As for a camera you didn't mention your budget but I recommend [ invalid url ]
If you want I can show you pictures I have taken with the same model, but almost all of mine are macros... (most vacation pictures are not macros).
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| Porn Scout Deactivated User 3735 Posts 10/02 |  Posted - Aug 24 2008 : 7:16PMI need to buy a digital camera (point and shoot, not an SLR) for an upcoming trip as well as general use. I'm looking at about 2 million different ones on Amazon. What features should I look for? If I see a bargain, what are the important features that might be missing? [Link] |
| conquistador Deactivated User Hellhamster. 2947 Posts 10/03 | Posted - Aug 24 2008 : 7:27PM As for a camera you didn't mention your budget but I recommend [ invalid url ] If you want I can show you pictures I have taken with the same model, but almost all of mine are macros... (most vacation pictures are not macros). [Link] |
| RandomPrecision Senior Member Enjoy! 8175 Posts 3/06 | Posted - Aug 24 2008 : 9:23PM It would be ideal if you could take a bunch of them, take pictures with them and see if you like the results. Since I'm not aware of any retailer that allows you to do that, I don't know. It's a guessing game. If you're not picky, it shouldn't be too hard to just read some reviews and pick one that has generally favorable ones. If you're very picky, you're more likely to be dissatisfied than not. P&S cameras are aimed more at people who want a bunch of features in an easy to use camera. These cameras are more likely to make most of the critical decisions for you but this isn't necessarily good. In general, look for one that has as many manual controls as possible. You may not ever use them but at least they'll be there if you ever want to. Every camera you'll be looking at will have a full auto mode that you can use if you're not interested in manual controls. Also, there are not many digital P&S cameras that can take even halfway decent pictures indoors (under typical indoor lighting conditions) without the flash. For that matter, there may not be any that can. This matters because the flash on most of these cameras is small, very harsh and (obviously) you can't place it where you want to get a more pleasing effect. Edited by - randomprecision on 8/24/2008 9:34:54 PM [Link] |
jayo  All-Star Member 2117 Posts 7/04 | Posted - Aug 24 2008 : 11:04PM Look for OPTICAL zoom ranges, not just overall. There's optical zoom (what you get from the lens) and digital zoom, which is where the computer simply blows up the image and tries to fill in the holes logically. Digital zoom is iffy and many people turn it off and leave it off. If company A says they have the equivalent of a 1x-4 hex zoom, that might be a combination of optical and digital zoom. The optical part might only be 2 hex but they double it again digitally. Company B might have a 3 hex OPTICAL zoom, which is less than 4 hex but it's optical and the quality is better. If you can get specs, look at lag times on the shutter. Nothing I loathed more about my P&S cameras than pressing the shutter and then having to go out and get a cup of coffee before it actually fired. Better cameras have shorter lag times. Look at the size of the LCD screen. A bigger LCD is easier to look than a smaller one, especially if you're doing camera settings. Consider an optical viewfinder. The batteries last longer because you can compose with the optical viewfinder and leave the LCD turned off. LCDs are great but they eat battery power. Don't put too much emphasis on megapixels or max resolution. Max resolution really matters if you print. If you're going to be mostly looking at things on the computer, you'll likely be resizing them down anyway. Look at how to get the images OFF the camera and onto your computer. USB is standard but slow. Firewire is faster but you need firewire support on your computer. Wireless means you don't have to be tethered to the computer. Look at the expected number of shots you get from the battery(s), because the lower the number, the more often you'll have to recharge. Also might look at how much it costs to buy extras. Consider whether you want accessories or not. Most low-level P&Ss offer no accessories. Mid and upper tier ones do (like supplimental lenses for wide or tele, adapters to use filters, etc.) Up to you whether any of that is important to you. Whatever you do, do whatever it takes and DON'T DROP IT. I know people who have P&S cameras that took a gazillion pictures and never failed. I also know people who've gone through many; and almost invariably the ones that died all got dropped. It almost always costs more to repair a P&S than it does to buy a new one. [Link] |
| the unknown pervert Deactivated User I'd like to stay but I've got a plane to catch. 3243 Posts 5/06 | Posted - Aug 25 2008 : 12:06AM [Link] |
