Information / Opinions Requested

12/06/2004 | reg45

[reg45]

I am thinking of upgrading my older digital camera, and I would like some comments from other digital photographers.

1. What camera (make/model) do you use?

2. If you were buying a new camera today, what makes/models would you consider and why?

3. What features do you consider important?

4. What features do you consider less useful?

Thanks!

[NautiNurse]

Opportunity for a Sony plug!

[BrooklynGOP]

Things that I find to be important are - low shutter lag, compactness, long zoom, image quality (ofcourse), full manual controls (ie, control over shutter speed, apperture, etc). I just upgraded my canon s230 to pentax 750z. so far I am happy. It got 5x zoom and 7.1 megapixels, full control and pretty compact.. also got a flip out lcd display that I thought was a gimmick at first, but now I find it to be very convenient. Ofcourse it all depends on your needs. Check out these websites for camera reviews - dcresource.com, dpreview.com, steves-digicams.com and imaging-resource.com

[BrooklynGOP]

Sony makes a good product, but their memorystick format is annoying.

[Fierce Allegiance]

Price range?

[Citizen James]

Kodak Pro SLR - you will be mine one day, oh yes, you will be mine. Sorry, I had a Wayne's World moment.

[leftee]

We use an Olympus 750 .

[NautiNurse]

I have a Sony PC-330 videocam that also takes beautiful still with the memory stick.

This year, considered buying the Canon Rebel (can use the lenses from my old Canon Rebel 35mm) and the Olympus C8080. However, the Sony takes such great pics, I'm on hold for a new camera right now.

Very detailed reviews for lots of cameras can be found at dpreview.com.

[jrestrepo]

For me the big issue is how does it perform in lowlight. I love my camera (Fuji) except in low light, then I want to make it end up in tiny little pieces on the floor. The problem is that in low light, the auto focus does not work well at all.

[WildTurkey]

My choice last Xmas was the Canon A70 but the price didn't break so I got the Kodak EasyShare CX6330. Very happy with it except that the resolution (3.1 mp) is ok for 4x6 but would like better. Some resolution is lost in their conversion to JPG format. Color corrections for different types of lighting (outdoor/indoor/flourescent) work great. Stick with one that uses AA batteries and get a set of rechargable batteries with a charger.

The A70 has been replace with the A75 and looks like a winner.

I went with the 256k card but would prefer two 128k cards as there is a lag when viewing photos when there are large numbers on the card (at least with my Kodak).

[NautiNurse]

Sony makes a good product, but their memorystick format is annoying.

No problems with the memory stick here. Have Sony desktop and notebook. Sandisk makes a nice multi-card reader too.

[MineralMan]

You left out one thing: How are you going to be using this camera? That's the real question.

Answer that, and you'll get some useful recommendations.

[Lawdoc]

I love my Nikon D-70.

There is a fair learning curve even though I had been a long time user of a N-80. That is not to say that it is difficult to take a photograph right out of the box - it isn't. Rather it took more time to learn the digital specific features and the differences in using digital vs. film.

Good luck

[Recall]

We JUST did this and it came in the mail this week. WOW is all I can say right now!
We got a Sony Digital Still Camera (also does video)
Model : MVC-CD500

We are still playing with it but I couldn't be happier with what we have seen so far.

www.sony.net

[MadAnthony1776]

I got a Canon PowerShot S1 IS. I like it a lot. Easy to use with 10x optical zoom (more important than digital zoom)and about 3+ digital zoom (distorts the pixels), and 3.2 mega pixel resolution. I would have liked at least 4 mega pixel resolution but couldn't find anything in the price range I was looking in that had 10x optical zoom. I also upgraded the memory card right away so when on a trip I wasn't overly limited by the memory to what pictures I could take (with the card I got I can take approximately 500 pictures before a download).

[BrooklynGOP]

Well, I don't see the need for SONY to come up with a proprietory memory type (no one else but SONY uses it) which is more expensive then other types of memory.

[BrooklynGOP]

Yea, that's a nice one. I think Canon would've sold even more of them if it had a 5mp CCD. And you're right. No other camera with image stabilization can touch it in that price range.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Is this an SLR ? I have an old Pentax ME 35 MM film camera, bought in 1980. Its been overhauled once and still works fine. I'd like to get a digital but don't want a camera that I can't see through (SLR with a big lens)...

[MeanWestTexan]

I use a Sony Mavica. It burns directly to a mini-CD (which fits in the little intention on your CD player in your compter -- kind of like a "single" back in the days of vinyl).

I just like the direct burn to a CDR (or CD-RW, if so inclined) --- as that is my ultimate destination.

Plus the mini-CD's are cheap and you can get 158 on there at 5.0 mp.

The Sony Mavica also has a nice opitical zoom and little do-dads like laser-fill-in, etc.