Caving in and buying a Digital Camera - have questions

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

I think we are finally going to purchase a digital camera. I have narrowed it down to a few choices (per internet research) and would like anyone's opinion on them:

1. Cannon S330
2. Olympus C-720 or C3020Z
3. Nikon Coolpix 775


I just got these off a website. If anyone else has any suggestions, I would appreciate them. I like a big zoom, so that is pretty important. Thanks

 

[Carl]

Olympus makes good cameras, but they do not have large zooms. Sony has large zoom, but uses memory sticks. Nikon uses compact flash and some have fairly large zooms. I don't know about the particular camera you mentioned. You might visit this site
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/
for some reviews on various cameras. It is a good idea to go to some of these sites and research the different cameras. You can also read in the forums about the different cameras and see what owners have to say about them.

 

[TheLionKing]

I would recommend going to Best Buy or the equivalent near you and actually hold the camera in your hands and see how you like the zoom.

Remember, digital zoom is not as important as the optical zoom.

All three cameras appear to be about the same price. I could not find a Nikon 775 but did find a Nikon 885 which is also a 3.2 megapixel camera. The Canon S30 is also a 3.2 megapixel camera, I could not find the S300 on the Best Buy site.

The Olympus specifications say 1600 x 1200 pixels while the Nikon and Canon were 2048 x 1536. If this is correct then that would knock out the Olympus. I would ask you to confirm this as all three are supposed to be 3 megapixels.

The Olympus appeared to have the best zoom features by specs. The Nikon will allow attachements to make the zoom better.

Take your time and look for sales.

Good luck!

 

[Zurg]

That is a group of very different cameras.

The Nikon 775 is an enty level camera and has had mixed reviews.

The S330 is one of the tiny digicams & well respected in that group.

The Olympus 3020 is a full feature camara lots of control 3x zoom

The Olympus 720 is a ultra zoom 8x optical ultra zoom but bigger than the rest.

enrty level
micro camera
full furture
ultra zoom

I think you should more clearly define what you want the camera to do for you, do you use a lot of manual control? is size a big issue? Are you a zoom freak like Zurg?

Do you care about movies and if so is sound important?

You can see my piece at Deb's on digitals at WDW to help
http://wdwig.com/digital.htm

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

WOW! the more I look/research the more confused I get. I like the canon powershot S30 and the olympus C3020z. The only thing about the Olympus is that I think there is no audio when you "tape". How important is that? I also read alot that the S30 lens cover has problems.

Zurg - you certainly explain things great from your link you sent.

Any more help out there?

 

[Zurg]

A good place for easy to read reviews is:
http://dcresource.com
Jeff writes a more newbie friendly review.


Major movie digression here:
Some of the Olypmus camera do record sound on the moive clips.

I have a C700 a two mega pixel version of the c720. Also the soon to be one the market 730 will do sound in video.

Few if any will record sound and zoom at the same time as the zooming lens noise gets picked up.

If the c7xx olympus cameras are for zoom freaks like me.

If you want sound and movies there are better cameras out there, they record more than 15 second clips. The problem is that the memory card fils up real fast. Also you need a tool to edit the movie clips together to make real effective use of the movie clip feature. A lot make quick time files but some make avi files that are easier to edit in windows. Like everything else your milage may vary.

I think the movies are fun and all but for most not the most important think

Have kid to put in bed more later

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

Thanks again Zurg. I really don't care too much for the movie aspect - I have a camcorder for that. More important it clairity, zoom, and ease of use since this is my first digital. I also saw the Olympus c4000. Sorry about so many questions, but it is very expensive and I don't want to make any mistakes.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Zurg will have good tips, LTM. When you decide on what you want, make sure to sahre the results here.

 

[Zurg]

Okay LTM let's talk about you first and then try to figure out what camera will suit you rather than looking at cameras and seeing if you suit them.

you can try this desision guide

or you can play mind games with the evil emperor:

What is you preference with a camera?
1) Point & Shoot
2) Use program modes
3) Know how to and enjoy trading off F stop and shuuter speed to effect changes in depth of feild.

