in it are dead and you have to charge the camera. Carry around a few spares of rechargable batteries. http://www.nimhbattery.com/ has some high-quality NiMH rechargables and battery packs.

Get at least 64 meg memory for it, either in it or as a card.

As a card (preferably CompactFlash, it's more rugged than SmartMedia). Some cameras let you use IBM's MicroDrive, but those suck up power. Stay away from MemoryStick; it's Sony's proprietary (and expensive) format.

View screens are great for previewing photos to tell if you screwed it up, but suck up the battery power. Only get one with a screen if you have rechargables in it.

Yes, though often on rangefinder-style digital cameras teh viewfinder is inaccurate (it is on my dad's C-3040Z). Often the only way to get a true image is by using the LCD.

USB is fastest for transferring files, forget serial stuff.

Firewire is even faster than puny USB.

YES! Megapixels normally correspond to better quality. If I buy a 0.3 megapixel camera that takes 120 x 100 images, I'm pretty sure a 3 megapixel camera taking 1600x1280 images will be better quality.

YES! Get a camera you charge up when it's flat and not battery driven, you will be sorry having to cart around bloody batteries all the time. I use a Fuji at home and it's battery time is more than enough for normal use. If you buy a camera that says 'requires 4 AAA batteries' or suchlike then you're looking at a pain in the ass.

Kenny_10_Bellys wrote:YES! Megapixels normally correspond to better quality. If I buy a 0.3 megapixel camera that takes 120 x 100 images, I'm pretty sure a 3 megapixel camera taking 1600x1280 images will be better quality.

Don't be daft and use such an extreme example. A good 3MP camera can outperform a 4-6MP camera that uses inferior CCDs. For example's Sigma's latest SLR with the Foveon X3 sensor is nearly equivilant to a good 6MP CCD or CMOS (though not quite). Obviously, a 0.3MP camera will be beaten by a 3MP one

A good Olympus 3MP camera will beat the crap out of Best-Buy special 6MP Sony. The quality of the CCD elements is very important; in this case you want quality, not neccessarily quantity.

Nevermind the comparison between a 3MP DSLR vs. a 3MP rangefinder; the former probably has a larger CCD (even with the same number of pixels on it) and can gather significantly more light due to it's larger lense.

YES! Get a camera you charge up when it's flat and not battery driven, you will be sorry having to cart around bloody batteries all the time. I use a Fuji at home and it's battery time is more than enough for normal use. If you buy a camera that says 'requires 4 AAA batteries' or suchlike then you're looking at a pain in the ass.

And what happens when you run out of power when on a trip and there isn't a convenient power port around? Oh wait, no more camera. Carrying around a few sets of AAA batteries isn't such a PITA, and if you really want to, you can always get a rechargable battery pack that plugs into the DC-In port.

Furthermore, what happens when that internal battery dies? Rechargable batteries have a fixed lifetime, and for something as expensive as a digital camera I don't want to throw it away when that happens.

feh... as a working (semi)pro, who shoots a LOT, I have to say that carrying around disposable AAs, AAAs, what have you is THE single biggest PITA you could possibly have. I know I hate having to constantly buy & carry the damn things around. The only way to go IMHO is with rechargeables (but NOT the AA or AAA types except for use in speedlites)... in digital cameras they last quite awhile, and they can be recharged in excess of 500 times if done properly. If you are so concerned about running out of juice, get a spare -- if you shop at say B&H or Delta International they arent all that expensive -- and if you really need to charge on the road get an inverter for the car.

as for my reccomendation on a digital P&S with your budget, I have to say go with Canon -- anything from the lowly A10 up to the newly announced S50 should be able to do anything you want it for. If movie modes are your thing, find a fuji M603 instead, as it can capture @640x480 with sound for any duration up to your storage limit.

me, on the the digital side I use a Canon 1D for the serious work, and a Canon G1 for when I need to be more stealthy, but I might just get an S50 soon to replace it (or maybe a G3).

I was a pro for a few years, a photojournalist by trade, and carrying and changing batteries in things like cameras and flashes was the biggest ass-stinger there was. If you get a semi-decent camera it's not going to go out on you anytime soon, I get many hours use out of my camera no sweat, and days of standby time. Same goes for the pixel thing, in general the higher the pixel count the higher the quality. It's only a rule of thumb of course, I'm sure you can pull esoteric cases up where one specific camera has a better CCD than another, but for a punter in the street it's a pretty sure-fire guide. He's not going to get a decent SLR digital for under 500 notes, so he's going to get a camera with a small lens and pixels will make a difference. "Lighten up, Francis."

As for batteries, I'll stand by my position, though I understand yours. I've had devices with custom batteries, and those were a PITA.

WRT to the megapixel thing, I meant to say that when buying a camera one should look at the quality of the images made (various websites do reviews) rather than just saying "ooh look ma! more megapixels!"

Next of Kin wrote:I'm looking to buy a somewhat decent digital camera within the week. Can anyone please help me out and recommend some brands or models to look into? I'm not looking to break the bank but I'm willing to spend no more than $500 Canadian (including taxes).

Well I wod buy an olympus. I am using E-20 an its good.

http://w1.853.telia.com/~u85317978/Sofia_sidovis.jpg

Its a sample pic.