I'm thinking about buying a digital camera. I'm not a big picture taker and I don't need anything with lots of features. I just want something that is small, reasonably priced and takes good quality pictures.
I'll be bringing it to Disney World in October and AEE in January. After that, it will probably sit in a closet for months. I won't have a PC with me at either location. So I want something that utilized reasonably priced memory cards so I can store a lot of photos until I get home.
I'm starting with virtually no knowledge regarding what is good and what isn't good.
I'm looking for suggestions and reasons for those suggestions.
Price, about$175 plus another $40 for a big fat extra memory card
Memory capacity, about 200 160 hex 1200 pixel images. More than enough pixels for the web or small print
Size, fits in a pants pocket. Because it is small and convienent I have a lot more family photos than I used to.
Compatablity, works perfectly with iPhoto
Autofocus/Expoure, works well
Things I don't like about it:
It doesn't take the picture when you push the button, there's a delay
The wide angle isn't wide enough, the telephoto isn't tele enough. In either case it's hard to take a picture that doesn't have infinate depth of field. This is a problem with all consumer digital cameras (still or video) so I shouldn't complain. Is that stopping me?
Tony, It looks like the newer versions of the Canon are the A310 and the A400. They are available at B&H for $150 & $180 respectively (or $140 & 160 at Newegg).
They appear to be very similar in specs. The biggest difference is that the 310 has a 5.1x digital zoom and the 400 has a 2.2x optical zoom. Based on the fact that the 400 is more expensive, yet can zoom less, can I assume that an optical zoom is better than a digital zoom, or is it just that a digital zoom is less expensive to make, yet just as good?
It you were going to go with one of these two, which would you choose? Or, would you choose somthing else?
I choose the A60 because in addition to about 8 program modes, it could also be used on manual with 4 difference manual color balance presets. This makes it a good tool for location scouting.
Digital zoom crops the center of the image than blows it up to fill the frame and uses interpalation to create the new pixels. You can do the same thing after the fact on a home computer. Certainly PS has better algorithms for this than whatever is in the camera.
My camera has a 5.4mm-16.2mm/ f2.8~4.8 lens; the angle of view is roughly equivelent to a 28mm-85mm lens on a 35mm camera. The important difference is that depth of is purely a product of the length of the lens, not the angle of view – so when you try to make portraits with a narrow angle of view, you still get a crisp background (even at f4.8 a 16mm lens carries A LOT of depth of field.) I find this frustrating, so I don't use the camera to take those kinds of photos. I stick to wider-angle shots that take advantage of the lens's nearly infinite (under most circumstances) depth of field.
(BTW, one of the thing that makes M&J look "more like film" is scrupulous attention to maintaining a depth of field. It's one of the most important differences between how most video looks and how most film looks.)
So short answer: I'll take an optical over a digital zoom, but since the lenses in question are soooo short, telephoto many shots don't work that well anyway, I'm not sure how important it is either way. If you want to get the glamorous look of narrow field of view and shallow depth of field you have to move to a larger focal plane. Even the most expensive digital cameras still have CCDs that are too small for this purpose.
Those are different model lines, Bill. AXXX compared to AXX.
Tony made a good recommendation. The latest AXX model like A75 or A85 are very highly recommended because it has manual settings and will help you learn to become a better photographer since you don't have to waste film to tinker with all the settings.
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Spew Deactivated User
Bend over for the rod and staff of Jesus! 334 Posts 7/04
Posted - Sep 13 2004 : 11:12AM
CANON ZR-80 # Power supply (rated): 7.4 V DC # Power consumption: 2.3 W (using viewfinder), 3.3 W (using LCD screen) # Television system: EIA standard (525 lines, 60 fields) NTSC color signal # Video recording system: 2 rotary heads, helical scanning system DV system (Consumer digital VCR SD system) # Digital component recording # Audio recording system: # PCM digital sound: # 16-bit (48 kHz/2 ch.) # 12-bit (32 kHz/4 ch.) # Image sensor: 1/6-inch CCD, approx. 680,000 pixels, # Effective pixels: tape approx. 340,000 pixels card approx. 447,000 pixels (ZR80/ZR80) # Tape format: Videocassettes bearing the MiniDV mark # Tape speed: SP: 0.74 ips (18.81 mm/s), LP: 0.49 ips (12.56 mm/s) # Maximum recording time (with an 80-min. cassette) SP: 80 min. # LP: 120 min. # Fast forward/rewind time: 2 min. 20 sec. (with a 60-min. cassette) # Lens: f=2.8-50.4, f/1.6-2.9, 18x power zoom # Focusing system: TTL autofocus, manual focusing possible # Minimum focusing distance: 3 ft. 3 3/8 in. (1 m) 3/8 in. (1 cm) # on maximum wide angle # Maximum shutter speed: 1/2,000 sec. # Minimum illumination: 2 lx (using the Night mode) # Recommended illumination: More than 100 lx # Filter diameter: 30.5 mm # Viewfinder: 0.33-inch TFT color, approx. 113,000 pixels # LCD screen: 2.5-inch TFT color, approx. 112,000 pixels # Microphone: Stereo electret condenser microphone # DV terminal: Special 4-pin connector (based on IEEE 1394) # Video terminal: 1 Vp-p/75 ohms unbalanced # Audio terminal: Input level: -10 dBV/40 kohm, unbalanced # Output level: -10 dBV, less than 3 kohms, unbalanced # Operating temperature range: 32 - 104? F (0 - 40? C) # Dimensions: 2.1 x 3.7 x 5.5 in. (53 x 95 x 139 mm) excluding protrusions # Weight: approx. 1.1 lb. (485 g)
$320.00
I have this camera and it works well. The only problem is the little power cord that you charge the battery with. You have to be really careful because it breaks easy.
