I am looking at cameras with less than 3.9 MP which must have optical zoom. Price with at least 64 mb of memory should be less than 270. What else should I be considering?
I’m not entirely sure whether this is a GQ or an IMHO, but as I’m not a Mod I don’t have to decide!
Other factors worth considering:
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First and foremost, what happens if you buy it and it turns out to be a lemon, a crock, it just doesn’t work properly? With many stores, if you buy a digicam and it’s faulty, they won’t just replace it with another new one, they’ll promise to ‘send it away for repair’. This is very naughty and contravenes all kinds of legislation, but that doesn’t stop it happening a lot, especially with electronics. So hammer this point out with the store before you buy anything, and get it all in writing. And pay by credit card - this gives you additional redress if it turns out to be a crock.
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Connectivity to the rest of your system. A digicam’s no use unless you can download the pix (relatively quickly and painlessly) to your computer. So check what connectivity and download options are supposed to come with the camera, and that they will work with your PC or Mac. Again, it’s important not to give the store any wiggle room. If you have any connectivity problems, they’ll swear blind it’s your PC/Mac that’s at fault, not the camera or its connectivity options.
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What kind of batteries does it run on? Are these widely available or only purchasable from the manufacturer (= chance to rip you off for as long as you’re using their camera, just like inkjet printers and ink cartridges)? What do the batteries cost? Is the battery re-charger included in the price or an optional extra? Is there a mains adaptor available at all, or included with the camera? Digital cameras EAT batteries, and the option to run off the mains is often very handy for all indoors work. Note: if they SAY that there is a suitable mains adaptor available, ask to physically SEE one before you believe them. I’ve been lied to about this by a very big name store here in the UK.
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Is there a suitable screw attachment on the base for fitting the camera on standard tripods? Often very useful.
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Flash options. You will need automatic flash, manual flash, red-eye reduction flash, no flash.
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A macro mode is useful.
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Software bundle. It should come with a lite version of Photoshop (e.g. Photoshop Elements) and some download software and some software for managing your digital image library.
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A self-timer is also useful.
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Manual over-ride mode for at least setting the exposure manually is more useful than you might realise.
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For Zeus’s sake stick to a well-known brand that obviously has a big stake in the digital camera market and is going to be a player for many years to come. Last thing you want is a ‘bargain’ camera made by people who won’t be in the market in 12 months’ time. Personally, I recommend Nikon. Can’t go wrong.
Here’s a great Web site for learning more about various digital cameras:
Here’s another: http://www.dpreview.com/.
BTW: you didn’t specify the units of currency. USD? I haven’t studied the market in the last couple of months, but I think you may have to spend more.
I would recommend that you go to a brick-and-mortar retail store, possibly a camera specialty store, and actually use the models you are considering, preferably with a knowledgeable sales clerk hovering nearby to answer your questions. This is the best way (short of borrowing a friend’s camera) to discover if a particular design will annoy or delight you. If the camera you choose turns out to be difficult or annoying to use, the picture quality will suffer - you won’t take any, because the camera will sit in the closet, depreciating.
And if you pick a camera this way, I implore you to support the retailer who helped you out and answered your questions, even if it means paying a few bucks more than buying on-line.
In all but the cheapest toy cameras the memory will be a removable card and most cameras come with a too-small card if any at all. I suggest you look at a camera that uses compact flash memory as it is the lease expensive per megabyte and get the largest card you can. 64mb isn’t much at all, especially if you go on a trip. Costco has 256mb compact flash cards for $42.
If the camera takes a rechargable Li-Ion battery check the cost of a spare as it will be high. If it takes AAs you’ll want to get nickel metal hydride batteries, at least two sets, and a fast charger.
If you want a decent snapshot camera that takes good photos, I suggest you check out any of the Canon PowerShot Digital Elphs. It’s exactly the size of a pack of cigarettes, has surprisingly good optics for a camera it’s size, is within the price range you ask, has the 35mm equivalent of about a 28mm-70mm zoom.
I work with some high-end digital SLRs (Nikon D1H), and when it comes to a portable digital camera to take to parties, or on vacation, I’m very happy with the Canon S100. (That’s the old 2 Megapixel version. They’ve got a 3+ and 4 megapixel version, too. The S100 is probably long out of production, but still able to be had on eBay.)
My main complaint about the camera is the battery. When using flash, battery life tends to be pretty short, so I suggest buying at least one or two extra batteries to go with it. Otherwise, it’s a surprisingly good, dependable compact camera within a reasonable price range.
