Digital vs Film

[ejoech]

Hello all,

I'm interested in purchasing a new digital camera, and I'm wondering what the technology can offer today. I got a Sony Mavica last Christmas that wrote directly to floppies. At first I loved it, but I soon got annoyed with the quality of it. Do digital cameras offer any better quality now? The reason I want a new one is because I'm interested in getting into a little bit of photography, and would like to be able to edit them digitally. Should I get a good digital camera, or get a cheaper film camera and have the film store put it in a floppy, or purchase a nice scanner and scan them? Are scanners able to perfectly scan them onto the computer?

-Sage

 

[HD2GO]

A higher end digital camera (about $1000) is probably your best bet if it is within your budget. A conventional camera + film scanner combination works but quality varies depending on the quality of the conventional camera and the film scanner. Better ones will easily cost you more than a higher end digital camera. Go with Nikon or Olympus. Get at least 2Mpixels or better. You will be surprised by the image quality. I have made 8x10 prints with the pictures I took with my Nikon Coolpix 950 and I was surprised by the high quality prints I got. The 3Mpixels ones are even better. Good luck.

 

[Sohcan]

<< I got a Sony Mavica last Christmas... >>

Well, that's your problem I highly recommend you go with one of the big four (Nikon, Olympus, Kodak, Canon) if you're buying a digital camera. Sony cameras may toute a lot of (useless) features, but the real camera companies make digital cameras with unbeatable image quality. For mid-range ($400-$500), I'd recommend the Canon PowerShot S10 or Kodak DC280; for higher-end, there's the Nikon Coolpix 950/990, the PowerShot S20, and the Kodak DC290 (Personally, I'm looking at the Olympus E-10 4Mpixel digital SLR w/4x optical zoom....for $1800 ).

Digital vs. Film is still a matter of debate...While 3mpixel consumer digital cameras may offer resolution that will compete with 8&quot;x10&quot; prints, these lower end cameras still can't offer the low-light performance, color saturation, and contrast of film cameras. Mid- to high-end digital cameras narrow the gap between digital and film. A friend of mine does professional photography, and while he still mainly relies on film, he loves his Powershot S10. He scans his film using a 6Mpixel negative scanner...while it produces high-quality digital copies of his film shots, he has to spend a lot of time cleaning up noise from the scanner (although it is an older scanner).

Check out Digital Photography Review for many side-by-side comparisons and reviews of digital cameras.

 

[mans]

I would recommend Canon PowerShot G1. Read about it at www.dpreview.com or www.steves-digicams.com

 

[ejoech]

test

 

[ejoech]

er I just posted a semi-long post and it didn't go through..oh well..lemme try to recap:

to HD2GO -

Do you think you could send me an 8x10 print or two, to see how the quality is ? I could pay you some money over Paypal..talk to me on aim at &quot;sage&quot; or email me at echevins@optonline.net

-Sage

 

[NaughtyusMaximus]

If he can send you the pictures directly, you should be able to print them out yourself (take them down to a local photo-shop).

 

[GTaudiophile]

I took a photography class a few years ago, and although I love B&amp;W photography, you need your own darkroom to really have fun with it. I recently bought a Canon PowerShot S10, and now I shoot pictures like a mad man. I can do that when there is no film or developing to worry about. I love my PowerShot, and I firmly stand behind Canon digicams like the G1 and D30. I think Canon and Nikon make the best digicams around. Digital photography allows for a whole new level of freedom, and I can say without much doubt, that I will never go back to film. I just enter my &quot;digital darkroom&quot; known as PhotoShop for all my photo touch-ups.

As mentioned before, DPreview is a great site (see my signature). You can also check out photos I've taken at my web site, http://threewood.tripod.com.

 

[ejoech]

HD2GO -

Can you please send a couple of 8x10 images from your Nikon Coolpix 950 to echevins@optonline.net? I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

Sage

 

[hans007]

get something with a zoom, and get a 2 megapixel or above. On good photo paper it should look great, i'm gonna try and get ofoto to make prints of my stuff. Fuji , epson and casio are good brands too, its not just canon, olympus, nikon and kodak. 2 megapixel , if you print 4x6 or 5x7 you probably wont be able to tell if its a real photo or not with photo paper and a good printer (like a dye sub like ofoto woudl use or a really good ink jet). 8x10 you might want to get a 3 megapixel though.

 

[ejoech]

HD2GO -

You alive, man?

If you read this, read my message above.

thanks,
Sage