Re: Digital camera choices

Posted by Chuck, WA on May 07, 2003 at 12:51:27 from (130.20.127.170):

In Reply to: Digital camera choices posted by Farmer in the Dells (WI) on May 07, 2003 at 08:24:01:

This is going to be fairly long because I think it might be helpful to others as well.

You've said all you really care about is that there is n LCD screen to view pictues without having to download to a computer to see your pictures. I honestly think you care about more than that! :) Does zoom matter? Does a flash matter? Does good battery life matter? Does it matter if you can store 50 pictures of reasonable quality, or only 2 or 3? What about reliability? There are so many things to consider that it's worth doing a little homework.

Things you might consider include:

(1) snapshots or "photgraphs" for whatever use (making your own greeting cards, to hang on the wall, etc.). It sounds like you aren't into photography as a hobby, but more interested in just snapshots - but it's important.

(2) are you likely to want to do anything with them on the computer other than just print them, or put them out on the web?

(3) cost - my philosophy with regard to computers is first decide how much you are willing to spend, then buy as much computer as you can afford - it will lsat longer before you think you need an upgrade. The same applies to digital cameras. With cameras, you won't be disappointed with your pictures when you compare them to others you see. We've all seen good and bad pictures on the web.

Two more comments with regard to posts of other folks who replied before I suggest what to do.

First, I'd personally steer clear of any camera that used floppies for storage. A few brands of computers are already coming without floppy drives because floppies as a storage medium are obsolete. Besides that, given the amount of storage taken up by images of even moderate resolution and image quality, you can get very few images on a floppy. FOr higher resolution, high quality images, in some cases, even one won't fit. Of course, floppy storage isn't available on cameras with very high resolution - for good reason.

Second, over 2 megapixels isn't just for bigger prints. Have ever looked at a photo and realized how nice it would be to just have that lower right corner, and not all of the rest of the stuff you've captured in the picture? Wouldn't that be a nice picture of Granny, if just the trashpile and garbage can wasn't over at the edge of the picture! If you had a digital image where you can go to the computer and crop the picture to just that quarter of the picture, then enlarge it to even snapshot size, would you? If you answer "yes," then more than 2 megapixels is probably important. If you have 2 megapixels and just use one quarter, suddenly it's only a 1/2 megapixel image, and blown up to snapshot size, it starts getting marginal in quality.

If you just want the snapshots as a record, like you would do with photographic snapshots, and wouldn't crop and enlarge, then having over 2 megapixels is not important.

Now for the answer...go to the following web address and do some reading:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/DIGCAM01.HTM

Don't be intimidated...it's easier than it seems - and worth the effort to have a warm fuzzy feeling about the fist-full of cash you're going to spend on it.

First, in the sidebar at the left, click on "Dave's Picks." On that page, again in the sidebar at the left, click on the category that best describes your needs - for example, "Family." On the "Family" page, Dave, the author, will list a group of cameras that he considers to be good in that category. He describes each, and at the top of each description, he gives links to "Review," "Specifications," "Test Images," User Comments," and "Price." The "Specifications" page is a good place for concise information - don't try to read it all, but skim it for things you recognize, like
"LCD Viewfinder" which will have a yes or no entry.

For example, in the "Families" group, 3 cameras down is the Canon PowerShot A40. His comments conclude with " A great all-around camera, great for novices or families." Notice, it is a 2 megapixel camera, has an LCD display, and has a street price of $258. They give list price and street price - we all know that you can always buy for less than the manufacturer's suggested retail price! That can all be found in the "Specifications" link along with lots of other info. You can also do a price check for places where you can buy and their going price - most of those will be online sales, so you might be a little wary - check them out before buying from them...there usually are some comments from people who have bought from them or a rating.

I'm not advocating that you need more than 2 megapixels, nor that you need to spend a gazillion bucks to be happy with your camera. My advice is to do a little homework. The Dave's Picks pages are very helpful at narrowing the range if you are able to put yourself into one of his categories. If in doubt, look over several of his categories that seem to fit and see what the differences are. You can probably find a good camera that fits your needs. It's worth a little effort.

Good luck...Chuck, WA

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