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Thread ID: 60617 2005-08-07 09:01:00 Digital Cameras (help) Tux (606) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
379146 2005-08-07 09:01:00 ok, i went in to parallel imported yesterday(looking for a good digital camera), and found myself tossing up between two cameras. My budget is $400
The Olympus Mju 30 (410)
-4.0MP's
-Metal waterproof shell
-$399

Pros
Waterproof and metal shell
Olympus Lens

Cons
only 4MP's
Uses really expensive XD cards

The Nikon Coolpix 5600
-5MP's
-Nikon Lens
-Sd Storage
-$379

Pros
Its a Nikon
5MP's
SD Cards

Cons
Plastic Shell (not metal)
Uses AA batteries, although you can put recharagble aa's in


Basically i cant decide between the two, i like the nikon, but i want a metal shell, i like the shape of the olympus, nice and stylie

Any comments/suggestions? Any other cameras i should consider, oh and i will not go secondhand either!
Cheers guys
Tux (606)
379147 2005-08-07 09:15:00 i dont think you will see much between 4MP and 5MP.

check that you cant use SD cards (insted of XD), i think that will work but just be a bit slow. i might be quite wrong about this :-)
robsonde (120)
379148 2005-08-07 09:20:00 id go for the nikon simply because it has more MP's. just buy a good case for the camera, will do the trick. Prescott (11)
379149 2005-08-07 10:26:00 choosing the camera is the easy part - the part you should be more concerned is the retailer. i know 5 people who are taking that shop to court - not honoring warranties, cameras missing/stolen, cameras in for repair - since last year etc. buyer beware. quarry (252)
379150 2005-08-07 11:08:00 i dont really care, because i am saving myself big bucks not going to a normal retailer whom buys these cameras at the same sort of price that pi pay for them, so i have no sympathy, also, i have known numerous people who have used pi with success, its like supercheap pc, i have spent over 2k with them with no issues whatsoever Tux (606)
379151 2005-08-07 21:35:00 You might want to try this: snap a photo with flash, and without, and see if there is a lag in the time you press the shutter button and when the camera actually takes the photo.

I agree with Robsonde - that the difference between 4 and 5 Mp will not be noticeable. Even 3 Mp, unless you plan to print 11 x 14 or poster size photos.

Try Googling the two cameras to read user reviews - what people do not like about the cameras.

Plastic vs metal: there is some very tough plastic these days, and metal can bend and snap. The waterproof shell would be nice! What sort of battery does the Olympus take? Using rechargeable AA's is the way to go, imho, and in a pinch you can always buy AA alkalines. Some camera batteries are specific to that brand or model and are expensive (to have as a back up, which you will want).

About parallel importing: sometimes you can pay an extra $30 - $50 to get a decent warranty.
Strommer (42)
379152 2005-08-07 23:05:00 Really 4 or 5 meg isn't worth fussing about.

I find a 4 meg pic to be 4 times the size of my monitor, so what is the benefit of it being much bigger, except that you can cut smaller bits out.

More important is the quality of the software and the chip.
I'd go with steve, google for reviews, there are heaps of sites that review cameras, thats what I did before I bought my Canon G3, which is what i would buy again. I remember reading an old PCWorld that had reviews, and even consumer mag had some in the lat few years.
netchicken (4843)
379153 2005-08-07 23:20:00 If you are travelling a lot, go for the Nikon (I have the 3200) as it uses AA's

All digicams scoff batteries, and one that uses a proprietary LiOn battery is a pain (I also have one that uses LiOn and its useless for travel without carting along the charger, adapter for local plugs etc).

Be warned though, you will only get ~40 or 50 shots on alkaline cells on he Nikon, but a 100 or 200 on rechargeables.

The Nikon quality is supurb, it has more features that I could ever need. Cost me $190 +GST a few months ago (end of line special), I simply have no need for more than 3 MP.

My Nikon also has a small amount of internal memory, which I find useful when I leave the 512 MB SD card in the reader at home....
godfather (25)
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