Digital Camera Help, Please

Poststructural Pub
1

I would like to buy a digital camera. I am going on a cruise to Alaska this summer, so I need something that can take in those big outdoor shots.

Unfortunately, going to Best Buy or any other place is a bit overwhelming—lots of choices, but not much to help me differentiate the cameras. Same with www.dpreview.com.

My old (and now deceased) camera was a 15 year old Nikon point-and-shoot 35 mm camera. Time to enter the digital age.

I would like something under $400 with 5 megapixel resolution. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

2

Pentax Optio S4. Fits in an Altoids tin, so you can carry it anywhere.

3

I bought a digital camera about a year and a half ago and it is a remarkably complex decision-making process. The good news, I think, is that when you get up in the 4+ megapixel range, most of the popular models you see are not going to be crap. By the way, I ended up with 4 megapixels and not once have a I wished I had a higher resolution camera. Martin raises an interesting aspect of the decision–size and weight. Very small cameras are understandably attractive–among other things, they make it easier to secretly photograph an international arms dealer across a crowded dance club in Berlin. I opted for a physically larger camera, I just like a bit more heft and I think it’s easier to avoid motion blur.

4

This is the camera that I recently purchased. I really like it, and it is easy to use.

Note: I did not buy it at this link, I’m only sending the link so you can learn about the camera.

http://www.compuplus.com/insidepageNoLinks.php?refer=froogle&id=1002909

Tom

5

The optio S4 is 4.2 megapixels I believe, but as Dale says, you won’t be wishing for more. The only reason you need an outrageously high megapixel rating is if you plan to be printing off 8x10 printouts of your images.

I quite like my Optio - the best part is when I am going through security at the airport and no one bothers to check out the little Altoids tin. :smiley:

6

True, Dale.

I tended to want to take pictures but find I didn’t have a camera with me. When I say Beth’s camera in Seattle, I was impressed and bought one on my return to the UK. In the last years I’ve taken around 2,500 shots. Admittedly, many were repeats trying to get a good shot, but the more you take, the more likely you are to get a good shot, and the more you learn, and I’ve learnt a lot, and had a lot of fun.

The Optio can also take sound clips (not great quality, but very handy for recording at short notice) and 1 minute long video clips.

7

I like the Canon series cameras.
I got an Elph S100 back in 2000 and it was only 3 mp (or maybe only just 2). It’s still going strong and I have not found any detrimental factors. In fact, I bought my mom a Canon (can’t remember which model but again one of the low end Elphs - S75 or something like that) for this past Christmas and it’s not that different from mine. It can take movies which mine can’t and some snazzy stuff like that. It was around $175. Canon has a good reputation, the Elphs have a good record and Canon makes some nice interface software if that’s important to you. And if you want BIG pictures, it has the capability to stitch pictures together in a panorama (which I’m sure most cameras do).

8

Thanks for the Optio advice. This was one (actually the the Optio 5Si model) that I picked out of the Sunday flyer to investigate. Pricing seems to be all over the place. I can get this one at Abe’s of Maine (in Brooklyn???) for $229 while the same model at Ritz camera is $299. Pays to surf. (then again, also need to make sure I’m comparing apples and apples–Ritz may include accessories that Abe’s does not)

Another couple questions:

  1. How many pictures will these cameras hold? Do you need to buy supplemental memory cards? If so, how much do these cards hold?

  2. Cruise ship question–Is it safe to assume that the battery charger will work onboard a Holland America ship? No funky European plugs required?

A few other cameras I was investigating are:
Nikon Coolpix 5200
Canon SD300
Panasonic DMC-FX7
Any users of these cameras out there?

Thanks.

9

The Optio can take 64, 128 and 256 MB cards. I’ve got two 128 cards, and I’ve never needed to use the second one. How many pictures it holds depends on your resolution chosen - at the highest resolution it’ll hold (the 128MB card) about 90 pictures, or about 7 1 minute video clips, or 6 hours of audio recording, I think, but you can boost this to 400 pictures or so using a lower resolution. These figures are from memory, I don’t have the camera with me today. I tend to view the pictures on a computer screen, in fact I have yet to want to print one out.

Dale is right about a bigger camera being steadier, but for $10 you can get a tiny tripod that fits in a pocket and helps steady it. I use mine for night time shots and nature photos and such, steadying it on post boxes, walls etc.

10

So much depends on your exact needs and expectations.

Once you have a few cameras in mind, go back to DPReview, click the Reviews link at the left, find each camera, and at least look at the Pros, Cons, and Overall conclusion in the Conclusions section. To find out more details about any comments that concern you, scan through the rest of the review.

On the whole, I’d go for cameras that get a “Highly Recommended” rating, but I also especially pay attention to items under Cons that are particularly important to me. In my case, I won’t buy a camera that has severe noise or purple fringing problems.

