Digital cameras, answer my questions or else *shakes fist*

His Divine Shadow · Post by **His Divine Shadow** » 2004-10-21 06:58am

What camera would you reccomend?

The Canon Powershot A85
The Casio Exilim EX-Z3

The A85 is a 4MP camera I see while the EX-Z3 has only 3.2MP, however the Exilim is bloody gorgeous and is said to give good image quality in reviews.
I've used a Powershot A70 at work and while it's a good camera I don't really like it's looks or it's feel.

These ares ome other cameras in the same price range:
-HP PhotoSmart R 507
-Sony DSC-P 73
-Fuji FinePix S 3500
-Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC 70 EG-S
-Yakumo Mega Image 84 d
-Pentax Optio S 50

Or anyone have any other reccomendations? These cameras are in the 240-260 euro range.

Chardok · Post by **Chardok** » 2004-10-21 07:09am

optio. Beacuase they have cool commercials.

Optio-o-o-o-ooooo

Optiooooooooooooo!

Vohu Manah · Post by **Vohu Manah** » 2004-10-21 07:46am

If you like the EX-Z3, just get it. You can still take some very high quality pics at 3MP.

For the record, my digital camera is a Kodak DX3700 (3.1MP), and I'm very satisfied.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-10-21 11:07am

Go for the PowerShot, and don't be swayed too much by megapixel nonsense. If you're really serious about photography, save your pennies for a long time and get either the Canon Digital Rebel (EOS 300D) or the Nikon D70

desertjedi · Post by **desertjedi** » 2004-10-21 12:24pm

The megapixel thing isn't really as important as the image quality, IMO. If you don't like the feel of the camera, then don't get it. A very important item that alot of people overlook is the comfort factor. The camera should be comfortable in your hand, it should be solid but not too heavy, and the buttons should be easily available to you for one handed shots or for quick action shots.

I have the Sony 717 and I love the picture quality, but there are a couple things wrong with it:
1. The buttons on the barrel lens are not easily accesible when you are taking tall shots (camera is on its side).
2. The weight of the camera makes it cumbersome after a long period of time. Oh and the strap that comes with it is a shoulder strap, not a neckstrap (although you could use it that way).

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-10-21 01:56pm

I hear the PowerShot A-series is easy to use and it does produce good images for the money. Its no DSLR but it is a fine camera.

His Divine Shadow · Post by **His Divine Shadow** » 2004-10-21 02:11pm

Yeah it's just that I've used a near identical model myself and didn't really like it, it'd have to be something special indeed compared to the A70 for me to choose it.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-10-21 03:46pm

Remember, it's the quality of the lens, not the megapixel number, that determines how good the camera is. Besides, to approach standard 35mm, you'd need something around 12 megapixels first.

Nom · Post by **Nom** » 2004-10-21 04:02pm

I would recommend Olympus C-50 Zoom or C-5000 Zoom. They fit the price and are comparable to Canon Powershot S50 image quality wise. Powershot S50 would be nice as well but it's price hasn't come down as much. A good place to find info and reviews about digital cameras is DPReview. You should browse through some of the reviews about the cameras in your price range before making you're final decision.

His Divine Shadow · Post by **His Divine Shadow** » 2004-10-21 04:12pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Remember, it's the quality of the lens, not the megapixel number, that determines how good the camera is. Besides, to approach standard 35mm, you'd need something around 12 megapixels first.

Well I'm not aiming for that kind of quality photography, it's just that now and then I find I could really use a digital camera and such.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-10-21 04:58pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Remember, it's the quality of the lens, not the megapixel number, that determines how good the camera is. Besides, to approach standard 35mm, you'd need something around 12 megapixels first.

To match 35mm you'll need ~25MP. For most 4x6 prints, though, most digital cameras will do that fine under good light.

SPOOFE · Post by **SPOOFE** » 2004-10-21 06:21pm

Well I'm not aiming for that kind of quality photography, it's just that now and then I find I could really use a digital camera and such.

It'll be rare for you to ever make anything larger than an 8x10 (what photo printers print at... y'know, if you ever get a photo printer). As such, technically, 2.1 megapixel resolution is enough, in a good enough camera (3.3 preferably, from most cameras). 4 and 5 megapixels are often unnecessary... however, it IS nice to have the option if you want an exceptionally detailed shot.

In my opinion, the best price/quality ratio is in Sony's DSC-W1. 5 megapixels, excellent zoom for such a small and inexpensive camera, support for Memory Stick Pro (far faster image transfer), excellent manual control, excellent speed and responsiveness, huge friggin' 2" LCD, and very very good rechargeable battery life, even with the display on. Goes for about $320 (like at Newegg).

The downside is that memory sticks are typically 30-40% more expensive than, say, Compactflash.

But yeah, that's my recommendation. If you don't want to go above your price point, and don't care so much about manual controls, then I'd say go with the DSC-P73.

Vertigo1 · Post by **Vertigo1** » 2004-10-21 11:15pm

If you do get a camera, make sure it uses CCD instead of CMOS. The picture quality will be dramatically better, trust me. (Basically, it filters light in a way that you get more detail per megapixel. Instead of capturing RGB on a grid individually, it does it in layers. I know this is an extremely over-simplified explination, but you should be able to understand the principle behind it.)

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-10-22 12:24am

Vertigo1 wrote:If you do get a camera, make sure it uses CCD instead of CMOS. The picture quality will be dramatically better, trust me. (Basically, it filters light in a way that you get more detail per megapixel. Instead of capturing RGB on a grid individually, it does it in layers. I know this is an extremely over-simplified explination, but you should be able to understand the principle behind it.)

CCDs use a Bayer pattern on a grid. For that matter, so do most CMOS sensors. Foveon's X3 sensor is the multilayered one, but it is rather rare.

SPOOFE · Post by **SPOOFE** » 2004-10-22 04:34am

A 256mb SD card is going to be $20-50 cheaper than a proprietary 256mb Sony Memorystick.

True, although you can get a 256mb non-Sony brand of memory stick pro for only a few bucks more than a comparable Compactflash (and I do believe the MSpro has faster data transfer rates, to slightly compensate). However, above 256, MS becomes prohibitively expensive, while CF is dirt-cheap throughout its entire range of sizes.

His Divine Shadow · Post by **His Divine Shadow** » 2004-10-22 05:05am

I've been going through the cameras now and I've really fallen for the Casio Exilim EX-Z 50
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/ex-z50.html

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Digital cameras, answer my questions or else shakes fist

Digital cameras, answer my questions or else shakes fist