Alright so I'm looking at digital cameras, however, I know absolutely zip about the things. I'm not looking for a professional-quality, $1000+ camera, more something to take snapshots of, and the occasional 'nice' pictures. Any suggestions on brands, and what to look for? And advice appreciated
Canon is always good. WalMart has the cheapest prices that I've seen. ($300-450 range). I have a Kodak EasyShareCX7430. I got it because they didn't have any Canons available when I first went and I really wanted a camera for that weekend but I really like it and haven't had any problems with it yet.
The GF got me a Sony CyberShot DSC-P73. Great camara. takes real nice pics, and quality vids w/ sound. I think it was around $399 or so on sale.
PUN i baught the same one back in May of this year, and i absolutely love it. A few of my familly members all have Canon Powershots, Check em out good cameras.
ive got the pentax 33lf, love it, especially the flip display, little added protection....got it at blacks for 280 with taxes in.
I have the A60, great camera. Wish it was a bit smaller and easier on batteries but wicked camera. Staples had em on for $199, made me gag when I saw that. Paid much more for mine, but was just released when bought.
Anyone heard anything about these? Sony DSCP100, retails around $500, 5 megapixels (not that I know what that means but it sounds relevant) and it says up to 360 shots on one battery.
The megapixel size dictates print size. If you figure that you'll only ever print 8x10's, then a 3mp camera is all that you'd ever need for snapshots, etc. Granted, yes, you can print a 3mp photo much larger. However, don't expect anything particularly sharp at that resolution. The Canon series of A70-A80 are highly rated. I don't know about the Sony point & shoots. Keep in mind that the majority of the Sony cams require the use of Sony's memory stick which is much more expensive than compact flash cards.
Here's the problem with the current batch of 7-8mp cameras.... The DSC-P150 that Pat mentions uses a sensor that measures 7.18 x 5.32 mm. Ok, so you're saying so what... Well, let's go back to Sony's DSC-F717 (now discontinued) it's sensor measures 8.80 x 6.60 mm & was a 5mp camera. So what's the problem? Well when you take a smaller chip than what was in the 717 & jam an extra 2mp into a smaller size sensor you get noise, lots of it. Think of it as always using high iso film, it'll almost always be grainy... Especially under low light or indoors. It's not just Sony's cameras either, all of the manufacturers are doing the same thing, playing on the consumers hunger for increased mp ratings by jamming 2-3 million pixels extra onto the same size sensor that was used in previous 5mp models.... So, my advice to Vero.... Get a 3mp point & shoot.
So that went wayy over my head... but getting the 7mp isn't gonna be an issue anyway because that's way too much money, I'm asking for it as a christmas present and the 7 is about $200 more (plus I don't need to make pics that big) so would the 5 be worth the extra money as opposed to the 3 if I want to take some nice pics to make bigger than 5X8?
A 3mp camera will give you very nice 8x10 photos. Any larger is pushing the resolution beyond good print quality. Anyway, if you don't see yourself doing many prints with it, I'd say a 3mp cam would do just fine for your needs.
size matters.. go small.. don't worry about res .. anything over 2 will be fine. syou should be able to get one for 200-300
check out the pentax 33lf..seriously....3.2mp..3x regular, 3x digital zoom, just a real good put in yer pocket / bag camera, no worries....takes nice pics....lots of options...control....
The mega pixel race is just a gimmick.... This isn't the case for Digital SLR cameras. The Canon digital rebel for example uses a cmos sensor measuring 22.7 x 15.1 mm & is 6.3mp. See the difference? The pixel per mm count is much lower, that equals less noise. But, you pay for it obviously.
ya ...big time, especially on anything other than the best res setting.... anytips for pictures of stars Shaun???
What do you think about the Nikon D70 and the Leica Digilux 2? I am thinking about getting a higher-grade camera and keeping my DSC-P9 for personal/point-shoot use.
I'm not terribly familiar with the Leica. Obviously Leica is a big name & you'll know that when you get the bill for it.... I think the general concencus on the Digilux is that it is good, but not that good. The cost isn't justified. Just checked, the Leica uses a sensor measuring 8.80 x 6.60 mm. It uses a fixed lens, which is quite a disadvantage compared to Nikon or Canon's digital SLRs which can be used with a broad range of lenses. Get yourself a D70 or a Digital Rebel. You'll be happy, end of story.
Tripod, manual SLR camera loaded with iso100-200 film, cable release, fast 28-50mm lens of F2-F3.5. This is the recommended setup for star trail photography, like these: Basic constellation shots can be done with digital, but it requires a lot of patience & some fairly heavy processing after the fact to remove noise. This one in particular was a composite of four frames shot at 16s @ F2.8, iso100, 35mm. The four images are shot back to back, then combined to minimize noise. Most of the point & shoot cameras out there have a limit of 8-16 second shutter speed, in some cases that's just not enough.
thats awesome!!! apparently i need to upgrade....like to get together some day and shoot some shit....(no pun intended)
I just checked with Carsand Mosher in Truro, they have a few used digital cameras right now: #1- Nikon Coolpix 2200 (2MP/3X optical zoom) $175.00 #2- Nikon Coolpix SQ (3MP/3X optical zoom) $299.00 #3- Nikon Coolpix 5400 (5MP/28-100 zoom) $450.00 #4- Nikon Coolpix 5700 (with some accessories) $699.00 I believe they give you a 90 day warranty on the used gear.
Never buy a vivitar. What trash, 4 mega pix but the slowest processor so if you don't have a tripod your going to have blurry pics
