Would like opinion re first digital camera

Hi all,
I've been looking for the last few months for a digital camera in stores
and read tons and tons of reviews, and now am confused as to what I
should get.
I am looking for a camera with at least a 1.8" LCD and a clear
viewfinder that is
not blurry (to me at least). I mainly want a camera for family indoor
shots and scenery
when I go somewhere .
But many will be indoors, so I want to try to get one with not much red
eye, though I notice most seem to have that problem. I looked at many
reviews and photo samples on Steves site and dresource.com. (I like
those two sites the best, but also have been to depreview.com.) I know
you can take red eye out with software, but I would prefer if possible
to try to get a camera that doesn't have a lot of red eye. I like
pictures that turn out clear and sharp.

A 3.2 MP is ok for me, as I don't want to pay much more than $250.00 US
or under. I am in Canada, but just to give you an idea of price and not
all models
in the US are available here.

Here's what I was considering:

Canon A75 or A85, but needing 4 batteries kind of puts me off though I
don't rule it out completely if its really a good camera. I would prefer
2 batteries. Canon have recently brought out two new cameras, the A510-
3 MP and the A520 - 4 MP which have two batteries and they take SD
memory cards. I was thinking of buying one of them, but the reviews on
all the sites I looked at, said they had a lot of red eye, and were not
s good as A75 and A85. The A75 and A85 are quite good prices here.

Kodak CX 7530, is a good price right now, and I like the look of Kodak
DX 7440, which is about $100.00 more.
Or Olympus D 580, also a good price camera. The samples on dresource.com
were good of the Olympus D580, and very little redeye on indoor photo on
the site, but said the flash was weak unless taking small groups, but
that might not be a big problem for me.

Any and all comments or personal experiences with any of these cameras
would be much appreciated.

Cathy

On Fri, 25 Mar 2005 17:03:54 -0500, Cathy wrote:

Canon A75 or A85, but needing 4 batteries kind of puts me off though I
don't rule it out completely if its really a good camera. I would prefer
2 batteries. Canon have recently brought out two new cameras, the A510-
3 MP and the A520 - 4 MP which have two batteries and they take SD
memory cards. I was thinking of buying one of them, but the reviews on
all the sites I looked at, said they had a lot of red eye, and were not
s good as A75 and A85. The A75 and A85 are quite good prices here.

You don't really need a review to determine whether red-eye will
be a problem or not. Anti red-eye tricks with the flash aren't
especially helpful, and the preflash often makes the subject move,
messing up the picture. Look to see where the flash is located.
The further from the lens the better. Fuji's E500 and E510 are
similar to the Canons. They also use 2 AA batteries. I don't
recall reading reviews mentioning red-eye, but as their flashes
appear to be small pop-ups, they're further from the lens and will
probably produce much less red-eye, but you'd have to check it for
yourself. I think that they also have fairly large displays, but
don't recall the exact dimensions.

The E510 (and possibly the E500) has a very wide 28 mm (equiv.) for
the low end of the zoom, which would tend to make it a better choice
for what you want, indoor family shots and scenic landscapes.


A 3.2 MP is ok for me, as I don't want to pay much more than $250.00 US
or under. I am in Canada, but just to give you an idea of price and not
all models in the US are available here.

Fuji's E510 has 5 mp and the E500 has less. I don't know what the
price would be in Canada, but I recently saw that B&H was selling
the E510 for $220. Would they not ship to Canada? I recall a
recent thread here discussing one of their shipments that seems to
have been delayed in Brazil's customs.

On Fri, 25 Mar 2005 17:03:54 -0500, Cathy wrote:

Canon A75 or A85, but needing 4 batteries kind of puts me off though I
don't rule it out completely if its really a good camera. I would prefer
2 batteries. Canon have recently brought out two new cameras, the A510-
3 MP and the A520 - 4 MP which have two batteries and they take SD
memory cards. I was thinking of buying one of them, but the reviews on
all the sites I looked at, said they had a lot of red eye, and were not
s good as A75 and A85. The A75 and A85 are quite good prices here.

