Digital Camera

[James Giordano]

Looking to purchase a digital camera. Don't know anything about them.I don't need the best one ever made but I don't want junk either.
Could anyone enlighten me as to what features to look for. i.e. megapixels. The more the better right, but what is the standard? I see alot of 4& 5 megapixel cameras for a reasonable price.

[Peter Stahl]

You missed a big sale at Wally Mart Friday. They had a Kodak 5 meg pix with docking station for only $200. See Boyd's post in this OT section. Buy the one with the features and the most megapixels you can afford. I bought my Canon 5 megapixel camera because I plan to upgrade to a Digital EOS some day and I'll be able to use the same memory cards. Plus I like Canon stuff. You might want to ask friends or relatives what they have and maybe they would even let you try it.

Pete

[Michael Perata]

Jim

Your pocket book is the determinate here. I just bought a Nikon D70 and its nowhere near the top of the price range.

What is your price range. Do you want lens interchangeability. Do you want a SLR or a view panel. Yes, more pixels are better, usually, but do you need 4 or 10 megs of pixels.

[Boyd Gathwright]

…. James, for what you get for your money, as Peter said, it’s a shame you missed the sale on Friday. The value is there, not only for the camera but also the memory chip as well. Since Wal-Mart didn’t do as well on Black Friday as expected perhaps you could work a deal, even if it costs you a little more, I think you will still be ahead for what you get in return. I’ve included the thread to this original posting below:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=14125

Good luck and I hope you’re successful .

Boyd


.

Looking to purchase a digital camera. Don't know anything about them.I don't need the best one ever made but I don't want junk either.
Could anyone enlighten me as to what features to look for. i.e. megapixels. The more the better right, but what is the standard? I see alot of 4& 5 megapixel cameras for a reasonable price.

[QUOTE=You missed a big sale at Wally Mart Friday. They had a Kodak 5 meg pix with docking station for only $200. See Boyd's post in this OT section. Buy the one with the features and the most megapixels you can afford. I bought my Canon 5 megapixel camera because I plan to upgrade to a Digital EOS some day and I'll be able to use the same memory cards. Plus I like Canon stuff. You might want to ask friends or relatives what they have and maybe they would even let you try it.

Pete [/QUOTE]

[James Giordano]

Thanks for the replies guys

Boyd,I did see the thread about the Wal-mart sale but I didn't see the camera at the local Wal-Mart. There were others in the same price range but 4 megapixels.

Michael, I'm thinking around $200, the cheaper the better. I don't think I need to change the lenses but I would like a view panel. 4-10 MP? is that the range?
I guess 5 isn't too very good then.

Peter, How does your 5 MP work for you? I don't have any friends or family to borrow a camera from as most people can't stand the sight of me.

I'm really just looking for a camera to take pictures of stuff I make. Just pictures in general. Not trying to win any prizes here I just want to be able to take pictures that aren't all fuzzy.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

James......Anything above 4 megapixel is considered pretty good. It depends what you plan on doing with the images.

For explanation's sake, look at the pixel numbers as the number squares say on a grid. Imagine you're going to draw a picture by connnecting the dots placed at the intersection of the grid lines. The more lines in the grid for a given physical size....say 8"x10" the closer together the lines and therefore the dots will be when you tried to draw a curve. Thus the curve would be less "blocky" on a higher line rate grid. The same thing is basically true for image pixel size on a digital camera. The higher pixel size means you can take a digital image and you could enlarge it to a given size with less distortion (blockiness) than an image taken with the same camera at a lower pixel size.

[Rob Russell]

I have a Toshiba 2 meg camera I bought a few years ago. After using it on our recent trip to Australia, I can say that it does well and can take good pictures, but there are some things that are a real pain about it.

• Startup Time - as the card filled up, it took almost 15 seconds for the camera to turn on and be ready to shoot. I lost some really nice picture opportunities that way.
• Shutter Lag - close to a second. Trying to take a picture of a dolphin in midair at Seaworld, I finally got one by hitting the shutter release as soon as the dolphin's nose came out of the water. The picture shows the animal mid-air, already flipped and getting ready to head back to the water.
• LCD - unless the LCD is really bright (cheaper cameras aren't as bright), you can't see the LCD outside and need to use the viewfinder.
• Indoor candids - it's not really quick enough to get great candids at family events.

I'd look at the cameras you're considering with the above thoughts in mind.

The camera is fine for things that don't move (like mountains), when lighting isn't a real issue or pictures of workshops and machines where time really isn't an issue.

My brother has either a Coolpix or Finepix (Nikon/Fuji) and includes 30 frame per second video clip capability. He has found that they use that a lot. Going from still pix to short vid clips means you add expression and sound. Still takes great pix too.

Rob

[Erin Stringer]

Hi James,

I have a Minolta 3mp camera that has taken some fantastic shots. I have even had one blown up to 18x24 and there is no graininess at all. If you can afford a 4 or 5 mp camera go for it but a 3mp is going to do very well for casual use. One of the tricks I have found is to use a real photo lab to get the pics printed. I can take my memory card to the store and get only the pics I choose printed for $0.29 each. Good luck with the search.

Erin (who has been putting off the "introduction" post for way too long)

[Rob Russell]

Erin,

Welcome to the Creek! Don't be a stranger.
You know, of course, that with a digital camera, the picture police will be after you for pics of anything you claim to acquire or make!

Rob

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Welcome to the 'Creek Erin! Wade right in.....the water's fine......take and leave info as you deem necessary! Again....Welcome!