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Buying A Digital Camera


magellan315

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I'm planning on buying a digital camera, need some help. Looking for a decent digital camera, with a zoom lens, and must be Mac compatible. Any suggestions?

 

I know this is not Geocaching related, but as far as I know a mega-pixel is a pixie on steriods. I figured there are enough people here who use them so I can get some guidance

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Ignore "mac compatible" in the camera itself. Just go for a mac compatible card reader. Most are.

 

Using the camera to download the photos directly take a serious toll on the usb socket on the camera. Also, it makes finding a camera alot easier. You just worry about the features you want, and not if itll work with your computer.

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There are Mac softwares that will work, You might want to try going to a Camera store and asking the staff or you could contact the manufactures directly. I think most any dig camera will work with a MAC as long as you have MAC photo software.

 

As far as camera selection, unless you plan on making lots of large prints (8X10s or larger) A 2 or 3 megapixcel camer will be fine. Most dig camera come with a zoom lens. You want and optical zoom, some will have a digital zoom but you lose picture quality with these, some have both Digital and optical zooms, my pocket dig. has both but I only use the optical zoom. If you are looking for a digital SLR so that you can change the lenses the price goes way up. I just bought a Nikon D50 with a 28-80 zoom nikor lens for $700.00. I chose the Nikon for two reason.

1) I uses SD mamory cards

2) I can use my older nikon lenses on it.

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Are you looking for a pocket size digital or a full size single lens reflex?

In the SLR the Cannon Rebel XT is great but you will drop around $1000 or more depending on the number of lens you want.

 

In the compact size depending again on how much you want to spend you need to look at how many mega pixels you want and how much zoom you want. I have told other people do get at least 10x optical zoom and 4 to 5 mpixels. try looking at pricescan.com to see a good variety.

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The point and shoot cameras change almost yearly it seams as the manufactures increase the mega pixcel size. So you may get lots of recomendations for cameras that are not longer made. I know my point and shot is no longer made.

 

My point and shoot is a Lumenix 4 mega pixcel. I bought it becasue it uses AA batteriesit and has a leica lens. I paid about $350.00 for it abut two years ago. I do not like the new version becasue it uses a pripratery battery. I am a big fan if AAs in a camera.

 

My new SLR is a Nikon D50. This is a very nice camera, I am still learning all the functions. I have only had it for two weeks. As I said in my last post it is not a low priced camera

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Cnet.com has a truckload of digital camera reviews. Like everthing else it's going to depend on your use. I hate Fuji with a passion since I bought one and didn't know enough about how digital cameras work to recognize it was FUBAR. It took a major expidition with other people who had digital cameras to figure it out. Fuji was no help when I did figure it out so that was 500.00 I could of used to light cigars and got more use out of it.

 

Edit: Cnet does have a buyers guide, and rates cameras in various catagories. Also pay attention to the users ratings. Something that rates well on Cnet and doesn't rate well with the people using it...has issues that Cnet didn't pick up on.

Edited by Renegade Knight
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One of the most thorough digital camera review sites I've stumbled across is dpreview.com

 

They also offer a buying guide after you fill out a list o' desired features.

 

I know it was lot of help when I bought my digital a few years back.

DPreview isnt really a 'thorough' review, but rather a list of the specification of cameras, in one location. Ignore the "review" of the camera itself, since Askey is a paid reviewer, and rarely writes anything bad about a camera, unless it is from a company not paying him for a "highly recommended". Up until last year it would be amazing to see anything less than highly recommended more than once a year.

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I bought a Kodak Easyshare DX4330 (several years ago when it was middle-line and more expensive) because it had lens capabilities. I love the lenses with it, except for the panoramic. It gives me some rainbow effects around the edges of my pictures. The features on it (nighttime, closeup, action, etc are really a great help!) BUT:

3 MP (megapixel) will give you adequate prints up to 8x10. Unless you have a printer that will print larger, that should be fine - and they are a lot less expensive now!

Optical zoom definitely! More of that = better resolution when cropping and enlarging.

