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Post by savagejug on Mar 12, 2008 16:50:15 GMT -5
Going on vacation in April. I would like to take along a new digital camera. My camera knowledge is pretty much aim, click, and see if it turned out.
Can I get a good one for under $200? What features should I look for/insist upon?
What should I avoid?
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Post by wildman67 on Mar 12, 2008 16:58:13 GMT -5
Canon A570 IS is a good one and you can usualy pick it up on ebay for around $170 with a few extras.
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Post by savagejug on Mar 12, 2008 17:13:13 GMT -5
What type of extras should I be looking for or do I need?
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Post by wildman67 on Mar 12, 2008 17:46:55 GMT -5
Some vendors give a 2 to 4 gig sdhc card, cleaning kits, camera bags, tripods and rechargeable batteries.
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Post by bret on Mar 12, 2008 18:56:47 GMT -5
A computer. But I'm guessing you got that covered.
Of course, some people don't even have that. They use their digital cameras just like a film camera except that when they take their pics to be printed they can choose the ones they don't want to print. No use paying for anything except the keepers.
If you've had many rolls of film developed recently, you will appreciate the cost savings that digital offers.
A spare battery (or set of batteries) is always a good thing to have when you are out shooting. And I always like to carry at least one spare memory card just in case.
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Post by savagejug on Mar 12, 2008 19:15:32 GMT -5
Forgive the continued questions, but what I should I look for on the tech specs side of things?
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Post by CoffeeShooter on Mar 12, 2008 19:21:37 GMT -5
Do you know what are you going to take pictures of?
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Post by savagejug on Mar 12, 2008 19:42:19 GMT -5
Do you know what are you going to take pictures of? Airplanes, people, and maybe Gettysburg and Antietam.
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Post by wildman67 on Mar 12, 2008 21:54:24 GMT -5
Hey Jug, Don't worry about the questions since that is how you are going to learn anything.
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Post by Smilin' Jack on Mar 12, 2008 23:22:00 GMT -5
One suggestion I'd offer is to avoid a camera that doesn't use standard AA or AAA batteries. The propriatary rechargeable ones tend to be expensive to replace or to have extras on hand and need recharging to keep you snapping. The last thing you want is to be out of juice with lots more pics to take. The standard AAs etc. you can get easily, just about anywhere, at little cost. The new lithium varieties should last 3-4 times longer than the alkalines if you are so inclined.
The other annoyance that may have been improved with current models is something called shutter lag. With a film camera, you press the shutter and the picture is taken. Digital point and shoot cameras typically have a delay or lag between the time you press the shutter and when the picture gets taken, the lag can be up to 2 or 3 seconds. Long enough to lose the shot you thought you had. If you have a choice at about the same price point, let this be your second deciding feature.
As for mega pixels, any 5 or 6 mega pixel shots will look just great at 4X6 print size or even acceptable up to 8X10. Decent enlargements larger than that and I think you'd probably want more mega pixels.
The other feature that you'll want to consider is the preview screen. Anything less than about 2.5 inches is just too small to be useful for viewing or reviewing. What might look like a good shot on a tiny screen, turns out not to be on later enlargement.
The only other advice I'd offer is to read the manual, get familiar with all the icons and what they mean and the effect they produce. Since there is no developing cost, take a ton of pictures when you get the camera in order to get familiar with all of its functions and the results at the different settings and modes. You don't want to be reading the manual and trying to figure out how to use the camera when you should be taking pictures on your vacation.
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Post by 502blue on Mar 13, 2008 8:08:52 GMT -5
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80 7.2-Megapixel Digital Camera - Silver $179.99 7.2 MP Super HAD™ CCD
More megapixels give you more detail and definition when you make big prints or crop in tight on your subject. The advanced Sony® Super HAD™ (Hole Accumulated Diode) CCD design allows more light to pass to each pixel, increasing sensitivity and reducing noise.
Carl Zeiss® 3X Optical Zoom Lens Design
A top-quality Carl Zeiss® 3X Optical zoom lens design helps the DSC-W80 bring distant subjects closer and lets you frame shots quickly for better composition -- a real advantage for family sports, outdoor fun and travel photos.
Face Detection
By automatically controlling focus, exposure, color and flash, this new Sony feature reveals faces in shadow, makes skin tones look more natural and eliminates harsh facial glare -- to help bring out every expression on every face in every shot, so you'll capture the personalities and emotions that make memories come alive.
