| Author | Message | ||
     Ccryder |
I'm in the market for a new digital camera. My Sony has served me well for 4 years but it is lacking resolution (only 760x1068). My first eye catcher is the Nikon 5400 (also the 1gb IBM micro-drive for $250 is a steal!). What is everyone elses preference. TIA Neil S. | ||
| Stevedplumber |
I RECOMMEND THE NIKON COOLPIX LINE OF CAMERAS. I HAVE THE COOLPIX 775 AND THE CAMERA WORKS LIKE A GEM. UNFORTUNATELY THEY STOPPED MAKING THAT MODEL, BUT THEY DO HAVE OTHER MODELS THAT ARE JUST AS EASY TO USE.  | ||
| Reepicheep |
My CoolPix 950 is terribly out of date, terribly beat up, and still shoots better pictures then newer cameras of 4 times the resolution. You could probably find one on ebay for $200, or a coolpix 990 (same camera, better resolution, better low light performance) for $350 or less. 1600x1200 pixels is enough for anything short of studio work. Don't fall for the megapixel hype... better optics, better metering, quicker acquisition time, and better light sensitivity are all much more important for good shots then extra resolution. Buy a camera with a manual spotmetered mode... a narrow little box in the middle of the frame that you can put on a particular area of your subject. Do this on the center of intrest (eyes on a human), push the shutter button half way down, and lock in an exposure and focus. Then reframe the picture to be pleasing, and press the button the rest of the way to get the shot instantly. Auto metering and focus modes will never do better then average. A smart person applying a spot meter will nail the exposure and focus faster and better every single time. www.stevesdigicams.com has good reviews of particular models. Then throw adobe photoshop elements at the resulting photos, or similiar package. The "autolevels" and "variations" tools are quick and easy to use, and worth their weight in gold. | ||
| Josh_ |
Just picked up a Pentax Optio 550. Very small, but 5x optical zoom and 5megapixle it takes some pretty amazing pics. 'course for $499 it better. Comes with a rechargable battery good for 200+shots, I added a 256MB SD card to hold those 200 shots. Added a Epson 925 photo printer for $50 (after rebates from Epson and Amazon) and we're all set. | ||
| Piggos |
I have a Nikon Coolpix 995, my second digital. In my opinion, optical zoom of at least 4X is necessary for motorsports pictures. 995's can still be had on Ebay new for low prices. Don't bother with an additional battery. Also, microdrives are fragile. I'd rather have a couple of 512M compact flash modules. Roger R. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Neil, I'm using a Canon A70. Nice little 3.2 MP camara. It uses CF cards, there for large capacity is available cheap. Takes good pics, lots of cretive options or basic PHS mode (push here stupid). It's small but not too small. Realitivly cheap, about $300 on sale. It works for me! Brad | ||
| Hans |
Good sites for digital camera reviews: www.dpreview.com www.Imaging-resource.com www.megapixel.net www.stevesdigicams.com www.dcresource.com The giant for a remarkable low price is the Canon A60 The favoured high end prosumer camera is the Minolta Dimage 7Hi. The Compact Flash memory has won the battle. The 1 Gigabyte IBM micro drives have lost some interest because the low priced 256 Mb and the reasonable priced 512 CF cards and because there are already 1, 2 and 3 gig CF cards (expensive) The microdrive is sturdy, but not as dependable as solid memory and above 9000 feet the microdrive is even useless. For bigger mass storage there are all kinds of digital wallets, even with LCD screens to show the pics. Nice thingy is the Apacer Steno: Writes directly from the card (multiple sessions) on a CD. Goes here for 199 Euros. Also usable as extern CD rewriter. Hooks up on an USB2 port: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0304/03040401jobostenocp100.asp There are lots and lots of excellent cams from the big brands. Check out also the Konica 500Z. And don`t forget the Fujifilm cameras. Mostly 3 Megapixels: They did leave the Megapixel hype before it started. Stay away from HP. For specific questions you can check the different forums on www.dpreview.com. very helpful people there. Hans | ||
| Henrik |
I've been using a couple of the Nikon Coolpix cameras, 990 and 995 (I own the 995) and like them a lot. The pivoting body comes in handy of multiple shooting angles. All the photography on the Team Elves site I did with those two cameras. http://www.teamelves.com/Events/2000_event/index.html http://www.teamelves.com/Events/2001_event/index.shtml Click on the "Gallery" links. I've recently tried out the Canon G3 and G5. Great cameras for the interested amateur. Lots of options for tweaking and great automatic features as well. For my $$ I'd probably get a G3 today. The lens is much more light sensitive than the Coolpix 995 for better low light level shooting. I usually check http://www.dpreview.com for features and opinions. Hans' list is a good one. I think either pivoting body or pivoting screen is a must for MC photography. A shot from the ground up (worm's view) makes an MC look much more interesting and the ability to point the lens in any direction in relation to the screen works well for that. Also helps for shooting above crowds; just pivot screen to face down and straighs-arm the camera above your head to shoot. Henrik | ||
| Reepicheep |
And the pivoting body is killer for good shots of kids... point the lens and viewer the same direction, and point kid out to themselves. Always holds their attention long enough for a shot, even babies. See my profile for a pretty clear demo. | ||
| Prof_stack |
