Digital Camera, Experts, Help me decide...

[yllus]

Originally posted by: brunswickite
I also liked the Sony DSC-V1 but I am not too sure about Sony's propeitary memory stick. Also i know it supports an external flash but will it still take good pictures without it?

How much differance is a 3.2 megapixel and a 5 megapixel when it comes to quality on a 1600x1200? is it noticeable?

thanks for your help guys.

Regarding the pictures from Adul's Canon S1 IS: Adul's problems were with lighting and shutter speed. It doesn't matter what camera you have - for those indoor (ie. poorly lit) shots you've got to stand still, let your flash charge and let the slower shutter speed do its thing. Sorry, but while Sony's Hologram AF Assist might be useful... it can't work magic. I do like the hotshoe of the V1 however, that could be very useful if made use of.

I don't know why anyone ever mentions camera media. CF, SD, MMC...who cares. You're going to buy it once and that will be the end of it. Media format should not be a consideration in this purchasing decision.

 

[vi edit]

I don't know why anyone ever mentions camera media. CF, SD, MMC...who cares. You're going to buy it once and that will be the end of it. Media format should not be a consideration in this purchasing decision.

I dislike Sony media sticks for two reasons -

1) At this time nothing above 512 meg
2) It's 2x-3x more expensive than most other competing formats

That IS something significant. Plus, with CF or SD, I can use it multiple devices - PDA's, DAP's, printers, ect. In general, only Sony branded products have memory stick compatibility.

To me those are important things to take into consideration.

 

[Ornery]

"...while Sony's Hologram AF Assist might be useful... it can't work magic."

That critical feature is strictly for allowing the camera to lock focus when lesser cameras would be unable to. Between that, the hotshoe, 4X zoom, fairly bright Zeiss lens and nice price, it's not much of a contest.

$52.00 SanDisk 256MB Memory Stick Pro VS $40.00 Sandisk 256MB CompactFlash Ultra II
Oh, the horror! :shocked:

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: yllus

Originally posted by: brunswickite
I also liked the Sony DSC-V1 but I am not too sure about Sony's propeitary memory stick. Also i know it supports an external flash but will it still take good pictures without it?

How much differance is a 3.2 megapixel and a 5 megapixel when it comes to quality on a 1600x1200? is it noticeable?

thanks for your help guys.

Regarding the pictures from Adul's Canon S1 IS: Adul's problems were with lighting and shutter speed. It doesn't matter what camera you have - for those indoor (ie. poorly lit) shots you've got to stand still, let your flash charge and let the slower shutter speed do its thing. Sorry, but while Sony's Hologram AF Assist might be useful... it can't work magic. I do like the hotshoe of the V1 however, that could be very useful if made use of.

I don't know why anyone ever mentions camera media. CF, SD, MMC...who cares. You're going to buy it once and that will be the end of it. Media format should not be a consideration in this purchasing decision.

I'd have to disagree there. If we're talking SD and CF, I'd have to say you're right. But when we're talking about lesser used standards like xD or MS, price is DEFINITELY a factor.

I picked up my Viking 1GB CF card for $62.

Lexar 512MB CF cards are running $30 AR right now.
Cheapest 512MB xD card I can find is running $137
Cheaper 512MB MS I can find is $88
Cheapset 1GB MS I can find is $155

If we're talking around a ~$90 - $100 difference in media costs, I think that could sway things.

That being said, two of the main reasons why I went with the Canon A-Series is the CF form factor and the use of regular old AA batteries instead of proprietary battery packs.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: Ornery
"...while Sony's Hologram AF Assist might be useful... it can't work magic."

That critical feature is strictly for allowing the camera to lock focus when lesser cameras would be unable to. Between that, the hotshoe, 4X zoom, fairly bright Zeiss lens and nice price, it's not much of a contest.

$52.00 SanDisk 256MB Memory Stick Pro VS $40.00 Sandisk 256MB CompactFlash Ultra II
Oh, the horror! :shocked:

SanDisk Ultra II - Flash Memory Card - 512 MB 118.99

Sandisk 512MB Ultra II CompactFlash Memory Card Retail Free 2nd Day $62.75

mem stick is 2x as expensive, and slower CF media which is fine for P&S digitals is even cheaper

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Ornery
"...while Sony's Hologram AF Assist might be useful... it can't work magic."

That critical feature is strictly for allowing the camera to lock focus when lesser cameras would be unable to. Between that, the hotshoe, 4X zoom, fairly bright Zeiss lens and nice price, it's not much of a contest.

