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Digital Camera Advice

Ether

Ether

Experienced Member
Joined
12 December 2001
Messages
608
Alright, since there have been a bunch of new camera's to come out lately, I just decided to start a new thread.

What I am looking for is a good quality camera that will easily fit into my pocket and is easy to use.

This one looks very impressive, but I'm the last person to ask about cameras so I was hoping for some advice from the pro's

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INT...ameras_Cyber-shotMDigitalCameras&Dept=cameras

This one also looks nice, because of the size and big LCD screen.

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INT...style-dcc_DIDigitalCameras-catpfeature-DSCT33

Opinions on other cameras are also welcome.
Thanks.
 
We got my wife a SD300:
http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=145&modelid=10599

It is 4MP and has the same outside dimensions as a credit card (but is 1/2" thick). It has a 2" LCD which is impressive. I think it is great and you can take it anywhere it is so small.

The SD500 is a 7MP camera and is about the same size but 7MP is a lot to cram into such a smal CCD.

IMO, Canon is the cat's meow as far a digital cameras. I have had Nikon P&S digitals and they are OK. If you asked me, you should stick with Nikon or Canon though. Sony makes TV's, CD players, computers, and everything else under the sun. Canon and Nikon make lenses and cameras first.

I have had 4 Canon cameras in the last year or so. (we like to upgrade :biggrin: ). All have been great. Menus are intuitive, optics are good, but look at dpreview.com. It is *THE* resource if you want digital camera info.

Good luck.
 
I also would stick with Canon, they are so good when it comes to digital cameras

also check out Nickon. Panasonic is also making a name for itself in the digital world these days.

ut I would stay away from sony if I were you, thy hae these pretty expensive memory sticks while most of the other manufacturers use the reguler SD memory. It's sony's wayto rip you off, which I really hate


If I were you, I'd go for the Canon sd500 , if I had the cash, if not then go for the sd300
 
I just got my Sony DSC-T7 in today. I got the rare world black model.......It is half the size of the T1, T3, T33, T11, etc........Sony quality, and stylish..

Danny
 
One of my pet peeves about digital cameras is shutter lag. I lost many shots with my last digicam, an Epson PhotoPC 850, because it was horrible in this respect.

I hear the high end SLRs have zero shutter lag, but does anyone have a decent compact/credit card digicam which has zero shutter lag?
 
Russ said:
One of my pet peeves about digital cameras is shutter lag. I lost many shots with my last digicam, an Epson PhotoPC 850, because it was horrible in this respect.

I hear the high end SLRs have zero shutter lag, but does anyone have a decent compact/credit card digicam which has zero shutter lag?
Click to expand...


SLR's can achieve such fast shutter lags because they use a very very huge sensor compared to the size of the poit and shoot cameras. that's the secret behind thier fast shutter lag.

unfortunatly, you can never cram such a huge sensor in small and light, point and shoot cameras, so point and shoot's will never ever compete against the SLR's.

your best option if you want a fast point and shoot camera, is to buy a fully manual camera which lets you control the shitter speed, and aperture settings. I think you can imporve the performance slightly if you use manual mode, it works for me just fine.
 
Russ said:
Onbut does anyone have a decent compact/credit card digicam which has zero shutter lag?
Click to expand...

They don't exist. Even SLR digitals have shutter lag (albeit measured in microseconds). You can minimize shutter lag on P&S by pre-focusing on the subject and then fully depressing the shutter when you get the composition that you want. This will cut lag down significantly. However if you are looking for a camera that you can aim at your subject, quickly get an AF lock, and then take the picture, compact digital cameras will all dissapoint you. I had the top of the line Nikon 8800 which retails for $1000 and it was OK, but still can't hold a candle to my Digital Rebel. (or the new rebel xt)

Remember the smaller the camera (especially the credit card sizeds ones) the more you are paying for size convenience rather than for photographic performance.

That said, the SD300 we got my wife has a faster AF than the old ELPHs by far. It has a faster AF than the S410 also. It is also faster than the A series camears. I have used or owned the A75, A80, A95.

Good luck.
 
cmhs75 said:
SLR's can achieve such fast shutter lags because they use a very very huge sensor compared to the size of the poit and shoot cameras. that's the secret behind thier fast shutter lag.

your best option if you want a fast point and shoot camera, is to buy a fully manual camera which lets you control the shitter speed, and aperture settings. I think you can imporve the performance slightly if you use manual mode, it works for me just fine.
Click to expand...

Many people believe the shutter lag performance is in the sensor size but that is not really true. The sensor size has more to do with more easily capturing the light comming from the lens.