I use the USB with mine for uploading photos. I have had to update the software from the website so it doesn't fight with my scanner software, but the Kodak site is quite easy and they have been most helpful along the way.

Until this camera absolutely dies on me (in which case, I will upgrade to a bigger/better/newer one!) I have been most happy with it!

 

Costco actually has some good models of digitals right now...

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I bought an Olympus Stylus 400 a couple of years ago. I really like the picture quality. It does eat up the battery fairly fast so I always make sure I have AT LEAST two fully charged batteries at all times. The Stylus 400 is also weatherproof which is great. It will take rain very well. I did tip my canoe over last year while taking pictues with the 400. It took me awhile to get back to shore and I noticed that the camera had a little bit of water in the view finder. I sent it in for repair and got a new one back.

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The higher the optical zoom the better. Digital zoom is pretty well worthless.

I have 2 Olympus cameras. I carry the stylus 500 (5MP 3X optical zoom) all the time. Nice small size. 200 pictures on one battery.

The other camera is a 3.2 MP but has a 10X optical zoom. A much bulkier camera, but the zoom is wonderful!

Edited by nscaler
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Just a zoom thought...when it comes to zoom, an optical zoom is very good! Digital zoom will degrade your picture quality. So, unless you have a huge number of mega pixels...like six or more...you probably want something that has optical zoom.

 

Mine has 3.2 mega pixels. And, it has 3x optical zoom, and 3x digital zoom. I almost never use the digital zoom because it degrades the picture quality so much.

 

That's the only thing that I can think of to look at...but the card reader thing...that was mentioned earlier...that's a good thing to be aware of. It'd be cool if I had a card reader!

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I was very happy with my Canon A75. Mac compatible and all. Too bad I left it LaRonde in Montreal... I'm planning on buying an A95 someday. The tilt screen looks good.

 

I borrowed a friend's Nikon point and shoot, wasn't at all happy with it. Hard to say why. Try some out in the stores.

 

(And of course the A95 is no longer made..., A610 or something like that...)

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Just a zoom thought...when it comes to zoom, an optical zoom is very good!  Digital zoom will degrade your picture quality.  So, unless you have a huge number of mega pixels...like six or more...you probably want something that has optical zoom.

 

Mine has 3.2 mega pixels.  And, it has 3x optical zoom, and 3x digital zoom. I almost never use the digital zoom because it degrades the picture quality so much.

 

That's the only thing that I can think of to look at...but the card reader thing...that was mentioned earlier...that's a good thing to be aware of.  It'd be cool if I had a card reader!

Card readers are cheap. Some can read up to eight different cards and cost $15. Besides saving your camera batteries, they are usually faster to download. Your XP computer (or Mac) will treat the card as just another disk drive.

Edited by nscaler
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Yup, card readers are even free after rebates from a lot of places. :laughing:

I bought a Canon A 70 a few years back and am pretty happy with it. It's a nice balance of a point and shoot with features found on better cameras. Decide how often you want to use this camera, do you need to change lenses, or do you want a simple point and shoot. How important is compactness? If possible go to a big box retailer so you can handle several makes and models before buying for price wherever you decide.

 

I liked the features and value of the Olympus line, but the camera, especailly the lens door, felt cheap and ready to break to me. The Canon felt sturdier. For under $300 I got 3.2 megapixels, 3x optical zoom, and a nice range of presets. Today you can get double the features for the same $$.

 

I was looking at cameras the other day, cuz my wife fusses that she never gets to use it and wants one of her own. I'm leaning towards one of the Canon elph series, so she can keep it in her purse. It felt too small in my mitts though. There is a nice range of features and preset settings for various situations in the Nikon Coolpix 4600, but she might think it too bulky.

 

So my best advice is visit a store with a wide range of products, ask questions of a "professional" salesperson, and focus on features you feel are important and what feels right in you hands.

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I have a canon a75. I love it. 3Mp 3x zoom, movie mode, tons of different settings. Perfect cam for the beginner (Auto mode) plus, when you get to be a little more familiar with it, it has manual modes for white balance, focus and tons of other options.