A point in favor of more megapixels: Cropping the image. Several times I have done that with some photos and have gotten great images and also prints on an HP5550. And I'm talking about cropping just a small portion of the original image. Last year I got a Canon S40 (4mp) and am still blown away by the quality of the images. But if you aren't worried about printing, then 3mp is plenty enough for most people. | ||
| Aaron |
2Mp is marginal for an 8x10, 3Mp is good. For magazine work, catalogs, etc, it's hard to get too much resolution. I shoot most of that stuff at 4 or 6Mp and it's marginal. If I remember right, Reg told me he shoots at 14Mp. Prof_stack makes a good point, too. | ||
| Court |
Nikon 950, and lusting over the D1 (just about $5,000 shy as of this date) and the Nikon provides EXCELLENT quality from a camera that is many generations past now. Most photojournalism is not done in digital. Too easy, ala the Sadam Son's shooting to point and shoot a pic of someone that's just been pointed and shot. There were pics out of NYC City Hall yesterday before all the cops arrived. Decide what YOU need and don't try to keep up with technology beyond your own needs. Court (brought to you on a Celeron processor from the front seat of a Ford F-250 on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights via a PDA and an 802.11 wireless link)  | ||
| Rocketman |
Try here Neil but it might be a little out dated Digital Camera Archives Rocket  | ||
| Ccryder |
Thanks to all for the comments and suggstions (Yes Rocket I checked the Archives). The jury is still out but either the Sony V1, Nikon 5400, Canon G5, or the Pentax 550 are the leaders. Time to investigate. Neil S. | ||
| Hans |
In that case: 1. Canon G5 2. Nikon 54 3. Sony V1 4. Pentax 550 with a great gap between 1,2 and 3,4. | ||
| Josh_ |
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| Henrik |
Hey Court ... I know that place  Neil, if those are your choices, no doubt get the G5. One of our plastic/hand surgeons just started using a G5 with ring flash for OR photography. Very impressive results. Henrik | ||
| Road_thing |
Hey, they moved the dumpsters!! | ||
| Henrik |
R-T; yeah, they're trying to cater to a more "upscale" clientele now. Can't say if it had anything to do with the visit of a certain Texan recently  "> Henrik edited by Henrik on July 25, 2003 | ||
| Tripper |
wow. 8 fps | ||
| Ccryder |
Well I just jumped into the newer digital age. My G5, 1GB compactFlash, spare battery and (color me sucker) 5 yr extended warranty will be in my sweaty little hands by next Wednesday. PHEW, I really hate spending my Ex's money  . This camera and Passion's rebuild was graciously paid for by my EX, and I still have more left for a house (in the not too distant future). Just color me CRAZY. Neil S. | ||
| Henrik |
Congrats Neil; good choice. Henrik | ||
| Hans |
Neil, you will have fun with that excellent masterpiece. Congratulations.  | ||
| Jim_witt |
Interesting ......   -JW:> | ||
| Henrik |
be careful not to buy too cheap - it's called grey import , and you either don't get everything that's supposed to be "in the box" - or, should you have problems with the camera, the manufacturer will refuse to warranty repair the item. I spent some time looking into this before buying me camera - it's a jungle out there. Henrik | ||
| Jim_witt |
Henrik, Yep ...... no doubt. However, just in case anyone is interested, State Street Direct isn't one of those dealing in practices like that. -JW:> | ||
| Ccryder |
Jim: Thanks but, I got my G5 for $75 cheaper and it is a US intended product, not grey market. It is surprising how many don't advertise that they are "new", "never opened" and for US market. Also watch out for who does the extended warranty. Mine is done through the same people that do Canon's OEM warranty. Time2ride, oops maybe I'l clean first. Neil S. | ||
| Josh_ |
How about a 3x optical zoom / 2megapixel for $129 here | ||
| Two_buells |
I like my Canon EOS D60 DSLR. here are some links to my BattleTrax shots  http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=TwoBuells&AID=765128 | ||
| Hans |
Two_buells, That`s really a super duper camera. Congratulations. For much smaller budget and lower weight: This can turnout to be a topper: the just announced 6.2 MP, 6x optical zoom, Fujifilm Finepix S7000 http://www.dpreview.com/news/0307/03072902finepixs7000.asp | ||
| Josh_ |
Canon G5 4.8 x 2.9 x 2.8 in 17.0 oz $622 Nikon 54 4.3 x 2.9 x 2.7 in 13.4 oz $617 Sony V1 3.9 x 2.6 x 2.2 in 10.3 oz $564 Pentax 550 3.9 x 2.3 x 1.6 in 8.7 oz $526 My mom called last night to ask questions about her new digital camera. Seems she went to the local ritzy camera shop and paid full retail for an Olympus C740 ($499) (10x optical zoom!) and 256MB xD card ($135). | ||
| Reepicheep |
Tripper.... Wow! That Nikon D2H is pretty amazing for more then just 8 FPS... did you see the low light specs? Sensitivity • ISO 200 - 1600 • 1/3, 1/2 or 1.0 EV steps • ISO 1600 can be boosted by one or two stops Boosted by two stops beyond that (probably with image quality hits like my Coolpix 950 and 990)! That would mean full quality pictures at 1600 ASA, and usable pictures from ASA 6400. Oh My. Of course it's a $5000 camera. But if they could roll that sensor down into a coolpix 990 style camera for $600 or so, that would be a killer setup. My Coolpix 950 is better then most digicams at capturing low light shots... and has "only" 1600x1200 resolution. That being said, I loose more shots due to low light issues then I loose to insufficient resolution issues... by like a 50:1 ratio. For the most part, any shot with a flash at anything but a fill flash setting is half ruined right out of the gate.... they becomre more about documentation and less really pleasing art. And even if you could set up the flash with some slaves to look good, it becomes really disruptive to whatever you are trying to capture, and requires so much setup and teardown... Oh to have that D5 and snipe away at full quality in half darkness... boy could I get some fantastic shots. |
