Digital camera
 

The challenged one is interested in a digital camera and whatever else I need to post pictures. I need something idiot proof for obvious reasons :tsk: but something that will take pretty good pictures. Any suggestions. What do I need other than the camera itself?

i have the cannon powershot & LOVE IT!! not only does it take great pictures, it's also small enough to carry in a purse. ;)

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1118844389765

You in front of it! :rofl: :rofl:

I use a Fuji FinePix E550 and I think its great for what I do...no Mickey style action over my way ;)

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/E550/E55A.HTM

any of the canon powershots that are in your budget.

:iagree: I got to use SG's Canon while we were sightseeing here in DC- it kicks the ass of my CyberShot DSC-T1.

JV

ya ya
 

:iagree:

COOLPIX S6 - brilliance made beautiful
 

COOLPIX S6- brilliance made beautiful

http://www.nikonusa.com/template.php...roductNr=25547

re-post
 

I, too, give "mad props" to the Canon SD550.

:iagree:

In hindsight, I mighta bought the Canon SD550 in lieu of the
Minolta Maxxum 5D Digi SLR, the Canon is that good and flexible,imo.

Canon has titz software, "Zoom Browser", that comes with it:
even I could load the software, and use it constantly to download
pics from cam to 'puter, store them, file them, etc. And, I am only
slightly less challengened than you are, L.

You only need to buy a couple of 512 or 1 Gig memory cards to use
in place of the mini-memory card they supply, and maybe a second
batt. as, they tend to lose some of their "bounce back" over time.

My Qtr's up.
GL,mD

budget?

i just got my hybrid camcorder/digital still camera... the sanyo vpc-hd1. takes great video (HD quality), great still pics (5.1 megapixel) and you can do both at the same time (shoot a video and take pics at the same time). and it stores it on a sd card that is ready for upload right away.

cost 580ish + 100 for a 4gb 150x sd card (gives you 2000+ pics or 58mins of hd video... you can get more pics/longer vid time with lesser quality)

I don't need a video camera - I'd be dangerous :rofl: Just something simple to operate that will take good pictures. Sounds like the everyone likes the Cannon.

I'm scaring myself, what's next, an IPOD? What will I do with all those 8 tracks and cube flashes?

Just thought I would mention this, but if all you intend to do is post pictures and/or view them on your computer, there is no need for an expensive digital camera. Even a 2 megapixel camera would be good enough quality. On a computer screen, you cannot tell the difference, and anything larger than 2 megapixel would have to be resized as it would be too large anyway. If you intend to print these pictures, then that is another story. So you may want to save your money and get something cheaper.

Not necessarily so. My 7.1MP SD550 has a 640x480 size option, that never requires resizing ;)

Here are four examples of pics from my SD550, that did not need resizing:

http://www.gregoryf.com/Balloons%20(11)
http://www.gregoryf.com/MacroPurple1
http://www.gregoryf.com/MacroPurple2
http://www.gregoryf.com/MacroVivid

Wow Laura...going to take the plung aye?

ROFLMAO:rofl:

No resizing, I'm sold. That's idiot proof enough for me.

I have a Sony T7 but recently got the Canon SD630. SD630 is a new release and has a wider screen than the SD550. The price difference is very little. And the pics are great. Thanks to SG for tips. :thumbup:
SD630 review
Steve's Digicam review of SD630

Laura - Steve's digicam review (see link from LemansX5) is a good info source. The site is run by a retired gentleman (I was going to say old geezer) who apparently has a fetish for digital cameras, but damn it, his reviews as detailed as anything you'll find on the net.

If you are looking to take pictures whenever photo opportunities come up, then get a small point and shoot with as many convenience features as possible. If you want to become a paparazzi, then you might need something more heavy duty. Seems to me that you want photography to be a fun hobby as opposed to being a science as it is to some of us hardnose, hardcore technogeeks.

Get something small and light like the Sony T7 and Canon SD630 that LemansX5 suggests. You can carry it in a purse, backpack, or a pocket.

Spend the money and go for a higher pixel count - 4MP to 6MP. 8MP is probably over the top for a point and shoot camera.

Get a camera with a zoom lens - do not get a fixed focal length. You can use the zoom to get close to a subject as opposed to moving your feet with a fixed lens.

Get a camera that has a built in lithium ion battery and comes with a charging cradle so you can charge it like a cellphone.

Read the reviews - the most important thing is to find a camera that gives good detail, especially at the picture corners (very difficult for compact digital cameras with small diameter lens) and renders color accurately.

