good "middle-end" digital camera?

[joecool]

i've really been enjoying the free fuji finepix 1300 i got off one of the win xp deals (thanks at hot deals!) & am thinking about upgrading to something with more power. any recomendations on a decent 2-3 mpixel camera? what should i look for? & what is a reasonable price to pay?

(btw, computergeeks has a reconditioned hp for $169 - is this a deal?)

thanks,

joe

 

[R2D2]

I'd move up to at least a 3.34 MP camera.

Consider that an 8x10 requires 2.3 times as many pixels as a 5x7 (to achieve the same resolution!).


Also keep in mind that pixel count isn't the entire story.

The quality of the CCD and the lens also plays a vital role.
Beyond that, the electronics, lens speed, shutter speeds, focusing speed, zoom range, (not to mention the camera features and controls) are among the myriad of factors that will influence how good your pictures will turn out.

I'd see what the professional reviewers say.
Expect to pay at least $400 for a 3MP camera that gets most of the above right.

My personal choice at this time would be the Epson 3100z (around $500 - $600).

BTW, I'm currently using a Sony DSC-P30 (1.3MP) and just LOVE it. I can't say enough good things about it. I'm currently holding out for a 5.2MP camera (when prices start dropping below the stratosphere).

Good Luck,
R2

 

[ed21x]

it's always nice to have an analog zoom in addition to the digital zoom 🙂
try the Canon Powershot A10 or the Fuji Finepix 2600- both have a 2.1 megapixel resolution and 3x optical zoom and are around the $200-300 pricerange

 

[BeauJangles]

Isn't 'Middle End' a contradiction? 😀

 

[MasterHoss]

<< Isn't 'Middle End' a contradiction >>



hahahaha

 

[joecool]

well, there's "high-end" and "low-end" so it seemed like there should be a "middle-end" 😀

 

[The Dancing Peacock]

do you want point and shoot, or some SLR-like manual controls.

I was looking into it. A big priority for me was a "big zoom" everything had such a small zoom, except for 2 that I looked at. The Fuji Finepix 2800z and the Olympus C-2100UZ. Both are ~2.1 mp, I can't remember the actual counts. The fuji is a point and shoot with a 6x Optical zoom, it's sold online at alot of places for about 300; b & m it's ~400. The c-2100 has some slr features: shutter priority, aperture priority, full manual, full auto focus. It has a 10x Optical zoom plus image stabilization as well. The Olympus is sitting upstairs as I write, waiting for the batteries that it comes with to charge. Paid 499 for it before tax from CompUSA. They got a shipment of 7 this AM, after being out for a week+, I got the last one at 7 pm. tonight.

I highly recommend

http://www.dpreview.com

It's a great site, it has reviews, and forums for every brand. It's an excellent resource.