Hi, I’m thinking of buying a digital camera one day, some day. i was wondering if any of you have used one?
The only one I’ve tried out was the sony ones with the floppy disks..and they really suck.
i want something affordable that’ll take good 8x10’s.
Any advice on what to look for and what to avoid?
hey man
i bought sony 3.2 megapixel camera..its pretty cool
check out one of the pic i took with it
u might have to copy and paste the link
this camera is for $399 but i got it for $279
maybe this can help!
http://www.gupistan.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=66106&highlight=digital+camera
Go olympus. I recommend any modell..but u might wanna go with the 3000series. Superb cam..but sorta bulky.It has excellent reviews and trust me its great. I had it before the dsc-p7.
My sony dsc-p7 is giving me some problems. so im biased to sony.
We had a long and lengthy debate on this topic in the old image gallery. Check it out.
Hey, I posted this in the wrong forum, and was directed out here. This was my post:
I have been assigned the task to purchase a camera for my brother's birthday. With some research, I am leaning towards the Canon S330.
The problem is, with the an extra 128Flashcard, taxes and such the price will be around a $1000.00 Canadian. Now what im wondering, for this price, are there any other cams that are "better". I've read mostly great reviews about this cam, and the only drawback seems the price. With a popular image forum here, im sure you can help me out. If anyone here, has this cam, can please tell the pros/cons. Btw, my budget is $1000 CDN, so lets try to stay below this.
~TIW.
Hey ensOmniak. I have used many cams and i think i can help you out.
I have the DSC-P7 and i cant ever imagine taking a pic from an old cam anymore. Digicams are great.
What do you want in a camera?
Want video with sound?
2.0 MPixels?
Great quality/service?
Zoom?
Well if you want that the Canon S330. Go for it…its a good entry level cam.But i personally have a problem with its LCD’s position. It has a tendency to get smudged when u lookin in the eyefinder. The videos in the canon cams arent very good qual. so if ur looking into the canons caus of video…forget abt it unless u want tiny vids. If you go for these cams ull have alot of money left for a 256mb card and all the other goodies. Why dont u look at the Canon S200? It has everything as the S330..but its way cheaper.
I personally recommend you get any Olympus 3000 (3020,3040,etc.) series cam if u want someting under 1k and 3.2MP. The quality cant be beat. Their lenses are the best and their focus is better than canons. But the problem is its a bit bulky and has no sound. It has gotten very good reviews from cnet and pc mag. You’ll have enough $$$ to get decent sized cards.
If u wanna go with cd media look at the SONY MVC-CD200 MINI-CDR DIGITAL CAMERA . They have dropped the prices HUGELY. Im talking 50% OFF. Just look at em. Im not sure how they r.
If you want a good investment and are looking to buy a video camera …and can spend a 300bucks more…go for a mini dv cam with a still image option. They run at 1,100 to 1,800…or if u want something crazy u can spend upto 4k.
So my conclusion…if you want a good deal go for the Canon S200. If you want quality and 3.2MP go for the Olympus 3000 series (all are good). And if want a good investment go for a miniDV cam. It will last you for years to come…and the memeories recorded will be much better than still images.
Sites for further info:
CANON S200:
Canon S200
MINIDV:
Sony DCR-TRV18 Camcorder
OLYMPUS 3020:
Olympus 3020
(Dont buy from big name stores. Go to downtown and look for a mom and pop store..ul get the best deal from them)
PM me if u need any other help.
Oh and by the sounds of it Sony is dropping their prices this month..So if u can wait look for sony Products...
Here is a list of good cams in ur budget
DSC-P5
DSC-P71
Maybe u can fit in a DSC-P7 if u want.
These are all very good cams...but sorta pricey. I heard they will drop prices $50 to $100. So give them a shot.
CDN $1,000 seems a very decent amount to get a fairly good quality camera. You will be well-advised to invest a few minutes to read this response to get the most bang out of your bucks. My response is based on several factors:
What will be the camera used for?
First of all, consider the purpose of the camera. Just sinking 1000 dollars is very good, but if you have a good idea on what the camera is to be used, that will be a big help in making the decision.
My remaining recommendations are assuming a “prosumer”, which means a sophisticated user who wants consistently high quality pics without breaking their wallet.
Should we buy a Camcorder+DigiCam rolled into one?