| RandomPrecision Senior Member Enjoy! 8175 Posts 3/06 | Posted - Aug 25 2008 : 12:32AM BTW. This is an example of the kind of features you might want to look for. I have no experience with this camera. Edited by - randomprecision on 8/25/2008 12:39:40 AM [Link] |
| Leyden Senior Member The people have spoken. I'm a nitpicking dick. Woo! 8774 Posts 1/04 | Posted - Aug 25 2008 : 3:28AM Link [Link] |
| LubeNLuv Senior Member 1854 Posts 3/06 | Posted - Aug 25 2008 : 9:36AM The three things I've found that have been of most use to me in everyday family/vacation/event photo-taking opportunities: 1) Optical zoom...read Jayo's comment above. Don't underestimate optical versus digital. And don't fall for the 2X or 3X ratings as they are based on the native focal length of the lens. Optics are important here also....Canon and Sony often sell cheaper cameras but you can get some models with decent optics. However, optical zoom is also a factor to consider with size of the camera. The smaller the camera body the more difficult it is to use larger zoom without shaking, particularly in low-light scenarios. Bigger camera bodies do better with higher-zoom optics IMHO. 2) Low-light optics. Almost any camera can take decent pictures outside in sunlight. But most cameras outright suck in low-light. Either the flash washes everything out or the CCD is of such low quality that indoor shots look like crap. This is hard to determine in the store as most stores have very good lighting favorable for showing off camera shots. Cup your hand over the lens when firing, or point directly from a dark spot in store to a bright light and see how quickly the camera compensates. But frankly, if you are going to make this a general-use camera, expect to be shooting indoors a lot. Keep in mind again that the smaller cameras will have flash optics that are basically useless beyond 6 feet from your subject source. 3) Features should be your last selection. Digicam features are cheap to include and so many makers will scrimp on optics (the important components) and give you all kinds of useless features. For me, the only important feature you should seek is fast-save, the equivalent of "shutter speed" on a digicam. Along with this goes continuous-shot mode, sometimes called "scene" mode. In days past, I can't tell you the number of cool shots I've missed waiting for my camera to come to life, or once I had it "ready to shoot" waiting for my camera to write the last shot to the memory card and get ready for the next. I've actually found Canon to have a very good continuous shot mode. These days, I carry a Powershot 870 with me almost everywhere, or a SLR model (Rebel) with a very good telephoto lense. Both of these are consumer-grade and both are in the sub $400 range. But don't let features trump optics....that's your bread and butter for a camera. Good luck, lots to choose from out there! [Link] |
| Loraine Senior Member 1559 Posts 3/04 | Posted - Aug 25 2008 : 9:48AM [Link] |
| Zoid Senior Member Boobies and Anal 2004 Posts 5/04 | Posted - Aug 25 2008 : 10:04AM [Link] |
| conquistador Deactivated User Hellhamster. 2947 Posts 10/03 | Posted - Aug 25 2008 : 7:08PM [Link] |
| licker Senior Member Heretic, Iconoclast, Skeptic 1141 Posts 8/03 | Posted - Aug 26 2008 : 12:30AM There is a good online review site for cameras at http://www.dpreview.com/ [Link] |
| Porn Scout Deactivated User 3735 Posts 10/02 | Posted - Aug 26 2008 : 3:43AM [Link] |
| RandomPrecision Senior Member Enjoy! 8175 Posts 3/06 | Posted - Aug 26 2008 : 10:39AM Some cameras just have crappy image sensors (or lenses). It doesn't matter what settings you use. The images always look like shit in one way or another. Digital cameras are great for convenience but they've got a long ways to go before you can just buy a cheap one and expect to get good pictures. Of course, it's pretty much always been that way with cameras. Also for the OP - I don't know what kinds of storage media are being offered now but watch out for that too. When I bought my Olympus camera a few years ago, I paid no attention to the fact that it used SmartMedia cards. I probably wouldn't have bought it if I'd done my research. Now, SmartMedia is obsolete. I have an 8MB card and a 32MB card and that's it. I can't buy them anywhere unless I order them from a couple of places online that still offer them. I think many cameras now have built in memory but I doubt it holds more than a couple of full resolution pictures. Edited by - randomprecision on 8/26/2008 10:52:51 AM [Link] |
| Janitor Retired Porno movies, sexy videos, xxx. Adult DVD Talk at your service. 6409 Posts 11/99 | Posted - Aug 26 2008 : 11:27AM [Link] |
| conquistador Deactivated User Hellhamster. 2947 Posts 10/03 | Posted - Aug 26 2008 : 1:46PM [Link] |
| Ryan_ Member 124 Posts 9/08 | Posted - Sep 1 2008 : 1:42AM And get a Canon. haha [Link] |
| Porn Scout Deactivated User 3735 Posts 10/02 | Posted - Sep 10 2008 : 4:08AM [Link] |
| LubeNLuv Senior Member 1854 Posts 3/06 | Posted - Sep 10 2008 : 8:11AM [Link] |
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