Main features Newbie should look for?

[ocalla]

I have been browsing around Best Buy Sears etc., looking for Digital Camera information, and am so overwhelmed!!!

I really don't know what specifics I should be looking for. I want to be able to zoom in across a soccer field, take some action photos as well as still life for Disney.

I noticed a Sony Cybershot 8.1 and also a Sony Cybershot 8.0? Is there a huge difference?

I really don't think I am ready for the Digital SLR, so what do you suggest. Also what is the difference between SD and Memory Stick etc.?

I see why I have stayed with my "film" camera for so long, "Fish out of Water"!!!

 

[jenn-]

I can only answer the easy question in there. Memory stick vs SD is a type of memory card (kinda the difference between a floppy and a hard disk). Go with the SD. You can get them dirt cheap now. I think Walmart was selling a 2GB SD for $20 at one point. SD is also compatiable with most built in data ports, whereas Compact Flash (just another type) and Memory Stick are not always compatiable and you would then need an adapter (or keep up with that silly cord to download direct from the camera).

If you are looking for something that will shot across a field you need to find the highest OPTICAL zoom for your budget. Don't fall prey to 48x DIGITAL zoom claims. Digital zoom just eats the quality of the image really bad.

 

[jann1033]

you might want to check out this site he breaks them down by cost, what skill level you want etc. and imo is pretty easy to under stand.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/best_cameras.html
don't really know anything at all about sports but i would think you might want a super zoom for that.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I noticed a Sony Cybershot 8.1 and also a Sony Cybershot 8.0? Is there a huge difference?

The 8.1 is probably this camera: Sony DSC-H9; I'm not sure what the 8.0 would be. The H9's not a bad camera, as superzooms go, but I prefer my Canon Powershot S3 IS (as do most on-line reviewers).

Another really good "superzoom" camera is the Fuji S6000sd.

IMO, the Canon's got the edge when outside in bright light and the Fuji's got the edge when you're inside in low-light.

If you aren't prepared for the expense and learning curve of a DSLR (which will be better than any P&S), a superzoom is a great camera. You've got everything from wide-angle to long-zoom to macro to video all in one (fairly) compact package!

The S3 is *very* popular with DISers, just check out our thread of pics!!

If you want reviews of more cameras to choose from, go to the Digital Camera Resource page and check out all of the offerings with 10x or more in the Zoom Optical/Digital column of the list!

 

[ocalla]

OK, so I have read up on this S3, but I also saw the article mentioning the S2 are camera's updated yearly?

Also it mentioned something about its memory? Does that mean it will take pictures without one of those cards?

What about printing? and everyone talking about Photoshop, is that a program to print and do I have to purchase it to use it?

I hope this isn't too many questions, but when I tried to ask the Best Buy guys, they looked at me like was an idiot.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

OK, so I have read up on this S3, but I also saw the article mentioning the S2 are camera's updated yearly?

Also it mentioned something about its memory? Does that mean it will take pictures without one of those cards?

What about printing? and everyone talking about Photoshop, is that a program to print and do I have to purchase it to use it?

I hope this isn't too many questions, but when I tried to ask the Best Buy guys, they looked at me like was an idiot.

The Canon S-series will not take pictures without an SD card. However, a 16M one (good for about a dozen pics) comes with it, and SD cards are really cheap (for example, you can get a 2G SD card at WalMart for about $25).

The newest member of the S-family is the S5, but it's still about $450-$500 as compared to $270-$300 for the S3 ... and, it doesn't take significantly better pictures (or, in fact, better pictures at all). It's got some nice features, like a bigger LCD and a hotshoe for an external flash, but I don't think the enhancements are worth the nearly $200 price difference. You could *almost* get an entry-level DSLR for $500!

You can get your pictures printed just about anywhere ... most stores that do photo printing will have a kiosk that accepts SD cards (as well as just about every other type of card and CDs/DVDs, too), and you just pick out which ones you want to print and the kiosk software handles the rest. If you're a complete newbie, a camera shop like Ritz will not only have the kiosk, but a staff member trained to use it and teach you how it works (the prints will be more expensive than WalMart or Walgreen's, but there is the "personal service" aspect of a camera shop).