I think LemansX5 has you on the right track with his two recommendations.

The only problem with powershots is that all of the pictures are EXTREMELY over sharpened, over color saturated and have an extremely deep dof. But that's true of 99% of point and shoot cameras. Someone who has one of the new powershots can probably say whether the firmware allows the user to tone down all of those parameters or not...

Any other DiVx Ceritified Camera?
 

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_...optio_a10.html
I like the idea of being able to shoot longer video on digi-cam.
I hate taking both camcorder and camera on my mini trips.

Recently bought a Sony DSCW100 which is great: no shutter lag, long battery life, and small enough to carry in jeans pocket :thumbup:
You can get a W70, which has slightly lower resolution, but has more optional accessories like docking station and extra tele and macro lenses.
And it's cheaper than a Canon (in my neck of the woods anyways...)

Update please, did you buy one??

Who me? Not yet. You'll know when I do. All my useless posts with then be accompanied by pics. ;)

Wide Angle Poit and Shoot
 

If you want a wide angle point and shoot Kodak V570

With an average price of ~$350.00 for a 5MP, it's WAY overpriced. Not to mention the fact that Kodak's easy share system blows IMO. You can get A LOT more camera with the Canons for the price.

:iagree: 100%

subliminal finger
 

that is one rude flower:thebird:

I have the Canon SD550 and the Kodak. Both good cameras , the Kodak extra wide lens is a important feature to me. The Canon software is maybe a little bit better but they don't offer a Ultra wide lens. The Kodak is thiner and actually is easyer to carry. I got the SD550 for xmas and the LCD screen failed. Canon just fixed for free. The placement of the LCD screen on the Canon is such that it offers no protection. The Canon offers 7 Mega Pixs vs the Kodak at 5. Not sure that you really can see the difference.

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/ko...ew/index.shtml

either that or an excited one :confused:

The wide angled lens is nice, but there are also tradeoffs to keep in mind. The tele lens is not continuous, and their docking station is one that bothers me. You want to view a slideshow, you need to put it in the dock etc... I think your SD550 is a much better camera overall. Just my 2¢

The V570 includes the snazzy Photo Frame 2 camera dock, which can be used for several things, including charging the battery, transferring photos to your computer, or viewing them on a television. In fact, unless you can hunt down a mysterious adapter shown in the manual, this is the only way you can transfer photos or view them on a TV

The camera can also display a slideshow on its LCD while it's on the dock.

it's not a continuous zoom like on most other cameras. When you zoom in, you start at 23 mm, then suddenly jump to 39 mm -- there's nothing in between

no viewfinder other than the lcd screen

The V570 is a 100% point-and-shoot camera, with no real manual control

The two areas in terms of performance where the V570 falls short are low light focusing (not great) and battery life (poor)

I think that the wide angle lens makes up for the lack of 7MP. Both are point and shoot though you might have a little more control with the Canon.

The dock is a plus and the fact that you can charge battery in the camera is better than the Canon.

When taking pictures before my daughters prom and a lot of people liked the wide angle lens. I never use the view finder, do you?

I think the Canon maybe a better camera but for a newbie user the Kodak is easier. The wide angle lens is what makes it different and out weighs the other issues. The thin shape is a real plus. Really you can’t go wrong with the Canon or the Kodak.


The items of weakness you mentioned I have not seen. Yes you do not have continuous zoom but that is due to the second wide angle zooming. If use the main lens, you have continuous zoom. The battery life has been fine.

At the moment I think Kodak has the edge due to the wide angle lens. Maybe Canon will come with a similar camera but for now it nice to see a US Company making a cutting edge product.

If I was going to buy a digital SLR it would probably be a Canon but I can’t really justify buying a SLR when these point and shoots do so well. Do any of the member have a digital SLR?

Nice photo's

It looks like the meet was fun, wish I could of made it.

Look like the wide lens of the V570 would of been helpful.

Is an optical viewfinder necessary?
 

CNET reviewer says when it is dark or too bright it is, but unless you are using manual setting you won't be able to the get the pictures in this case?
Any opinions?

I did love the bight 3" LCD screen of a pantax model. Yes no optical veiwfinder. I love the fact some camera records in DiVx format since it will record longer and maybe play my favorite DiVx movies.

I spend 1G on the first Sony Cybershot model five years ago which is now useless. I lookeed at many digical cameras at CircuitCity Monday, and I love the Pentax best.

Oh, I HATE the EasyShare software, it monopolizes file association and resources very slow and got large footprint, virtually I cannot do much when it is installed.

