Anyone here know anything about digital cameras?

[alexandereci]

I'm planning to buy one, but the funny thing I discovered is this: Digital cameras take awesome pictures, but passable video --- but the video can be hours and hours long. Video cameras (the ones with a disc) can take awesome videos, but the stills are very low quality --- but the video, although high quality, can only be 1-2 hours long. WTF?

Anyway, I wanna buy a digital camera, a small, pocket-sized one, but I'm not sure what features I should be looking for. Any advice and suggestions appreciated.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Get Image Stabilization in your new digital camera. I have a Canon SD 1200 IS and love it. It is far better than my previous Canon camera without IS.

I think the issue with video is that you have to trade off video quality for video length. If you use the maximum resolution and fastest speed, you will get significantly less time than if you use a lower resolution and fewer frames per second. I think the reason that digital cameras can go longer than video cameras with a disc is that you can get memory cards with much higher capacities than discs.

One word of warning: I discovered that there is a new type of SD card available now called High Capacity or HC for short. I got one for my camera without realizing that it would not work in the reader of my desktop computer nor in my MP760 printer. I was able to locate a 4GB SD card of the standard type that will work in everything. I believe 4GB is the maximum size SD card that you can get with the original standard. It was more expensive than the HC version but I think it is worth the extra money for the compatibility.

 

[Kefp]

Check out www.dpreview.com. A very good site for cameras.

It depends what kind of photography you do. Sounds like a point and shoot pocket-size is what you are looking for. Canon SD1200IS is great. If you want one with a zoom, then Panasonic Lumix with 10X and the newer one with 12X as well as Canon SX200 IS are great. I have a Panny TZ5 myself.

 

[ghwellsjr]

The Canon SD 1200 IS has a 3X optical zoom plus a digital zoom to 12X. I have used zoom to take pictures of objects far away and then zoomed in on the playback image to see details that I cannot see with the naked eye. I use the 3X zoom to take pictures of a window on my computer monitor from several feet away to avoid parallax and when I zoom in on the captured picture I can actually see the individual pixels on the monitor. It's amazing.

 

[dougsewell]

All that has been said is very true. However for a good quality print that can be enlarged (I am of the old "wet" photography school before digital) I would look at the resolution capability in the first place. A 10mpixel camera would be an excellent choice, although having said that my faithful 3 and 5 mpixel canons still turn out some cracking detailed shots. A zoom lens is also a must if you want to get in close without pulling the features and a minimum of 3 to 4 X optical zoom is a must. There are many cameras with 10X optical zooms on the market at reasonable prices and if coupled with a 10mpixel resolution I would say you will be set up for a long time. The additional digital zoom that is also on almost all cameras is a bit of a gimic as it simply enlarges the picture by making the pixels bigger with is soon apparent on even 6x4 prints. Image stabilisation is also well worth it especialy for those hand held zoomed in shots or slow shutter speeds where any slight tremor of the hand can be corrected . At my age I wish I had image stabilisation in my hands. Do not however forget your printer as the final tool for getting good quality shots. There is plenty in these forums about this but separate ink tanks for all colours and if you can go for it 5 colours (Including pigment black and dye black) and yellow, magenta and cyan is a must. Extra cartridges with photo dye inks in the M,Y and C colours are a bit of a waste unless you are into professional printing where the very highest quality is required. But then of course one of the top range DSLR cameras would be an essential requirement.
Search the internet for good buys in cameras - my favourites are the canon powershot models.
Doug

 

[emerald]

I bought the Canon A1100 IS digital camera today from Amazon.com - $135 including shipping. It has 4x optical and 4x digital zoom. It has 12 mpixel resolution and comes with two AA batteries and a SD 128M memory card. I'm not sure if the card is compatible with my computer adapter slots nor am I sure my old 256M flash card memory will work with the A1100 IS. My old Canon S400 I've had since 2002 began smearing the images in the view finder and then did the same thing with the photos. I don't remember dropping it or damaging it but it's probably not worth fixing even though it cost over 3 times my new one. I replaced the lithium batteries with new ones but it didn't make any difference. I don't see the advantage of the lithium batteries. They are expensive and not widely available as the AA batteries are. I'm eager to see how well it works.

 

[Kefp]

My old Canon S400 I've had since 2002 began smearing the images.

Just in case if you are not aware, canon runs a "trade in" program or rather they call it "Canon Customer Loyalty program". The program allows you to trade up a dead canon camera for a refurbished one. Works for printers as well.

http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-logs/cool-stuff/canon-customer-loyalty/
Canons Customer Loyalty program
Posted by admin on Thursday, September 11th, 2008

If your Canon digital camera is too expensive to repair and is out of warranty, consider Canons Customer Loyalty program. The program allows you to upgrade it to a refurbished, newer model at a price that is usually considerably less than repair.

You dont necessarily have to get the same model as the camera youre turning in. When you contact Canon, theyll tell you the available models and price for each model.

A refurbished model usually comes with a six-month warranty. If it develops a problem during the warranty period, call Canon technical support. Youll be sent a new camera with a prepaid box to return the defective one.
Should you buy a refurbished digital camera?

If you dont crave a brand new digital camera, seriously consider a refurbished one. Typically refurbished cameras are returned by customers who simply didnt want them and met the sellers return criteria.

Canon and manufacturers who offer similar programs thoroughly check a camera, retest and recertify it before selling it refurbished.

NOTE: The Canon Customer Loyalty Program extends to other Canon products such as printers and scanners. If your older model is broken beyond repair, or too expensive to repair, you can get a new model at a discount directly from Canon. The program requires the serial number of the old model. Once provided, tech support will give you a discount access code and a phone number for the sales department should you want to place an order.

For complete information about the Canon Customer Loyalty program, call Canon: 1-866-443-8002

 

[pharmacist]

I do own several Canon DSLR-camera's because of the picture quality, but the pocket-size Panasonic Lumix DMZ TZ-25 really amazed me with its very good picture quality and I just love this camera.

 

[emerald]

- Kefp - post #6 and #7 this string:

Thanks so much for the information about Canons Customer Loyalty program. Even though I've made a purchase of the Canon A1100 IS camera from Amazon.com, I felt compelled to call the number listed on Canons Customer Loyalty program web site - 1-866-443-8002. They referred me to the technical dept. who in turn told me that the problem I'm having with my old camera, model # S400, is a known issue (smeared image in the viewer) and they will fix it. They will email me a postage-paid shipping label and return the camera to me within about two weeks. If the problem turns out to be something that can not be fixed they will extend Canons Customer Loyalty program to other Canon products I may buy.

This is the second time Canon has extended outstanding support. The first was to replace a faulty MP530 printer/scanner/fax early this year. Our family (4 generations) will now have two different vintages of Canon digital cameras to use.

Kefp, Thanks again.

 

[Kefp]

No problem. Glad it was helpful.