Digital Camera 101

[CWIPPERMAN]

If anyone is interested in seeing some of the photo's I took with my Kodak DX3600, I am putting my trip photo's on my website. As I type this (Sepetember 24th), I only have a couple pages of phtoto's up - CLICK HERE FOR A PAGE WITH PHOTOS. As I get time, I'm going to add more photo's (I think by the time I get done, I should have 6-700 photo's on the site).

Now, keep in mind that these photo's have been "compresssed" so they load faster for those of you with slower connections, so when you look at them they aren't "full resolution". But you should get the idea as far as the quality you can get.

On a side note, if you get a chance you can read MY TRIP REPORT! You will see exactly what NOT to do with your digital camera and memory cards (like leave them on the airport shuttle bus as you leave Florida).

The only negatative thing I can say for the camera is to concure that it takes a couple seconds for the photo's to "process" after you snap them. After using the camera for a while, you get used to this though.

 

[LindaBabe]

and two sets of rechargable batteries and charger. uses smart media. I love it. Saved me twice what it cost in film developing alone and i haven't had it a year yet.

 

[JKW]

I just got a sony DSC-P9. Wow!! The pictures are really crisp. We've taken a few pictures at the finest resolution for an 8X10 size and it looked as if it was a professional portrait. I am really impressed with it. The size is very decieving. The specs say it is 5"x2"x2"(approx.). When I opened the box, the kids said wow! It is so small -- my husband put it in his pocket of his jeans. The camera was $600, 5 - 128MB memory sticks were $400, and an extra battery $60. Kind of expensive but really wonderful pictures and video. We took a mpeg movie for 5 mins. hooked up the camera to the TV to view and recorded the movie. It was better than the camcorder we own.

 

[pinhopper]

I've started researching for my first digital camera purchase, and am confused about what criteria to use regarding nighttime picture-taking. I am interested in a Fuji 2800 finepix, but have read that this camera does poorly in taking nighttime photos. And one camera salesman said I should be looking for adjustable aperture capability, whatever that means!

How do all of you get good fireworks/nighttime photos with your digital cameras? I will be attending a Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party in a couple weeks and I am really keen on getting great photos of the Main Street decorations and walk-around characters while there.

In a nutshell, which 2.1 or 3.2 megapixel camera do you all recommend that can handle both daytime and nighttime photos well? Thanks for all your advice!

 

[mkandk]

We got this camera for our trip last year. My favorite part is that you can recharge it--it holds 180 minutes, and recharges in a couple of hours, so we rarely have problems with low battery.

I also recommend getting at least 3 megapixels, and a 128 memory card, whatever kind. We have mini-movies, which is a lot of fun, but not essential.

 

[Snowgod]

This is a link to pictures I took at night in different light. I took them with a CANON Powershot S110/2.1 megapixel camera. Uses CF memory and rechargable battery. Pictures are 1.1 meg and load slow.

http://homepage.mac.com/dlangtry/PhotoAlbum4.html

 

[NHPeter]

nice pics snowgod. Did you have to fiddle with individual settings, like aperture..., or did you just use the automatic settings? We have a Canon G2 and are wondering the same thing as pinhopper. We will be at WDW Nov 6 - 16th.

thanks - peter

 

[Snowgod]

The only change I made was to turn off the flash.

 

[jmminarik]

Originally posted by Snowgod
The only change I made was to turn off the flash.

It's funny how many flashes you see popping for night-time events. I know alot of inexpensive cameras don't give you the option of doing anything but changing consumables and pressing the button, but if you want decent photos of light shows at night, the first step with almost any camera is to make sure the flash is turned off.

If you're trying to photograph people with lights behind them, use the night mode or slow shutter speed setting on your camera if you have one (and don't have/want to use manual functions on a camera). This mode will fire the flash to illuminate the people in front, but keeps the shutter slow so the lights in the background have a change to burn into the film.

-Joe

 

[Mayflower1635]

I'm also looking at digital cameras, and I have an additional requirement to consider when purchasing one. I'm a genealogist and wondered if anyone knows what type of digital camera works best for photographing old photos and documents.