$52.00 SanDisk 256MB Memory Stick Pro VS $40.00 Sandisk 256MB CompactFlash Ultra II
Oh, the horror! :shocked:

SanDisk Ultra II - Flash Memory Card - 512 MB 118.99

Sandisk 512MB Ultra II CompactFlash Memory Card Retail Free 2nd Day $62.75

mem stick is 2x as expensive, and slower CF media which is fine for P&S digitals is even cheaper

I agree, and look at Secure Digital costs:


SanDisk SDSDB-512-A10 512 MB Secure Digital Card $38.94 after rebate

And that's another thing, you ALWAYS find deals/rebates on SD/CF media b/c there are so many of them out there. Pricing isn't nearly as generous for xD/MS

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Ornery
"...while Sony's Hologram AF Assist might be useful... it can't work magic."

That critical feature is strictly for allowing the camera to lock focus when lesser cameras would be unable to. Between that, the hotshoe, 4X zoom, fairly bright Zeiss lens and nice price, it's not much of a contest.

$52.00 SanDisk 256MB Memory Stick Pro VS $40.00 Sandisk 256MB CompactFlash Ultra II
Oh, the horror! :shocked:

SanDisk Ultra II - Flash Memory Card - 512 MB 118.99

Sandisk 512MB Ultra II CompactFlash Memory Card Retail Free 2nd Day $62.75

mem stick is 2x as expensive, and slower CF media which is fine for P&S digitals is even cheaper

I agree, and look at Secure Digital costs:


SanDisk SDSDB-512-A10 512 MB Secure Digital Card $38.94 after rebate

And that's another thing, you ALWAYS find deals/rebates on SD/CF media b/c there are so many of them out there. Pricing isn't nearly as generous for xD/MS

holy crap too bad i dont have a camera that takes SD

 

[NFS4]

Sandisk 1GB Ultra II CompactFlash: $98
Sandisk 1GB Ultra II Memory Stick PRO: $219

 

[brunswickite]

right now, i guess its between the A95 and the Sony DSC-V1 , I am going to read some more reviews.

Plus I am a novice when taking pictures so I would probably be using full automatic settings.. just want to point and shoot.

 

[PricklyPete]

I bought a Sony DSC-W1 for my P&S camera and couldn't be more happy for what I use it for. No, it is not a replacement for a SLR, but it is a great little P&S. Just the right size, beautiful LCD, 30fps video, very quick (almost no shutter lag), etc.

 

[dr150]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

I don't know why anyone ever mentions camera media. CF, SD, MMC...who cares. You're going to buy it once and that will be the end of it. Media format should not be a consideration in this purchasing decision.

I dislike Sony media sticks for two reasons -

1) At this time nothing above 512 meg
2) It's 2x-3x more expensive than most other competing formats

That IS something significant. Plus, with CF or SD, I can use it multiple devices - PDA's, DAP's, printers, ect. In general, only Sony branded products have memory stick compatibility.

To me those are important things to take into consideration.

Dude, bdo your research before you start spewing fallacies.

++Media sticks DO come in the 1GB size. They're even the fast PRO version.

++ Media sticks are more expensive than CF or SD but nowhere near the expense of xD memory cards that Olympus and Fuji cameras use. The only memory that could cause a person not to buy a camera are the xD cards (i.e. $160 512mb xD vs. $180 1GB Mediastick).


Users will ultimately be drained with any type of memory. I have $200 worth of smartmedia cards that are now extict b/c of the 128mb limits. As technology advances, all type of memory currently in use will ultimately go by the wayside.............In other words, a camera purchase decision shouldn't be made on what type of memory it uses, except perhaps the prohibitively expensive xD media card.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: dr150

Originally posted by: vi_edit

I don't know why anyone ever mentions camera media. CF, SD, MMC...who cares. You're going to buy it once and that will be the end of it. Media format should not be a consideration in this purchasing decision.

I dislike Sony media sticks for two reasons -

1) At this time nothing above 512 meg
2) It's 2x-3x more expensive than most other competing formats

That IS something significant. Plus, with CF or SD, I can use it multiple devices - PDA's, DAP's, printers, ect. In general, only Sony branded products have memory stick compatibility.

To me those are important things to take into consideration.

Dude, bdo your research before you start spewing fallacies.

++Media sticks DO come in the 1GB size. They're even the fast PRO version.

++ Media sticks are more expensive than CF or SD but nowhere near the expense of xD memory cards that Olympus and Fuji cameras use. The only memory that could cause a person not to buy a camera are the xD cards (i.e. $160 512mb xD vs. $180 1GB Mediastick).


Users will ultimately be drained with any type of memory. I have $200 worth of smartmedia cards that are now extict b/c of the 128mb limits. As technology advances, all type of memory currently in use will ultimately go by the wayside.............In other words, a camera purchase decision shouldn't be made on what type of memory it uses, except perhaps the prohibitively expensive xD media card.