Personally I don’t think the convergance of camcorder and digicam is terribly successful at this point. My camcorder can take still digital pics and my digital camera can take video clips. But, I’d rather use camcorder for video and digicam for still pics, because that is what they do best. A high quality mix of these two is still very expensive, and so still pics taken by camcorder are of poor quality compared to decent quality digicams, and video clips shot by digicams are just a nifty feature which you really don’t want to use unless you absolutely have to.
Are brand names important?
Coming back to decent digital cameras, I’d stick with some known brand names, rather than those names which are not really known for producing high quality digital cameras (so, Casio is out!). Stick with Sony, Canon, Olympus, Fuji, Minolta, Nikon and Kodak. They produce some of the highest-rated cameras. This decision impacts the quality of the lens which, to be honest, is the most important part of the whole deal.
How do the cameras store the pictures?
Sony digicams store pics in either memory sticks (which is good if you use other Sony products like laptop, CLIE or printers) or they use small CD-R. All other cameras use a variety of storage devices, including Compat Flash (cheapest), Smart Media, Multi Media or Secure Digital (most expensive). Since all these media are re-usable, so you don’t have recurring costs for them.
Oh man, the batteries are running out!
Most new cameras have rechargable batteries, and even if they don’t, you can always invest in rechargable batteries and a charger to save yourself from battery-woes (digicams are notorious for draining batteries). Kodak has the best solution, where their docking stations recharge the batteries and also allows you to transfer the pics to your computer.
Transfer to PC - what a chore!
On to transferring pics to the computer, Sony’s CD-R are pretty easy to transfer too (as is obvious), and you can get Card Readers for almost all media types. As a default alternative you can connect the camera to the computer and most new models have Auto Connect USB, so you don’t have to install any software.
Enuf Already! Talk about the cameras, will ya?
Now to the quality of cameras. Result wise all cameras are good. If you really want to go high-end then you don’t want to look into Minolta DiMage X (US$349) which is very handy with a unique design. Since the lens and the reflectors are inside and are angled in, so the quality of the pics is not a perfect 10. I use Olympus C-700 UZ (street price US$599), which beats the crowd in its monster zoom (10x optical and 27x total). No camera in its price range beats this. Its newer brother C-720 UZ has 8x optical. When buying camera, you will often hear two terms very frequently. Resolution (Mega Pixels) and Zoom. The higher these two the pricier the camera will be.
The Mega Pixel Business
Unless you are a professional photographer, going for more than 3 Mega Pixel is probably going over board. A 3 MP pic can be enlarged easily up to 8x10 inches print, which is more than enough. 99.9% of pics taken by digicam are only used online where 640x480 is the best resolution if you want to share via emails. Even 2 Mega Pixels with 1600x1200 are good enough for details and allows you to crop to get the desired part of the pic without compromising the quality.
What a Close-up … the Zoom thingie
When talking about zoom, I mentally always discount the digital zoom, because digital zoom is created by using the pixels and thus renders the picture grainy. So generally only the optical zoom is most used. Optical zoom is created by movement of the lens and allows very sharp pictures.
Lights! Camera! Action!
The flash of the camera is also very important. Olympus C-700’s flash is good for 15 feet, which is nice cz you can’t use the zoom in the night if the flash is not going to support it. Some high-end cameras also allow you to add-on external flash.
Add-On’s
High-end digicams allow you to add lens and micro-filters to the camera, which is good if someone is really into photography. WideAngle lens and Telephoto lens can really come in handy in some cases. hint hint 
Camera Recommendations
I am partial to Olympus, so I will recommend checking out the C-series of Olympus C-700, C-720, C-3020. All are pretty similar. If Zoom is important for you, go for 700 or 720. 3020 is an alround excellent choice. Or if you really want to spend some serious money (but stay within 1000 bucks) go for C2500 SLR or C-2100 UZ. They are bulky but full of features. Extremely great results.
Sony is excellent, although are pricey in their range, because their storage media is dirt cheap. We get a 64MB Smart Card for 40 bucks and we can get a CD-R for many times that capacity for 69 cents. So they charge you upfront for that feature. With deep deep discounts (as hskhan) mentioned, they might be more reasonable.
Kodak has some wonderful cameras. They don’t look as glamorous as Sony or Olympus but they do produce great results.
Minolta DiMage 5 or 7 are really really high end cameras with so many features to make your mind go numb. Since they are around for some time, so you can get good deals for them too. Their newest is DiMage 7i which is probably more expensive. With these cameras you will never run out of features, thats for sure.
