Info On Digital Cameras.

[The Fruity Hare]

I am considering buying a digital camera, and was wondering if anyone out there had any suggestions. I am looking at the 4 to 5MP range and also with a decent optical and digital zoom. I have been following a few auctions on Ebay, but there seem to be too many people willing to pay more than face value.
A couple I like are the HP 935, and the Olympus 750.
Thanks.

 

[onthebottom]

I would check out B&H Photo in NY (great prices, service....) they have a good website. Now that I have a camera I've been ignoring the latest models but my suggestion would be to ignore the digital zoom (you can do this in software on your PC) and focus primarily on optical zoom. Unless you’re printing posters either 4 or 5 mp will be plenty.

OTB

 

[Cinema Face]

I've read bad reviews on HP. Some good advise I've heard is that you buy a brand that also makes good film cameras. The only exception would be Sony.

Personally, I've got an Olympus digital that I've had for 2 years. I'm very happy. I'd buy another Olympus in a sec.

 

[The Fruity Hare]

otb,

I have been looking at a few US websites, but the cost increases dramatically when factoring in exchange rate, local taxes, and duty to be paid. In some cases it might still be worth it though, if there is a good enough price.

 

[Berlin]

What your pretax budget for the cam, Fruity ?

 

[Spinnerbait]

Hi Fruity, thanks for giving me the motive for my 2nd post. No matter which name you are going to buy, get the one that come with the rechargeable battery. It will save you some money down the road. IMO, Sony does have a good quality of picture, but the memory stick is a drag. (Unless you have all Sony product)

 

[The Fruity Hare]

Berlin:

I don't want to go over about $500Cdn. The problem is they seem to diminish in value so quickly, and I don't want to be stuck with someting expensive while much better and less expensive cameras come on the market. Any thoughts?

 

[Girth]

Fruity, I have a Canon A70, and I love it. 3.2 megs w/ video can accommodate a CF card up to 1 gig and runs on AA batteries. I bought two sets of NIHM rechargeable and I can easily fill up a 256 card at full resolution without a recharge. I bought mine on Amazon.

Some helpful sites and discussion boards:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html

http://www.stevesforums.com/phpBB2/

http://www.dcviews.com/cameras.htm

 

[pblues]

Berlin:

I don't want to go over about $500Cdn. The problem is they seem to diminish in value so quickly, and I don't want to be stuck with someting expensive while much better and less expensive cameras come on the market. Any thoughts?

You won't get a Sony for that pice, but I believe Office Place sells an HP 5 MP for under $500.

 

[peteeey]

And get rechargeable batteries if the camera you purchase doesn't come with them.

It's amazing how quickly digitals go through batteries; like after a couple of shots. If you don't get one when you purchase your camera, you'll be returning to the store after your first attempt to take pictures.

Hi Fruity, thanks for giving me the motive for my 2nd post. No matter which name you are going to buy, get the one that come with the rechargeable battery. It will save you some money down the road. IMO, Sony does have a good quality of picture, but the memory stick is a drag. (Unless you have all Sony product)

 

[LittleLenny]

Try EBAY.

I bought a Kodak 4 megapixel a few months ago.
There is a Toronto seller who has dutch auctions and
includes a free memory card. The retail price is usually
$650 cdn - I got mine for for $500 cdn! This is including
the exchange rate and taxes. And I also I saved money by picking it up. Excellent camera!

 

[The Fruity Hare]

LittleLenny:

Which Kodak did you buy?

 

[Berlin]

Fruity,
Given the budget, there isn't much to look at for the 5 mp cam. The only that fit would be by Toshiba PDR-4300 4MP
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...&sku_id=0665000FS10027929&catid=&newdeptid=14

Personally, in terms of brand name, I would go for Olympus, Pentax, Fuji, Kodak, Nikon. Sony is fine if you are not fuzzy about memory stick, which tends to be a bit more expensive than other storage medium. Yes, there is USB, but still....

Also, depends on how large you want your final prints to be( as already mentioned by others ). If it's only normal photo size you are after, a 3.x MP cam won't fault you, even a 2.x MP cam.
I MP more or less doesn't make much difference visually , can go to Henry's and get proper opinion on that, see it for yourself.