 

Just bought a Canon A520 for the parents as a christmas present. 4 mp 4x zoom...Very nice price. under 200 bucks with a 256 meg mem card and a case. circuit city. same features as the a75 i have.

 

Here is a very nice digital cam web page. Complete and honest reviews.

 

Steves Digi Cams

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Pay attention to what kind of batteries it uses. A camera that will accept 4 AAs is preferable to one that only takes it's own proprietary battery - my opinion. Especially if you're already set up with AA rechargeables for your GPSr. Lenses are big, no getting around it. If you want real zoom, you end up with a bigger camera.

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Mine is a Fuji s5200. 5 Megapixels + 10 x optical zoom - make sure to get a 512mb card to avoid running out of room.

 

Kind of a big camera but near professional features with point and shoot capabilities. Can be had for about $350. Nice zoom and VERY nice pictures due to the new imaging processor in camera.

 

Just my 2 cents worth...

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I just bought a Rebel XT. I have the standard 18 - 55 lens plus 28 - 80, 75 - 300 and a 35 - 80 that came with a Rebel XS I bought a few years back. What an amazing difference. If you are looking for a SLR I would highly recommend this one.

 

One of the advantages of an SLR is that you can change lenses and the zooms are all optical.

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I'll start saying that I could never figure out how to get an SLR to work. :(

In regard to a digital camera, everyone told me: 1) Go for maximum megapixels. 2) Maximum Optical zoom. 3) Uses standard batteries.

I shopped around, and bought the HP Photosmart 620 (albeit, a few years ago...)

I upload pictures with a USB cable. I use Microsoft Digital Pro for photo editing. I love this camera!

Contrary to what people have said, digital zoom does not degrade the quality of the photo. What it does is to crop the photo being taken, much the same as any photo editing software will do. As such, the only saving grace it has (and this is very mimimal) is to decrease the storage size of the photo. It's basically, meaningless hype.

I've taken some pretty darned good photos with the camera, and highly recommend it. (Or whatever new and improved version is now available.)

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I LOVE Canon products and wouldn't buy anything but Canon. I have a Powershot A70 (the new Powershot A series are nice) and for 'serious" stuff I have the Rebel XT (Digital SLR). That said, the new Panasonics have a shake reduction feature that prevents blurring from camera shake to some degree, and if I was buying a Point and Shoot I'd consider the panasonic for that reason. That feature only comes in very expensive lenses for the Canor SLRs.

As said earlier there is no such thing as digital zoom, ignore that feature, just crop it and enlarge it. Any time you crop and enlarge it does reduce quality, weather in camera (digi zoom) or in computer

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As for megapixels, more is better, but if your only printing 4 X 6 inch photos and the occasional 8 X 10 a lowly 4 megapixel will do just fine. My A70 is a little old and is only 3.2 megapixels and you can't see a difference on a 4 X 6 compared to my 8 megapixel Rebel XT. Now if you crop heavy or print large, then you may need more than 4 megapixels, but I'd venture to guess 90% of the people wouldn't notice a difference between a 4 and an 8, bc most people only print 4 X 6, or 5 X 7.

PS photography has been a hoby of mine for about 10 years.

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It's weird that when people talk about the lenses for digital cameras, maximum aperture is rarely mentioned, yet in the SLR world, aperture is king.

 

When I purchased my Canon G3 (G6 is the new model) the biggest features I was looking for were battery life and big aperture. The G3 (and the G6, too) has a F2.0 lens, and one of the longest battery lives on the market, although it uses a proprietary battery, which some people don't like.

 

Zoom is nice, but for a small camera, having a long zoom incurs some compromises. If big zoom is your goal, go for an SLR. And you can ignore "digital zoom." It's an almost worthless marketing gimmick. It's no different than going home and cropping out a small portion (the center portion) of your high-quality pic.

 

Jamie

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I have a Sony DSC-W1 its a pretty nice camera... 5mp, 3x zoom... pretty much point and shoot though I have had some problems with blury pictures (mostly from me moving too much in low light conditions). Most everything in my Gallery after September '04 are reduced size images from that camera. Now if I'd only take more pictures... hate to think of how many times I've packed my camera around without snapping a single shot.

