Any digital camera experts out there?

[arlenez]

I am looking into purchasing a new digital camera. I am looking for a small, lightweight point and shoot camera and nothing too complicated. I presently own an Olympus C-755with a 10x zoom so it's a little big to carry around at times. I have found, on line, that Olympus has a new Stylus 1000 that looks interesting. Does anyone know anything about it? Or can anyone suggest a camera that I can look at?

 

Thanks in advance,

[bdcbbq]

StevesDigicams.com is an excellent comprenhensive site for digital camera information, reviews, and opinions.

[AAAAmerican]

I am looking into purchasing a new digital camera. I am looking for a small, lightweight point and shoot camera and nothing too complicated. I presently own an Olympus C-755with a 10x zoom so it's a little big to carry around at times. I have found, on line, that Olympus has a new Stylus 1000 that looks interesting. Does anyone know anything about it? Or can anyone suggest a camera that I can look at?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

With so many choices out there.. even a kodak is made in China, designed in Japan for an American Company..

 

Price does not always determine quality. Olympus is a nice camera.ead Consumer Reports on them ? That usually is a nice basis as well to see what they are saying for a comparison basis.

 

On any cruise I usually bring something I do not mind loosing. A secondary unit is sometimes the best to bring aboard.:cool:

 

J&R downtown NYC near City Hall has a nice site and location.

[jhannah]

There have been a number of threads containing digital camera recommendations. Here's one that may have helpful information for you.

[Darrell6t]

The November 2006 issue of Consumer Reports, which arrived at my house today, has a lot of info about digital cameras. It will probably be on the newsstands next week.

[jtl513]

FWIW I really like my 5MP Pentax Optio S50. With the 3x zoom closed it's about the size of a deck of cards ... a true shirt-pocket camera. It can be found on-line for about $160 plus s&h. Check it out at steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html. If you'd like a couple of sample pix send me your email at jothla@bellsouth.net.

[PerculaClown]

Almost any Canon makes a good bet.

 

However at this time, my personal favoriate is Casio Exlim series. Go for the one that 7 or 8 meg pix. You will love it.

[violett123]

Here is a great link to compare cameras. Good luck!!

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sidebyside.asp

[dougnewmanatsea]

However at this time, my personal favoriate is Casio Exlim series. Go for the one that 7 or 8 meg pix. You will love it.

Yes, if small size and ease of use is paramount, the Casios can't be beat. They're tiny, easy to use, and have very nice image quality.

 

Here is a review of the latest Casio 10 MP camera. It's a bit pricey for a compact camera - personally I'd go with one of the similar 7 MP or 8 MP models which I'm sure are just as good. (Frankly, unless you plan on making really, really big prints - I mean like 13x19 or larger - anything over 6 MP is basically overkill.)

 

The other compact camera I'd look at is the Fujifilm F30. This is great because it can take excellent pictures in low light, at high speeds of ISO 800 or 1600. Other than this, only relatively big, bulky and complicated digital SLRs have this kid of low-light capability. If you take lots of indoor pictures, the F30 is absolutely the compact camera to have.

 

Otherwise, I'd go with the Casios for simplicity and compactness, though the latest Pentax Optios are also superb very small cameras.

[MrChuckFL]

You really cant go wrong with most digital cameras on the market today. I would look more for features that are important to you.

 

Personally I like the new Olympus Stylus line because the are making them all water and sand resistant. That is important to us because we love to go to the beach and this way we don't have to worry about the camera getting wet or sand in it.

 

Some of the cameras, notably the Olympus Stylus 720 SW, are even rated to take them underwater.

 

Most digital cameras also take small movies too. This is great because you dont need to lug around a camera and video camera. When we make a slide show out of the photos, now we can insert little video clips. Be forewarned that video clips take up quite a bit of space, so if you plan to do this, be sure to get a big memory card.

 

Don't get sucked in to all the hype about megapixels. The fact of the matter is that anything over 2-3 megapixels is overkill unless you want to print photos larger than 8x10. Keep in mind the larger the MP count, the larger the image file will be and consequently you will fit less photos on a memory card and they will take up a lot more space on your computer.

[Grumpy1]

I've been using the Casio EX-Z850 for several months and am quite happy with it. I read a couple of reviews on the EX-Z1000 when it first came out that were not very good when comparing to the 850. There may have been changes or software upgrades since then, though. I haven't followed recent developements since I'm not in the market for anything better.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I agree, you cannot go too wrong. You just have to decide what you like. I used the Kodak DX6490 with 10X optical Zoom for many years and have been thrilled with the zoom pictures and color and clarity. Last year I purchased the very tiny Sony DSC-T7 Cyber shot. While it is very compact and very easy to use. I was very disappointed in the pictures. It is a 5.1 megapixel but the color is lousy and pcitures just are not as nice as the Kodak. I have spent the last several months going to camera store and doing lots of reading, comparing and looking at picture taken from the Canonand several other that offer the 12X optical Zoom and I just purchased this week the Kodak Z612 with 6.4 megapixels. I have only had it for 2 days now but I am very impressed with it. I no longer care if the camera is small, I am more concerned about how the pictures look. I do use the Zoom so often, so that was my major concern in how those picture turned out.

