Idiot's Guide to Digital Cameras

[kelleigh1]

Ok, I'm the idiot and I need someone to Guide me.

Basically, I know nothing about digital cameras. Well maybe not nothing, but pretty close. I wouldn't know the first thing about what to buy.

We may have convinced MIL to buy us a digital camera for Christmas this year and she asked hubby what brand we want. I currently have an Olympus Infinity 330 super zoom film camera which I have had for almost 15 years. I love my camera, but I figure that we're now in the digital age and that with digital, I'll probably save a ton of money on developing costs.

But I don't know where to start when it comes to getting a digital that will be right for us. I love taking pictures, but I'm not a pro. My Olympus came with everything attached. I didn't have to get any extra lenses. It had a great zoom attached. It also had some extra features which I thought were great and definitely used, but it's definitely a camera for a hobby and not a profession. This is what I need in digital.

What do I need to know about mega-pixel's?
What brands have the best picture quality at a reasonable price?

Any other info (tons, I'm sure) that this digital camera virgin needs to know?

 

[Laura]

Well, digital cameras are great for us "idiots", as they let us know right away if we goofed up the photo!

I have a Canon A620, and while it's a great camera, perhaps you might like something else. Lots of people like Canons, though, and they make some with a nice zoom like the S3. Important to me, they have really nice picture quality. There are other good brands out there, like Olympus, just don't mention Kodak to Kelly Grannell.

Here's something to give you an idea of cameras that are out there, as a starting point:
http://www.dcresource.com/buyersguide/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/stats.asp

Megapixels are basically a measure of how large a picture you can take. Typically, the more, the better--but at the same time it can be overkill or eat up the memory too quickly.

 

[kelleigh1]

Thanks for the info.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

What do I need to know about memory?

How many pictures does your average camera hold? I know that my sister and BIL bought an extra memory card for their camera which holds some ridiculous amount of pictures, but do any cameras come with extra memory cards or is it just 1?

Any information is greatly appreciated.

 

[YEKCIM]

I'm no expert, either, but have been a party to buying several digitals, thusfar.

First step is to determine what features you need in a camera, based on your expected use. Some things to consider are:

*compact or not
*megapixels
*zoom range
*expandability (P&S or DSLR?)
*stabilization

As regards megapixels, something in the 5-7 range should be sufficient for most anyone. If you never go past 8X10 or even 11X14, 5 should be fine.

Zoom range is something to give serious consideration to. For example, Mrs. YEKCIM uses a Canon A75, which takes excellent pix, but has only a 3X zoom, not nearly enough for my needs. I have a Fuji S5200, which has a 10X zoom and, while it is a little lacking on the "wide" end, it has very good magnification on the "tele" end. I can zoom in and crop tightly with the 10X. My dad has a Sony H1, which is 12X, and goes even further, obviously, on the tele end.

You may be interested in moving beyond the P&S level at some point. If that is a possibility, you may want to consider an interchangeable lens dslr. Pentax has an excellent rebate deal going on their *ist DL that has me drooling. The body plus kit lens can be had for less than $400 online and adding a "tele" zoom brings the total to around $540, after rebates.

I suggest you look also at www.steves-digicams.com; it is an excellent resource. Another is here: http://www.myproductadvisor.com/mpa/camera/inputSummary.do. This nifty little search engine will help guide you in the general direction of what type camera you need for your purposes.

Hope that helps. If you have any more questions, just post back. There are lots of very helpful "regulars" on this board.

~YEKCIM

 

[Laura]

What do I need to know about memory?

How many pictures does your average camera hold? I know that my sister and BIL bought an extra memory card for their camera which holds some ridiculous amount of pictures, but do any cameras come with extra memory cards or is it just 1?

You will probably need to buy a memory card or two (most like to have more than one in case of problems), as cameras usually come with no memory or piddly tiny memory cards. About a 1GB card (or two 512MB) will be fine for starters with most point-and-shoot cameras. As for how many pictures a card can hold, that depends on the size/quality of the photos you're taking and the amount of memory on the card. Generally, though, you'll be able to take much more than a few rolls of film before you run out of space.

