Digital Cameras

[Fartsauce 0]

I don't think there is a digital camera thread so I decided to start one. I was browsing around on EBAY and noticed that they are fairly cheap now. I've been seeing quite a few around the $100-120 range on the site. Admittingly, i'm not very knowledgable about them. I have a FUJIFILM 2.0 mp now and it sucks. I've been noticing that a lot of these camera's are 7 to 9 MP'S. What are the best brands? What should I look out for?

[k thx 0]

Depends what you want to do with them.

 

For example, I wanted a camera to take good videos at gigs and nights out, so I got a Sony, which seems to have better mics than other brands.

 

For me, megapixels aren't as important as picture quality, which has more to do with the light sensor I believe.

 

The best bet may be to either look at one that you like the look of on ebay, then search on Google for reviews or to do it the other way round (either look at photography review sites to see what they recommend or to look at something like Flickr, and ask people whos photos you want yours to look like use).

 

What are you after?

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

I don't know how much you actually know about cameras, so sorry if this is rudimentary. A lot of my customers are entirely new to digital photography, so the pointers I'll give you are going to be pretty similar to what I give them - from the ground up.

 

As mentioned, a lot of your search will be determined by what you plan to primarily take pictures of. Ask about scene modes (default settings built into the camera that adjust light or enhance colours), and shooting modes (like scene modes, but adjusts the shutter speed). Some of the better cameras on the market give you the option to customize aperture (how much light is allowed into the frame) and shutter speed, which is fun to play around with, but I've found by and large that the two modes are typically more than sufficient.

 

The two biggest factors that go into a camera's price are resolution and zoom. Resolution is measured in megapixels. There's a bit of a stigma that more megapixels = better, but that's not all true. There is merit to it, but if you're using something with more than say, five MP, it's only really noticable when really blowing up the picture, to a size say, 11 x 14 or 14 x 20. If you intend to do that, something with more megapixels might be something to consider.

With that being said, the way camera technology has improved over the last few years, especially from an everyday consumer standpoint, you're very unlikely to find any cameras with a resolution of smaller than four or five MP's.

 

I've found zoom to be a much more important feature, especially since the bulk of my pictures are of sporting events (again, something to consider with scene/shooting modes). Zoom comes in two forms (assuming you're not going to buy something with expandable lenses): optical, and digital. Optical will extend the lens towards your subject, digital will magnify the image on the LCD screen. Digital is nice to have, but fairly unncessesary if the camera has optical. Anything more than about 3 or 3.5x digital tends to make the prints really grainy or distorted, I've found. Mine has a 12x optical, which is ideal for me, as a lot of my pictures are of live sporting events. Even with say, pictures of my friends, or for my new job in which I have to photograph a lot of text and ad signs, the flexibility of 12x(very high end), is very nice to have. 3x optical is kind of the starting point.

 

As far as brands, Kodak is typically a more basic camera, but is certainly the most user friendly. The menu is laid out really nicely, the shooting/scene modes are explained in easy-to-understand terms. On the con side, assuming we're sticking with major brands, they're probably the least well-put together. That's not to say the workmanship is poor, but, the ratio a guy I work with and I made was for every 100 Kodaks sold, probably four or five come back defective, as opposed to say, one or two Canons or Sonys.

 

If you can find a Nikon, they're generally regarded as best all-around, both in features and quality. I'm also very partial to Canon, but what these two make up for in features, they lack in user-friendliness, generally speaking.

 

Two things I recommend with the purchase of a digital: more memory and rechargable batteries. You've probably found that out, having owned a digital already. Out of the box, you'll generally get the camera itself, software and cables, a little memory (typically internal as opposed to a card), and some alkaline batteries.

 

There's a few schools of thought on batteries. (This is going to refer to AA batteries) There's lithium, which are the longest lasting, but not rechargable. There's Nickle-Metal-Hydride, which aren't as long lasting, and are a little more expensive, but still last a good while, and are probably the more cost-effective route.

 

A third option of battery is Lithium-ion, which could be compared to the battery of an Ipod - long lasting, specifically designed for the product in question, and rechargable via USB. I still opt for the NiMH, on the grounds that most charging kits come with two sets of AA(and more are easy to purchase if need be), so I can sort of have a back-up set of batteries charged and ready to go, just in case. The example I often make is when I went to a golf tournament about a year ago. I charged the AA the night before when I went to bed, and after about eight hours and close to 100 pics at the golf course the following day, the batteries still had about a half-charge left.