Everyone has a different opinion which is good because then many manufacturers can sell their product. Unfortunately buying a camera is costly and many can not be returned if you do not like them. It is best to go to several camera stores and just play with with to see what you like. I found just going to different Ritz or Wolf Camera stores will give you different opinions depending on the clerk that is working there.

[AAAAmerican]

Doug,

 

You write so well and your opinons are highly valued.

 

A camera purchase like an automobile is not an investment in most cases it is an expenditure so should be treated accordingly..

 

You do get more out of any expense when you research it.

 

Consumer Reports is a widely available resource.. they are having there Annual Meeting in Yonkers, NY soon.

 

Fuji USA's HQ is Westchester Co., NY just over the Tappan Zee Bridge..

 

Pentax, USA is in Bergen County, Borough of Montvale on what we call Warren Buffet Highway/Berkshire BLVD.... yes President Richard M. Nixon had his offices in the Perillo Travel Building near it too.

 

But now with NJ Sales Tax at 7 % and NY states there and County at 8 1/4 % it is similar. We used to have a 5% until this admin pushed the higher tax rates in. Delaware is still a ZERO Sales Tax rate...

 

Having a camera with high Mega Pixels is really more for large prints/posters to be made as the precision is a must in that area .

 

Most people (IMHO) can just buy a lower cost even a quality Kodak unit and have the above average pictures taken by themselves.. the more options on any thing take time to understand and use.. Automatic settings for most people is at Par and that has to be a important consideration also..

 

When are the HAL ships going to have a Camera Sales area? Ahhh revenue generation consideration....:cool:

 

Yes, if small size and ease of use is paramount, the Casios can't be beat. They're tiny, easy to use, and have very nice image quality.

 

Here is a review of the latest Casio 10 MP camera. It's a bit pricey for a compact camera - personally I'd go with one of the similar 7 MP or 8 MP models which I'm sure are just as good. (Frankly, unless you plan on making really, really big prints - I mean like 13x19 or larger - anything over 6 MP is basically overkill.)

 

The other compact camera I'd look at is the Fujifilm F30. This is great because it can take excellent pictures in low light, at high speeds of ISO 800 or 1600. Other than this, only relatively big, bulky and complicated digital SLRs have this kid of low-light capability. If you take lots of indoor pictures, the F30 is absolutely the compact camera to have.

 

Otherwise, I'd go with the Casios for simplicity and compactness, though the latest Pentax Optios are also superb very small cameras.

[Grumpy1]

Having a camera with high Mega Pixels is really more for large prints/posters to be made as the precision is a must in that area .

I disagree. I like having enough pixels that I can crop a small piece out of a big picture and still have good resolution. I quite often find that there is something in a picture that I want to save as a separate picture. An example is the picture I just posted on another thread.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=424459 post #8. That picture was about 10% of the original picture. You need lots of megapixels to do that.

[OldCodger73]

I am looking into purchasing a new digital camera. I am looking for a small, lightweight point and shoot camera and nothing too complicated. I presently own an Olympus C-755with a 10x zoom so it's a little big to carry around at times. I have found, on line, that Olympus has a new Stylus 1000 that looks interesting. Does anyone know anything about it? Or can anyone suggest a camera that I can look at?

 

Thanks in advance,

As previously mentioned the November Consumer Reports is a good place to start. You state you want a small, lightweight so check their ratings for compact and subcompact models and compare features. Features I can't stress strongly enough to look for are low shutter lag and low next-shot delay-- there's nothing more frustrating than to miss a shot because the camera isn't ready. Compile a list of cameras that appeal to you and then go to a store and handle them to see if they'd be comfortable for you to use. Although flash memory prices have fallen dramatically lately, if you already have a lot of memory cards for your Olympus C-755, you might want to look for a camera that uses the same kind.

[dougnewmanatsea]

You write so well and your opinons are highly valued.

Thanks :) !

 

A camera purchase like an automobile is not an investment in most cases it is an expenditure so should be treated accordingly..

Especially now in the digital era. With consumer/compact digital cameras, it is rare that a model will last more than six months or so before it's replaced by a new one. Often the new one is just a minor variation of the previous model.

 

Pentax, USA is in Bergen County

They may have offices there, but their North American headquarters is actually in Golden, Colorado.

 

I have no idea why - just about everyone else is here in the NY/NJ area (except Olympus which just moved to PA). Here on Long Island we have Canon and Nikon, and also the third-party lens maker Tamron.

