digital camera questions

**GameManK** · April 3rd, 2005, 04:15 PM

I'm looking for a digital camera.

The budget is <$200. Looks like the res. to get at that price is about 4MP with 3x optical zoom.

any suggestions??

i was looking at maybe one of these http://resellerratings.shopping.com/...n_Coolpix_4100 but the reviews bother me about how they sometimes take blurry pictures. i think these are the cameras we have at school (except they are 2 and 3mp versions) and thats actually happened to me.

what is the difference between the different flash memory formats? speed? what is better?

**RetroEvolute** · April 3rd, 2005, 04:32 PM

Most likely, they're complaining about the fuzzy pictures, but the main reason it's doing that is because they're actually just not holding the camera still enough.

With a tripod, most likely, it'll work great... With your hands you'll wanna hold as still as possible.

I don't know much about the memory disks.

I heard compact flash is probably one of the better these days, so... I'd try to look for something with that, but... Don't trust me 100% there... Wait for someone else to reassure.

**doddsy** · April 3rd, 2005, 04:34 PM

can't really help with your techie questions.

but this is the best site i've seen for digicam reviews and info......

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

and this is my camera

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/dx7440.html

i got mine at amazon for £130. very pleased with it.

optical zoom is way better than digital.

and if you can get something with a rechargeable lithium battery, you should save a fair bit of expanse on throwaways.

**Bovon** · April 3rd, 2005, 04:58 PM

Personally I know diddly squat about digital cameras..but cameras in general have been with me for many years.

A "general purpose" camera...digital or analog without a speed setting will blur the pic if not held perfectly still...this is because the speed is fixed at around 60 ms shutter speed.

When you can increase the shutter speed to maybe 120 and above, you will gain solid pics without blurring.

These type cameras are called single lens reflex (SLR). you can choose the shutter speed, and in analog camera, you get choices of fast or slow film...slower being better for inside type shots...weddings etc. with good camera lighting.

A good SLR with the fast film and the shutter speed set to 1000 or 2000 ms, will stop an airplane propeller dead still...without any blurring.

Digital cameras also come with adjustable shutter speed...they are also cost more than what you want to spend.

See what you can find out about the shutter speed on any camera you are interested in..120 and above will help out with blurry images when the camera moves a little when the shutter is clicked.

As a youngster learning to hunt and shoot a .22 rifle, I was taught to squeeze the trigger until when the rifle went off..it would be a "surprise" to me..this assures the bullet would not be jerked off target by snapping the trigger.

The same thing applies to a camera shutter button.

**mr.jiggyfly** · April 3rd, 2005, 05:07 PM

Do you mean milliseconds, or fractions of a second? 2000ms=2seconds is not the same as 1/2000 of a second.

Flash memory formats differ in actual dimensions of the card, and price. I don't know about speed. I prefer CF cards because they're cheap. Just concentrate on finding a good camera, the type of memory it uses doesn't really matter that much.

The Nikon 4100 looks like a good choice. Have you considered the Canon A series cameras?

**GameManK** · April 3rd, 2005, 05:11 PM

thanks bovon

i guess i should say that i do know a bit about cameras and taking pictures, and i want to get a camera that allows manual f-stop and shutter speed settings. but, i'm looking for something fairly compact and general purpose, not a really nice one with a huge lens.

afaik the nikons do have some settings but i may be thinking of the wrong camera

when it says "Aperture Range f4.9/f8 (w/t) - f2.9/f4.8 (w/t)" does that mean the max the camera will do is f8?

**elroy** · April 3rd, 2005, 05:16 PM

My sister has one of the Kodak digital cameras and it takes really nice pictures. She used it to take her daughters senior pictures and they turned out nice. The camera cost $300+ 1 1/2 years ago. Probably much cheaper now. We just bought a Canon A75 PowerShot, around $200 or a little under. Haven't used it much yet so I can't say a lot about it but it was highly recommended.

**thekingofpain** · April 3rd, 2005, 05:21 PM

Get the camera with the best lens you can afford, as you can see doddsy's camera has a very high quality lens not just some "run of the mill" jobby Kodak decided to stick on there to save some bucks...

**GameManK** · April 3rd, 2005, 05:22 PM

are kodak digital cameras good? i'm thrown off by their low prices

**GameManK** · April 3rd, 2005, 05:29 PM

Originally Posted by mr.jiggyfly

Have you considered the Canon A series cameras?

when i started looking at stuff in the price range, the ones that i noticed were the nikon 4100/4600 and the canon a85.
but the canon is more expensive http://resellerratings.shopping.com/...t_A85~S-P~OR-0

as to other models, i doubt it would be worth it sacrificing a megapixel to get a canon, would it?

**doddsy** · April 3rd, 2005, 05:46 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/bigwood/bars.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/v368/b...rent=biker.jpg

i'm just about the blurriest photographer this side of the mississippi...........really.

but even i can take decent pics with the kodak. i'm sure there are better cameras around, but for the price the one i got is fine, the optical zoom is great. the biker pic was taken from a fair distance and zoomed in..........optically

**MadMan2k** · April 4th, 2005, 12:08 AM

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...120-167&DEPA=7

I'd recommend a Canon camera, if not that model. I've had three of them, and most likely going to buy a fourth in the near future. They've all been good to me, but I upgraded to try a new one.

**dr_roberts49** · April 4th, 2005, 12:23 AM

Secure Digital or SD are what most of the newer cameras use. They're smaller than the Compact CF cards. Speed isn't really an issue between the different formats, but XD or Extreme Digital are suppose to be faster and are the same size as the SD cards. Sony still uses the Memory Stick format for their cameras.

One thing you need to think about is the type of pictures you want to shoot. If all you need are posed snapshots and close distance, you can stay in the 4MB pixel range or less. If you plan on taking action photos, like sports events, and you need to zoom in from a bleacher seat, go for 6MB pixels and above. The higher the better. Look for a good analog/digital zoom feature on the camera. Also ask about the types of batteries the camera uses and find out if it comes with a charger. Some models, like Kodak and HP sell their cameras with a dock station that allows you to download pictures right into the computer and recharges the batteries too. They are also available as a separate purchase.

Make sure you figure in the cost of an extra memory card. Most cameras only come with 16 or 32MB. 128MB cards are around $20-30. Also make sure you get a good case for your camera too. Be prepared to add photo ink to your budget

Robert