 

My opinion is most major camera brands with 5mp or better are going to give you high quality pics... the size and detail are more than most people need... just look around and find one you like.

Edited by blazerfan
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Aperture is very important. Larger aperture allows more light. My Sony DSC-V3 has a max aperture of 2.8. Lower the number, higher the aperture. For more info about aperture check Wikipedia. I never use digital zoom, and I usually only use optical zoom outside in good light. I generally zoom the photo by cropping it on the computer later.

My priority list for digital cameras is

1. Aperture

2. Time between shots (recovery time)

3. Storage availability and price (Compact Flash-common, Sony Memory Stick-proprietary)

4. Battery life.

5. Megapixels. (Depends on how large you want to print or how much you plan to crop.)

6. Optical zoom.

 

If you only plan on printing 4x6 or 5x8 then 3 or 4 megapixels (mp) is probably fine. But if you want larger prints or need to crop them and still have the quality, higher mp may be in order. For example. Taking a full size image on my camera is 7.2 mp effective. If I crop it by half later then effective photo size is 3.6 mp.

 

If you are using OS X, for Mac camera support take a look at Apple's supported cameras. I am a Mac Consultant and I have yet to have a client with a digital camera that Apple's iPhoto or Image Capture couldn't import from. iPhoto gives you basic editing functions like crop, red-eye fix, rotate, b/w or sepia conversion, touch up, color balance, etc. It also helps catalog your photos to keep them organized.

Something else to keep in mind is how large your computer's hard drive is. I have 4000 photos in my library and its about 8gb in size. Although hard drive space is cheap.

Remember that with digital, you're not burning film so snap away and delete the bad ones later. I would guess that where I took 24 shots per roll before going digital, in that same time I take at least 100 now. Probably more.

Good luck!

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I also have a Nikon 885. It is a 3.2 MP compact camera, it has taken some awsome pictures.

Shameless Plug

I also bought a card reader as I don't like the flimsey plug that goes into the camera, just looks too easy to break.

 

The digital zoom on it does compromise quality quite a bit, but I think the shakey hand also has some effect.

 

If you are looking for an all round quick and easy camera go with the compact ones, at least when you drop it you haven't wasted $1000 - $2000

Edited by tttedzeins
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When looking for a camera to use while caching I looked at the Kodak eashshare line at Best Buy. But the sales person recommened the Nikon Coolpix 4600 to me because I was concerned about the picture quality.

 

The Nikon was abit more expensive but not tht much and the images are just great. It does not have the really long zoom that I would have liked but 3x optical is just fine considering the size of the unit.

 

I carry it in my Camelback rather easily and it is about the same weight as my Extrex Legend. I also carry the camera with me just about everywhere I go. It fits rather nicely in my "ManBag".

 

Takes a couple AA batteries with good battery life. The camera also takes a bit of a beating. I have dropped it from about waist high as well as from about 4ft off a rock onto ground with no damage other than a small mark on side.

 

For combined pix quality, size and ease of use this little camera is great and it is 4megapixel camera to boot.

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I have a A95 which I think is now the A610. I have an extra zoom lens for it. I love the tilt screen (like video cameras) I never thought I would use it so much. Uses AA batteries can go from totally auto to totally manual. Everything I ever wanted on a camera.

 

Go to Steves-digicam.com for reviews. Very good site. Used it many times before deciding on this one. The A610 is probably one of the favorites on there.

 

Good luck

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It really does depend on what size camera you want and how much you want to spend. I always stuck with the Canon elph series cameras. Very small, pocketable and decent pics but then I got the urge to better my photography skills and wanted manual options. I now have a Sony dsc-h1 and love it. However, i've been bitten by the photobug again and am lusting after the Nikon D50.

 

Dpreview is a good site to get users opinions once you narrow your search down for cameras. Good luck to you & have fun with the camera you choose! :lol:

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It really does depend on what size camera you want and how much you want to spend. I always stuck with the Canon elph series cameras. Very small, pocketable and decent pics but then I got the urge to better my photography skills and wanted manual options. I now have a Sony dsc-h1 and love it. However, i've been bitten by the photobug again and am lusting after the Nikon D50.