As someone mentioned earlier Pixel Capacities are way overrated. those 8 meg pixel pictures you cannot even see the whole picture in the top of the line monitors, unless you are printing life-size pictures what's the point?

There's some facy picture stablization hardware out there... Can someone tell me what really works?

I agree, my BIGGEST complaint of any kodak camera is their software. It is absolutely HORRIBLE, and a HUGE memory HOG. I'm pretty good on a computer, and when taking pics with my brothers Kodak, for the life of me I couldn't even figure out how to download and save my images.

Newbies are fine with the Canon so long as they stick to the full auto mode. When they are ready they can then move to manual mode etc...That Kodak just has too many tradeoffs to get that wide angle lens. In addition, the low light capabilities of the Kodak are HORRIBLE.

Easyshare, it down loads pictures easy however it did want to claim every jpeg had to go back in and change the file assoiation.

The review I attached seemed to like the software?

I have several Canon and Kodak cameras. I never use the camera to download pictures. Get a $12 USB memory card reader and skip the software headaches. Saves on camera battery life too.

Yup, I actually use a card reader for my SD550. Very quick and easy.

Sounds like the way to go, any suggetions, Greg you always seem to find greate deals.

This is the one I have and it works perfectly LINK

I've been lurking on this one 'cause we're also shopping. Have it narrowed down to the Canon SD600 because you have the option of using the viewfinder to extend battery life to 600 shots, and while it has 1G vs 2G memory for the SD630 (which has no viewfinder option), the Ezonics card reader takes care of this issue.

I also like the optional waterproof case that is available for this line of cameras.

Since I'm a bit of a camera nut (meaning I spend WAY too much money on camera gear...and just gave a couple of seminars on how to choose the right digital camera), I'll throw in my $0.02 on this topic. From what I've seen in this thread, we're talking primarily about point & shoot cameras, not DSLR's (which can take better photos, but are a bit unwieldy for casual snapshots). Although I'm a Canon guy when it comes to DSLR's (I have three), I do not think you need to go with Canon for P&S's.

I've had three Canon Digital Elphs (including the SD550), and three Nikon Coolpix models. They were all great cameras, with their own pros and cons. However, I've ended up now using a Lumix (made by Panasonic - see http://panasonic.co.jp/pavc/global/lumix/) FX01. The primary reason I chose Lumix is for Image Stabilization. Simply stated, you're going to get more clear, in focus (non-blurry) photos with IS than without, and Lumix has done a great job of incorporating IS in their cameras. Some of them (e.g., the FX series) also have extremely wide angle lenses, and some have other cool features. But IS is the MAIN attraction. Once you've had it in a camera (or lens, if you have a DSLR), you won't want to be without it!

A few other points:
- Don't get carried away with "pixel envy" - you really only need 5-6mp to get great quality prints up to about 8x10 (my FX01 is only 6mp). And pixels are not all equal; a good 5mp camera will produce better results than a crappy 8mp camera.
- Look for reviews of whatever cameras/lenses you buy on www.dpreview.com -- it's the most respected source for in-depth objective reviews.
- Stick with name brands - don't buy cheap no-name cameras.
- I personally would make sure you're getting a camera that takes either CF or SD cards; they're the winners in the media battle. Other formats either don't have high capacity cards at all, or high capacity cards are really expensive (sorry Sony and Olympus!).

Hope that helps!

Helpful, very. My camera expertise ended a few years after Marky Mark's underwear modelling career, so the digital world never ceases to amaze...I like the idea that Panasonic uses the Leica lens, but now to do the homework...

Edit: Confused...Net, net, what are the differences between the Panasonic FX01 and the DMC-TZ???

Hey, I started this thread. :rofl: I still didn't buy one. :confused: New shoes keep winning.

And they never show up topless on the internet...

man, my head is spinning...FX-ZX01, a RUN DMC-69z, Casio, Canon, Panasonic Remix...5, 6, 7.1, or 6.4 Mega Pixies, do I get the 3x, 4x, 10x, or just XXX?, and do I want the one with the underwater STD option?

This one looks cool, 'an it's got a LEICA! (Mopar joke)

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMC-...023948?ie=UTF8

I recently sold my Canon and have decided to wait for the full frame sensor DSLR (needs to be a lot more affordable). I was getting a good deal for the equipment so away it went.

