Digital cam ?: Is optical zoom really necessary?

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EY2K

Golden Member
Sep 25, 2000
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Hi,

I'm doing some research on 2.x MP digital-cameras at/under the $200 price point. Budget is my main concern here since I'm a lowly college student, and I'd rather not drag myself into debt. I've isolated my choices down to these two cameras, and oddly enough, they are both made by Fujifilm Corp.

-Fuji Finepix 2600 Zoom
-Fuji A201 Compact

Now I really like what I read at Steve's Digicam website about both. I'm just a n00b when it comes to these things so ease-of-use and decent image quality are my other main concerns. Both cameras are rated high on epinions and amazon for beginners. The main difference I can see between the two is that the former has 2.5x optical zoom, while the latter does not. The A201 is also lighter and smaller than the 2600, but it only has 3x digital zoom. I know the diff between the zooms. If I had the optical zoom, would I really be using it much if at all? The reason I ask is that there is a $50 price difference between the two cameras.

Also, what is this "macro-mode" I keep hearing about? From what I gather, it's useful for taking really close shots of intricate stuff like video cards, etc? Am I right? Also, do any of you have any experiences with refurbished (factory refurbished) digital cameras?

Thanks, and any input would be very much appreciated. :D
 
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PsychoAndy

Lifer
Dec 31, 2000
10,735
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Digital zoom is crap. Optical is much better, since it acutally zooms instead of zooming in on the original picture. Zooming depends on what you do with your camera though. I don't use it that often, honestly. I like getting everything in the picture, and when i do use it, the picture is underexposed. Macro mode is a mode used when you take close up shots of things, so that the object is bigger in the picture than in real life, i think. I'd get one with that.
 
RossMAN

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
78,878
372
136
Here are 7 stunning reviews on the Canon PowerShot A40 which I posted in my Hot Deals thread.

Yes this digicam really is that good and is worth every penny of that $50 price increase.

If you're a good Hot Dealer you'll do your research and read as many reviews to see if this is the right digicam for you, well here you go:
--
PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS
imaging-resource.com (with sample pictures)
dcresource.com (with sample pictures)
steves-digicams.com (with sample pictures)
dpreview.com (97 owner's ratings almost 5 out of 5 stars in every category)

CONSUMER REVIEWS
ePinions.com (100% recommended by 8 reviewers)
Amazon.com (4.8 out of 5 stars with 39 customer reviews)
CNET.com (8 out of 10 stars with 95% positive reviews)
 
E

EY2K

Golden Member
Sep 25, 2000
1,276
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great great great responses!!!!
now even more questions!

I can't afford the Canon A40, and I've looked at it already. It's a hell of a nice camera, but see, I live in TX. Dell wants 8.25% tax from me on that camera if I order thru them.

The two Fuji's I'm looking at are on Compgeeks.com, and the yare factory refurbs according to their description. They are all in my price range, but will they be ok? I know that you are sold on the Canon camera Rossman (I lurk much more than I post ;)) but can you give me your unbiased opinion on the two Fuji's I'm looking at?

PyschoAndy, I know optical zoom = good and digital = bad. Thx though. So you don't? really use your optical zoom? Yea, see I was figuring I would have the same prob too and not use it, but my friend is gonna be racing soon. I wonder if optical zoom would come in handy then?
 
RossMAN

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
78,878
372
136
Based on my own past research and reading dozens of reviews I'd get the 2600.

Unfortunately I haven't done that much research on the A201.

You wouldn't think that you'd use zoom that much but it can come in very handy. Used it a lot while we were at the scorching Phoenix zoo in late May, damn animals were so far away from the spectactors!
 
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Bullhonkie

Golden Member
Sep 28, 2001
1,899
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76
Personally I wouldn't be able to live with a digital camera without optical zoom. I didn't think I'd use it much at first with my A40, but I've used it a whole lot more than I thought I would. There are a lot of times when you find yourself unable to physically move closer to whatever you're trying to photograph, optical zoom is a godsend in those situations.

