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Digital Cameras

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- Apologies if you have already read this on the Computers, Gaming and Technology board -

Greetings all,

I'm currently on the market to purchase a Digital Camera. I'll just be using it when travelling and at home to replace my old flash camera which I've had since 1995.

What I need is to hear what digital camera you have, what features does it have, would you recommend it, and how much did you have to fork out for it.

I'm also looking at getting a digital camera which I can download the images onto my printer & scanner (Canon i950 and CanoScan 9900F) if that helps.

Finally, I've seen a lot of places that have sales on for digital cameras, is it best to buy now while the time is hot, or wait until June when I can buy it duty free?

Cheers!
 
Laid 500 bucks down for a Sony somethingarather yesterday and that is with it on order coz it's a very hard one to get. Ask me in 10 days or so that hoping they can get it in as i know NOTHING about them and will probably have to whinge on the computer board to get some help setting it up.

The little i do know about them though is apparently there are diff types of zooms optical and something else? One means you can't actually zoom in with the camera and have to do it through the computer program reducing the picture quality. So make sure it has optical.
 
Backpacked around Europe with a mate who had a Digital Camera. Problem was that every other day he had to find an internet cafe who would let him install software so that he dowload his pics. Not always an easy matter. And then he was left with half-a-dozen CDs to carry around.

In contrast the with the old-style camera you can just drop rolls of film in your bag and process them when you get home.

So if you are travelling maybe a digital camera is not ideal.
 

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A digital camera is fantastic for travelling if you have a lot of spare memory cards (expensive) or regular access to a computer.

These days, the company software is not needed, simply plug in the USB connection and WinXP auto detects and lets you download the pictures.
 
I own an Olympus "CAMEDIA" C-150 which cost 240 bucks 9 months ago.

Its only 2 megapixel but allows me tp display and print great photos.
I toyed with the idea of spending more bucks for more megapixels but Im now convinced it would have been a waste of money.
It has an LCD screen, software, moviemode, 2.5x digital zoom is compact with an easy to navigate set of controls.

Im wrapped!

If I could find one fault with it it would be that it chews aa batterys like you wouldnt believe.

I got an El Cheapo battery charger chucked in with the camera for no extra cost but it promptly sh* t itself with a few days.

I dont know whether or not I can buy an Olympus suitable battery and recharge unit as Ive gone with a similar battery recharger like the el cheapo which is keeping me charged.

Seen them for 180 dollars recently too.

I would highly recommend it to anyone.
 
I've got a Canon A70, set me back about $700 in December so it's probably a bit cheaper now. Is 3.something megapixels and has both digital and optical zoom, I was looking specifically for a camera with optical zoom as digital zoom isn't that good IMHO. If you're serious about photography you can change all the settings etc. but I just use one of the presets most of the time. Takes compact flash cards as most do, I've been printing photos I took on full size a4 paper and the results are great, if you look really closely you can see a bit of 'pixelation' or whatever but from 30cm+ they look perfect. I also love hooking it up to my TV with the AV cable and having little slide shows :D. I get the photos onto my computer with a card reader which I hook into my USB port, this saves a lot of batteries and makes things easier.


I'd suggest going down to a camera store as they are pretty helpful as opposed to a department/computer store.

Also keep in mind that you will probably want to buy extra memory cards (128mb Compact flash - ~$100), a card reader ($25+), rechargable batteries($40+ for 4AA and charger) and a camera case ($15+).

http://www.canon.com.au/products/cameras/digital_compact_cameras/powershota70.html
 
Considering i've never been within a foot of one tell me, do they use film or is it just stored on a card. Reason i ask is because i've seen Rabbit advertising to do print outs from digi cams. If one good thing comes out of this digital revolution it will be that Rabbit goes out of business, they've gotten away with charging too much for too long. Can't wait to just start printing my own off.

Oh and need to buy a printer too so what resolution would you guys suggest going for seeing as though it will be used for printing shots off the cam?
 
I've had a digital camera for a couple of years, and in the last couple of weeks bought one secondhand off a friend - an Olympus C-730 Ultra Zoom. It has a 10x Optical and 10x Digital zoom - it's not cheap, and certainly wouldn't be to buy it new. But when you're taking pics at sporting events, the extra zoom is certainly useful, as these pics will demonstrate (as long as Geocities isn't having one of their dummy spits).

Oh yes, and the other advantage of a digital over a normal camera is you can get the pics up straight away and don't have to drop films in to be developed.
 
I've got a kodak cx 6330. it's 3.1 megapixel, 3x optical zoom, 3.3x digital zoom (works out to be 10x in total). it records video as well as image, and has 16mb built in.
from what ive heard when it comes to digital cameras, stick to either sony or kodak. apparently just cause a company might have good flash cameras, doesnt mean their digicams are good too. Sony and kodak are renowned for their digital imaging. You'd wanna get at least a 3 megapixel, and make sure you get optical zoom. digital zoom is pretty crappy as it just zooms in by enhancing the image, hence losing quality (and harder to control the camera without shakes) The only thing i don't like about the kodak is the battery life, it's not the best. The LCD screen chews the battery, so its good to carry spares whenever u need it. But it does give u the option of turning off the LCD screen and using the normal viewfinder (the lcd screen is pointless at night anyway as u cant see anything through it). and when you buy the camera find out what batteries it comes with. mine DIDNT come with rechargables so i had to buy some (plus the memory stick, ended up spending about $150... lucky the camera was a birthday present)
 
Originally posted by GoEagles
- Apologies if you have already read this on the Computers, Gaming and Technology board -

Greetings all,

I'm currently on the market to purchase a Digital Camera. I'll just be using it when travelling and at home to replace my old flash camera which I've had since 1995.