If you really want to be cool, take a look at the Canon XL1S Professional Mini DV 3CCD Digital Camcorder ($2700).
In fact, I bought a camera myself in January and did some research prior to that. I ended up choosing between A80, S45/S50, S400 Digital ELPH. These models simply because they are 4MP+ cameras, but how much megapixels you need, you should decide yourself depending on whether you'll going to print your pics and at what format.
A80 is from the series Tony recommends and it's pretty good.
S45 (which I eventually baught) is more compact that A80, yet it doesn't fit in the pants pocket. I mean, Tony, what kind of pants are you wearing, man? Maybe it will techincally fit in pocket but you won't be able to sit and walk comfortably with it.
S45 is basically stripped down and compressed version of Canon's semi-pro G-line. It has the same features as A60-80, probably the same (GOOD)picture quality, but the main reason why I chose it over A80 is because it can save in lossless RAW format which A60-80 can't.
Dislikes: it produces some amount of barrel distortion (don't know if that's correct term), but on occasion images (especially scenery and stuff) look 'spherized' due to a tiny lens. S45 has IMO small and poorly designed menu control stick which can be difficult to operate, especially if you are in hurry. Lastly, S45 has only 32 hex 240 resolution for movie mode, while A## series have 64 hex 480.
But, generally speaking, I must say I am happy with this camera, however, S45 model is discontinued by Canon (so is Tony's A60). Maybe you can still find them somewhere.
S### (Digital ELPH) line, is probably what you should also check. It's Canon's best point-and-click line with only basic features but pretty good picture quality nonetheless. It's also much smaller than the rest and is pretty stylish.
All these cameras are apprx. in the same price range: $250-300 I think..
If you want to check out sample photos and read reviews/specs:
well, I haven't bought one yet, but I'm looking foward on buying a Canon A75. It looks decently priced and the features are interesting on it.
And Tony is absolutely right on the digital zoom thing. It's not really important what digital zoom it has, since I don't see lots of people using it anyway. Better stick with the normal optical zoom and doing any extra zooming with software.
Canon seems a good way to go, but I've been recommended to look at some Olympus models, though I really couldn't say anything about them, since I had made my mind before being told that. But I'd go with most people's suggestions and shop around, try finding specials or at least good deals, because with batteries, extra memory and all the price goes up (usually higher than one expected).
I ended up buying the Canon A400 (ot was on sale for about $10 less over the weekend). I received some private e-mails recommending an Olympus over the Canon for thier entry-level line. I looked into the Olympus, but the deciding factor ended up being price. Not of the camera, but of the memory cards used by the camera. The Olympus uses XD memory and the Canon uses SD memory. I was able to buy 512Mg of SD memory, in 2 256 cards for $48 (after a $12 rebate on each of the cards). 512Mg of Xd memory was going to cost me $150.
For the amount of use this camera will get, I couldn't justify an extra $100 to buy the Olympus.
Just got a new digicam myself, BestBuy is clearing out the Kodak DX6490 at only $324.99. Went home, ead the reviews & came back the nest day & bought it (it's charging now). BTW the local Costco has 512mb SD cards on sale for $42.99 (with $10 instant rebate). Anyway the DX6490 is a 4MP point & shoot digicam, looks easy to operate, a little large (not a pocket camera) but I like my cameras to feel liike a camera not a thick credit card.
That's funny, but I recently made a very similar decision when buying a starter digital camera as well.
BTW, were the SD 256MB cards you got SanDisk ones by any chance? If so, you may notice that the rebate says that only one per name/address/household would be accepted
Actually, I almost screwed myself on that one. Newegg's website was screwed up and the "recommended accessory" memory card that they had for this camera was actually a Compact Flash card (not SD). The price of this was what I based my decision on. When I got the camera & cards, I realized that it was the wrong card.
When I went back to Newegg's site to set the return up, I found that they have a 15% restocking fee for returns. However, after making a call & explaining, the fee was waived with no problem at all. Luckily, I found that the SD memory cards were just as inexpensive as the CF cards. I bought a SanDisc 512Mg card for $49.
