Americans Lured to Look at Digital Cameras

Associated Press via MyWay.com ^ | December 21, 2004 | Ben Dobbin

[RayChuang88]

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - Millions of Americans who waited patiently for the quality and convenience to leap forward and the prices to roll back are now jumping on the digital-shutterbug bandwagon.

A novelty item just four or five years ago, the digital camera is shaping up as the most popular electronics gift in 2004, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. It was runner-up in 2003 to the DVD player, the No. 1 gift since 2000.

At age 75, Marilyn Smith discovered a wealth of reasons this holiday season to switch to a digital camera. Snapping away until she gets the right shot, without worrying about film, sounded enticing. So did packing a palm-size gadget on a baggage-laden trip to Hawaii in February. But she especially liked the idea of an image stabilizer that negates wobbles.

"Why? Because I sway very easily," the retired nurse's aide explained with a hearty laugh.

[tacticalogic]

See 99. The 510 has a 2" LCD, and optical zoom. Seems to be a nice camera for the price.

[#1CTYankee]

"The only thing I don't like about it is the long delay between pushing the button and the picture actually taking, which makes getting action shots virtually impossible. Maybe the newer ones have fixed that."

Fugi has a higher end model (About $1500.00) it can take up to 4 photo's per second, shutter speed up to 1-4,000 per second.
I have a Fuji 6.1 mp I bought 2 years ago even my wife can handle it. The color is unbelievable which is why some don't like it.

[doug from upland]

Thanks. I'll go look at that camera.

[Gorzaloon]

I do a lot of technical photos, so macro capabillity is a must -- as is the need to couple to instruments like microscopes and telescopes. Is anyone aware of a non-SLR digital that accommodates such adaptation?

The Nikon Coolpix series had a bushed .9177/1.00 eyepiece adapter which I routinely use at Work for metallography with the Unitron and Nikon microscopes. And I used it to photograph Jupiter, Saturn, and M31 through my niece's 8" Meade cat.

I have not looked for accessories for the Canon G5 yet..actually have not needed any as its macro capacity is mind-numbing. Full frame of a bee landing on a hollyhock, full frame of mites living on the underside of a mushroom, etc..etc.

Cannot say enough good about it.

[TXnMA]

(Oops -- just hit "private reply" by accident, so you also have this as a FReepmail...)

----------

The Nikon Coolpix series had a bushed .9177/1.00 eyepiece adapter which I routinely use at Work for metallography with the Unitron and Nikon microscopes. And I used it to photograph Jupiter, Saturn, and M31 through my niece's 8" Meade cat.

Many thanks! By "bushed", do you mean that it screws into the filter ring on the lens, or does it replace the lens?

[DoughtyOne]

Wow. Sounds like a nightmare. They sure showed dedication to see the process through. It seems that recording medium only lasts about ten to fifteen years these days, before they're off to the next new thing.

[Poohbah]

They sure showed dedication to see the process through.

If they hadn't, they would've defaulted on the contract.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks for the report. It did highlight the problem. Take care.

[ops33]

I love my Canon A75. Using the photo stich feature and the software that came with the camera I can actually make a 360 degree picture!

[MarkL]

(disgruntled over having to replace two hard drives in 6 months and all I keep getting are refurbs for my originally new drive purchased at best buy. what a racket!)

If you keep going through hard drive, it could be that you've got a flakey power supply in your computer. Bad power, especially the 12 volt line, plays hell with the electrical motor that spins the drive.

And if the Seagate drives in questions are the Seagate Barracuda drives, it's especially unusual. Those things are designed around specs for servers!

Mark

[MarkL]

I bought a D-70 in August and I love it. I am an amateur photographer also. I shot with an F-3 for 18 years and an OM-1 for 17. If you buy the D-70 kit, it comes with a decent 18mm-70mm lens for $1200. Interchangeable lenses are a must and I was looking for something comparable to my F-3. The more expensive and advanced models are Nikon D-100, D1X on up.

What is it about Olympus owners! lol! As I said, I've still got my OM-2, and that was my primary camera, but I also had a Nikon FM-2 as well, and all of my lenses were the old Tamron Adaptall mount lenses, so I could use them on both cameras. It was nice having the FM-2, and I would just carry that camera, along with cartrdiges of Tri-X Pan that I overloaded to about 46 shots from my bulk loader, and a Sekonic incident light meter, and I was all set: No batteries needed!

Actually I'm thinking about going with the camera body, and a Sigma 18-125mm lens. It's about the same price, and the lens is the same "speed," but I like the extra reach. DPReview.com has a number of people giving that lens a "thumbs up."

[MarkL]

I'm sorry to hear that. Computers are great until they develop problems. Then they can give you a major pain in the backside

But they also make for great TV commercials. Have you seen the new AOL commercial? "I want my computer to make a sound like a 'Yeti'"

Although that's not a funny situation, the commercial is a hoot.

Mark

[RayChuang88]

I love my Canon A75. Using the photo stich feature and the software that came with the camera I can actually make a 360 degree picture!

That's why I'm seriously thinking of getting the PowerShot A75. It's pretty cheap, and I can get replacement CompactFlash memory cards and AA rechargeable batteries for really cheap.

[MarkL]

Well, I know that Leica has a digial back for some of their SLRs, and of course, there are a number of manufacturers who make medium format digital backs that range from 15MP to 29MP, and have price tags that match their resolution.

There are so many new features in the cameras, along with so many improvements, it really doesn't make sense to come up with a digital back for a camera that's pretty much obsolete. I hate saying that, because I really loved my Olympus (and the Beatty screen!)

Mark

[LibWhacker]

The new 8.2 megapixel EOS 20D from Canon starts up in one fifth of a second flat, which makes it very attractive indeed (though a $1500 price tag puts a little bit of a damper on that). It is hot, hot, hot! I think it's the #1 "prosumer" camera in the country right now. Retailers can't keep it in stock. Check out the review on dpreview.com.

[ops33]

Good choice, but remember to carry spare batteries with you. The camera takes 4 AA batteries and the camera does use them up quite fast.

[RayChuang88]

The camera takes 4 AA batteries and the camera does use them up quite fast.

If you use high-quality NiMH AA rechargeable batteries I've read they work quite a long time on the PowerShot A75 even with the LCD display on the majority of the time. Indeed, most users of the PowerShot "A" series digital cameras recommend you use NiMH AA rechargeables for this reason.

[RightOnline]

Bought The Lovely Wife a Sony 7.2 megapixel camera for Christmas. It's awesome.

Now A) she doesn't FReep as often as I do, so odds are she won't see this, and B) she already knows, since my "hiding spot" for the camera was a lousy hiding spot.......and she already found the darned thing accidentally. Sigh.

[jonrick46]

Why have not negative scanners become the way to have the best of both worlds? Take for instance the Minolta (2891-301) Film Scanner (35 mm) which has a resolution of 3200 x 3200 dpi. I have seen prices on the Internet for this scanner in the $260 range. If you are more serious, there are scanners in the $1000+ range that are faster and can make 65 meg files of your negatives.

[Melas]

If you think a good inkjet is good, you should see a genuine dye sub photo printer.