 

Dpreview is a good site to get users opinions once you narrow your search down for cameras. Good luck to you & have fun with the camera you choose! :lol:

HippyChick, for a few extra dollars you can get the Rebel XT, which in my opinion is better than the D50, just check it out. Also check out the Canon SLR forum over at dpreview.com.

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That said, the new Panasonics have a shake reduction feature that prevents blurring from camera shake to some degree, and if I was buying a Point and Shoot I'd consider the panasonic for that reason. That feature only comes in very expensive lenses for the Canor SLRs.

FYI, that feature is available in the latest Konica-Minolta shirt-pocket camera. But for the past two years, Konica-Minolta has had the feature in its Ax series of digicams. Instead of adding a movable optical element in the lens, it moves the sensor itself to cancel camera shake. I've taken very sharp shots at 1/10 sec with it. Konica-Minolta has also included that system (AS - Anti Shake) in their 5D and 7D DSLRs, too.

 

Some Nikon digicams also have image stabilization (optical system only) in their prosumer digicams, and in some of their SLR lenses (indicated by the "VR" in their model names).

 

GeoBC

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1) Go for maximum megapixels.  2) Maximum Optical zoom. 

 

That advice is erroneous, imo. For starters, all things being equal, adding more megapixels means more image noise. Now, sometimes, improved image processing chips in the camera can clean-up the images. A perfect example of this is the Fuji F10/11. But generally speaking, greater sensor density on the chip = more image noise.

 

There's no free lunch with optical zooms, either. The wider range a lens has, the more compromises that were made in its design. Typically, this means the lens is rather slow (ie: has a numerically large maximum aperture opening), lack of sharpness at the long end, and distortion at the wide end.

 

I think a better recommendation would to be buy as many mega pixels and as much zoom range as you absolutely NEED.

 

Contrary to what people have said, digital zoom does not degrade the quality of the photo.  What it does is to crop the photo being taken, much the same as any photo editing software will do. 

 

Yes but it then takes that cropped images and extrapolates it to form a dimensionally larger image. In other words, it's inserting data that isn't there. At least that's how the ones I've seen work. It isn't a simple crop. In any case, I wouldn't avoid a camera just because it has digital zoom. I just wouldn't use that feature. And I certainly would choose a camera because it had such a feature, either. You could achieve the same effect on your computer and usually to better effect (eg: by using something like Genuine Fractals).

 

GeoBC

 

- edited to fix some embarrassing spelling mistakes and added a bit more clarity -

1) Go for maximum megapixels.  2) Maximum Optical zoom. 

 

That advice is erroneous, imo. For starters, all things being equal, adding more megapixels means more image noise. Now, sometimes, improved image processing chips in the camera can clean-up the images. A perfect example of this is the Fuji F10/11. But generally speaking, greater sensor density on the chip = more image noise.

 

There's no free lunch with optical zooms, either. The wider range a lens has, the more compromises that were made in its design. Typically, this means the lens is rather slow (ie: has a numerically large maximum aperture opening), lack of sharpness at the long end, and distortion at the wide end.

 

I think a better recommendation would to be buy as many mega pixels and as much zoom range as you absolutely NEED.

 

Contrary to what people have said, digital zoom does not degrade the quality of the photo.  What it does is to crop the photo being taken, much the same as any photo editing software will do. 

 

Yes but it then takes that cropped images and extrapolates it to form a dimensionally larger image. In other words, it's inserting data that isn't there. At least that's how the ones I've seen work. It isn't a simple crop. In any case, I wouldn't avoid a camera just because it has digital zoom. I just wouldn't use that feature. And I certainly would choose a camera because it had such a feature, either. You could achieve the same effect on your computer and usually to better effect (eg: by using something like Genuine Fractals).