You don't really need a review to determine whether red-eye will
be a problem or not. Anti red-eye tricks with the flash aren't
especially helpful, and the preflash often makes the subject move,
messing up the picture. Look to see where the flash is located.
The further from the lens the better. Fuji's E500 and E510 are
similar to the Canons. They also use 2 AA batteries. I don't
recall reading reviews mentioning red-eye, but as their flashes
appear to be small pop-ups, they're further from the lens and will
probably produce much less red-eye, but you'd have to check it for
yourself. I think that they also have fairly large displays, but
don't recall the exact dimensions.

The E510 (and possibly the E500) has a very wide 28 mm (equiv.) for
the low end of the zoom, which would tend to make it a better choice
for what you want, indoor family shots and scenic landscapes.


A 3.2 MP is ok for me, as I don't want to pay much more than $250.00 US
or under. I am in Canada, but just to give you an idea of price and not
all models in the US are available here.

Fuji's E510 has 5 mp and the E500 has less. I don't know what the
price would be in Canada, but I recently saw that B&H was selling
the E510 for $220. Would they not ship to Canada? I recall a
recent thread here discussing one of their shipments that seems to
have been delayed in Brazil's customs.

I myself use DSLR cameras but my wife has an Olympus C760. I believe it is
now superseded but this little camera has made her very happy. It does
sometimes make red-eye and it does have a shutter lag but it really is very
nice camera for family use. The later model is even better. I would advise
you to stay away from Kodak cameras of all models. Their Easy Share software
installs spyware on your PC and give many older PCs a lot of drama.

If I were to buy a non-slr camera today, I would purchase a Panasonic 'FZ'.
These are equipped with some formidable features and the FZ20 is quite good
enough to use for real estate and postcard photography on a professional
level. I've just finished a brochure for a tour operator who supplied all
the photos and they were from a FZ20 camera. Very impressive stuff.

Hope this helps,
Douglas
-----------------------------
"Cathy" wrote in message
...
Hi all,
I've been looking for the last few months for a digital camera in stores
and read tons and tons of reviews, and now am confused as to what I
should get.
I am looking for a camera with at least a 1.8" LCD and a clear
viewfinder that is
not blurry (to me at least). I mainly want a camera for family indoor
shots and scenery
when I go somewhere .
But many will be indoors, so I want to try to get one with not much red
eye, though I notice most seem to have that problem. I looked at many
reviews and photo samples on Steves site and dresource.com. (I like
those two sites the best, but also have been to depreview.com.) I know
you can take red eye out with software, but I would prefer if possible
to try to get a camera that doesn't have a lot of red eye. I like
pictures that turn out clear and sharp.

A 3.2 MP is ok for me, as I don't want to pay much more than $250.00 US
or under. I am in Canada, but just to give you an idea of price and not
all models
in the US are available here.

Here's what I was considering:

Canon A75 or A85, but needing 4 batteries kind of puts me off though I
don't rule it out completely if its really a good camera. I would prefer
2 batteries. Canon have recently brought out two new cameras, the A510-
3 MP and the A520 - 4 MP which have two batteries and they take SD
memory cards. I was thinking of buying one of them, but the reviews on
all the sites I looked at, said they had a lot of red eye, and were not
s good as A75 and A85. The A75 and A85 are quite good prices here.

Kodak CX 7530, is a good price right now, and I like the look of Kodak
DX 7440, which is about $100.00 more.
Or Olympus D 580, also a good price camera. The samples on dresource.com
were good of the Olympus D580, and very little redeye on indoor photo on
the site, but said the flash was weak unless taking small groups, but
that might not be a big problem for me.

Any and all comments or personal experiences with any of these cameras
would be much appreciated.

Cathy

I myself use DSLR cameras but my wife has an Olympus C760. I believe it is
now superseded but this little camera has made her very happy. It does
sometimes make red-eye and it does have a shutter lag but it really is very
nice camera for family use. The later model is even better. I would advise
you to stay away from Kodak cameras of all models. Their Easy Share software
installs spyware on your PC and give many older PCs a lot of drama.

If I were to buy a non-slr camera today, I would purchase a Panasonic 'FZ'.
These are equipped with some formidable features and the FZ20 is quite good
enough to use for real estate and postcard photography on a professional
level. I've just finished a brochure for a tour operator who supplied all
the photos and they were from a FZ20 camera. Very impressive stuff.

