they said they don't know crap about digital cameras and that I should go by best buy and see if I'd like another one in the same price range better......
but I don't know anything about these guys. Is this camera ok?
_________________ I am smellin' like the rose that somebody gave me on my birthday deathbed.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 4:56 pm Posts: 19957 Location: Jenny Lewis' funbags
That looks like a pretty nice digicam. I used to have a Sony DSC-P71 which i think is a much ealier version of that and it was a great point and shoot camera, with a few extra features for the novice photographer. Plus its small size makes it great for sneaking into rock concerts .
as everyone's said, the AA batteries are gonna stink. i'd suggest getting at least two sets of rechargeable batteries, probably three or four.
i have a canon powershot A20 (about four years old) that uses AA's instead of a lithium cell and if i'm using the flash and the viewfinder i get about 30 - 40 shots from a charge. (if you turn off the viewfinder and don't need a flash, you can get considerably more mileage, but you see my point)
_________________ i was dreaming through the howzlife yawning car black when she told me "mad and meaningless as ever" and a song came on my radio like a cemetery rhyme for a million crying corpses in their tragedy of respectable existence
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 4:56 pm Posts: 19957 Location: Jenny Lewis' funbags
knuckles of frisco wrote:
as everyone's said, the AA batteries are gonna stink. i'd suggest getting at least two sets of rechargeable batteries, probably three or four.
i have a canon powershot A20 (about four years old) that uses AA's instead of a lithium cell and if i'm using the flash and the viewfinder i get about 30 - 40 shots from a charge. (if you turn off the viewfinder and don't need a flash, you can get considerably more mileage, but you see my point)
wow that sucks. the Sony that i had used 2 rechragable AA's, and i could get hundreds of shots, maybe more with it. granted i RARELY use a flash.
My current camera (a Fuji s5000) takes 4 rechargables and i get the same mileage, which sometimes can be a month or 2 without a recharge.
I can't recall what type of rechargeables were used with the Sony, but the Fuji is using NiMH. Personally i would rather have to buy a new set of those than a new Lithium battery when the time comes for it.
I don't know much about Digital Cameras. What is the absolute best one on the market right now? I'd like one that holds a lot of pictures.
i don't know the answer to your question, but as to the holding a lot of pictures desire, my camera has a flash memory card. it came with an 8M one and i just bought a 256M one which holds like a kajillion pictures
_________________ i was dreaming through the howzlife yawning car black when she told me "mad and meaningless as ever" and a song came on my radio like a cemetery rhyme for a million crying corpses in their tragedy of respectable existence
as everyone's said, the AA batteries are gonna stink. i'd suggest getting at least two sets of rechargeable batteries, probably three or four.
i have a canon powershot A20 (about four years old) that uses AA's instead of a lithium cell and if i'm using the flash and the viewfinder i get about 30 - 40 shots from a charge. (if you turn off the viewfinder and don't need a flash, you can get considerably more mileage, but you see my point)
wow that sucks. the Sony that i had used 2 rechragable AA's, and i could get hundreds of shots, maybe more with it. granted i RARELY use a flash. My current camera (a Fuji s5000) takes 4 rechargables and i get the same mileage, which sometimes can be a month or 2 without a recharge.
yes, it's the flash that's a killer. i haven't tested, but i'd guess that if i didn't use the flash or viewfinder at all, i'd get upwards of 100-some shots on a charge.
_________________ i was dreaming through the howzlife yawning car black when she told me "mad and meaningless as ever" and a song came on my radio like a cemetery rhyme for a million crying corpses in their tragedy of respectable existence
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 4:53 am Posts: 4470 Location: Knoxville, TN Gender: Male
knuckles of frisco wrote:
Cartman wrote:
I don't know much about Digital Cameras. What is the absolute best one on the market right now? I'd like one that holds a lot of pictures.
i don't know the answer to your question, but as to the holding a lot of pictures desire, my camera has a flash memory card. it came with an 8M one and i just bought a 256M one which holds like a kajillion pictures
That sounds like a plan. I'm searching for a camera, probably buy one in the next couple of weeks.
Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2004 2:12 am Posts: 1006 Location: my desk in fort worth
A good site for digi camera reviews: http://www.dpreview.com. They don't have reviews of every singl camera, but it does of good job of atleast listing all the specs and defining what all those specs mean.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 4:56 pm Posts: 19957 Location: Jenny Lewis' funbags
aliveguy77 wrote:
A good site for digi camera reviews: http://www.dpreview.com. They don't have reviews of every singl camera, but it does of good job of atleast listing all the specs and defining what all those specs mean.
that is a very good site. it came in handy when purchasing mine. check out the owner reviews section.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 4:56 pm Posts: 19957 Location: Jenny Lewis' funbags
Cartman wrote:
knuckles of frisco wrote:
Cartman wrote:
I don't know much about Digital Cameras. What is the absolute best one on the market right now? I'd like one that holds a lot of pictures.
i don't know the answer to your question, but as to the holding a lot of pictures desire, my camera has a flash memory card. it came with an 8M one and i just bought a 256M one which holds like a kajillion pictures
That sounds like a plan. I'm searching for a camera, probably buy one in the next couple of weeks.