 

[YEKCIM]

I agree on the one gig or two 512's, with preference, I guess, for two cards, for redundancy (i.e., if one is damaged/lost/quits working, you still have the other). One other, related comment concerns storage space on your computer. Digital files eat up hard drive space in a hurry. My 5MP Fuji's file size is 2.5MB in 5MP fine mode (larger if I used RAW, which I don't). We leave for WDW this Saturday and are taking Mrs. YEKCIM's laptop to d/l the photos to each day, and probably will make a CD copy, as well, "just in case". Once home, we'll copy them all to our home network's 300GB external hard drive. Bottom line is to be sure you have a place to put all those cool pix you will be taking.

~YEKCIM

 

[kelleigh1]

I'm starting to feel like I'm going to need a degree in digital photography in order to make an informed decision. I wonder if there really is an Idiots Guide.

 

[YEKCIM]

I'm starting to feel like I'm going to need a degree in digital photography in order to make an informed decision. I wonder if there really is an Idiots Guide.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0789721090/103-4672769-4016658?v=glance&n=283155

There is definitely a learning curve, going from film to digital, but once you get familiar with the terms and what they mean, it's not too difficult. Again, I suggest you consider how you will use the camera, what features will be needed or desired to maximize that use, and go from there. The various review sites are really good at helping you compare models. If you have a question about a specific camera brand or model, I suggest posting here, or on the www.dpreview.com forum.

I think you will love digital photography. I went from 30 years of shooting slides with a 35mm SLR to shooting digital, first with the still imager on my camcorder and, more recently with my Fuji S5200. We leave Saturday for a week at Mickey's World, and the Fuji will be hummin'!

~YEKCIM

 

[kelleigh1]

Thanks for the info. I do appreciate it. I think I'm going to need to find some time to sit down and do some real research. I want to make sure I get something that I'm going to use and that I can have fun with. I do love taking pictures and I'm not one of those people who just gets something because everyone else has one.

MIL got a camera phone because it was the latest thing and yet she doesn't know how to use half the features on her phone. Now she has a digital camera and I don't think I've seen a single picture that she's taken with it.

I didn't realize that the megapixels are for the size of the picture you want to create. I can't imagine that I need something for producing things larger than an 8X10, although I did blow up a few pictures with my old camera. I don't necessarily see myself doing that in the future though. This camera would be more for regular snapshots, vacation photos and other fun pictures.

My Olympus isn't exactly compact, but it's not a professional model either. So while compact may seem convenient, I think I'd rather have something a little heftier with more features so I can do some fun things with my photos.

My father used to be a photographer, mostly did weddings...but he stopped many years ago so he never got into the digital age. I never thought about being a professional photographer, but I like to do more than just your casual photos.

The other thing I'll need to consider is MIL's price range. I know that last year when we originally mentioned that we'd like a digital camera, she did say they were expensive and that was her reason for not getting us one. So I do have to think about what she'd be willing to spend also.

 

[YEKCIM]

Kelleigh,

Since you have given me a little more to go on, I'll make a couple of suggestions. Depending on how much your mil wants to "invest", you may want to consider one of these:
Canon:
A610 (5MP, 4X zoom, not stabilized, $220 online)
A620 (7MP, 4X zoom, not stabilized, $210 online <go figure>)
A700 (6MP, 6X zoom, not stabilized, $285 online)
S2-IS (5MP, 12X zoom, stabilized, $320 online)

I would also suggest again that you consider the Pentax dslr, unless the lens-changing deal is more than you want to tackle. At $366 online, including shipping, after rebate, it is a real bargain. The "kit" lens included with the camera is an 18-55mm, which is equivalent to a 27-82.5mm lens on a 35mm film camera, if that helps any.

There. Maybe that will be enough to get you started. If you are just looking for a more-capable P&S, the S2-IS would be hard to beat.

~YEKCIM