Hope this helps,
Douglas
-----------------------------
"Cathy" wrote in message
...
Hi all,
I've been looking for the last few months for a digital camera in stores
and read tons and tons of reviews, and now am confused as to what I
should get.
I am looking for a camera with at least a 1.8" LCD and a clear
viewfinder that is
not blurry (to me at least). I mainly want a camera for family indoor
shots and scenery
when I go somewhere .
But many will be indoors, so I want to try to get one with not much red
eye, though I notice most seem to have that problem. I looked at many
reviews and photo samples on Steves site and dresource.com. (I like
those two sites the best, but also have been to depreview.com.) I know
you can take red eye out with software, but I would prefer if possible
to try to get a camera that doesn't have a lot of red eye. I like
pictures that turn out clear and sharp.

A 3.2 MP is ok for me, as I don't want to pay much more than $250.00 US
or under. I am in Canada, but just to give you an idea of price and not
all models
in the US are available here.

Here's what I was considering:

Canon A75 or A85, but needing 4 batteries kind of puts me off though I
don't rule it out completely if its really a good camera. I would prefer
2 batteries. Canon have recently brought out two new cameras, the A510-
3 MP and the A520 - 4 MP which have two batteries and they take SD
memory cards. I was thinking of buying one of them, but the reviews on
all the sites I looked at, said they had a lot of red eye, and were not
s good as A75 and A85. The A75 and A85 are quite good prices here.

Kodak CX 7530, is a good price right now, and I like the look of Kodak
DX 7440, which is about $100.00 more.
Or Olympus D 580, also a good price camera. The samples on dresource.com
were good of the Olympus D580, and very little redeye on indoor photo on
the site, but said the flash was weak unless taking small groups, but
that might not be a big problem for me.

Any and all comments or personal experiences with any of these cameras
would be much appreciated.

Cathy

"ASAAR" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 25 Mar 2005 17:03:54 -0500, Cathy wrote:

Canon A75 or A85, but needing 4 batteries kind of puts me off though
I
don't rule it out completely if its really a good camera. I would
prefer
2 batteries. Canon have recently brought out two new cameras, the
A510-
3 MP and the A520 - 4 MP which have two batteries and they take SD
memory cards. I was thinking of buying one of them, but the reviews
on
all the sites I looked at, said they had a lot of red eye, and were
not
s good as A75 and A85. The A75 and A85 are quite good prices here.

You don't really need a review to determine whether red-eye will
be a problem or not. Anti red-eye tricks with the flash aren't
especially helpful, and the preflash often makes the subject move,
messing up the picture. Look to see where the flash is located.

The reviews I usually look at are Steves digicams, dresource.com and
image resource, and dpreview.com. The reviwers usually comment on red
eye problems or very little red eye, whatever the case.

The further from the lens the better. Fuji's E500 and E510 are
similar to the Canons. They also use 2 AA batteries. I don't
recall reading reviews mentioning red-eye, but as their flashes
appear to be small pop-ups, they're further from the lens and will
probably produce much less red-eye, but you'd have to check it for
yourself. I think that they also have fairly large displays, but
don't recall the exact dimensions.

I seem to recall they have quite large displays as well, but I notice
that the E500 and E510 Fujis, have mixed reviews on review sites, and
thats why I didn't look at them closer though maybe I should have.

The E510 (and possibly the E500) has a very wide 28 mm (equiv.) for
the low end of the zoom, which would tend to make it a better choice
for what you want, indoor family shots and scenic landscapes.

Could be. Those two cameras are more money than the Canon A75 and A85,
but not a huge difference, though I haven't looked at the prices of the
Fujis recently.

A 3.2 MP is ok for me, as I don't want to pay much more than $250.00
US
or under. I am in Canada, but just to give you an idea of price and
not
all models in the US are available here.

Fuji's E510 has 5 mp and the E500 has less. I don't know what the
price would be in Canada, but I recently saw that B&H was selling
the E510 for $220. Would they not ship to Canada? I recall a
recent thread here discussing one of their shipments that seems to
have been delayed in Brazil's customs.