There are a LOT of things to consider when purchasing a camera, and choosing the best is probably impossible. In fact that camera would probably cost you 10s of thousands of dollars.
I would suggest taking these criteria into consideration depending on what your usage will be.
1. Size. Do you want a small point and shoot camera that has most features automated for you? or do you want a larger one with lots of manual features so you can have more artistic license.
2. Megapixels. Basically this is the quality of the pictures that will be taken. Most camera's on the market range between 1 Megapixel and 7 Megapixel (anything more is used by professionals and can get VERY pricey). A 1 MP camera can give you pictures that are good for email, and will print decent 4x6 prints but anything more will look grainy. A higher end one will allow you to print images poster size, but is really unecessary if you are only emailing pictures and printing the occasional one, plus it takes up insane amounts of space on your memory card and/or hard disk. Its like owning a Ferrari to go to the store to get milk. My suggestion is to stick with a camera that is 3-4 Megapixels. That will give you a decent sized print (my camera is 3.1MP and i print 8x10's and they look great) for a reasonable price.
3. Memory. Most cameras need additional memory. Some have an internal memory but it is usuall very small and can only hold a few pics before its full. Every camera manufacturer has their own Memory card and these usually range in size from 16MB to 1GB. Obviously there is a sliding scale of prices. It really depends on what you will be using your camera for. If its just a weekend trip kinda thing, then you can get by with a 128MB card, which are usually fairly cheap. But if you are planning on a 3 week trip to Europe or something, you may want to go bigger, or buy more cards.
Another note on memory cards...dont get duped into buying the manufacturers cards. Just cause it says Sony, doesnt mean its worth the extra $40. There are 3rd party ones available at signifcantly lower prices that work equally as well. A common brand is SanDisk. They seem to work quite well.
4. Zoom. If you are considering the zoom capabilities when purchasing a camera, the only thing you need to care about is OPTICAL zoom. This works the same as a regular camera. But a lot of digital cameras also have additional Digital zoom, which is pointless because it just zooms in on the pixels and will give you a grainy picture. Its like zooming in on a picture on your pc. If you get in close enough you will start to see the pixels.
5. Battery Life. This was discussed a bit above. Its a judgement call there. I prefer rechargeables because they are cheaper, but i rarely use the flash on my camera, so they tend to have a longer life. Others think they wear out to quick. From what i hear, Lithium battery cells do last longer, but can cost more if they need to be replaced, or if you want to have an extra one for backup.
6. Features. This touches again on #1. You will find there are 2 main types of cameras. The point and shoot type will usually have less features because most are automated. You basically turn it on and it does the rest. These tend to be smaller and are usually cheaper, but not always.
The other, more manual type can tend to be a bit bulkier and will sometimes have larger lenses and a range of features that you would find on similar 35mm cameras. Features like the ability to change shutter speed, aperture, film speed, depth of field, etc which, if you know what you doing will give you better pictures and will be a lot more artistic.
There are of course cameras that mix both elements, and most manual digital cameras do have automatic settings as well.
Hopefully that will answer some questions and give you a starting point on what kind of camera you want. If anybody else has anything to add, go right ahead!
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 4:53 am Posts: 4470 Location: Knoxville, TN Gender: Male
mikef wrote:
Cartman wrote:
knuckles of frisco wrote:
Cartman wrote:
I don't know much about Digital Cameras. What is the absolute best one on the market right now? I'd like one that holds a lot of pictures.
i don't know the answer to your question, but as to the holding a lot of pictures desire, my camera has a flash memory card. it came with an 8M one and i just bought a 256M one which holds like a kajillion pictures
That sounds like a plan. I'm searching for a camera, probably buy one in the next couple of weeks.
There are a LOT of things to consider when purchasing a camera, and choosing the best is probably impossible. In fact that camera would probably cost you 10s of thousands of dollars.
I would suggest taking these criteria into consideration depending on what your usage will be.
1. Size. Do you want a small point and shoot camera that has most features automated for you? or do you want a larger one with lots of manual features so you can have more artistic license.
I would like the features automated for me, I am no photographer nor artist.
2. Megapixels. Basically this is the quality of the pictures that will be taken. Most camera's on the market range between 1 Megapixel and 7 Megapixel (anything more is used by professionals and can get VERY pricey). A 1 MP camera can give you pictures that are good for email, and will print decent 4x6 prints but anything more will look grainy. A higher end one will allow you to print images poster size, but is really unecessary if you are only emailing pictures and printing the occasional one, plus it takes up insane amounts of space on your memory card and/or hard disk. Its like owning a Ferrari to go to the store to get milk. My suggestion is to stick with a camera that is 3-4 Megapixels. That will give you a decent sized print (my camera is 3.1MP and i print 8x10's and they look great) for a reasonable price.