What I need is to hear what digital camera you have, what features does it have, would you recommend it, and how much did you have to fork out for it.

I'm also looking at getting a digital camera which I can download the images onto my printer & scanner (Canon i950 and CanoScan 9900F) if that helps.

Finally, I've seen a lot of places that have sales on for digital cameras, is it best to buy now while the time is hot, or wait until June when I can buy it duty free?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

well like computer hardware there is always something newer and better around the corner so you may as well buy now.

what price range are you looking at??

someone mentioned they had a Canon a70(or better yet a80 which is a newer model) , that would be a good first camera for someone or even a canon G3 or G5 if you want something better..


you could get the a80 for under $700 and the g5 for under $1200 if you shop around..

as for mine err a canon EOS 10D...
 

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Originally posted by Nandrolone Stam
Film.

:p
Click to expand...
Yeah you then glue it to your screen and click print. Instant digital photos! :D
 
Am I alone in thinking they are far too expensive at the moment ?

When will someone bring out a good cheap one ? or is that called a mobile phone ?
 
3.1 standard now in megapixels

buy a sony or the canon ixus
or a canon a70 still a good buy
if travelling make sure the charger comes in with the camera or it may be an expensive battery cost

two tips about batteries, dont leave them in the camera when you dont use it and dont use the lcd screen all the time saves battery life.

buy a memory card as it will pay for itself over time instead of the rolls of film you would of had to buy and process previously.

you can make slide shows to view on dvd and still select photos from these you want to print.
 

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well I work with digital cams and if u get the chance check out the fuji finepix a410 - i have played with the olympus (bad skin tones) sony (expensive mem sticks) canon (great pics but tooo slow) and most of the kodak lower end cameras have average lenses

I have printen the fuji pics out (taken at 3.2 but out puttin to 6 megapixel) and they look fantastic.


my opinion anyway
 
Originally posted by Paris75
I also love hooking it up to my TV with the AV cable and having little slide shows :D.

Also keep in mind that you will probably want to buy extra memory cards (128mb Compact flash - ~$100), a card reader ($25+), rechargable batteries($40+ for 4AA and charger) and a camera case ($15+).
Click to expand...

the av out cable is great fun... always use it to view pics right away at gatherings etc..

i have a minolta dimage x (2.0 mp, dated camera) but like it for its compact size, good zoom (3x optical)... you can pick this camera up quite cheaply now, or the newer model..

memory cards.. buy them overseas or on ebay... they are way overpriced here in australia...
 
Originally posted by mighty mick
3.1 standard now in megapixels

buy a sony or the canon ixus
or a canon a70 still a good buy
if travelling make sure the charger comes in with the camera or it may be an expensive battery cost

two tips about batteries, dont leave them in the camera when you dont use it and dont use the lcd screen all the time saves battery life.

buy a memory card as it will pay for itself over time instead of the rolls of film you would of had to buy and process previously.

you can make slide shows to view on dvd and still select photos from these you want to print.
Click to expand...

Sony is rubbish unless you buy their top of the line model.
 
Forget Digital zoom, basically it is using software to bring you in closer. You can do that later on your computer anyway. I have a Canon G5 5.0 megapixel which are roughly $1400. The benefit of the greater megapixels is really about compensating for the lack of decent zoom but also for the ability to print out at A3 size.

The greatest thing about the Canon is the battery life. I'd be getting a minimum 2 weeks in between battery charges. Also the ability to tone down size for greater picture taking, up to 800 pictures on the one memory card at a lower setting.

If going overseas it may be worth investing in a cheapish second hand laptop rather than extra memory cards and save each night to the hard drive.

I'd recommend the most megapixels you can afford basically keeping in mind battery cost and optical zoom. 3.0 should be ideal for most applications.

Here's a photo I took at the golf from approximately 50 metres away. The first is at approximately 40% size, the second using included software I cut and pasted from the first later is at full size.

Huntingdalemod%20018.jpg

Huntingdalemod%20018b.jpg
 
I received a Pentax Optio S - 3.2 megapixel camera for Christmas. Well, I chose it and ordered it online and my parents paid for it!

I wanted something small enough to keep in my pocket - shirt or jeans - and after a look at the options I made my choice. I was going to get the S4 version , but it was $100 more. The camera fits into an Altoids tin which is my current carrying case. It runs on a lithium battery and came with a battery charger. So far I'm very happy with it. It's my first digital camera so I'm still trying to figure out all of the fine points about its use.

I got a special deal online so it came with a 256MB SD, a mini-tripod and I also got an extra battery for a total of US $369 which included Priority Paid postage.

I've taken about 100 pics since Christmas and intend taking it on roller coasters when our parks open. It's small enough to sneak photos on them from the palm of my hand.

Paris 75's suggestion to have a look at dpreview.com is a good one. I spent hours looking at that site and others reading professional reviews and owner reviews before I made my final choice. My final decision boiled down to the size of the camera. I wanted an ultra compact rather than a compact. So far I'm very satisfied with the quality of the pics. The convenience of carrying it without even knowing you have it on you is what I really like about it. I mainly aim to use it to e-mail pics and print smaller size photos.

For a larger compact size I really liked the Nikon Coolpix 3100 and the Canon A70. I also looked at the Kodak DX 6340. All are around the US$299 mark here. My brother got a Fuji FinePix A210 for US$199 and a free $50 gift card from Target which was a good deal. I guess it all depends on what you want from the camera, the size of it and the cost with any special deals.
 
Huge thanks to everyone who gave some tips (and those who are going to post). Has definately given me some help on what to look for. I'll go hunting around the http://www.dpreview.com website and also check out some prices in the city.
 

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