How do you expect to use the camera?
1) Travel mostly
2) documnet the kids growing
3) Art photography

How often do you use a camera now
1) I get it out for special occasions
2) I keep it out and handy all the time
3) Never leave home without it

What was you last film camera?
1) Disposable camera
2) Point and shoot 35 mm or ASP
(if asp did you ever shoot in panorama or other ASP modes?)
3) SLR

What is you level of comfort with PC and photo manipulation
1) Don't know never have tryed and it is scary
2) Don't know but cant wait to play with things
3) High comfort computer jock

How do you feel about cables and the PC.
1) ack! hate them
2) No big deal
3) tale my PC apart just for fun

 

[Kallison]

Just a little digital camera story, our friends just got back from their first WDW trip with the kids. By accident the DH reformatted the camera and lost ALL their pictures! I'll stick to film and developing! My DH said " I don't even want to know what would have happened if I did that!"

 

[Zurg]

This is why Zurg takes a laptop and downloads and backs up every night. well that and I fill up the flash cards every day and need to copy the picture off so I can take more the next day.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

Zurg - your answers, your evilness:

1) - both 1& 2
2) - both 1 & 2, but would love to get into art photography some day.
3) - my last camera was a gift from DH - the Kodak Preview and I have had nothing but trouble with it. So many problems with developing the film - I send it to Kodak and they can't even develop it proberly. Go figure - even the cameras are pulled off the shelves of the three stores I visited.
4) 2
5) 2

Ok, now hook me up -


Kallison - that's a horrible tale, but get this one - my friends got married and on their honeymoon (at Disney of course) shot over 20 rolls of film. When they got home and dropped off the film to get developed, the company lost their whole order!!! She was sooo upset, so I guess anything can happen.

 

[Zurg]

Okay we are having some fun now.

Based on questions 1 & 2 sounds like you don't really need a lot of manual control but may like to use program modes that give you some creative control over how the camera sets exposure.

You would like to learn to take better pictures so this is where I once agian plug the sites Kodak't Photography Tips and Photo Tips for WDW at Deb's film or digital these sites make more differance in your results than any camera will.

The next two questions flirt with conveniance of use and experiance. Sounds like your prior experiance stank and so you didn't use the camera. So not much to learn form that. You want at optical zoom most likely least 3x .

No computer or cable phobias so the docking station thing doesn't sound like a good use of your money, you are just as comfortable with a USB cable.

Camera size wasn't brought up so I assume it isn't a real big deal.

Here are some thoughts:

2 mega pixels will make an acceptable 5x7 t 8x10 # will give you a little better qaulity and more likely more room to play with the pricture in the PC before you print.

If you don't have a CD burner I would get a 2 mega pixel camera and a CD burner with the buget for a three mega pixel camera becasue you need to be able to archive pictures in a failry stable format and CDs are it. (see Zurgs manifesto at Deb's)

What ever you get you will need more memory and maybe batteries.

cameras:
Fuji 2800 Zoom. Fairly basic feature set but it has a 6x optical zoom. So if you like getting in close without being close that zoom is way cool. This is a great little camera but it doesn't have video out and Zurg loves to see his pictures on the TV in the hotel room befor he goes to bed and this puppy doesn't do that. The 3800 is just coming out and is a 3 mega pixel version of the same camera but still no video out.

Hello Mr. Fuji - Zurg thinks you made a mistake this would be his most recomended camara if it had video out. (anyone think Mr. Fuji cares what Zurg thinks?)

Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-P51 P-51. I think Glo just got one of these. Nice little camera, good dark situation auto focus system but only a 2x optical zoom and that is an issue for me but maybe not for others. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P71 has a 3x optical zoom and more mega pixels for more moeny. These two take AA batteries and that is a big plus in Zurg eyes. Sony's auto focus system is very good in low light and is a plus.

