Need advice on camera from Radio Shack

[Imzadi]

Is this camera any good? It would be my first digital camera. I waited to find a 5MP at a cheap price. I'm not looking for anything fancy, but do want a decent zoom.

Optimus 5.0MP Digital Camera ($30 MIR) $119.99 = $89.99
A sleek and stylish 5.0 megapixel for high-quality snapshots. Includes a 1.7" TFT LCD display and an expansion slot for your SD™ memory card. Also functions as a voice recorder and PC camera.

*5-megapixel resolution for superior quality digital photos
*Digital zoom up to 4x preview and 6x playback
Megapixel Range 4-5MP
Optical Zoom 0
*1.7" TFT LCD display--quick and easy view of your snapshots
*An expansion slot for your SD™ memory card
*Record thoughts, notes or conversations with the built-in voice recorder
*PC camera--video chat online


http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?cp=&sortBy=dateAsc&productId=2145806&showProducts=20&y=10&x=15&tab=summary

 

[MsDisney23]

Hey hold on, let me get my DH, he works at Radio Shack and can answere this for you!

 

[Imzadi]

Thanks!

 

[MsDisney23]

DH said it is a good decent starter camera for the price!

 

[Imzadi]

Tell DH thanks!

Anyone else can answer this next question, or direct me to a site that speaks in very simple English about this. LOL. Does it matter that it has no Optical zoom? What is the difference in that & the digital zoom? As far as I know, I will mostly be using it to take pics of eBay items & to list my crafts on my website.

 

[clh2]

My BIL, who is a professional photographer swears that digital zoom isn't worth didley. I think that is because if you have a decent program to work with, you can "digitally zoom" your pics on the screen. When he has given us advice, it always was - make sure you have optical zoom, don't worry at all about the digital zoom.

 

[Imzadi]

Ahh, that's what I needed to know. This deal seemed to good to be true.

 

[almacdonald]

I wouldn't waste my money!

I'd be leary of any camera with a "no-name" lens. Online reviews have said that color balance is way off and that the brightness (or lack thereof) is a real problem. And digital zoom IS worthless on a digital camera. The same effect can be accomplished on a computer with the "zoom" button. If you want any zooming capabilities look for something with at least 3x OPTICAL zoom. Sounds like the battery is proprietary (battery pack made specifically for the camera). This is a nice feature in most brand name cameras but finding an extra battery could prove problematic. Keep in mind that you will need to buy a memory card. Set at 5MP, with 16MB of internal memory you'll get a picture or 2 before your memory is full. It says that it acts as a voice recorder but not if it can be used to record video. Is that important to you? Oh, and the fact that the ISO sensitivity can only be set to 100, 200 or auto means it's going to be terrible for anything other than direct BRIGHT sunlight, no indoor use at all.

Save your money (and the heartache). Get a nice digital camera from a reputable manufacturer. I wouldn't take the risk of taking terrible pictures to save a few bucks. Of course the reviews on the RadioShack website are good, as if they'd let someone post bad stuff about their products on there!

 

[crazelion]

I agree buy self a good starter camera. Circuit City has Nikon 4600 for 149.00 dollars with a 20.00 gift card. That is a good camera. I just got lucky got mine at Best Buy for 149.00 dollars with 20.00 gift Card for Pre-Thanksgiving sales.

Cannon A520 is a good starter camera to with at least 3x optical zoom.

I went for Nikon because it was 50.00 dollars cheaper and came with a 20.00 gift card on sale.

But the Cannon A520 was my first choice.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

You could ask about this on our new photography board!
for indepenent reviews of camera's www.stevesdigicams is good too