Photoshop is a powerful (and expensive) digital picture editing program that runs on PCs and Macs and allows you to do all sorts of manipulation of your pictures. It isn't necessary to have Photoshop to enjoy the results of a digital camera, either for viewing or printing, but lots of people like the ability to lighten/darken/sharpen/etc their digital pictures not to mention cool effects like selective coloring (where everything but the subject is black and white, like this little girl's Minnie Mouse dress). Just a note, the Canon S-series cameras can do this without any external software, but it's not always 100% accurate (but, it is cool).

Also, there's a freeware alternative called GIMP 2.0 that works very well for what most people need.

 

[dburg30]

I have been browsing around Best Buy Sears etc., looking for Digital Camera information, and am so overwhelmed!!!

I really don't know what specifics I should be looking for. I want to be able to zoom in across a soccer field, take some action photos as well as still life for Disney.

I noticed a Sony Cybershot 8.1 and also a Sony Cybershot 8.0? Is there a huge difference?

I really don't think I am ready for the Digital SLR, so what do you suggest. Also what is the difference between SD and Memory Stick etc.?

I see why I have stayed with my "film" camera for so long, "Fish out of Water"!!!

Do you have a camera shop close to you? If so, maybe go in there and talk to folks that only deal with camera stuff, not folks that deal with cell phones too . Not that some folks at the big stores dont know their stuff.

You mention that you've stayed away from your film camera for so long. What kind is it? How old? Could you use lenses off of it? In the world of digital, the SLR's arent as big a deal anymore. You can immediately see your results (well pretty much, you do have to put them on your computer). Did you like using it, but just never got the hang of it?

One thing you do want to be careful of if you are planning on doing action shots, is a lot of point and shoots have shutter lag, meaning there is a time between pressing the button and a picture being taken. Check that out also if action is important to you (kids in sports for example).

I like checking out http://www.dpreview.com/ for reviews and what folks say about certain cameras. Just like anything else on the web, read thru stuff and you'll be able to sort out the diehard pros / diehard cons of each camera, and find the in between folks that pretty much probably have it right. Kind of like dining reviews here.

 

[ocalla]

I currently have a Nikon N75 "body" and the lens, well it says Quanitaray for NIKON AF 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.6 Multi-Coated. Does that tell you anything?

Anyway, you said maybe I could use that lens? Do you mean that I can attach the "film camera" lens to a Digital camera????!!! That would be amazing, although I still don't get close enough with it, but it would be a start.

Another question, I see people talking about pictures RAW? What do they mean?

The Shutter Lag is exactly what I am worried about. I borrowed a "cheap" digital camera once, and could't catch any picture on time. I thought maybe they all did this.

 

[Taqwus]

I currently have a Nikon N75 "body" and the lens, well it says Quanitaray for NIKON AF 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.6 Multi-Coated. Does that tell you anything?

Anyway, you said maybe I could use that lens? Do you mean that I can attach the "film camera" lens to a Digital camera????!!! That would be amazing, although I still don't get close enough with it, but it would be a start.

Another question, I see people talking about pictures RAW? What do they mean?

The Shutter Lag is exactly what I am worried about. I borrowed a "cheap" digital camera once, and could't catch any picture on time. I thought maybe they all did this.

I am not 100% sure but I think you can use that lens on the Nikkon D40x, which is the competitor of the S5
Right now the S5's price is coming down since the entry level dSLR's are coming down (about $450) and other prosumer ultrazooms are nearing the 300$ mark

Right now the cheapest dSLR is the Pentax K100D, they are trying to get rid of thier stock for the K100D Super so they go on sale pretty often. Another bonus is the Pentax models are the only ones that can use AA batteries


Pretty much the main difference between a dSLR and a P&S (besides the optics) is going to be the chip size.
This is why you can not shoot anything really pass ISO 200 on an non-dSLR (well maybe a fuji they are known for their low light) they are packing so many sensors on a chip that by increasing the megapixel they are reducing the image quality. Right now there is a big debate on the S3 vs S5 in terms of quality since they use the same size chip but they use different mega-pixels the quality seems to have went down

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I am not 100% sure but I think you can use that lens on the Nikkon D40x, which is the competitor of the S5

I don't think you could call the S5 a competitor for any DSLR ... it's in the same class with the Sony H9, Panasonic FZ's, etc.

