Digital camera!!!

[Novdid]

Thanks guys!

I was looking through what I could get, and got the impression that ~3Mpixels are pretty much standard at the price level I'm looking at.

I have to do some more looking though as you gave me a lot of reccomendations!

[Fat Tone]

I have the Fuji F401 Zoom. It cost £350 and I love it. F401Zoom

It suits me as the images are good, it takes short movies with sound, its REALLY tiny, has 3x optical zoom (& 3x digital), comes with a docking station for charging & downloading.

My alternative was the Olympus C300 Zoom (called something else in the US) which takes better pictures and was ~£100 cheaper, but is significantly larger and doesn't have sound; One very useful thing it does is let you store in TIFF mode (i.e. no compression).

It was a head vs heart thing and the heart won.

[VJ]

This is a very good site to find reviews:

http://www.dpreview.com

(esp. check out the buyers guide, you can select features there, and display all the cameras that satisfy your criteria)

Things you need to decide on:
- storage-type (I'd prefer CompactFlash, there are adapters that allow you to use the new smaller cards in CF-cards). While the microdrive is cheap considering price/MB, it is more prone to failure due to its mechanical nature; besides, there are solid state CF-cards ranging up to 1.5 GB now. I'd avoid SmartMedia, as it appears to be on the way out (has been admitted by Fuji, so while it still is produces, it is unlikely that new sizes will appear).
- viewfinder (regular, through the lens, electronic, or mainly use the LCD for preview)
- lens (zoom + aperture range)
- shutter range of the camera
- megapixels

I have a Nikon D100 (6 MP digital reflex), and must admit it is great fun (it did make my PII-450 more or less obsolete for image processing though )


Jörg

PS: I got my CF-cards from http://www.powerinnumbers.com.au , very interesting prices

[AmSci]

I'm very happy with my Canon s230. Its a 3mp cam.

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s230-review/

another good site with digicam reviews: http://dpreview.com/


Be sure to keep an eye on techbargains.com. When i got my S230...I was able to get 2 10% off discounts at dell.com, along with free shipping.

[Wombat]

Nifty cam. Personally, I'd still choose 2MP with 3x optical zoom, rather than 3MP with 2x optical zoom.

Interesting choice to have to make....

[chaoliang]

Has anyone experience with Nikon Coolpix 2000? Or what is your suggestion for 2MP cameras with best image quality?

[K6-III]

For 2MP I'd probably vote for the Casio 2900UX....assuming you can still find it...

[Radan]

I got myself a Minolta Dimage 7Hi Digicam
5 Mp 28-200mm equiv lens which gives up to 7x zoom
uses type I & II Compact flash cards so the 1Gb microdrive is ok
Compact-Flash is much cheaper and flexible imho
for batteries it use 4 x AA type, so get some hi-cap NiMH rechargebles 2000mAH+ and you're good for a long time.. (1 set lasts me 100's of caps as long as I don't use the color LCD too much :])
this model has all pro features from full-auto to full manual
best bit was it only cost me AUS$2500 brand new - just released...
(Probably less than US$1000 now...

That's my bit! :]

photos slowly developing on my gallery site....

http://radans.net/gallery

(check the photo properties as not all are from this cam....)

[Snake-Eyes]

At the moment I use a Canon EOS 7E for anything I intend to reproduce, along with a 4800dpi flatbed scanner. I've had the camera since 3mpixel digitals were still more expensive than my film model, but..

It really depends on what you're going to do with the pictures you've taken. I use the digital still mode on my Sony DCR-TRV20 (1mpixel) miniDV camcorder with a Sony 64MB memory stick, and post the images on a web site for my parents to see their grandchildren. I have occasionally printed out the pictures, but I honestly have to say that 1-2mpixel models are really only good for up to 5x7 prints (actually, my 1mpixel is decent at that size, but it's easy to tell it's a blowup of a lower res image), while 3mpixel cameras seem about perfect for a standard 8.5x11 sheet of paper.

I've heard that the 5mpixel models mostly use a smaller pixel size on the image sensor, and tend to suffer from contrast issues, so my own personal choice for a dedicated digital still camera right now would probably be from among the 3 and 4mpixel models, and like most here have pointed out, likely either an Olympus model or a Nikon Coolpix. Mainly because I've seen the results of pictures with both, and was very impressed.

[Novdid]

How about the Olympus Camedia C-300?

I saw one at a good price. Any comments?

[Fat Tone]

Its a good camera, gets good reviews, pics look nice.
But, no cradle, relatively large, needs rechargeables & charger etc.
T.

[Novdid]

According to the reseller it doesn't need rechargeables...

And yes it is relatively large but that's really no biggie.

[Fat Tone]

True you can use ordinary AA batteries...if you have an endless supply. That's another reason I went for the F401Z - it has a Li-Ion battery built in. By the time you added up the accessories the price wasn't that different.

I'm sure you would be happy with the Olympus!

[Novdid]

I haven't made a final choice just yet. And now that you mention the battery issue I see another potentially important aspect I should consider.

But then another question is how often will I need to change the batteries? Is the camera really that powerhungry?

[Wombat]

Many are. My Elph takes about 40 pictures on a charge, I guess. And with digital cameras, you tend to take a lot more pictures, since you can delete the bad ones.

I need to get a second battery before I spend money on more CF.