 

GeoBC

 

- edited to fix some embarrassing spelling mistakes and added a bit more clarity -

Edited by geobc
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I bought a Kodak Easyshare DX4330 (several years ago when it was middle-line and more expensive) because it had lens capabilities. I love the lenses with it, except for the panoramic. It gives me some rainbow effects around the edges of my pictures. The features on it (nighttime, closeup, action, etc are really a great help!) BUT:

3 MP (megapixel) will give you adequate prints up to 8x10. Unless you have a printer that will print larger, that should be fine - and they are a lot less expensive now!

Optical zoom definitely! More of that = better resolution when cropping and enlarging.

I use the USB with mine for uploading photos. I have had to update the software from the website so it doesn't fight with my scanner software, but the Kodak site is quite easy and they have been most helpful along the way.

Until this camera absolutely dies on me (in which case, I will upgrade to a bigger/better/newer one!) I have been most happy with it!

 

Costco actually has some good models of digitals right now...

Yes, but some of the cameras at costco may not have a US waranty, When I saw the Nikon D 50 in costco I called Nikon and found out Costco is not an authorized Nikon dealer. So I bought my D50 from Ritz camera, the Costco price was not all that much lower than Ritz.

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I'm planning on buying a digital camera, need some help. Looking for a decent digital camera, with a zoom lens, and must be Mac compatible. Any suggestions?

 

I know this is not Geocaching related, but as far as I know a mega-pixel is a pixie on steriods. I figured there are enough people here who use them so I can get some guidance

Well that settles it then. ;-) Merry Christmas.

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For a caching camera, how can you go wrong with one that fits in an Altoids tin??

 

Pentex Optio S-series

I like the Optio WR line; but the gripe I have with the new Optio WR is that it doesn't have an optical viewfinder. Right now this 43WR model is my favorite caching camera, whenever I don't feel like lugging my Digital Rebel along. I even use it for some of my 3-D stuff. This thing is indestructible; it's submersible, it has a non-protruding 2.8x optical zoom, it has shock-resistant rubber corners, and it uses AA batteries and a SD card. I can't understand why they discontinued it. But there are still new ones floating around on eBay.

 

ZO43A.JPG

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I bought a Kodak Easyshare DX4330...Costco actually has some good models of digitals right now...

Yes, but some of the cameras at costco may not have a US waranty, When I saw the Nikon D 50 in costco I called Nikon and found out Costco is not an authorized Nikon dealer. So I bought my D50 from Ritz camera, the Costco price was not all that much lower than Ritz.

I actually bought MY Kodak through OfficeMax.com. I figured out that it was a little more, but I also got free shipping and a free SD card (at the time) so in the long run, it was less than if I drove the 45 miles to a Best Buy or Circuit City. (We don't have Ritz close, and OM had better shipping at the time)

I never really thought about the warranty with Costco. They have some neat cameras right at the moment, and they are there where you can play with them. Some of our stores around here don't have things out where you can touch them...

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I got a nikon coolpix 7900 and have been very pleased with it. As far as i can tell its a good point and shoot camera. It also has some manual options, but nothing compared to an SLR. Its really easy to use. 7.2 megapixels, 3x optical zoon, and a bunch of scene modes if you dont want to use the manual settings. I paid 400 for it back at the end of August, but you can probably find it for less. If you check out the gallery from my profile thats what all the pictures have been taken with. Theres my € .02! :o

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All manufacturers have very compact 3 or 4 mp models available for less than $200. For caching I carry a Nikon Coolpix 4300 (it's probably not sold anymore). Anything around 4 mp and over will give you good prints and let you crop a bit, too.

 

I may be alone, but I prefer the proprietary L-Ion batteries. In my experience, they last forever. I can easily go all day on a full charge (Nikon D100/D50/Coolpix8800/Coolpix4300). If you have an existing collection of AA rechargables, get a AA camera, but I think most point and shoots go through them like Chicklets.

 

Good luck, but it will be hard to fail.

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I'm planning on buying a digital camera, need some help. Looking for a decent digital camera, with a zoom lens, and must be Mac compatible. Any suggestions?

 

I know this is not Geocaching related, but as far as I know a mega-pixel is a pixie on steriods. I figured there are enough people here who use them so I can get some guidance

A Nikon Coolpix 5600 $219.00 @ Wal-Mart.com will be pretty hard to beat.

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