I used to be a devoted Sony digicam guy, but after a really disappointing P32 (IIRC), we took ours back and got a Canon Powershot, larger than the elph, but the hell of a lot cheaper.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/ has more technical information than you’d ever want to know on tons of cameras and, most impotantly, has test shots on all settings on a variety of (more-or-less standardized to help judge between different models) objects.
Another few factors to consider:
Size - it really matters with cameras (at least it does to me) - IMO cameras should either be as compact as possible (while still functional) or if larger, they should be laden with useful features - I’m not sure what they have on the market at the moment, but a couple of years ago we bought a Kodak digital camera for the place where I work (I was not involved in the buying decision) - seems like Kodak were (at the time) quite happy to make cameras that were neither compact nor feature-laden - the styling was very much that of a medium-sized 35mm camera and when you pick the thing up, it feels hollow.
From experience, I know that, aside from trips where I am deliberately setting out to take photos as the primary objective (where I would be carrying a tripod etc) I will only take a camera places with me if it isn’t inconvenient to carry, so it needs to be something that will slip into any pocket easily. - I have a Sony Cybershot U30 for this purpose - only 2 Mpixels and no zoom, but takes very good photos and copes very well with a variety of lighting conditions.
Boot delay - Some cameras make you wait quite a few seconds between switching on and the moment when you can first take a picture, by which time the UFO or unicorn may have disappeared from view - make sure you test your prospective purchases for this.
Shutter delay - Some cameras take longer than others to take and apply the measurements that allow it to control focus and exposure/aperture - this is manifest as a delay between pressing the button and the picture actually being taken - make sure you’re comfortable with this too on your choice of camera. Some cameras have an ‘action shot’ mode, where the focus and/or exposure is fixed, allowing the delay to be minimised (albeit at the expense of absolute picture quality).
I agree with the posters prior to me ( I was late) I just bought a camera. Went with the Nikon Coolpics 4300.
What do you want to use the camera for? Just general snapshots or heavy duty camera work?
One way to save some money, find a few cameras that fit your need online, then see if there are some refurb models on overstock.com. If you find one in your price range go to a briock and mortar store and test it out against other models and see if it behaves like you expect it to.
If you can find a refurb online many times you can get the camera with a 2 year extended warranty and a second battery and memory card for the price of the new model.
Fabulous advice already. I’ll make mine much more basic.
Pick up the camera and turn it on. Would you be able to take a picture almost immediately, or will you need to hire an engineer to explain all the intricacies of the dang thing?
Consider a proprietary battery. The Kodak I have, has one, and I’ve got a spare with a small charger. It lasts for a very long time before needing to be recharged.
I recently returned a Canon that took standard batteries…I quickly realized I was going to need to buy stock in a battery company if I wanted to take any amount of pictures. Drove me nuts, as well as the interface of the camera being full of lovely icons that I had no clue what they stood for.
I’m not a huge fan of manuals. First and foremost, I want to be able to pick it up and take a picture or 20. Then delve into the instruction booklet to see what else the camera is capable of.
My 2 Canadian Cents.
No, you buy a set of NiMH AA rechargables and a quick charger for approx $30 and never look back. It’s a cheaper solution than propriatary batteries and it’s very easy to get regular AAs in a pinch for a few important shots if you run out of juice.
On the flip side, the propriatary batteries are usually smaller, allowing for ultra-compact cameras. You’ll still probably want a second battery for backup, that’ll run you $30-$50 depending on the camera.
I run all my camera and headlamps on AAs, so I only have to carry a few spares when hiking.
Since you’re looking for advice rather than facts, I’ll move this thread to the IMHO forum.
bibliophage
moderator GQ
For the type and price camera you are looking for, you will probably have to deal with the bootup time and the freeze-frame problems. About the only way to avoid that is with the higher cost cameras or with a digital SLR such as the Nikon D100 that I just bought. But that’s in the $1500 range.
I would suggest the Nikon Coolpics series or the Olympus C series cameras to check out. There is a decent range of features and prices for both.
I hate to bang on about Sony, but the boot delay is something they specifically address with their camera OS; two seconds on my U30.
One thing there is no excuse for on any digital camera (and it would alone be grounds for rejection IMO) is having to select picture-taking-mode every time you turn the camera on - it should either remember the mode in which you left it or boot up with a usable (and ideally configurable) default mode - you shouldn’t have to fumble with menus and buttons to take a single picture.