The larger the sensors give you distinct advantages
1. Lower noise (looks like gain on the picture, or pixilazation). This is because you don't have to cram as many photo sensor sites onto as small of a chip.
2. Ability to shoot at higher ISO without degraiding picture quality or detail. This will allow you to shoot with faster shutter speeds which is great for low light situations.

I have use P&S camears in the manual mode, and could not detect any reduced shutter lag. (I was using the camear's AF. I did not focus manually) Also, if you are a novice, shooing in full manual will be frusterating and slower because there will be more trial and error. Even in my Rebel, I generally shoot in either Program, AV or TV modes. I don't shoot in manual unless I have the camera on a tripod and I am taking multipule pictures of the same subject and have time to play around. But I am not a pro either.

HTH the original poster, I think it is getting slightly off-topic and I am not helping matters :biggrin:
 
Hiroshima said:
I have use P&S camears in the manual mode, and could not detect any reduced shutter lag. (I was using the camear's AF. I did not focus manually) Also, if you are a novice, shooing in full manual will be frusterating and slower because there will be more trial and error. Even in my Rebel, I generally shoot in either Program, AV or TV modes. I don't shoot in manual unless I have the camera on a tripod and I am taking multipule pictures of the same subject and have time to play around. But I am not a pro either.

HTH the original poster, I think it is getting slightly off-topic and I am not helping matters :biggrin:
Click to expand...

well, it's too late t turn back now, so I guess the original poster needs to coupe with us now :biggrin:

what you said about the sensor size makes a lot of sense :tongue: . I guess you live and you learn

about the manual mode, I have the Lumex FZ20, and in the manual mode while using the LCD, you can actually see the gain of the picture as you change the shutter and aperture values, so I have no problem using it, and I usually use it all the time and very rarely use the programmed shots.

The reason why I say manual is faster, is because I had first hand experience that if you leave the camera on auto mode, it will choose a slower than nesisary shutter speed almost all the time(it tries to use a big aperture most of the time and so it needs to slow down the shutter). Thats' how I speed up the action using manual mode. And it really is a sinch to use thanks to the feedback from the LCD screen (i.e. the ameture screen).

however, i do also use the Manual focus almost all the time, and I really love using it, especially with the focus ring on my p&s camera, and you're right, the manual focus option, really does speed up the action, I just forgot to mension it.
 
Damn! this one is so good!


it's the panasonic FX8, it's new

key features:

1- very very fast (3 frames per second/ fastest auto focus in its class)
2- Image stabilizer (although, it's not a very strng point from my experience)
3- full VGA movie mode
4- long battery life
5- it's very small
6- it doesn't suffer from corner softness like the canon does


here's the webpage if you need anymore info:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0505/05050902panasonic_fx8.asp
 
Hiroshima said:
They don't exist. Even SLR digitals have shutter lag (albeit measured in microseconds). You can minimize shutter lag on P&S by pre-focusing on the subject and then fully depressing the shutter when you get the composition that you want. This will cut lag down significantly.
Click to expand...

Thanks all for the info. I'm okay with focusing delay as I tend to prefocus whenever possible. It's the delay between fully depressing the shutter and exposure that bothers me.

I've done some research and the Konica-Minolta Z2 seems promising, which has quick turn on (<2 seconds), AF in < 0.3 sec and negligible actual shutter delay (mfg's specs). Anyone familiar with this camera?
 
cmhs75 said:
well, it's too late t turn back now, so I guess the original poster needs to coupe with us now :biggrin:

what you said about the sensor size makes a lot of sense :tongue: . I guess you live and you learn

about the manual mode, I have the Lumex FZ20, and in the manual mode while using the LCD, you can actually see the gain of the picture as you change the shutter and aperture values, so I have no problem using it, and I usually use it all the time and very rarely use the programmed shots.

The reason why I say manual is faster, is because I had first hand experience that if you leave the camera on auto mode, it will choose a slower than nesisary shutter speed almost all the time(it tries to use a big aperture most of the time and so it needs to slow down the shutter). Thats' how I speed up the action using manual mode. And it really is a sinch to use thanks to the feedback from the LCD screen (i.e. the ameture screen).

however, i do also use the Manual focus almost all the time, and I really love using it, especially with the focus ring on my p&s camera, and you're right, the manual focus option, really does speed up the action, I just forgot to mension it.
Click to expand...

Ah you are using the Lumex cameras. Very nice. My experience has always been with Canons and Nikons. Lumex cameras are very nice and I have heard great things about them, but have never used one first hand.