Fuji’s Fujifilm FinePix 6900 Zoom and 6800 are highly rated. Fujifilm Finepix F601 Zoom is Editor’s Choice in this month’s PC Magazine. There are several good reasons for that. Check out the magazine’s complete feature article and comparisons to find out more.
Nikon Coolpix 2500 is probably low-end compared to what you are looking for but it has a nifty design which is quite earth-breaking. Great pics without breaking your wallet.
Canon PowerShot S40 and Fujifilm FinePix S602 Zoom are for some serious digital photography as they are in USD $1,000 range. You probably don’t need that.
Buying Tips
Don’t buy a camera over the internet before actually holding it in your hands. First drive down to the biggest electronics store in your area and actually hold each of the recommended camera in your hands to get a feel for the gadget. And at the same time, get an idea of which one fits your price range. Don’t buy.
Come back home and read reviews of the camera you liked. Good review sites are aplenty on the internet. The one I use most is Steve’s DigiCam Reviews because this guy is very thorough. There are some other sites too.
Once you have made up your mind, then go on the internet and find comparative prices. Yahoo! Shopping does a good job in getting you prices from different vendors. You have to find a vendor whose price is not too low to be true, and who is willing to ship to Canada (or is Canadian based). Check the ratings of the merchant before clicking “Buy Now”. Sometimes you get terrific bargains on the net (always buy new, though, not refurbished or used) as they eliminate all the overheads of maintaining shops. For a $600 gadget, I once got it on the net brand spanking new for $310, and that was not an auction. It was a regular shop.
Otherwise, just drive down to a smaller camera shop and haggle for a good deal. Big stores don’t give you discounts, unless its advertised. Small stores may give discounts to sell a high-end camera.
While buying the camera, also buy the critical accessories (storage media and rechargable batteries if not already provided, and a camera bag). Tripod and additional batteries is something you can buy later on, if required.
So, here you go… complete guide to digital camera purchase. Enjoy!
hskhan/Faisal,
Thx much for your help!
First of all, even though this is my going to be my brothers cam, i'll be using it 90% of the time since he is away all the time. Thus, im treating this as investment for myself. I do not need/want sound or video, does not matter to me. Call me nuts, but I love still images. You might know what I mean. Quality of pics matter most! (at a decent price)
As you know, my budget is a $1000. With this much, I can purchase a S330 w/256 card and maybe some other goodies for a bit under a grand, taxes and all (Ontario - 15 damn %).
I like the small size of this cam, dont want a bulky - hey! look at me, digicam. Also enjoy it's look...I know, I should not decide by looks..and I have mostly, mostly positive reviews about it.
The differance between a 200 and a 330 is about $100 here. Looking at a comparision chart I cannot really see much of a differance in the two, beside that fact the the 200 is lighter, and slighty smaller. Did I miss somthing here? what exactly did Canon improve on? Is it worth spending an extra hundred on it (330)?
C-3020, sounds interesting. On the bulky side isnt it? this one should cst me under a grand aswell but with a 128SmartMedia, instead of the 256 with the Canon.
Now with pixels, larger the better quality, correct? With there be a large differance between the 2.0 of the Canon, and the 3.2 of the Olympus?
This is going to be my first cam, and im sure I will click myself beyond whichever camera's features/qualities, real soon. So I do want to be dissapointed with my choice, and feel short-handed. So I guess, im looking for the best "pro" beginners digicam (If that makes sence:|)
Sony..sigh.. I cannot stand this company, and avoid it no matter what. They enjoy leaving their customers, screwed and wanting more from thier product. Im a MiniDisc fanatic, so I know how screwed-up and greedy this company is (more then others, almost like MS of electronics). But, meh, that is my opinion.
Thanks much
If its your first cam, then let me just give u a couple of tips.
Don't go for a 256MB card.. thats way too much. A 64Mb can store approx 100 high resolution pics, (and apprx 400+ low resoultion pics) which is very adequate 99% of time. So save some money there.
Second, one really doesn't need a 3 megapixel for personal use. 2 or 2.1 megapixel is generally more than enough. Even if you have a 19" monitor you can not view a 3 megapixel pic at 100%. Its awkward to send a 700KB file via email and in 90% cases a 1600x1200 pic would work for u just as well. For sharing over the net, in many instances you will be reducing the pic to 640x480 anyway (I do it all the time)... so high resolution (3 MP) isn't really THAT useful 90% of the time. It only comes in handy when you want a really really big enlargement... and so just think about if you will ever be using your digital camera to make an enlargement bigger than 8x10. For 8x10 a 2 megapixel works just fine.