The Canon s30 is a very nice camera. Nice features. It uses a proprietary battery and that can be an issue as you can't cheaply get extras.

I am an Olympus fan and have had good luck with their camreas going back a whole lot of years and rolls of film. (My DD now used my Olympus OM2 SLR and I just made her an old fashioned film dark room). I think the 3020z is a nice camera with a full set of controls maybe more than you will use.

They have a nice mini camera the D40 a 4 mega pix pocket size job. I have a c700 the 2 mega pixel version of the 720 you looked at. These cameras pack a big zoom and that is what I wanted (not just for BadShoe.com but for taking pictures of the kids they mug for the camera and I like to sant off and zoom in) but there is a funky "cromic aberation" issue that puts a purple fringe on stuff that can be annoying. You should know about that going into the big zoom cameras.

Nikon makes great cameras also know as Nikons (well with the exception the entry level digital stuff. I don't like the idea of no viewfinder.) The cool pix 4500 is the current version of the Nikon swivel body camera it has a 4x optical zoom but some of the older versions may still be available. Our good pal Dan Murphy uses a Nikon to great advantage. They are full feature camaras and have a great reputation. The 4500 is pushing into the advanced "prosumer" level camera (Canon G2 Sony DCS s85) and these may be more camera than you need.

The minolta 304 / 404 cameras are worth noting for the lens quality and 4x zoom.

Go to some stores and play with some cameras, feel them in you hands. Push the buttons. Do the Zen thing.

Let us know what your next questions are.

Now you will have to have two accessories for most of these cameras to do WDW. 1) more memory 128 meg card and 2) rechargabe AA batteries.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

Hey Zurg! Just got back from 3 different stores. I jumped right on the computer to see if you answered me. After taking your advice and looking at alot of cameras, I think I like the Canon S30 (the G2 was out of my price range darnit). I like the size of it and I like that you can hook it up on your tv (I, like you, love to see the days activities before going to bed - also good to realize what you missed and need to go back and see).

The zoom was good and it has sound in the video (no big deal, but a nice feature if I use it). It also does Panoramic, which the Olympus 3020 and 4000 did not have (they also didn't have sound). Since this is my first digital, I also like the fact that all the controls are on a dial on the top of the camera, you don't have to search through the menu for some basic stuff. It also has a lithium battery ( I have an endless supply of those due to hubby's job, but will get rechargeable too). It also has an better camera casing than the Olympus (Olympus was plastic) - I tend to be a little rough with my cameras. It also was lighter. Soooooo............




I think the Canon wins out!

Please say this is a good camera . You have helped me SO MUCH MORE than the salesmen at the stores - one was even downright rude when I asked questions, made me feel like an idiot (don't think the manager won't get a call from me ) I really appreciate all your help. Don't be surprised if I ask for help in getting the best pics out of the camera. I can't wait to learn before our next trip to WDW


Now - how about a printer? LOL.

 

[jfulcer]

LTM,


I have the Canon S30 and love it. You can look at my site with the link in my sig below to see pictures I've taken. I've had the camera almost 8 months now, so no WDW trips with it yet. I've got an extra battery(which IS proprietary) a 128 meg and 64 meg card. I bring my laptop along like Zurg to DL at the end of the night.

Any questions about the S30 please feel free to ask. I know one or two others on the board have this camera also.

 

[kdibattista]

but I just bought the S200 and I love it!!! I am the most anal person when it comes to digital this, digital that. I don't know anything and I can work it.

 

[Serena]

Consumer Reports just came out with a magazine featuring them. Check it out.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

Serena - What did the article say? Tried to pull it up on the computer, but I can't - not a subscriber they said Was it at least good?

JFULCER - awesome pics!

 

[Serena]

I didn't read the posts thoroughly enough, the CRmag had the G-2 in it but not the one you mentioned.

But from the sound of it, you've got yourself a good camera.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

My husband was worried about the propriety battery, but I think that getting a rechargeable takes care of that. I think the benefits outweigh the battery thing. Was it rated Very Good? I will go to the library tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up.