For 3.x MP ,
have a look at Fuji A303
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...&sku_id=0665000FS10020401&catid=&newdeptid=14

Kodak DX4330 3.1MP
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...&sku_id=0665000FS10020254&catid=&newdeptid=14

Olympus D-560 3.2MP
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...&sku_id=0665000FS10028120&catid=&newdeptid=14

Pentax Optio 33L 3.2MP
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...&sku_id=0665000FS10026585&catid=&newdeptid=14

Sony DSC-P52 3.2 MP
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...&sku_id=0665000FS10027879&catid=&newdeptid=14

Here is a link to the Nikon cool pix 3500
http://www.henrys.com/webapp/wcs/st...artmentId=10404&itemID=76540&categoryId=10851

There are reviews at the above links as well. Some would prefer the colours of Kodak pics, but you have to see them in order to decide for yourself. They are all good cameras, while the Pentax series are getting pretty good reviews in Europe.

Price is always a factor indeed, considering tha fact that average freekin' digi cam's price depreciates close to 30% in the past year. So you are smart to factor that in as well when deciding.

I currently own a Fuji first generation 1.x MP digi cam, a Canon S230 and have used other Nikon, Sony, Olympus from family members. Before parting with you loons ,just make sure you know what you want from the purchase, which features are most important to you.

Forget about HP.

 

[The Fruity Hare]

Thanks for the input guys.

 

[h_upmann]

I have a Olympus 2100uz (2MP 10X optical zoom with image stabilization) from a couple of years ago.

I recently bought a Canon S400 (4MP, 3X) because I wanted something a little smaller. So far, I can't get pictures from the Canon that are in the same league as the Oly. That said, it's a cool little piece and I'll probably keep it.

Lesson: don't get hung up on megapixels. For some reason, this is the first thing out of anyone's mouth when discussing digital cameras. 3 MP's is more than you will ever need, unless you regularly print your photos at 11X17!

My advice:
Have a good look at the Canon A70.

 

[Average Joe]

Check out http://reviews.cnet.com/Digital_cameras/2001-6501_7-0.html?tag=glnav for information and real world reviews. I just made the jump to the digital world with the Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi. 5MP, 7x optical zoom, movie capture and tons 'o features. The most important feature for me was the through the lens viewfinder.

I'll echo the comments of many of the others on this thread by saying that you can never have too many batteries or flash cards.

 

[wumpscut]

at factorydirect.ca your $500 (before taxes) could buy you a 4Mp camera + 256 Mb memory card! Best deal I've seen. But the Toshiba Berlin mentions comes with a remote control, which is VERY rare when buying a camera. If you get a camera with compact flash memory, factory direct is selling a 256 Mb card for $69!

 

[Berlin]

Minolta

I just made the jump to the digital world with the Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi. 5MP, 7x optical zoom, movie capture and tons 'o features.

AverageJoe, what made you chose Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi over the other 5MP, such as NIKON coolpix 5700 ? I am currently looking into 5MP digicams and am actually considering the very same Minolta model that you have.

 

[submissivedave]

Hey "Fruity Hare", if you happen to have some friends headed for Asia, you can ask them to pick up the latest models which are not available world wide yet. Plus, even when they are released in North America, the puschased price in Asia is still lower ...

You can always visit the webpages designed for the Japanese homeland and make your selections there and ask you friend to buy it for you.

Just go to a website ending with the suffixes ".co.jp" like www.nikon.co.jp or www.sony.co.jp

 

[fflowley]

Happy Canon owner here

Recently purchased Canon S450. We use it with an Apple laptop and I have been very happy with the finished product. I read many reviews on CNet before purchasing, so I would recommend checking that site out.

The lens quality is much more important to your finished product then the sheer megapixels.

Even if you buy a cam with rechargable battery, buy an extra to carry with you. Of course a big flash card in your pocket never hurts either.

I bought the cam from the Dell website. Rapid delivery, good price. No complaints.


Flooey!