I have been researching cameras for a month. I am beginning to be
frustrated.
There are a
lot of choices. You have to learn enough to discover
what features are important to you, to help you narrow your choices.
I love the fact that sony has cameras that you can
save on a floppy disk but they are not high pixels.
Unless you absolutely need to be able to output directly to media
readable on any old PC (> 4 years old), then I suggest that the
old floppy disk Sony Mavicas have too many disadvantages due to
using a floppy disk to be worth considering. The new Sony Mavicas
now write to a 8cm CD-R and CD-RW, which are almost as
universally readable but with much more capacity at a somewhat
smaller camera size.
I am looking
for a camera under $500 that I can take pictures of anything and
everything. I want it easy to use with more features I can learn
later. I want my pictures to print out good, not grainy.
Some points to consider:
Generally speaking, a good megapixel digital camera can take
good photos which can be printed well. The more pixels, the
sharper the print can be, but I have some very good 8x10 prints
taken with a 1.3 Mpel digicam.
Essentially all digicams can be used as simple point & shoot cameras,
some are purely point & shoot and have limited controls, while others
offer manual control over exposure and in-camera processing. The
ones with manual control obviously offer a growth path, but they
usually cost more, are often physically larger and heavier, and
perhaps
provide an initially intimidating number of buttons, levers,
switches, and
dials (which can "accidentally" be incorrectly set for simple point
& shoot
action).
One useful way to for a camera to be flexible is to offer different
focal lengths (i.e. wide-angle or telephoto). One way to offer
this is to have interchangeable lenses--this is found only on high
end digicams that are way out of your price range. Many digicams
can have extender lenses added on, but this has various costs,
including inconvenience. The most convenient way is to have
a zoom lens, and while this adds to the cost of a digicam, there
are many digicams under $500 that have a zoom lens. Note that
many digicams have a "digital zoom"--this is nearly useless and
probably should be ignored in your deliberation.
The Olympus product range looks like this: [bracketed items are
older models which you might see on clearance]
very compact point & shoot
Brio D-100 -- 1.2 Mpel, fixed lens
Brio D-150 -- 1.2 Mpel, 3x zoom
Brio D-230 -- 1.9 Mpel, fixed lens
compact point & shoot
D-370 [D-360/D-340] -- 1.2 Mpel, fixed lens
D-460 [D-450/D-400] -- 1.2 Mpel, 3x zoom
D-510 [D-490] -- 1.9 Mpel, 3x zoom
ultracompact w/manual controls
D-40Z -- 3.9 Mpel, 2.8x zoom
compact w/manual controls
C-2040Z [C-2020Z/C-2000Z] -- 1.9 Mpel, 3x zoom
C-3040Z/C-3020Z [C-3030Z/C-3000Z] -- 3.1 Mpel, 3x zoom
The C-3030Z was the first, the C-3000 is a cost reduced version
of the C-3030Z, the C-3040 is the next version of the C-3030Z,
the C-3020Z is the next version of the C-3000Z. The C-3040Z
may be slightly over your price range.
C-4040Z -- 3.9 Mpel, 3x zoom
Somewhat over your price range
C-2100UZ -- 1.9 Mpel, 10x stabilized zoom
The stabilized lens lets you take hand held (no tripod)
photos you would never have dreamed of trying before.
Looks like a C-2040Z with a very long snout.
There are a number of "UZI" fanatics here, it's available for $499
at CompUSA.
E-100RS -- 1.4 Mpel, 10x stabilized zoom
Some unique features for action photography, but gives up some
resolution compared to the very similar looking C-2100UZ.
May be a bit over your price range. I own one.
C-700UZ -- 1.9 Mpel, 10x zoom
Looks like a C-3020 but with a much longer zoom--not stabilized.
Some digicams you probably won't hear too much about since they
aren't from real camera companies but are worth checking out.
Casio QV-4000EX -- 3.7 Mpel, 3x zoom -- may be a bit over your
price range
Casio QV-3500EX [QV-3000EX] -- 3.1 Mpel, 3x zoom
Epson PhotoPC 3100Z [PhotoPC 3000Z] -- 3.1 Mpel, 3x zoom
Toshiba PDR-M81 -- 3.8 Mpel, 2.8x zoom
Toshiba PDR-M71 -- 3.1 Mpel, 2.8x zoom
I have a hp895 now. Will I have to buy a new printer?
I like having real prints made at a 1-hour photo developer for
all but very quick proof prints. Walmart charge $0.26 per photo
for a 4x6, which is not much more than inkjet costs, and the
results will be much better than any inkjet.
Cheers
Sam
[who just spent way too much time on this post...]
I disagree Sam! I think you did a great job of listing all the cams and their lenses etc.Some might just say to buy the uzi,but everyone needs to look at all options out their to
ly cams have a great advantage because they can use aa batteries some cameras have their own type and cost alot of $$