The Sony Double Anti-Blur Solution
With Super SteadyShot® Image Stabilization and high sensitivity (ISO 3200), the DSC-W80 compensates for shaky hands, minimizes blur, brightens images and allows flash-free shooting to preserve the mood -- with Sony Clear RAW™ Noise Reduction to take care of the picture noise that can ruin low-light shots.
HD Output
Thanks to Sony, your photo album can go high-def -- with direct HD output to your HDTV screen, so you can view DSC-W80 still photos in spectacular high definition clarity and detail. Your life never looked so exciting!
HD Slide Show with Music
It's the high-definition viewing experience that makes photos come alive on HDTV screens, accompanied by your choice of visual effects and any of four preset musical selections stored in memory or your favorite MP3 tunes downloaded from PC to your camera for use as background music.
9-Point Auto Focus
Because an off-center subject can make your shot more interesting, the DSC-W80 can measure auto-focus precision at 9 points on your screen -- giving you greater creative freedom to compose your image.
D-Range Optimization
Powered by the exclusive Sony Bionz® high-speed processing engine, D-Range Optimization preserves image data in bright highlights and reveals more detail in shadows or backlit areas -- for great results even in difficult lighting conditions.
In-Camera Retouching
The DSC-W80 lets you add creative effects to photos after you shoot -- including soft edge filter to soften backgrounds, cross filter to place starry 'dazzles' at highlight points, partial color filter to mute surrounding colors, even fish-eye filter to create interesting fish-eye lens effects.
In-Camera Red-Eye Reduction
'Glowing eyes' can ruin even the most creative photos -- so the DSC-W80 provides in-camera correction at the touch of a button to reduce lingering red-eye effect that other systems might miss.
Large 2.5' LCD Screen
The DSC-W80 provides a large, bright LCD screen for composing shots, checking results, sharing your photos on location -- and an optical viewfinder allows shooting in traditional rangefinder camera style.
Simple Setup Controls
A quick press of the Home button opens your user-friendly GUI -- and you can select functions by simply moving a cursor vertically or horizontally to the appropriate icon. Function names and the on-screen Function Guide display make it easier to learn camera setup operations.
31 MB Internal Memory
The DSC-W80 allows you to capture a large number of images without a flash memory card, so it's great for traveling or for quick candid snapshots.
Memory Stick Duo™ Media Convenience
A built-in slot accepts optional Memory Stick Duo™ media or Memory Stick PRO Duo™ media -- the compact, high-capacity storage media that make it easily to upload photos to your computer or make lab-quality prints at home on your Sony Picture Station™ digital printer (sold separately).
14X Smart Zoom® Feature
The Sony Smart Zoom® feature intelligently 'crops into' the central portion of interest in your photo, avoiding the image degradation of other digital zooms.
MPEG Movie VX Fine Mode
Captures VGA (640 x 480) audio/video clips at high frame rate (up to 30 frames per second), with length limited only by the capacity of your media.
Stamina® Battery Power
The DSC-W80 provides up to 340 shots with a fully charged NP-BG1 Lithium Ion battery -- enough shooting capacity to cover a long weekend or a whole vacation.
Nikon coolpix L14: $85.99 Features
7.1 megapixels: This camera captures photo-quality, 300dpi images up to 8.2' x 10.2', and good-quality 200dpi images up to 11.5' x 15.4'. That's plenty of sharp resolution to capture the finest details, crop creatively and produce beautiful enlargements.
Zoom: Optical zoom magnifies subjects without sacrificing resolution. This 3x optical zoom goes from a slight wide-angle view to a telephoto view that brings distant objects closer (35mm equivalent: 38mm-114mm). The 4x digital zoom picks up where optical zoom leaves off, stretching pixels to make the image look bigger.
2.4" LCD screen: The 2.4' LCD features an anti-reflection coating that allows images to be seen clearly even in direct sunlight.
Face-Priority AF: This smart camera automatically finds and focuses on faces to ensure superb portraits with clear, crisp focus.
High ISO: With its extended light sensitivity range of ISO 64 to ISO 1000, this camera provides new opportunities to shoot more effectively in lower lighting conditions. This high ISO means that the image sensor can handle shorter exposures to light, allowing faster shutter speeds that can prevent blurred images due to camera shake or moving subjects.