A few other cameras I was investigating are:
Nikon Coolpix 5200
Canon SD300
Panasonic DMC-FX7

This is where I would rely on DPReview. All three of these get the “Recommended” rating, falling short of “Highly Recommended” for different reasons. Here’s a comment from the DMC-FX7 review:

“As with the recently reviewed Canon PowerShot SD300 (IXUS 40i) the DMC-FX7 is the perfect pocket camera as long as you don’t expect miracles and are prepared to accept a certain amount of compromise on features and image quality.”

I can get this one at Abe’s of Maine (in Brooklyn???) for $229 while the same model at Ritz camera is $299. Pays to surf. (then again, also need to make sure I’m comparing apples and apples–Ritz may include accessories that Abe’s does not)

Be careful where you buy online. I always check out a new seller at [u]resellerratings.com[/u]. The [u]review for Abe’s of Maine[/u] doesn’t look too promising when you look at the rating numbers, but there are several positive recent comments, so that could reflect a change. I know that Abe’s used to have a very bad reputation.

One online store with good prices and a pretty good rep is [u]buydig.com[/u]. Compare [u]their rating[/u].

A good place to compare prices is [u]cnet.com[/u], though it’s a bit difficult to navigate. When you get to a camera review, click the “Where to buy” tab. I found the [u]Canon SD300 review[/u]. If you click on the “Price” link, it will sort by price.

Once you find the camera you want, go to the corresponding forum on DPReview and ask about good places to buy it, or ask about a particular merchant. You can also ask about particular camera features. You’re sure to get some good advice.

11

You are getting good specific advice, but mine is to stick with a company that made cameras to begin with. I have a Nikon 4300. It has been a great camera, with fantastic battery life (comes with a rechargable, but you can buy a throwaway for backup). Weighs very little and fits well in aftermarket carrying case easily. Very easy to plug right into any modern TV to look at your shots. The drawback to mine is a small and limited lens. But I have taken many, many very good pictures with it.

I also think that compact flash cards are very durable and many printers have slots for em ready to use. Other smaller datacards seem more fragile to me.

Depending on your computer, remember that its much easier to pull the CF card out of the camera and read right into your computer rather than use cords and cheeezy interface software. Avoid that if possible.

12

Even with that, Nikon seems to be steadily improving, but Canon seems to be having problems–especially as the megapixel count increases. And Minolta is still having problems with noise. On the other hand, Sony is getting some excellent reviews.

I also think that compact flash cards are very durable and many printers have slots for em ready to use. Other smaller datacards seem more fragile to me.

I agree, but those smaller cards seem to be appearing in a lot of the smaller cameras.

Depending on your computer, remember that its much easier to pull the CF card out of the camera and read right into your computer rather than use cords and cheeezy interface software. Avoid that if possible.

Right. Macs don’t have built-in card readers, but I just bought a USB compact flash card reader for $19.95 at Radio Shack, and it’s working quite well so far. (I have another one, somewhere, but haven’t been able to find it since the move.) One advantage of a card reader is that you don’t run down the camera’s battery. Another is that you can pop another card into the camera and go out and shoot some more while the card is downloading.

As far as batteries go, I’d definitely get at least one extra rechargeable (I have a total of three), so that you can use one while the other is recharging. It’s a good thing for me, because I haven’t found my battery charger yet, either, and I’m already well into the second one.

13

If you don’t install the ‘cheezy interface software’, most times just plugging the usb
cable in should just act as a usb disk drive, and you can just move the files about
as you like.

('course, normally I use Linux, which is a bit of a different environment, but as far as I’ve
seen, any computer - windows, mac, linux, whatever, - will treat the camera as a little
USB disk drive, unless you install software to override that behaviour.)

14

If you go to the Amazon camera page and check out the Canon A95 (5MP w/ 3X optical zoom $299.) the guy that gives the first customer review does a really good job of overviewing all the different series of Canons.

mike

15

Yeah, Chris, the Nikon wants you to use their software but I think its a waste of time. I’m an advanced Photoshop user but also have iPhoto which is pretty good for doing lots with your photos quickly (emailing them right out etc). iPhoto doesn’t yet tell give enough color profile info for good color printing. In the works, I hear.

My point about the card readers is that my newer Epson printer, I think its a R200 or something (not at home right now) has a CF card slot right in the front. You can use it as a card reader. I now have two redundant readers since getting it. I brought one to work though because it reads eight different kinds of cards and that comes in handy for everybody’s vacation shots.

16

Thanks for all the input so far. Selecting a new camera is almost as difficult as selecting a new whistle–plus there are a few more dollars involved.

Martin–you’re 100% correct on the Altoids tin comparison. I went to Ritz Camera yesterday–couldn’t believe how tiny the new cameras are.

Darwin–is there something sketchy about those on-line vendors? The prices from some vendors can be as much as 50% off retail. Is this stuff hot or something?