Though most of my camera usage so far was during my vacation trip last month. Depending on what you want to do with a camera, it may not be as important a feature for you. In any case though, I'd still recommend looking for something with at least 2x optical, closer to 3x if you can muster the $$ for it.
 
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bizmark

Banned
Feb 4, 2002
2,311
0
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the place where I work has a Nikon Coolpix 995, which has a 4x optical zoom. I have been borrowing it the past few days :) I find the zoom indispensible (and I can't stand digital zoom). I take mostly pictures of landscapes, buildings, and crowd shots -- not get-together pics or anything like that. I think that whether you use the zoom really just depends on what kind of photography you're going to be doing.
 
RossMAN

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
78,878
372
136
I PM'd you info on how to get $50 free for opening an ING Direct savings account ... I'd do that and get the Canon A40!
 
E

EY2K

Golden Member
Sep 25, 2000
1,276
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thx for all the replies. i'm leaning much closer now to the Fuji 2600 for optical zoom :)
 
RossMAN

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
78,878
372
136
The Fuji Finepix 2600 is an excellent choice, read some of these reviews ... out of 22 reviewers this was 100% recommended.
 
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SirDante

Golden Member
Jul 29, 2000
1,561
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that A40 looks nice. I'm hesistant due to the 2mp. thinking for a little more i can get 3mp. is there a big diff from 2 to 3? and i have a dc215 1.1 (i think). is the 2 going to be a big upgrade? thanks.
 
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SirDante

Golden Member
Jul 29, 2000
1,561
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300 max...probably not enough for a good 3

i'm still kicking myself for not getting that kodak deal everyone else got on...forgot the model but it was very nice.

oh yeah, dell screwed me out of that awesome toshiba deal as well :(
 
RossMAN

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
78,878
372
136
Don't feel bad that you missed out on the Kodak digicam deal because as digicams they all suck regardless of how many MP they are.
 
E

EY2K

Golden Member
Sep 25, 2000
1,276
0
0
yea, I haven't heard any too-good things about Kodak digi-cams. Plus, they all look big and bulky. I remember when I used to work at Best Buy, there were a lot of Kodak's that got returned. Top names I've heard are Canon, Nikon, Fuji, and Olympus.
 
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T2T III

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
12,899
1
0
Don't feel bad that you missed out on the Kodak digicam deal because as digicams they all suck regardless of how many MP they are.
Click to expand...
That's right - avoid the Kodak models at all costs. There are several consumer review sites where the Kodak cameras are rated pretty high by the individual writing the review. However, in a lot of the cases, the individual has probably not had a chance to truly compare two different cameras to truly see the strengths and weaknesses in each.

About a week ago, I spent a lot of time taking comparable shots with a Kodak DX-3600 and a Canon S40. Granted, the Canon S40 is a much more capable camera at more than 2 times the price of the Kodak DX-3600, the Canon simply blew away the Kodak when it came to picture quality. With Canon for example, there appears to be a good "trickle down" effect - you will find that a lot of the design and quality of their higher-end cameras gets applied to their lower-end cameras. Take the A40 for example, it is very capable of some outstanding shots much like the higher-end models. The A40 may not have all of the manual capabilities of the higher-end models, but the quality optics are there.

If you find that you can't afford some of the newer cameras and are limited by a $200 budget, then don't overlook the used market. Lots of very capable used digital cameras are available at some very good prices. Also, you might consider saving a little more money. In two months' time, you should have another $100 saved to apply to a better camera. Plus, there's a good chance that the price of the better camera could also be dropped as prices appear to be in a continuous free-fall due to all the competition and all of the new models constantly being released.

Good luck with your purchase!!
 
ElFenix

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,389
8,547
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if the world was perfect all we'd have is digital zoom on really wide, really fast lenses. but the laws of physics come into play which means that taking a picture of something a mile away with a wide angle lens and then enlarging the image (what digital zoom really does) introduces a lot of artifacts and lowers image quality.
 
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