I was thinking at least 5 MP, the prices were ok when I looked around and the pictures were good at 5 MP.
3. Memory. Most cameras need additional memory. Some have an internal memory but it is usuall very small and can only hold a few pics before its full. Every camera manufacturer has their own Memory card and these usually range in size from 16MB to 1GB. Obviously there is a sliding scale of prices. It really depends on what you will be using your camera for. If its just a weekend trip kinda thing, then you can get by with a 128MB card, which are usually fairly cheap. But if you are planning on a 3 week trip to Europe or something, you may want to go bigger, or buy more cards. Another note on memory cards...dont get duped into buying the manufacturers cards. Just cause it says Sony, doesnt mean its worth the extra $40. There are 3rd party ones available at signifcantly lower prices that work equally as well. A common brand is SanDisk. They seem to work quite well.
I will probably end up buying a 1 gb memory card. Those were reasonably priced at Best Buy and that would be way more than enough.
4. Zoom. If you are considering the zoom capabilities when purchasing a camera, the only thing you need to care about is OPTICAL zoom. This works the same as a regular camera. But a lot of digital cameras also have additional Digital zoom, which is pointless because it just zooms in on the pixels and will give you a grainy picture. Its like zooming in on a picture on your pc. If you get in close enough you will start to see the pixels.
Hmmm....haven't thought about zoom. Will look into that. I will make sure to get Optical zoom on the camera, that could be a handy feature.
5. Battery Life. This was discussed a bit above. Its a judgement call there. I prefer rechargeables because they are cheaper, but i rarely use the flash on my camera, so they tend to have a longer life. Others think they wear out to quick. From what i hear, Lithium battery cells do last longer, but can cost more if they need to be replaced, or if you want to have an extra one for backup.
I would probably opt for rechargables as well. I won't be using this thing every day mainly just trips and this and that.
6. Features. This touches again on #1. You will find there are 2 main types of cameras. The point and shoot type will usually have less features because most are automated. You basically turn it on and it does the rest. These tend to be smaller and are usually cheaper, but not always. The other, more manual type can tend to be a bit bulkier and will sometimes have larger lenses and a range of features that you would find on similar 35mm cameras. Features like the ability to change shutter speed, aperture, film speed, depth of field, etc which, if you know what you doing will give you better pictures and will be a lot more artistic. There are of course cameras that mix both elements, and most manual digital cameras do have automatic settings as well.
I won't know what I'm doing so I am probably better off finding a point and shoot type of camera.
Hopefully that will answer some questions and give you a starting point on what kind of camera you want. If anybody else has anything to add, go right ahead!
Based on my preferences do you have any camera suggestions or brands I should be looking at?
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 4:56 pm Posts: 19957 Location: Jenny Lewis' funbags
Cartman wrote:
Based on my preferences do you have any camera suggestions or brands I should be looking at?
Well that can be a bit tough cause there are tons of cameras out there, many with similar features. But if youre looking for a point and shoot kind of camera Sony, Canon, Nikon and Fuji generally make good cameras. I would stick with a manufacturer that has a strong background in traditional photography (Sony being the exception, they seem to know what they are doing). Steer clear of cameras by HP, Pentax and Kodak. I havent really heard good things about those brands.
Your best bet, besides the dpreview website would be to go to bestbuy.com or another online retailer and check out their sales and go from there. I was just looking at Best Buy's website and you have the ability to browse cameras by brand, megapixel, etc....which may be helpful.
I was thinking I might go with this one. I'm going to shop around some more but this seems to be reasonably priced. Are there any negatives? I think it looks ok.
I was thinking I might go with this one. I'm going to shop around some more but this seems to be reasonably priced. Are there any negatives? I think it looks ok.
Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens = good
3x optical/2x digital/6x total zoom = average for this type of camera
my girlfriend owns a Sony Cybershot 3 MP (it used to be mine) and i recently took these pictures with it at a Nine Inch Nails concert with no flash and full zoom (3x, no digital). it was a great camera, with a few features to play around with, and it helped teach me about photography. Keep in mind the one i had is about 3 yrs old now.
5mp sounds a little steep for what you're saying you're using the camera for.
I don't print photos, so i can't give you any insight there, but i think my camera is 2.1Mp and i've never noticed any problems with graininess on pictures. let me see if i can find some shots i've taken..
(make sure the rm window isn't resizing, 'cuz that will make them grainy)
inasmuch as you want to take snapshots and stuff, i've yet to see any reason to buy anything over 3Mp.
_________________ i was dreaming through the howzlife yawning car black when she told me "mad and meaningless as ever" and a song came on my radio like a cemetery rhyme for a million crying corpses in their tragedy of respectable existence
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum
.