3 days later I started getting digital picture hungry again and decided to invest in a P&S as a temp fix. Narrowed it down to two (wanted to keep it below $300)

1. Panasonic DMC-FX01
2. Casio Exilim 850

I loved #2 for it had a bigger sensor than all other P&S I have seen, great great battery life with the LCD (some insane 440+ shots using the LCD) and the samples I found on the web looked real real good (little noise indoors but negligible)

Bought the Panasonic FX01 instead as I really needed a true 28mm P&S (not that many around if you start looking ) and also it does true widescreen pictures and videos (16:9 and 3:2). A lot more indoor noise in pictures than I expected but very happy with it.

If I were CMYX5go I would go with the Casio Exilim 850. No question about it. Great and easy to use, looks super sexy, super small and takes fantastic pictures. I would rate it higher than most Canon P&S out there in terms of features and price

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Casio...oductDetail.do

Cheaper prices available on the net.

Thanks MiCkEy. I don't have to pass Nordstoms, do I. :rofl:

I have owned SD630 for few months now. I have no complaints with battery life. Here is a sample pic.
http://s113117221.onlinehome.us/Images/bfly.JPG

Great shot Sunil!

If you do, grab me a pair of boxers please.

Thanks. So, did you decide on camera?

I told you, shoes keep winning. I was going to do the 630 based upon this thread. I just never seem to actually get around to buying it.

L: I see that the Lumix has a Venus Engine and comes in Pink, Blue, or White. (or Black).

No girlie colors for me. :confused: BLACK. :)

Best thing you can do is : Have a budget (cost of a good pair of shoes), stick to a quality brand, find a good camera store with a non pushy sales person and think about what you will photograph the most. I use high end Canon gear daily but carry around a small Ixus v5 as a last back-up or when in stealth mode (looking like tourist).

Good luck and enjoy your photography.

Speaking of Lumix, their new LX2 (10mp) just may be the best point & shoot camera on the market. Don't read this unless you have an extra $500, 'cause you're likely to decide you absolutely, positively MUST have one: http://panasonic.co.jp/pavc/global/lumix/lx2/index.html
And this from dpreview: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0607/06...nasoniclx2.asp

(The only thing keeping me from going straight to B&H's website and buying one myself is that they don't offer an underwater housing for it like the one I have for my FX01.)

sd630 for 279 @ newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16830120045

A quick update....Not long after I wrote the above, I found and actually did buy a Lumix LX2 for $450, and I really DO think it might be the coolest point & shoot on the planet. It's slightly larger than the really thin models (like my Canon SD550 and Lumix FX01), but still very small and amazingly powerful! Here are the highlight features (in addition to the features you find on most other p&s's) that make it different:
- Ability to shoot in true RAW format
- Image stabilization
- High sensitivity mode (automatically bumps ISO and/or shutter speed in low light situations so you can still get the shot)
- 10megapixel 16x9 panorama shots
- 28mm (film equivalent) wide angle lens (most p&s cameras have a widest angle of about 35mm)
- a special "high angle" viewfinder mode for you short people who have to hold the camera up high to shoot pictures over other people's heads

To give you an idea what all this means in the real world, here are a couple of shots I've taken with it (these are lo-res versions of the originals) in the few days I've had it.

The first was inside my car (to show a problem with my nav screen) in a dark garage - using high sensitivity mode, it automatically bumped the ISO to 3200, and even at a shutter speed of 1/4 second, the image stabilization made the picture come out amazingly sharp...considering I was shooting in the dark! You can see the photo in this thread (can't upload it twice):
http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...up-camera.html

The second one (attached) was taken out my side window in Northern Arizona while driving down the highway at 73mph (had cruise control on) using shutter priority mode (1/1300th of a second, f/8). One of the primary reasons I bought this camera (and my other Lumix) was so I could take sharp (not blurry) photos while in moving cars and/or on moving motorcylces. I've never been able to do that with any of my Coolpix or Canon p&s cameras.

Transfer those 8 tracks to your iPod, and squeeze the last of those flash cubes taking pictures of yourself to give to your fans.:rofl:

Thank you to everyone for their imput on this thread. I went with the Canon SD630 and I love it. Move over MD - I may be changing my custom title to Boring Azz Picture Queen :rofl:

530? I think you said you got SD630?

Correction - SD630. I need more coffee :) Today is back to reality. I'm not ready to jump into the day yet.

What about the Pentax Optio:
W20 http://www.dpreview.com/news/0608/06080701pentaxw20.asp

I have the 6 MP version of this camera, it takes great pics & video i small enough to fit in my pocket and you can take some under water pics or vids with it (it is water resistant up to 5ft. for 30 minutes.) :-)