Digital Cameras

Adam_MA

Now I know this topic has come up before, but as with all technology change comes quickly. After seeing many pics on line, I know that my old Sony DSC1 is not cutting it any more. But hey, I got the camera for free during a promotion when I was working in an electronics store about 7 years ago.

So I was wondering what you use, what features you like, what features you wish you had, and any particularly good/bad experiences.

I would love to have a digital SLR camera, but $1000 is a bit steep.

Any and all feedback is appreciated

Thanks
Adam

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Bart Thomas(deceased)

Adam:

You didn't think I wouldn't have an opinion on this, would you?



I use a Nikon 995, and like it very much. Bought it from a dealer on eBay after the newer model came out.

I find that running one model behind the current one has nice economies. If you worked in a camera store, you know what bells and whistles you want.

Remember to save some $ for more memory (all those extra pixels really eat it up - doh!) and extra batteries (specially, if, like the Nikon, it uses a proprietary battery. (Got stung once by an off-brand battery. Never again!)

My first Nikon was a 950. It got broke when I fell on the Ice at the Montreal Botanic Garden. Could sell it broken and add the same money it cost to fix to buy the 995.

I like the design, as it's compact and easy to use. More capability than I will use (and I was a semi-pro photographer 100 years ago! The idiot mode is very very good!)

Good luck & Have fun.

Thomas_J.

Adam,
all the pictures I've posted for the last three years are from the Sony Cybershot 1.3 MP and I feel are very good for forum posting. I just recently bought the Fuji S5000 to upgrade in case I would like to print some of my pics. The reason I bought this particular model is for the tele photo capabilities. It uses the latest technology especially with the new XDcard for storing the pics. I can't say enough about the camera that wouldn't sound like a commercial, so here is a place to check out some comments on this one and maybe you can browse around at some of the other cameras while your there. Camera Site

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agraham

nikon 990......3.4 megapixels..............could probably pick one up for a couple of hundred(or less).....but it does a pretty good job

andy

DavidN

I've got a Canon ixusv3. Love it.

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TreeBay

For photographing bonsai, features you'd need

OPTICAL ZOOM - the exact range doesn't matter so much, the point is to be able to step back to six or ten feet and zoom in on the subject, which produces a much nicer perspective. Digital zoom is pretty worthless - it just crops the photo, which you could do in any image editing program

MANUAL EXPOSURE ADJUSTMENT
Manual exposure adjustment. When photographed against light backgrounds, bonsai take up a minority of the frame, perhaps 20 percent. Since the camera will make its exposure assuming that the entire scene is approximately grey, you'll come out underexposed by a minimum of 1.5 to two stops. This is why most bonsai show photos underexposed. Having a manual compensation to create an offset is very important if you don't want grey photos. (BTW, The opposite is true of black backgrounds.)

REMOVABLE STORAGE MEDIA. I don't much like those little tiny SMC cards, but compact flash or smartmedia is very handy. Cameras with no removable media are usually pretty cruddy anyway, because the reason they left out that feature was to save some money.

TRIPOD MOUNT SCREW Indoors at shows, I try not to use a flash unless I absolutely need it. If you take your photo with an onboard flash as your primary illumination, it flattens out the photo and makes it two-dimensional. Worst case is it throws a headlamp shadow on the background. So having a tripod lets you use a longer exposure to gather more light and often makes a strong flash unnecessary.

NiMH Batteries - No it's not the National Institute of Mental Health, it's Nickel Metal Hydride, available in AA Battery size and packs a lot more capacity than Alkaline or NiCd (Nickel - Cadmium) batteries. These are very inexpensive and you should be able to get them for under $10 for a high-capacity set of 4. Pick up a couple of sets. Chargers are available that can recharge these in one or two hours. Budget ones take overnight.

Some cameras use proprietary Lithium Ion (Li+) batteries that have some excellent characteristics like high capacity. small size, and long shelf life, but it may lock you into using only that battery type that is only available from one particular manufacturer. So AA is usually more versatile, albeit larger.

REMOTE FLASH SHOE - a nice-to-have that will enable you to connect a flash either right atop the camera or on a separate umbilical. This will provide you the option of getting more power for extended range or getting the flash off the camera and eliminating some of those nasty shadows

REMOTE SHUTTER RELEASE - Film cameras usually had cable releases that were actuated with a fingertip plunger. Some digitals have these, but more often it is an electrical cable or an infrared remote. These let you release the shutter remotely, allowing you to help eliminate camera shake (the blur induced by trying to hold the camera steady for extended periods as you jab the shutter with a finger) or you can put yourself right in the picture if you are doing a demonstration. Some even have Zoom features available on the remote.

Some warnings -

Photos eat up a huge amount of memory and disk space, so if you don't have a CD recorder, budget for that. If your computer is underpowered in memory or hard disk space, you may find an upgrade will be nipping at your heels.

Budget enough for a decent image editing program. I use http://www.jasc.com 's PaintShop Pro. Adobe has some entry level image editing stuff. Photoshop is great but it is not very user friendly. There are even some public domain programs like GIMP or the stuff that came with your camera.

Card reader. I have always used a card reader and never used those cables that come with the camera. Maybe if the camera had a USB2.0 connection or something it would be worthwhile, but the card readers are cheap, very fast, and they don't take over your computer


Hope this helps!

Regards,

Matt

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Camay123

I use a Kodak DX6340,

I have choosen this one because it was the only ~3 MP camera with an optical Zoom of 4x. All the other had none or a 3x optical zoom. I also liked the 1.8inch LCD screen compare to the ~1.5inch screen on some other model.

I was also looking at the Canon A70 because of the good review it had, but the features mentionned above and the price of the Kodak made me buy the Kodak.

For internet posting 1-2 MP camera is enough.

I bought my Kodak from www.tigerdirect.com, it was a refurbished model, 80$ cheaper then the new model but with the same one year warranty. With the extra 80$ I bought an additionnal 2 year replacement warranty from Tigerdirect.

As for memory card, this camera use the SD technology. I bougth a 256megs SD memory card, but I spent a few dollars more on the 32x ( fast speed ) model. The card can be written on faster then regular card. It's useful when filming with your digicam.

Hope this help
Patrick

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Jase1972

I use an Olympus C720 which I have had for about a year and it hasn't missed a beat while taking well over 5000 pics.

3.2 megapixels, 10x optical zoom, action, landscape and portrait modes, macro and more. It also has manual functionality for the control freaks out there.

Jase

D3rutat

i personally like canon a80. It;s about 300-400$

http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/a80/index.html

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