Because it's a DSLR, the D40 will always take better pics than any superzoom (especially in low-light or other less-than-optimum conditions), but to get the same reach (36mm to 430+mm) is going to cost a lot more in glass for a DSLR.

Most of the DSLR lenses that can hit 430+mm cost more than a brand new S5!

 

[ukcatfan]

I currently have a Nikon N75 "body" and the lens, well it says Quanitaray for NIKON AF 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.6 Multi-Coated. Does that tell you anything?

Anyway, you said maybe I could use that lens? Do you mean that I can attach the "film camera" lens to a Digital camera????!!! That would be amazing, although I still don't get close enough with it, but it would be a start.

Another question, I see people talking about pictures RAW? What do they mean?

The Shutter Lag is exactly what I am worried about. I borrowed a "cheap" digital camera once, and could't catch any picture on time. I thought maybe they all did this.

I am not 100% sure but I think you can use that lens on the Nikkon D40x, which is the competitor of the S5
Right now the S5's price is coming down since the entry level dSLR's are coming down (about $450) and other prosumer ultrazooms are nearing the 300$ mark

Right now the cheapest dSLR is the Pentax K100D, they are trying to get rid of thier stock for the K100D Super so they go on sale pretty often. Another bonus is the Pentax models are the only ones that can use AA batteries


Pretty much the main difference between a dSLR and a P&S (besides the optics) is going to be the chip size.
This is why you can not shoot anything really pass ISO 200 on an non-dSLR (well maybe a fuji they are known for their low light) they are packing so many sensors on a chip that by increasing the megapixel they are reducing the image quality. Right now there is a big debate on the S3 vs S5 in terms of quality since they use the same size chip but they use different mega-pixels the quality seems to have went down

If that is your only lens, then I would not have it be a deciding factor for you. I believe that brand lens is the Ritz/Wolf in house brand, so it could have actually been made by a number of different companies. If it does not have a focus motor in it, then it will only be MF on the D40 and D40x. Also, on a DSLR, the sensor is smaller than film which leads to what we call a crop factor. That means that you have to multiply the focal length by a factor to know how it will react on a DSLR compared to the actual focal length on a SLR. This is 1.5X on the Nikon, so your 28-80mm just became a 42-120mm. You see that it helps on the tele end, but you really lose on the wide end. Because of this, you would likely be buying a new lens anyway, so that opens your options up beyond Nikon. Not that there is anything bad with them, but I really am unhappy that they made the D40 series have no focus motor in the body. It really limits your lens choices.

If you are coming from the film SLR world, then you might never be happy with a p&s digital. It is not only due to the things mentioned above, but also due to the change in DOF control. You pretty much lose that with a p&s. If you always want everything in focus, then it is a plus, but most SLR users sometimes like to isolate the subject with a blurred background. That is next to impossible to do with a p&s.

Shutter lag is getting much better on the high end p&s cameras, so you might keep your mind open to that.

RAW is a file format that is just that, raw data without the camera's processing applied. It will not mess with the white balance(think the need to use color filters with film), contrast, saturation, sharpness, etc. and lets you do that in post processing. It puts the power in your hands to decide what was right. It also gives you more room for error correction if you missed the exposure. It stores much more image information than JPG, so when you make an adjustment, it has more to work with. If you say bump the exposure up by +2 with a JPG, the results will likely look awful, but with RAW, it will still be in the acceptable range. Some p&s models do offer RAW.

Kevin

 

[Taqwus]

How much money are you looking at spending. Judgingby the models you listed I would guess around $350