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Thread ID: 43093 2004-03-03 02:18:00 Digital Camera questions. beetle (243) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
219810 2004-03-03 09:11:00 In that case also look at the Panasonic DMCFZ10 which is a 4 megapixel camera but has 12x optical zoom with Leica lenses and has received some quite nice reviews.
Otherwise if the purse strings stretch look at either the Sony DSCF828 which is an 8 megapixel with 7x optical unit and as mentioned before a lot of fun......it also takes the picture in many different formats and takes 2 types of storage media.
Sadly we do not YET stock the Canon Range of cameras however have a damn good look at them also as they are also brilliant cameras. 		dipstick01 (445)
219811 2004-03-03 10:53:00 www.etown.co.nz

What about this one??
We are also in the market for a camera
Hubby thinks Optical zoom is ultra he likes the 10
I have noticed even the really expensive cameras don't have this, is it really that important??????? 		Sherilee (4441)
219812 2004-03-03 11:06:00 Would also suggest looking at this one.
www.etown.co.nz

I have the earlier model S602Z, which is somewhat similar. Full manual or point and shoot, works much like a "real" SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera. A joy to use.

beetle, make sure you get any optional insurance offered... you know how these things go ... 		godfather (25)
219813 2004-03-03 12:16:00 > In that case also look at the Panasonic DMCFZ10 which
> is a 4 megapixel camera but has 12x optical zoom with
> Leica lenses and has received some quite nice
> reviews.
> Otherwise if the purse strings stretch look at either
> the Sony DSCF828 which is an 8 megapixel with 7x
> optical unit and as mentioned before a lot of
> fun......it also takes the picture in many different
> formats and takes 2 types of storage media.

The two exact camera models are the two I am thinking about at the moment. I am defintely going toward the Sony even though close to twice the price. Carl Ziess lens as opposed to Leica. 8 Megapixels as opposed to 4 Megapixels. But... The FZ10 has 12X zoom and image stabiliser which makes me think again.

> Sadly we do not YET stock the Canon Range of cameras
> however have a damn good look at them also as they
> are also brilliant cameras.

Thanks for your input. Off to the net and find a Canon close to $2000 which will do what I want. I'm almost certain I will go with the Sony and plan on putting the IBM 1 Gig drive in it. I can also use SD memory. I just look at taking heaps of photos while on holiday so I'm thinking about spare batteries and cards. On holiday I have no access to my computer but can get to a photo shop which will save all stored images to a CDRom. Rather than the IBM Drive / Card I may be looking at SDRam instead which makes me go back to the FZ10. I have seen pictures off a 5 Megapixel Canon with 3X Optical zoom so I will look at the Canon brand.

In my case I worked out what I wanted then phoned a member of my local camera club. My first choice was the SonyF828 but I phoned him to see what he thought. He suggested the Panasonic FZ10.

Now you are suggesting have a look at the Canon range which I will defintley do. Back to www.dpreview.com again.

Thanks for the input and I'm almost certain Beetle will be impressed. 		Elephant (599)
219814 2004-03-03 12:22:00 have a look at an fuji s7000
they are better than they seem
i know i got one a few weeks ago and am very happy i did
www.etown.co.nz 		stevej (1205)
219815 2004-03-03 13:06:00 My opinion. Your link to the Olympus Camera is fine. Optical Zoom is important. More so than Digital zoom. Probably all Beetle needs.

Just several thoughts here though:-

1. A mate of mine bought a 2.1 Megapixel camera about two years ago.
He since bought a 4 megapixel camera with 3X Optical zoom and has outgrown that.

2. The same mate has asked me for MY opinion and I have also outgrown my 2.1 Megapixel camera with no Optical zoom so I am also in the market for a camera.

3. I have a scanner and an Olympus 35 mm camera and can take pictures with the camera then scan but I have to get the whole film printed including cutting off off the top of Aunt Marys' head etc. If more than Aunt Mary is in the picture like the niece for example I can cut out the niece and do a portait type thing as it were.

