What makes a good digital camera?

[Aganack1]

I've been looking at buying a camera...fuji finepix 3800 is there a better camera out there and why... what are some things I should look for. is there any advantages in the different media card types. anything else you thing would be useful for me to know.. and any good reviews.

Thanks

 

[Maki]

DP Review is the god king spongemaster of all sites.

Also DC Resource is very nice.

At the price of the finepix 3800 I bought the minolta f100. Very nice. 4 MP. Good lens. Small.

How do you plan on using the camera? I wanted tons of resolution (Which isn't just megapixels. The lens and processor have a lot to do with it.) and a small size.

I don't see that the fuji lets you save in a uncompressed format. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't see that.

The minolta can save in TIFF format. That uses a ton of memory (11 Megs for a full 4MP image.) but it is loss less. The advantage there is that you can do the jpeg conversion yourself and decide how much detail you're willing to give up rather than letting the camera do it.

One of the nice things about canon's cameras is that they use a RAW mode that takes less memory on the camera. You have to convert them to TIFFs on your pc but you can take more pictures before you have to transfer them to the pc.

 

[MrPhelps]

Steves Digicams

 

[chizow]

You have to ask what you want in the camera. Do you want something that snaps pictures with no-frills in digital format, or do you want something that gives you control over what you shooting?

Size and durability were important factors for me, as I knew I would be using my camera mostly for social events, vacations, and other occasions where I would be active and not want to lug around a huge camera with 30 attachments.

Image quality and resolution are also considerations. Do you intend to print your pictures or are most of them destined to sit on your HDD's and maybe be distributed via e-mail or cd-rom?

And yes, I do think memory format is important as well. I think CF is probably the best when it comes to performance, price, and compatibility. Smart Media is slower I believe, and Mem Sticks are proprietary, cost more, and have smaller denominations. Included in this is the accessories that are included with your camera. Its better to spend a little upfront on a camera that gives you a rechargeable battery, a charger, ac adapter, car adapter, CF to PC reader etc. etc. instead of spending $300 or so for all your accessories after market.

Nice 3.3 mpixel cams can be had for ~300-~$400 US now. I paid around $600 for a Nikon Coolpix 885 about a year ago, and its one of the best purchases I've made in the last few years. Its nice being able to carry around a digital camera in your pocket on vacations and not feel like its bogging you down or making you look like a tourist.

Again, I would evaluate what your priorities are in a camera, and then as the others stated above, check those sites out for a camera that matches your needs. They are all great sites and review just about every digital camera you can find on the street.
Chiz