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Which digital camera should I buy?? Can any1 Help??

E

Ender510

Golden Member
Hi everyone, this is my first post on this msg board. It's great that everyone's responses are very informative and I hope you guys can help me out as well.

I would like to buy a digital camera within the next week or two and trying to figure out which to buy. My price range is around $500. Things that are important to me include:

USB, resolution (I am aiming for 2.1 mpixel or more), 8 MB min. memory card (do any cameras come with more for this range), 35mm camera feel (not too large), lens protection (like the Olympus), Decent Night Time pic capability, Takes regular batteries, Decent Zoom (I see most are specified as 3x), quick point and shoot ability w/o a lag between each click

First, which camera would you guys recommend based on my preferences? I am leaning towards the Olympus D490, but am willing to spend a bit more than $500 if there is something a bit better. Only thing about the Olympus D490, I noticed that it is not USB. Does this mean I need to buy a card reader? How exactly does this card reader work? Do I just place this card on the reader and all the pics get uploaded?

Questions I had: 1. What is the resolution of a regularly developed 35mm photo for a 4x6? What is the equivalency in terms of mpixel for a digital camera? 2. When using the serial or USB, where do the files go? Do they go to a directory specified by me?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 
One quick follow up question, I noticed on Amazon that D460 has USB although D490 does not. Is this correct?
 
I have a kodak DC280, I picked it up at buy.com for $416+ SH , thats with the $30 coupon for over $150 orders.

2.0mpixel
2X optical 3X digital
8MB
USB, Serial, NTSC/PAL
Uses 4 AA bateries
include a charger and 4 Ni-MH batteries, and 4 alkaline
its solid. Can take good pictures in the dark if you set it up right at that time.
 
Wow, the Nikon seems like a REALLY great deal.. what would be the cons of this camera though? I noticed that it uses the Compact Flash memory. Is this a proprietary card? Isn't the SmartMedia better?
 
I got a Nikon coolpix 800 and it has incredible picture quality and ease of use. The price can be reduced to about $340 if you shop intelligently. Also, I recommend NiCad batteries, and an extra Compactfash memory card 64mb.
 
No, compact flash is not at all proprietary. Some cameras use CF, some use SM. Here is a review http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikoncp800/. Lets see..cons? It doesn't come with rechargeable batteries or built in USB support. That's about it.

BTW, this price is for today only. To get the price down to $311, you need to use a $30 off $150 coupon.
 
Old Fart: Does the missing cover for the lens ever annoy you at all? Did you attach the cover anyway?

Few other questions I had:
How exactly does this card reader work? Do I just place this card on the reader and all the pics get uploaded?

Questions I had: 1. What is the resolution of a regularly developed 35mm photo for a 4x6? What is the equivalency in terms of mpixel for a digital camera? 2. When using the serial or USB, where do the files go? Do they go to a directory specified by me?

Thx in advance and for the quick responses guys!

 
The card reader acts just like a drive. The images stored on the media are "files" and you transfer, copy, delete just like any file (to wherever you want). I actually used some 16mb smartmedia to transfer some big files from one computer to another that had no cd-rom (nice little fringe benefit).

For quality prints it is recommended that you have a camera capable of 300 pixels per inch desired. 4x6 is 1200x1800 = 2.1 mega

I'm very happy with my Olympus d-450z, but you might like the d460z for USB. The coolpix 800 seems nice also. I got the impression the Olympus takes better night shots though. Compare the ISO (sensitivity).
 
Actually, I don't own the camera. I have a Cannon A50. A friend has the CP800, and has lost the lens cover. Yes, its a good idea to attach it!! You can take shots in 2 modes. A 1280 x 960 shot will print a nice 8 x 10. The lower resolution 960 x 720 will print a nice 5 x 7. Get a Sandisk CF USB reader for about $30. You pop the flash card in, and its just another drive. Move the pictures to wherever you like. This is a must have. Serial is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too slow.
 
Thanks for all the information! I am fairly sure I am going to go with the Olympus 490 vs. the Coolpix 800 because:

1) lens cover is better
2) better zoom ability
3) i've heard 490 has better night time in door photo ability
4) less heavier (not by that much though)

Now, I gotta find a place to purchase this! I was wondering if you guys know anywhere to go for a good package deal or where to buy items individually? I am looking to puchase: camera bag, rechargeable batteries, bigger memory sticks, USB Card Reader.. anything I miss? Thanks again..

 
for $600, and less if you really shop around, you can get the toshiba pdr-m70. I got mine for ~$460 or so. it's an awesome 3.3mp camera, comes with 16mb smartmedia, 3x optical zoom, usb, 24mb internal buffer for burst photography and it's not nearly as cumbersome as the coolpix 9xx cameras. the camera does use a proprietary battery, but it makes the camera lighter and the battery lasts for 150 or so shots. a second battery will cost you almost as much as 4NiMH batteries with a rapid charger. check out http://www.phearless.org/photos/PDRM0034.JPG for a sample shot of a quick aim and shoot picture. no tripod, no flash. just a rose from my garden 🙂 gluck,

Girdogg
 
Girdogg: Where did you pick up your camera and accessories from? So it came with everything you mentioned? How is the lag time between each shot and the lag between when you hit and button and when it actually takes the picture?
 
I got my camera from computers4sure.com when there was a 20% off promo for the cybershop.com portal. 765 - 153 (20% off) - 100 (rebate) - 40 (price drop a week after i bought it). I haven't purchased any accessories for it yet because it comes with everything you need to get going. If you want an extra battery you can pick one up for ~$30 ... check ibuyer.net and search for PDR-BT2.

Many of the reviews I read and my personal experience tell me that Toshiba makes the fastest cameras on the market. The 24mb SDRAM buffer keeps cycle times to 1-1.5 seconds between shots. Burst mode lets you snap off 8 pics in 8-10 seconds. There's another mode that snaps off 36 shots in 2.3 seconds. They are 320x218 shots put into a collage format. The lag time between pushing the button halfway for focus and then all the way to take the shot is very negligible, I think I read .3 second somewhere. These are all when the picture quality is set to the highest setting.

I'm buying the 52mm adapter ring to put on a Polarized or UV filter that I'll use for every shot. It'll serve a double purpose in protecting the camera and enhancing shots.

You can find reviews for the camera at http://www.steves-digicams.com, http://www.imaging-resource.com, and http://www.megapixel.net and http://www.dcresource.com. hope that helps. oh yeah, there's also an undocumented feature that's huge! Manual focus and manual setting for aperture and shutter speed. Gives you ultimate control over the camera. good luck,

Girdogg
 
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