Shipping to Canada is not the problem, and neither is Customs delays
unless the package is poorly described or something, but paying 15%
Customs tax when it came to Canada IS a problem and wouldn't be
worthwhile
We have very skimpy Customs exemptions and pay 15% tax on anything over
$17.00 US coming into Canada. It would be far cheaper to buy it here,
and many times when the difference in currencies are taken into account,
it cost much the same here, depending on the item of course.
Sometimes people buy items from the US if they are not available here
and know they have to pay 15% and figure its worth it. But it has to be
taken into account that in the case of cameras or electronics and many
other things, that the warranty for something bought in the US is not
usually good outside the US.

Cathy

"Cathy" wrote in message
...

Canon A75 or A85, but needing 4 batteries kind of puts me off though I
don't rule it out completely if its really a good camera. I would prefer
2 batteries. Canon have recently brought out two new cameras, the A510-
3 MP and the A520 - 4 MP which have two batteries and they take SD
memory cards.

Is 4 batteries such a problem? Is it a weight/cost/size issues that concerns
you? I have an A60 which you are probably aware is similar to the A75/A85. I
find the 4 batteries weight it just right for my hands and rechargeables are
so inexpensive now that cost is not an issue. 2 batteries may be preferable
for you but don't let it have too much influence over your choice.

"Cathy" wrote in message
...

Canon A75 or A85, but needing 4 batteries kind of puts me off though I
don't rule it out completely if its really a good camera. I would prefer
2 batteries. Canon have recently brought out two new cameras, the A510-
3 MP and the A520 - 4 MP which have two batteries and they take SD
memory cards.

Is 4 batteries such a problem? Is it a weight/cost/size issues that concerns
you? I have an A60 which you are probably aware is similar to the A75/A85. I
find the 4 batteries weight it just right for my hands and rechargeables are
so inexpensive now that cost is not an issue. 2 batteries may be preferable
for you but don't let it have too much influence over your choice.

"Douglas" wrote in message
...
I myself use DSLR cameras but my wife has an Olympus C760. I believe
it is
now superseded but this little camera has made her very happy. It does
sometimes make red-eye and it does have a shutter lag but it really is
very
nice camera for family use. The later model is even better. I would
advise
you to stay away from Kodak cameras of all models. Their Easy Share
software
installs spyware on your PC and give many older PCs a lot of drama.

I have never seen the Olympus C760 here. Or it could be I've never paid
attention if it is more than I want to pay.

If I were to buy a non-slr camera today, I would purchase a Panasonic
'FZ'.
These are equipped with some formidable features and the FZ20 is quite
good
enough to use for real estate and postcard photography on a
professional
level. I've just finished a brochure for a tour operator who supplied
all
the photos and they were from a FZ20 camera. Very impressive stuff.

The Panasonic FZ 20 looks like a very nice camera but about $300.00 more
than I want to pay. It looks more like an SLR type. I really can't
justify paying much more than $250.00 US or under if I can find
something I like.
Thanks for your input.

Cathy

"Douglas" wrote in message
...
I myself use DSLR cameras but my wife has an Olympus C760. I believe
it is
now superseded but this little camera has made her very happy. It does
sometimes make red-eye and it does have a shutter lag but it really is
very
nice camera for family use. The later model is even better. I would
advise
you to stay away from Kodak cameras of all models. Their Easy Share
software
installs spyware on your PC and give many older PCs a lot of drama.

I have never seen the Olympus C760 here. Or it could be I've never paid
attention if it is more than I want to pay.

If I were to buy a non-slr camera today, I would purchase a Panasonic
'FZ'.
These are equipped with some formidable features and the FZ20 is quite
good
enough to use for real estate and postcard photography on a
professional
level. I've just finished a brochure for a tour operator who supplied
all
the photos and they were from a FZ20 camera. Very impressive stuff.

The Panasonic FZ 20 looks like a very nice camera but about $300.00 more
than I want to pay. It looks more like an SLR type. I really can't
justify paying much more than $250.00 US or under if I can find
something I like.
Thanks for your input.

Cathy