So, take my advice and go for a 2 megapixel camera with 64 MB storage card. Once u agree on these two points and u want a smaller sized camera, then you will figure out that your options are much more than just Canon. Do try out Minolta DiMage X in the store. That just might be one of the most exciting cameras introduced last year.
The Canon S200 is very similiar to the S300 and S330.
Let me explain
The S200 mainly consists of:
2.0 Megapixel CCD
2x , 2.5x digital zoom
1.5" color LCD
Highly compact and durable stainless steel body
Movie mode w/sound, 20fps 640x480 / 320x240 / 160x120
Stitch Assist mode for perfect panoramas
Builtin microphone
Lithium rechargable battery and charger included
USB connectivity for PC and Mac
The S300 adds :
A bit bigger (ppl complained it was tooooooooooo small)
More aluminum on the body (to compensate for the new size)
The S300 adds:
3x optical zoom (S200 had 2x)
New LCD coating…prevents nose smears…and glare
Now here is the PROBLEM with the canon cam. If you want to record some videos…canon has a limit for videos. You cannot create more than 4secs of good qual video (640X480) no matter your cards size. This is because the canon camera cannot manage such high amounts of data. So if you plan to use this cam for videos forget abt it.
And the minolta dimage…Its a very good cam…but the shape is hard to play with. I have avg sized hands and its a pain in the ass to hold it. Its also not very visually appealing. You also have to sacrifice quality. The pics in this cam never come out focussed..and the vid sucks eventhough its in sound.Why would u spend 700bucks for a cam which is so small?
My conclusion…if you want a REALLY good cam go with the olympus 3000 series. As for the Olympus 3000 series. They are great cams. They have a bigger 2" LCD screen (ull notice it) and 3.2 MP. The 3.2mp wont come in handy unless u print some pics. But if u want to big pics (8X10) go with 3.2 caus 2mp has problems sometimes. Their video is unlimited but no sound on many of the models.You WONT find a cam like it for its price. This cam is used by pros. Thats how good it is. The battery life is also very good. I went on a trip to kingston with it once and it lasted for the whole trip with the lcd screen on. It uses 4 AA batteries so you dont have to waste money on the NEW batteries which cost $60. The AA batteries will last forever. I recommend u geta a recharger. comes in handy for the AAs. Another feautre of the 3000 is that it has a Mini LCD scren to tell u abt ur focus,amt of photos left,flash…etc.
So without the lcd u can function fine.
This comes in VERY handy. When u turn off ur main LCD..u can use this lcd to look at the needed info. The viewfinder is also very good. It has an adjuster. So u can focus with it. No other cam has so much for little. The 3000(basic) comes with a remote control! It has so much for so little. And the pics are good. This cam is a cam which ull have for years. Its truly a professional cam. You can add more filters and zooms to it. Lets say u become a dentist. You can add a dentist scope.
I can see uve been to Steves-Digicams…and this is what he says "Bottom Line is that this is an excellent camera. As I said at the beginning, it will be one of the cameras that I’ll recommend without hesitation to those seeking the “best” of the Y2K consumer digicams. "
So give it a chance…go to the store…play with it. And at $700 you Cant go wrong. And when fam and friends ask u abt it…ull be confident in saying u have a pro cam.
Best of luck. If u want any pics/vids taken by the cams let me know…ive used the S200 and the 3000series
Everyone is in favor of Olympus (even faisal agrees). Go to any site and u get great reviews for olympus. I think ud be better off with the olympus 3000 series. And it fits ur budget…128 mb can go along way. I got 70pics at 800x640 with the 16mb card provided. Imagine wat u can get with 128. Its more than enough…
here is a pic i took in kingston…look at the qual…
http://members.fortunecity.com/hskhan/car-3020.jpg
my 3020 came to a total of $890cdn. That was 1 yr ago. I got the cam, charger and 2 yr warranty. You could probably get it for 890 cdn easily with 128 mb card, leather case,warranty and charger.
ensOmniak,
Did you actually bought something after getting all this great advice? :)
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Faisal: *
ensOmniak,
Did you actually bought something after getting all this great advice? :)
[/QUOTE]
Yea! Me and faisal bhai spent so much time writin this... (Psst..faisal bhai i bet u he got a 35mm)