If you're going to say that someone would have a cow b/c of a $160 512MB xD card vs a $180 1GB MS, wouldn't you think their eyes would bulge when they saw a 512MB Sandisk SD card for $40 or a 1GB Sandisk Ultra II CF card for only $92 (or even a Viking 1GB CF card for only $62) compared to the price of MemorySticks?

 

[Ornery]

At what resolution is the OP going to be shooting at? I've shot 99% of my images at 1.2MB per image. That's about 90 images per 128MB stick. It takes a couple seconds to swap sticks if I do happen to shoot more than that. If everybody on this board shoots so GD many images, where are they from Anand's wedding? My God, if that wasn't the place to shoot mega quantities of images, where is?

Anyway, how many images does the OP intend to shoot, since he already said this was merely going to be a P&S tool? The MS VS CF VS whatever, is moot when you're talking 256MB sizes... PLENTY for P&S duty!

Tell ya what Brunswick, buy the damn thing from someplace that you can return it easily. I'm certainly glad I did. When I was in the market for a "point & shoot", pocketable camera, I ended up returning one to Circuit City, and a second one to Sears. I got flippin' awesome deals both times, but that don't mean shlt in the long run. First and foremost, that piece of gear has to bring home nice quality memories... one after another, in effortless fashion. If it can't do that, TAKE IT BACK!

 

[Anubis]

100% of my shots are bigger then 5megs i get about 90 per 512 CF card i have 4 of them 2 transcernd 40x and 2 sandisk ultra 2s

on the other camera they are 9 megs and i get 14 per 128 meg Smart Media Card, i have 2 of them and 2 64 meg ones

even shooting Jpeg they are over 2 megs on both cameras

 

[Ornery]

So, Brunswick should buy what size for his intended purpose? And, shoot at what size?

 

[Ornery]

Typical.

Always piping up in the DC topics with absolutely no regard for the requirements of the person who started the topic. One topic after another, blathering on about this and that tidbit of worthless info, unrelated to anything being considered.

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: Ornery
Typical.

Always piping up in the DC topics with absolutely no regard for the requirements of the person who started the topic. One topic after another, blathering on about this and that tidbit of worthless info, unrelated to anything being considered.

This is helpful to this particular thread, how?

 

[compfreak999]

Originally posted by: biostud666
I like my Sony DSC-P100

agreed!

 

[Ornery]

Originally posted by: ActuaryTm

Originally posted by: Ornery
Typical.

Always piping up in the DC topics with absolutely no regard for the requirements of the person who started the topic. One topic after another, blathering on about this and that tidbit of worthless info, unrelated to anything being considered.

This is helpful to this particular thread, how?

It's VERY helpful to the umpteen future P&S, DC camera topics that will pop up within the next couple weeks. With any luck, they won't be littered with "awesome info" that pertains only to DSLRs and the like.

 

[MaxDepth]

Can any of these cameras take on filters or other lenses? I know the DSC-F717 can. And looking at the Sony site, I see the DSC-V1 can too.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: MaxDepth
Can any of these cameras take on filters or other lenses? I know the DSC-F717 can. And looking at the Sony site, I see the DSC-V1 can too.

My A95 can. I bought a filter kit (came with the adapter tube) for it on eBay with the eBay Anything Points I earned with my eBay Mastercard.

I'm currently weighing the benefit/cost of getting a telephoto lense...

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: MaxDepth
Can any of these cameras take on filters or other lenses? I know the DSC-F717 can. And looking at the Sony site, I see the DSC-V1 can too.

Brief summary found here.

 

[MaxDepth]

Originally posted by: ActuaryTm

Originally posted by: MaxDepth
Can any of these cameras take on filters or other lenses? I know the DSC-F717 can. And looking at the Sony site, I see the DSC-V1 can too.

Brief summary found here.

Thanks much ActuaryTim and NFS4!
It looks like I'll be joining the ranks of digitaldom soon. I can spend up to $500 for base camera and hoepfully I can find a deal before Beerfest.

 

[brunswickite]

Originally posted by: Ornery
So, Brunswick should buy what size for his intended purpose? And, shoot at what size?

I dont know much about photography so I will be on all auto settings, and want to point and shoot. Also I plan on taking pictures at 1600x1200.. i think any more then that is a bit overkill though i could be wrong.

 

[vi edit]

Dude, bdo your research before you start spewing fallacies.

Sorry. Cnet said no 1 gig MS until late October and all my prices were pulled off of newegg. Newegg didn't have any 1 gig MS cards listed.