I agree that when in Program mode the cameras tend to shoot for 1/60 second shutter even if a faster shutter is attainable. The simple fact that your camera has a manual focus ring is awesome, as most mainstream cameras do not.

Hey, I guess I can go home from work now, since I have learned my 1 thing per day. :biggrin:

Cheers!

Jeff
 
Keep the discussion going guys. I'm learning a lot, and you guys are making the Canon cameras look pretty attractive. Whoever mentioned that small 7 megapixel one, thanks. That camera looks badass.
 
cmhs75 said:
Damn! this one is so good!


it's the panasonic FX8, it's new

key features:

1- very very fast (3 frames per second/ fastest auto focus in its class)
2- Image stabilizer (although, it's not a very strng point from my experience)
3- full VGA movie mode
4- long battery life
5- it's very small
6- it doesn't suffer from corner softness like the canon does


here's the webpage if you need anymore info:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0505/05050902panasonic_fx8.asp
Click to expand...

Thats awesome! Any idea how much or when it comes out? Thanks.
 
Another great digital camera review site is Steve's Digicams. I own the Canon S400 and it's a great little camera. A lot of people on this fatwallet thread are picking up display and clearance models of the S410 for $157 and less at their local Targets.

The Panasonic FX7 did not get a good review at Steve's Digicams and the FX8 is just supposed to have better battery life.
 
Malibu Rapper said:
Another great digital camera review site is Steve's Digicams. I own the Canon S400 and it's a great little camera. A lot of people on this fatwallet thread are picking up display and clearance models of the S410 for $157 and less at their local Targets.
Click to expand...

Fatwallet is a great place to find good deals on cameras. Dell has deals all the time on cameras that will beat most B&M stores.

As far as the S410, they are priced right and a great deal, but if it were my two pennies, I think I would still go for the SD300 even though it is a little bit more (I think it was $250 on sale).

The S410 has a 1.5" LCD. Althought a 2" LCD does not sound that much bigger it makes a HUGE difference. I thought .5" is not that much until I saw it in real life. 2" is huge. The other reason we decided to go with the SD300 was the form factor. The S410 is the same size as the the hard leather case that the SD300 fits into. The SD300 is actually has the same dimensions (height and length) as a credit card. (just thicker) It is nutty how small it is.

One caviat I found out today is that the large LCD is prone to cracking on the new SD models. Did not know that before I bought it, but if the OP is hard on camears, a smaller LCD seems to be more durable.

HTH.

BTW, those who are interested shoud do a search on dpreview.com's forums. You don't have to be a memeber to use the search feature and they have a ton on information and real-world experiences with any camera on the planet.
 
Russ said:
Thanks all for the info. I'm okay with focusing delay as I tend to prefocus whenever possible. It's the delay between fully depressing the shutter and exposure that bothers me.

I've done some research and the Konica-Minolta Z2 seems promising, which has quick turn on (<2 seconds), AF in < 0.3 sec and negligible actual shutter delay (mfg's specs). Anyone familiar with this camera?
Click to expand...


I wouldn't recomend Minulta to anyone these days

they are speed demons, but their picture quality suffers and is less than it's rivals.

the reliabilty issues are something I hear from time to time
 
Hiroshima said:
Ah you are using the Lumex cameras. Very nice. My experience has always been with Canons and Nikons. Lumex cameras are very nice and I have heard great things about them, but have never used one first hand.

I agree that when in Program mode the cameras tend to shoot for 1/60 second shutter even if a faster shutter is attainable. The simple fact that your camera has a manual focus ring is awesome, as most mainstream cameras do not.

Hey, I guess I can go home from work now, since I have learned my 1 thing per day. :biggrin:

Cheers!

Jeff
Click to expand...


LOL,

the only drawback with my Lumix is the noise, it really is frustrating

and the images are not on par with SLRs, although it looks and handles like one
 
Syonara said:
Thats awesome! Any idea how much or when it comes out? Thanks.
Click to expand...


I don't know how much it would cost but I'm guesing that it would be near the price of the on going FX7.

and don't worry about the time it's launched, Digi cam business is so fast, cameras get replaced in no time at all, if they anounced it then it would only take a few weeks, 2 months top for them to bring it tino market
 
Malibu Rapper said:
The Panasonic FX7 did not get a good review at Steve's Digicams and the FX8 is just supposed to have better battery life.
Click to expand...


Steve's webpage doesn't really give out specific comparison information, but Dpreview does, that's why I prefer the latter.

On Dpreview, the FX7 got the same rating as the Canon's which is "recomended"

so I guess I would say that the FX7 isn't so bad. and the FX8 has a lot more advantages than just doulbe the battery life
 

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