Lastly, anyone have any thoughts on Fuji cameras? I was taking a look at the Fuji Fine Pix E550. Looks pretty decent and it comes with dpreviews.com “highly recommended” designation. I didn’t realize Fuji was in the camera business–makes sense if the film industry is declining.

17

The one caveat is grey market goods. These are not intended for sale in the United States and the warranty is not honored locally. Do some research on the vendor as well as the camera once you have narrowed the list down. A search of google “groups” on a vendor’s name will often produce a lot of hits if they are dealing in grey market items.

Other good shopping sites include:
www.techbargains.com
www.dealtime.com
Techbargains has the latest coupons and discounts. If you plan on getting a printer, there are sometimes coupons for virtually free printers when a camera is also purchased. Dealtime is excellent for comparison shopping on single items.

Some things that I have not seen much mention, include the tactile feel of the camera. Some cameras just feel nicer than others, and this is mostly a subjective item-in-hand kind of thing. Another option for a cruise is a larger camera with 8x or 10x optical zoom. This can make all the difference for certain types of shots. Pulse mode (several shots in a small time frame) is a must for any live action shots such as Orcas in the water.

  • Bill
18

Excellent point.

Some stores try to make up for the low camera price by selling over-priced accessories, and some of these places use high-pressure tactics. One that should probably be illegal is to take an order, and if you decline to purchase their accessories, they contact you after a few days to tell you that they are out of stock and don’t know when they’ll get any more in, and then cancel the order.

Even worse–and this is illegal–is taking an order, charging your credit card, and then just not shipping the product. When you check with them, they use delaying tactics to drag things out, then finally agree to refund the money, but take another couple of months to actually do it. One company that was doing this, and that was later shut down for mail fraud, didn’t even have any products to ship. Apparently, they were just building up a bank account and drawing interest on whatever funds they could accumulate. They are no longer with us, but I’ve heard of others that sound suspiciously similar.

Finally, some companies just have really bad customer service. They ship the wrong stuff, or used stuff, or it’s not on time, and when you try to call customer service, they put you on hold forever. When you finally talk to someone, they’re impolite and uncooperative. Reading the comments on the ratings sites can give you an idea of what this is like.

Some companies that started out with bad ratings on sites like resellerratings.com have shaped up and become great sources, still with good prices. Others still suck.

Regarding accessories (cases, flashes, extra batteries, extra memory cards, etc.), I always search for the best prices on each item that I know I want. I’ve only rarely bought my camera and my accessories from the same dealer. Of course, many accessories get bought at some later date.

Some things that I have not seen much mention, include the tactile feel of the camera

Another good point. A couple of times I went to Circuit City and Office Depot to check out cameras. But since I didn’t plan to buy from them, I only went to stores where I could play with the cameras without taking up the time of any clerks–where they have them tethered on top of a display case. It still felt a bit unethical, but I convinced myself that it wasn’t actually costing them anything. it. As it turned out, I didn’t buy any of the ones I looked at.

Actually, Office Depot will sometimes have a pretty good price on some particular digital camera. I’m not sure, but it may happen only when a newer model has just come out.

19

www.edealfinder.com
www.techdeals.net
www.slickdeals.net

Another option for a cruise is a larger camera with 8x or 10x optical zoom. This can make all the difference for certain types of shots.

Yes. Optical zoom, good. Digital zoom, very not good. Don’t be swayed by listings that say something like “fantastic 200x digital zoom!!!” because you will never use it. Digital zoom uses computer enhancement to get closer to the image, and it is nearly always lossy and looks terrible.

And if you get the othe point of considering this next factor -

If you have a choice between two cameras, and one of them has the tripod mount directly under the lens and the other does not, get the one directly under the lens. This will allow you to swivel the camera on the tripod and take panoramic shots. If the two items aren’t in line, then you are moving the angle and distance of the lens when you swivel the camera, and you will get distortion when you try to stitch together the shots.

20

Hi all, thanks for all your thoughts. I took bits and pieces of everyone’s advice and went with the Fuji Fine Pix E550. This one showed up on Darwin’s “highly rec.” list and has BillChin’s decent tactile feel. It’s a little chunkier than the Nikon/Pentax cameras that I look at, but I like the heft–makes me feel like I’m actually holding something but will still fit in my pocket.

After surfing around the various vendors, I ended up going with Circuit City. That choice was done more for dealing with a national name and ease of return. I was a bit leery of going with an on-line place I had never heard of. It probably cost me an extra $30 to go with CC, but peace of mind was worth it. The funny thing was that the camera was $35 less buying it via Circuit City’s web-site rather than in the store, and yet, I was still able to pick it up at my local store the day I ordered. I just need to pick up a 512 mb chip which just so happened to go on sale this week.

Of course, the spending doesn’t stop there. To run the Fuji software on my PC, I will be close to maxing out the disk space on my 5 year old Dell PC. Off to check computer prices next…