What digital camera?

profx

ill never 4get watsisname
I am starting to think seriously about getting a digital camera
Therse are the things i would like it to have
huge optical zoom
3.5 mega pixel or better
good battery life
full control over shutter speed and focus... basically a prosumer camera

What camera do you recommend? what do you advise me stay well clear of?

One that has caught my attention is the Minolta Dimage 7 -
5.24Mp 7x Optical zoom 2x digital zoom for $619,
but from what i have read it eats through batterys like hell

what camera do you have and do you recommend it?
 
I'm also thinking about a digital camera. I'm a little torn because new cameras using that X3 technology (which is CMOS-based and aparently given color quality comparable to 35mm film) are just starting to come out.

The first camera out with the technology cosst 3K, but this is supposed to eventually lead to much cheaper digital cameras.

Personally I'd hate to spend $700 only to have this technology drop in price shortly thereafter.

http://www.foveon.com/X3_tech.html

Aside from that, I'd also narrow the field down to amera's that use Compact Flash. If you look in pricewatch, you're going to notice that other memory formats don't have the capacity and are much more expenside per MB.

Also, you can get a FireWire reader for Compact Flash which should make transfering large number of files better than USB.
 
A decent "temporary" camera to use while waiting for an affordable X3 is the Olympus Camedia D-510. For under $300, you get 2.1 megpixels, compact Flash storage, video mode, and a whole bunch of settings that you can tweak to your heart's content.
:D
 
Get the Nikon CoolPix 995.

  • 4x Optical zoom
  • 4x Digital Zoom
  • 1.8 inch LCD
  • large Info/control panel display
  • lense/viewfinder rotate seperatly from LCD
  • Compact Flash
  • Metal tri-pod mount
  • Popup flash
  • Manual Camera lovers dream with Shutter Prioity, Abapture priority, Fully Manual etc.
    [*[Shutter speed from 8 seconds to 1/2000 second and Bulb to 1 minute

$599. it's a great camera. correction Nikon is the best camera.
 
Get the Nikon CoolPix 995.

  • 4x Optical zoom
  • 4x Digital Zoom
  • 1.8 inch LCD
  • large Info/control panel display
  • lense/viewfinder rotate seperatly from LCD
  • Compact Flash
  • Metal tri-pod mount
  • Popup flash
  • Manual Camera lovers dream with Shutter Prioity, Abapture priority, Fully Manual etc.
    [*[Shutter speed from 8 seconds to 1/2000 second and Bulb to 1 minute

$599. it's a great camera. correction Nikon is the best camera.
 
Originally posted by profx
ohhhh come on...

there must be more people than this with digicams!!

I work in a UK airport selling these things. The best are Sony and Canon, no two ways. The two possibly three things that make a decent camera are:

The Lens
The chip (CCD/CMOS)

and possibly the build quality

by this rule, Sony should almost dominate the market. Canon is very close second. Stay away (well away) from Fuji (best advertising in the WORLD), Olympus, Pentax and Kodak.

Most Sony cameras have Carl Zeiss lenses. Carl Zeiss are a fantastic lens making firm. Originally two separate co.s the guys in Germany have been grinding glass for over 100 years. So Sony admit they know bollocks when it comes to glass, they slap German stuff instead. Canon are good at glass but not as much as Zeiss.

Going by what you asked the only camera is the Sony's 707. Wierd L-Shape but has huge Zeiss lens 5x optical zoom and is 5 MPixels. The Sony S-75 & 85 are also great cameras. Only 3 & 4 MPixels (respectively) and only 3x optical zoom but normal shape.

Canon's G2 is also a good camera, but not as good lens and is only 4Mpixel.

The only drawback with Sony is that they use their own bloody Memory Sticks. Everyone else uses generic stuff, Smartmedia, CompactFlash, etc. So they're a little more expensive and a little restricting in size. CompactFlash is up to 1GB, MemStick is up to 128MB!!! Crap I know. You can get 512MB sticks in FarEast, not too far away from you, but I;ve never seen one.

All the cameras i;ve recommended have FULL manual stuff, even pretends different speed film is in there! I'd get the 707 if shape doesn't put you off or the 85. I want Sony's P9 which is 4MP tiny thing. Has Sony glass but is very small, built of steel and you can buy a 40m underwater case! I want it for Punankaki and Queenstown! I'll be in NZ for Sept to Nov seeing woman, and I want to go kayaking again!

Feel free to ask me any more questions.

Alex

alexachucarro@hotmail.com

;)
 
I recently got a Minolta DimageX camera, it's really great. It's very small, has 3x optical and 2x digital zoom, but only 2 megapixels. The image quality also seems to be really good, and it has a RISC processor for speedy startup and picture viewing. I suppose it costs around $500 in the US, maybe less. If you want a better camera, I'd go for the camera you were considering. Minolta makes good and relatively affordable cameras :)
 
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