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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
219800	2004-03-03 02:18:00	Hi be prepared for question overload...... :p 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???? but i and hubby have some questions. mega pixels : best over 2 if possible? i would like 3+ ? is this a good idea? what does optical zoom do? what does digital zoom do? memory card most come with (advertising says) 16MB this is just memory? which is approx how many average photos? what is the difference or what actually is XD or SD cards? some also talk about built in memory? also i like a camera to look like a camera not some of these matchboxes you see about, are these likely to better or worse? i like something comfortable to hold. :D im not asking for this / that brand, (but have been looking at the latest Harvey Normal flyer) just need to know what each blurb means, new feild to get lost in i guess. i just say yes i want one then when i start looking i put into too hard a pile. this would be used for personal family pics, and as well as business use, web page photos and advertising, pictures of the building and also 4X4 stuff when i have free time. thank you???? sorry, you may put this in the too hard pile now, :p beetle	beetle (243)
219801	2004-03-03 02:33:00	These days, you won't buy a 2MP, except for end-of-line specials. (aopart from 100kP and 300kP web cameras --- you can get one of those for $29) The starting point fotr real digital cameras is now 3.2MP. (That's this week, anyway. This technology is moving ;-)). Optical zoom gets far-away things closer by making the lens longer. A Good Thing. Essential. Digital zoom makes far-away things "look" closer by cutting off outside pixels, and repeating the inner pixels. This gives a major reduction in picture quality. Not useful (except for lookig at bits of a picture on the little LCD screen after you have taken the picture. (My Canon disables digital zoom while taking by default). Memory card: More is better. My 2MP Canon came with an 8MB which hold s a reasonable number of pictures. The 64MB I have put in holds more. :D Built in memory will never be big enough. :D Buy a camera which looks like a camera, and is comfortable to hold. No problem. (I believe there are some models sold as jewelry. Some people will pay a lot of money for such things. Let them.) Go into a shop and try them. Go to another shop and try some more. Unlike film cameras, you can take actual pictures and see the results. The esteemed robo has written a book about digital cameras. There are others. Have a look at a library.	Graham L (2)
219802	2004-03-03 02:45:00	Hey Beetle :-) I would highly recommend that you pop down to Whitcoulls or your favourite bookstore and pick up Robo's book Get the Most From Your Digital Camera ( . frogprints . co . nz/buy/book . cfm" target="_blank">www . frogprints . co . nz) . It is well-written, easy to read and has a wealth of really good information . Also bookmark and have a good look around these sites: http://www . dpreview . com/ . pcmag . com/article2/0,4149,1538516,00 . asp" target="_blank">www . pcmag . com http://www . frogprint . co . nz/ This thread ( . pcworld . co . nz/thread . jsp?forum=1&thread=43193&message=234262&q=robo#234262" target="_blank">pressf1 . pcworld . co . nz) might be useful too . Don't forget to shop around for prices before you buy - there is a huge difference between some stores/shops .	Susan B (19)
219803	2004-03-03 02:50:00	Actually that thread wasn't the one I was thinking of. There have been heaps of good digital camera threads on here over the past year, do a search and you'll drag them all up. :D	Susan B (19)
219804	2004-03-03 02:57:00	this one? pressf1.pcworld.co.nz	metla (154)
219805	2004-03-03 03:00:00	And what beetle should be thinking is... ....hmmm......I believe Metla sells the entire range of Kodak camera's,i wonder what his prices are like?.....	metla (154)
219806	2004-03-03 03:00:00	Hiya Just bought our second digital camera. 3.2 megapixels Kodak 3660 for $450. Looks and feels like a camera. Stunned at the quality of the image and I haven't even used it on the highest quality setting. I'm sure that for any normal use (including business) 3 or so megapixels will be heaps and 2 would probably do. (I've been using 1/2 megapixel for 3 or so years and it hasn't killed me.) Remember more megapixels also means larger files and less photos that can be taken. Digital zoom was a waste of time on the old camera but I've used it once on the new one and it produced a good result. Optical zoom is more important though as it uses the lense rather than software to create the image. Go for something with about 3x optical zoom and whatever digital zoom goes with it. Memory. 16mb will hold from 16 to 50 photos depending on quality setting. Remember, you can delete photos on the fly so you can take say 3 of one scene then review them and keep just the best. Check out reviews on line (use Google) and then look around for good deals on the camera you want. Final word...I felt it best to get a camera from a company who has been making them for years. They will use good lenses and they will make a camera to be a camera...not a fashion accessory or an electronic toy.	oggy (1250)
219807	2004-03-03 03:27:00	Ditto to all of the above . Except that I have slight reservations about Kodak . They are a huge film manufacturer but have no reputation as a high quality camera manufacturer . Not to say there is anything wrong with their digital cameras . I had a look at the Harvey Norman brochure too . My pick is the Canon EOS at $2100 but funnily enough I don't want to spend the money . You see I bought a Canon EOS 10 years ago with excellent lenses for $1800 and want to be able to uses those lenses on a digital body . Just a matter of patience . In the meantime I am coming to the view that a cheap 2 or 3 . 2mp camera would fill the gap . Read Robo's book, search for reviews, and deal with someone you can go back to for warranty support . Cheers Winston	Winston001 (3612)
219808	2004-03-03 07:58:00	Good camera for general type photography is either the Canon a80 or the sony dscp10. Both are in the $800 to $900 range and are very easy cameras to use with more features to use at a later date once you get used to it. They both take brilliant photos and at 4 megapixels for the Canon and 5 for the sony you have ample info in the pictures to play with them later on your PC. Don't worry about the large type cameras unless you plan on getting into in depth photography, also beware of some of the cheaper cameras as they tend to have plastic bodys that cannot take the occaisional bump etc that the metal body cameras can handle, if its being carried around on trips etc with you it will get the occaisional bump. At the moment I have the new Sony dscf828 camera at home for some "Product Knowledge" OK OK the boss is away and I wanted to have a good play anyway this is one damn nice camera but at $2200 tends to be out of most peoples price range and has features the average user would not use hence the stay away from the top end units unless you can use what you are paying for. Just look for a camera that is NOT big or heavy to carry around and has at least 3x optical zoom. Optical zoom is zooming by the lens not the processor making up the info basically (digital ) Grab the manufacturers glossy book (sony canon and panasonic have very good ones ) and read the glossary and other blurbs inside as they actually have a ton of info and help to explain all those mystical terms.	dipstick01 (445)
219809	2004-03-03 08:16:00	Hi all thanxs for the input so far, and the off PF1 help from various people as well, in the past i am used to carting a big bag aound with all my gear (flash's lense's and body's ) so will be no prob adding some weight . as i back pack most of it when on the feild taking photos, as well as the foodie supplies . . . lol i just personally dont like the look of the little sqyaure boxy things i like a SLR shape fell etc . we may be swayed now to a 3- 5 megapixel instead of what we first thought of . (larger) i want good pics, as i do take lots of normal pics so would be great to put them straight onto disk instead of before scanning them . and yes i know some photo shops do it but never remember to ask . i like Canon, my SIL has one (professional $3000, one) which we looked at getting through her at one stage (she was in the industry so cheaper) but decided it may be more than i need, lol i would have loved it though, im still interested in others ideas as well, so if anyone else has any news feel free . if i actually buy something someone has recomended or other wise ill let you know . still interesting reading . makes me realise again how little i know in these fields of knowledge, (comps / camera's) beetle	beetle (243)
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