 

I disagree. I like having enough pixels that I can crop a small piece out of a big picture and still have good resolution.

This is very true - of course there are good reasons for high pixel counts. But I suspect that 90%+ of consumer digital camera users don't crop, and don't print anything bigger than 8x10 (or maybe even 4x6). You don't need all that many pixels to do that.

 

On the other hand, if you plan on doing a lot of cropping, or printing very big prints, then yes, by all means, spend the money for the extra pixels.

 

Also, it is worth noting that the difference between, say, 8 and 10 MP is really quite negligible. If you were to interpolate an image from a good 8 MP camera up to 10 MP and put it next to one from a 10 MP camera, it would be practically impossible to tell the difference. (I know, I've done it :) .) When comparing at the same size (that is; interpolating the smaller image to the dimensions of the bigger one), it is rarely possible to see much more detail until you are at least doubling the pixel count, maybe more.

 

The other thing is that most 8 or 10 MP digicams probably don't have lenses that can take advantage of all that resolution anyway. This is, I suspect, part of the reason that the difference is almost invisible in real images. If your lens can't resolve more detail than a 6 MP sensor, you could put in a 100 MP sensor and it still would make little difference!

 

In the end, while more pixels are nice, there are lots of things that are more important for most people.

[Titan(ic)5.6]

Don't get sucked in to all the hype about megapixels. The fact of the matter is that anything over 2-3 megapixels is overkill unless you want to print photos larger than 8x10.

 

This is not exactly true. If you crop any of your pictures you will want all the pixels you can get since you will be "throwing" a lot of them away. If you crop a 2 mega pixel image and blow it up to an 8 X 10, you will get a lot of pixelation like in the photo below.

 

[bdcbbq]

Thanks :) !

 

In the end, while more pixels are nice, there are lots of things that are more important for most people.

 

Shutter lag is the next great advance I'm looking for.

[Grumpy1]

Shutter lag is the next great advance I'm looking for.

The Casio EX-Z850 has an extremely low shutter lag and is one of the reasons i chose that model.

[bruce-r]

(reducing) Shutter lag is the next great advance I'm looking for.

Me too, but I don't want to go as far as getting a DSLR because the underwater housings for them are sooo expensive, even more expensive than the DSLR itself.

[bdcbbq]

The Casio EX-Z850 has an extremely low shutter lag and is one of the reasons i chose that model.

 

I've got a Canon PowerShot S410 which is still in good shape and meets my needs. I'm sure that in a couple of years this issue will be resolved. I have learned to work around it for the most part. Occasionally, my 3 y/o niece moves faster than me. :)

[Grumpy1]

I've got a Canon PowerShot S410 which is still in good shape and meets my needs. I'm sure that in a couple of years this issue will be resolved. I have learned to work around it for the most part. Occasionally, my 3 y/o niece moves faster than me. :)

The EX-Z600 is rated at .002 seconds shutter release lag. I doubt your 3 y/o niece moves faster than that.:D

[raadsel]

I'm going to disagree about using Consumer Reports; while they do excellent reviews and are a wonderful resource, for some items like digital cameras and computers they are less useful. The problem is that new models of digital cameras come out about every six months; so by the time Consumer Reports has tested the cameras and gotten the review into the magazine there are newer, cheaper, and better cameras available.

 

Typically, most digital cameras made by the major manufacturers are quite good. In most case, the camera that is best for you is the one that fits your requirements the best and "feels right" to you. You need to decide which features are most important to you: megapixels, optical zoom (not digital, which is basically just cropping the picture), LCD size, image stabilization, lag times, your impressions of picture quality, etc.

 

The online sites would appear to be the best places to get camera reviews, the also often post pictures they took for their review. You can find good reviews at Steve's (as mentioned previously), dpreview.com, and Cnet.com. Also, dpreview has forums where you can get opinions and samples from people who own the camera. Because some items like picture quality are very subjective, not to mention the size of your hand can change the way you feel about where the various camera buttons and switches are placed, different reviews often give the same camera quite different ratings. The difference between "Good" and "Great" cameras is often a matter of opinion. Do some research, try to find a place where you can actually hold the camera in your hand (to see how it feels in your hand) and try it for yourself to find the best camera for you.

[arlenez]

Thank you all so very much for all your comments, suggestions and reviews. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I now have a few cameras that I want to check out personally, hold in my hand and get the feel of before I actually purchase one.

 

You guys are the greatest. I always get such wonderful responses to anything that I post and feel like you are all my best friends that are actually trying to help out another friend.

 

Happy cruising to all of you and I'll keep you posted and let you know what I buy.

 

Warm regards,

[arlenez]

Hi:

 

I just wanted to let everyone who was kind enough to help with advice on digital cameras know that I purchased the Fuji F30. I ordered it on line through Amazon and got a really good price. I can't wait to receive it in a week or so.

 

Thanks again,