Red-eye removal: In-Camera Red-Eye Fix™ automatically fixes most instances of red-eye in the camera.
Lighting enhancement: D-Lighting compensates for underexposed images or insufficient flash by automatically adding light and detail to selected shots where needed, without affecting properly exposed areas.
Easy Auto mode: This mode makes photography even easier by taking control of settings, so you simply turn on the camera and shoot without worrying about them.
Long-lasting batteries: Capture 1,000 shots with the included Energizer® e²® Lithium® AA batteries.
Movie mode: When a still image just isn't enough, shoot 640 x 480 (VGA) video at 30 frames per second (fps).
Memory: This digital camera comes with 23MB of internal memory. Get the most out of your camera by adding a 1GB or larger SD or SDHC memory card. How much memory do you need? Click here to find out.
AND MY FAVORITE from personal experience: I have taken alot of "action" shots with this camera and they turn out great. I love this camera!
Fujifilm FinePix Z20fd 10-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black $199.99 Features
10.0 megapixels: The Fujifilm FinePix Z20 digital camera takes photo-quality, 300dpi images up to 8" x 12", and good-quality 200dpi images up to 13" x 19". More megapixels give you more freedom to crop, edit, and enlarge favorite portions of your photos.
Zoom: The 3x optical zoom brings you much closer to your subject—without sacrificing image quality. The 5.7x digital zoom picks up where optical zoom leaves off, stretching pixels to make the image look bigger.
2.5" LCD screen: This crisp LCD screen makes it easy to adjust settings, compose shots and share photos with friends. Choose the Micro Thumbnail view to create a 10 x 10 array of photos that makes it easy to find the right one.
Digital image stabilizer/high ISO: With a light sensitivity of up to ISO 1600, this camera can handle less than ideal lighting conditions. High ISO also means that the image sensor can handle short exposures to light, allowing fast shutter speeds that prevent blur due to camera shake or moving subjects.
Face detection: Just frame and snap! Fast Face Detection automatically and accurately finds and focuses faces with just the right brightness.
Red eye reduction: This camera automatically removes red-eye so your portraits look great.
Scene modes: Choose your mode, and this camera automatically adjusts settings such as shutter speed, flash and focus to adapt to the situation. This camera features a wide variety of scene modes, including portrait, landscape, sports and more.
Shoot movies: When a picture just isn't enough, shoot 640 x 480 pixel (VGA-quality) video, with sound, at 30 frames per second. The "One touch" button makes movies easy to shoot. And easy-to-use, built-in editing functions let you put the finishing touches on your movie creations.
Share images wirelessly: The IrSimple camera can wirelessly send photos and movies to friends with IrSimple-compatible devices. No more wires and cables—just select and send.
Memory: This digital camera comes with 45MB of internal memory. Increase memory capacity instantly by sliding in an optional SD/SDHC or xD-Picture memory card (sold separately). How much memory do you need? Click here to find out.
FYI, this camera comes with a charger. With the amount of pics my daughter takes, we haven't had a problem thus far with battery life.
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Post by Fredo on Mar 13, 2008 8:25:41 GMT -5
We have the canon powershot a560. I seem to recall that it was around $200 a few months ago, so it's probably less now.
We went with this camera for three reasons.
1. I wanted to get a camera that was made by a camera company instead of an electronics company. I figured I had a better chance of getting good optics that way.
2. It uses AA batteries, so I don't have to recharge it or keep a couple of $10 batteries on hand.
3. It uses a standard SD card for memory, so I'm not married to Sony's proprietary memory product.
We've been very happy with it and I have it on good authority that if your wife drops it in the Arizona desert, it will emerge unscathed.
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Post by CoffeeShooter on Mar 13, 2008 8:26:34 GMT -5
Which Arizona desert?
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Post by Fredo on Mar 13, 2008 8:28:11 GMT -5
We were on the way from Vegas to Grand Canyon West. Long drive down a dirt road so we could get ripped off by Indians.
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Post by savagejug on Mar 13, 2008 16:54:37 GMT -5
Thank you for your informative replies. Now to digest all the info, and start shopping.
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Post by wildman67 on Mar 13, 2008 17:15:16 GMT -5
Hey Jug, the A570 IS is a little better than the a560 since it has mage stabilization in it.
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