4. Digital cameras have dropped in price and even some Pro potographers have dumped 35mm expensive cameras in favour of digital cameras.

5. Now we get to printing. On my 2.1 Megapixel camera I don't feel real happy on printing much more than a 7"x 5" image. Having said that I don't think you need to print everything but sometimes you want to. Even on the 2.1 Meg camera I have I had to reduce image size to go on a web page. People just may consider taking photos with whatever camera they have and copying to CDRom those pics they want printed and take to a photo shop. Hey,"I want this on an A3 lump of paper."
This won't work with a 2 Meg camera. I have an HP 5550 printer and I just want to print the odd one on A4

6. This is why I want to get better Megapixels and optical zoom I have now.

I hope this helps. 		Elephant (599)
219816 2004-03-03 19:54:00 Well if ya are anywhere near the Hawkes Bay before you buy give me a yell and I'll let you have a play with both cameras and can even show you various photos taken with both the Sony and the Panasonic .

My choice is the Sony if the $$ is not a problem but for a nice camera at the $1300 mark the Pana is a damn nice camera its just the Sony has double the megapixel rating and also takes either Memory Stick, Compact Flash or Micro Drive as storage media .

I've had the Sony here for the last 2 days and I'm only starting to scratch the surface of what this camera can do .

You are right about Optical zoom being more important than digital, the results from photos taken with optical and digital zoom are very different and distinct with optical giving a much nicer finish .

As for printing out your pictures on A4 a lot depends on your printer but I have printed out 3 . 2 and 5 megapixel pictures on A4 and would say NO to 3 . 2 in that size picture . The 5 megapixel does print out pretty damn good but it does still have some slight breakdown in image quality . . . . . peer closely at the picture and might spot it ( unless you are a customer and then you spot every blemish from half a mile away ) 		dipstick01 (445)
219817 2004-03-03 20:24:00 Hi Beetle
Apart from oggie's purchase of a second hand camera, most people here seem to me to be stretching your purse....
"we are thinking of getting a digital camera, our price is fluctuating anything over under $400 - $ over a thousand shall we say???
quite dramatically at moment. if we find the right camera open to price a little????"
Only you know what return you will get from this magic expensive tool. I have a simple 2.1 megapixel Microtek (written up in PC mag last year) and it is great. Clarity is extraordinary. I use it out tramping and for family snaps. I seldom need anything developed bigger than 150 x 100 and it does that perfectly.
When I need classy prints I merely email the selected snaps to Digitalmax and for 60 cents a shot they post them to my local retailer within two days.
Having been in the hospitality trade for a while, I appreciate how hard you work for that couple of thousand dollars. You must have had a good season. 		Scouse (83)
219818 2004-03-03 21:18:00 Scouse makes a lot of sense. At present you are as well to go for a lower end camera and buy a really good one in a year - 18 months. Prices seem to be dropping by half in that period of time.

One option at the high end which seems to be completely overlooked is to buy a digital SLR body - the Canon EOS 300 for example (appears to come with a lens) at $2100.

The point is, buying a secondhand lens for Canon, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus etc is easy. You then have a magic machine with whatever telephoto you like.

This is still way outside most people's price range but is now realistic compared to a year ago when such bodies were $3500+.

The Sony might be fine but they do not make lenses and so far as I can tell, the lens is not removable anyway.

Just my 2 cents worth. :D

Winston001 		Winston001 (3612)
219819 2004-03-03 21:21:00 Yep
In my humble opinion you pay the first $400 odd dollars for the basic camera that will do the job and is probably 90% of what you want and the extra money pays for 'features'. If you want to pay an extra $300 / $500 for the extra features that's up to you.
For me, buying a 5 megapixel camera is a bit like buying a Ferrari when all I really want to do is drive around the corner to the shops. Obviously though, for those who will make their living out of a camera, buy as much camera as you can afford. 		oggy (1250)
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