digital cameras; ~350€

[Greebe]

I'm eyeing the Minolta DiMage 7 also... only other alternative is an Olympus E20... @ double the price

[xortam]

Thanks for the link VJ! That site provides wide control over filtering their database including finding cameras under 320g. Good find!

[VJ]

Greebe : make sure you get your hands on a Dimage7 for experimenting prior to buying one. I personally didn't find the electronic viewfinder very good. It claims to be one of the best electronic viewfinders on the market, but I think it still l lacks resolution to determine whether or not the image is in focus (the viewfinder zoom-function helps somewhat). The fact that the manual focus also goes in quite large steps (if I remeber correctly : 0.5m, 1m, 2m, 5m ...), was also a minor point to me.

Especially the viewfinder, but also the tiny grip (I suffer from artritis, I want a camera that is comfortable to hold, even if this makes it bigger and heavier) were arguments enough for me not to buy one. I must admit I was hoping it would be more like a true reflex (size-wise). But currently I have no alternative (the Canon digital Eos is dropping in price, perhaps in a couple of months time...).

If you do decide to go for the Dimage, be sure to look at the website I posted above : Minolta uses a colorspace which is bigger than sRGB and in some aspects even bigger than AdobeRGB. Minolta doesn't make proper mention of this, but if you take pictures with the Dimage, the supplied software can be used to convert the colorspace, which results in more vibrant colors. (details can be found on the review of the Dimage7 on www.dpreview.com)


Jörg

[Greebe]

The biggest issue I have with Digicams is what all I do already with 35mm's... so I'm still unsure if today's market is upto what I need at the price points they're currently at... dream digicam would be a Minolta Maxxium 7 bodied version (one very sweet 35mm for $$$

Size isn't a major issue for me... tho the viewfinder issue does have me majorly concerned... my camcorder boasts 330k pixels and it sucks... and this one is 220k This is why I'm looking at the Olympus E20... colorspace conversion doesn't bother me much as I have PS and most other image editing software already

[VJ]

Well, I also prefer a reflex camera, so I'm waiting until digital reflex-cameras become affordable. I just haven't found what I was looking for. Prices are still very high; for a while I had my eye on a second hand Nikon D1, but it still was very pricy and its resolution is not *that* high. (first generation !) The focal length multiplier is also important, I believe this one has 1.5x, which means that in order to obtain a 30mm "effect", one would need a 20mm lens...

The fact that one can take a lot of pictures is very appealing : I went out with a friend to test his camera, and we came back with 62 pictures ; most of them just to experiment with various effects and settings... This all takes more time and money with a regular camera...

The colorspace is not a real issue, but currently, the Minolta colorspace is unknown to Photoshop (I do believe a plugin is being developped). To really obtain maximum quality, the images should be run through the Minolta software. (which is a minor disadvantage)


Jörg

[ahartman]

I'm very happy with my Oly C-2040. I needed something for baby pictures & everyday use.

Every review I read about it raves about it's low-light lens. I haven't played with exposure times and such, but if that's your bag, should be helpful.

Seems to be a good mid-point between a simple point-and-click (which I use) and an early-entry to the advanced market. All for around $400.