 

 

 

Kudos if you read all that. Again, if you've have some experience, this wasn't meant to be condescending, but good luck with your purchase.

[k thx 0]

Going to a camera specialist may well be the best option, then just buying what they recommend on the net for half the price.

[Fartsauce 0]

Thanks for that writeup CC. I'll definetly be looking over that. Just to go in further detail, my use will be mainly for pictures and the occasional video use. Looking for something that will be good to take in light areas and dark areas. Thanks for the help.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

No problem.

 

As far as what you were specifically looking for, easy as pie. Even some of the mid-range cameras have plenty of scene modes for say, fireworks, or general night shots. Plenty of them have face detection, and almost all of them have a flash of some kind, as well as a video feature. Typically, you don't get more than two or three minute clips, and they do eat up a fair amount of memory, but it's still a nice feature to have.

[Guest georgia003]

I usually hear Canon is a good brand to go. I just got my new Canon A560, here is some specs and reviews

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0702/07022201...sa560a570is.asp

I got it just for a few weeks, but it's really a great camera, easy to use, very light and compact. This camera does have a Manual setting that allows customized white balance, metering, color options, and exposure compensation. You can try the deal I used, it seems drop a lot

http://www.dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?deal_id=56990

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

I usually hear Canon is a good brand to go. I just got my new Canon A560, here is some specs and reviews

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0702/07022201...sa560a570is.asp

I got it just for a few weeks, but it's really a great camera, easy to use, very light and compact. This camera does have a Manual setting that allows customized white balance, metering, color options, and exposure compensation. You can try the deal I used, it seems drop a lot

http://www.dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?deal_id=56990

 

I adore my Canon P3 IS. It's not the most user-friendly, but if you've had, at least, some experience with digicams, there's nothing that will really leave you baffled. As for the manual settings, I think I eluded to this in my initial write-up; they're fun to play around with, but ultimately, there's enough versatility in the scene and shooting modes to have you covered.

[Darthtiki 0]

So, I'm looking to get a smaller sized camera since my Sony Cybershot F-717 seems to be considered professional when I take it to some events, not to mention it's 6 years old and was wondering if I should stick with Sony or go for another brand.

[Ripper 0]

So, I'm looking to get a smaller sized camera since my Sony Cybershot F-717 seems to be considered professional when I take it to some events, not to mention it's 6 years old and was wondering if I should stick with Sony or go for another brand.

 

If you are looking to move that Sony Cybershot F-717 let me know.

[Darthtiki 0]

Ripper, I still use it for other things but I'll think about it.

[Red Baron 0]

Avoid HP and Samsung digital cameras. HP couldn't make a camera to save its life and most Samsungs flashes go out within a year or so.

 

As CG said, its all about zoom and quality of picture. A higher quality camera (8 MegaPixles and above) tend to be good still photo shots, but will take up more storage on the memory card.

 

Try to avoid having a Lithium-Ion battery camera. Once the battery is toast, you might as well just buy yourself a new camera.

 

As far as brands, I'd go with this:

 

 

Canon/Nikon*

Sony

Fujifilm

Kodak

Olympus

Samsung

HP

 

Depending if you get an SLR, Nikon all the way, followed by Canon and Olympus.

 

Watch out for Sony. They like to be different with there memory cards, just make sure you buy the right one.

[Ripper 0]

Olympus's older D-SLR's are awesome though. Nikon will win because of the fact you can go and get cheap nikkor lenses pretty much anywhere. Canon can kiss my ass(yes their top of the line camera kicks ass, but I can't afford it so they can ass kiss).

[cd213 0]

This is review for the camera that I have, the Olympus FE-230. I love it.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

I have a Canon Powershot and it has given me very few problems.

[MrRant 0]

I have a Canon SD630. Good camera.

[tominator89 0]

I have a Sony Cybershot DSC-S650 and it sucks.

[Cartman 0]

Just got a Cannon PowerShot SD1000. NO complaints at all. The PQ is phenominal and it's very small.