If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Buying my first digital camera
For 20 years I have used a nice Canon 1.2 SLR and am now looking at a
small digital for taking on extended trips. Have looked closely at and am interested in Canon Powershot S80, SD 500 & 550 and Sony Cybershot DSC P200. Also looked briefly at Olympus C-7070 (too large), Casio Eilim EX Z-750 (OK-but cradle charging scares me away), Nikon CP 7900 (no manual focus and poor focus in low light, etc.), Fuji finepix S5100 (slow start, etc.) Intention is to use it both indoors with groups as well as outdoors in the country-mountains, or in cities taking shots of buildings, people, and stuff of general interest. Opinions as to the Canons and the Sony would be appreciated, as well as if you know of other comparable or better. thanks, Miles |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Buying my first digital camera
Miles wrote:
For 20 years I have used a nice Canon 1.2 SLR and am now looking at a small digital for taking on extended trips. Have looked closely at and am interested in Canon Powershot S80, SD 500 & 550 and Sony Cybershot DSC P200. Also looked briefly at Olympus C-7070 (too large), Casio Eilim EX Z-750 (OK-but cradle charging scares me away), Nikon CP 7900 (no manual focus and poor focus in low light, etc.), Fuji finepix S5100 (slow start, etc.) Intention is to use it both indoors with groups as well as outdoors in the country-mountains, or in cities taking shots of buildings, people, and stuff of general interest. Opinions as to the Canons and the Sony would be appreciated, as well as if you know of other comparable or better. thanks, Miles I believe someone responded directly to my email address, not to the newsgroup. When spam was being auto deleted, I'm certain I saw some writing on this subject. If so, would you please resend -- and perhaps include the newsgroup so it won't get lost in spam removal with MailWasher. Thanks, Miles |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Buying my first digital camera
Miles wrote:
For 20 years I have used a nice Canon 1.2 SLR and am now looking at a small digital for taking on extended trips. Have looked closely at and am interested in Canon Powershot S80, SD 500 & 550 and Sony Cybershot DSC P200. We have two small Canons, an A40 and an A75, both discontinued models now, but my wife and I find them ideal for travel. They're light in weight, but big enough to be easy to handle. I would hate to muscle any of the digital SLRs around on a trip. Both cameras, if used with proper care, yield pictures that will blow up to great 8 x 10s, even though they're only 2 and 3 megapixels, respectively. By "proper care" I mean, if indoors, don't use the flash but do rest the camera on some support: a ledge, up against a wall, etc. , and use the program mode. And, most important, use the 2 second delay on the shutter release. I'm convinced more pictures taken with small cameras are ruined by camera shake than any other factor. By using the delay, the camera can be gripped firmly so that it is not moving when the actual exposure takes place. That said, I'm sure any of the models you suggested would do the job. -- Ron |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Buying my first digital camera
Ronald Hands wrote:
Miles wrote: For 20 years I have used a nice Canon 1.2 SLR and am now looking at a small digital for taking on extended trips. Have looked closely at and am interested in Canon Powershot S80, SD 500 & 550 and Sony Cybershot DSC P200. We have two small Canons, an A40 and an A75, both discontinued models now, but my wife and I find them ideal for travel. They're light in weight, but big enough to be easy to handle. I would hate to muscle any of the digital SLRs around on a trip. Both cameras, if used with proper care, yield pictures that will blow up to great 8 x 10s, even though they're only 2 and 3 megapixels, respectively. By "proper care" I mean, if indoors, don't use the flash but do rest the camera on some support: a ledge, up against a wall, etc. , and use the program mode. And, most important, use the 2 second delay on the shutter release. I'm convinced more pictures taken with small cameras are ruined by camera shake than any other factor. By using the delay, the camera can be gripped firmly so that it is not moving when the actual exposure takes place. That said, I'm sure any of the models you suggested would do the job. -- Ron Thanks, Ron, and that's a good pointer as to the 2 second delay. Went to a store last night for the first time to see how the cameras feel and much to my surprise discovered that many of them are simply too small for my big mitts. So am back to the drawing boards -- looking for ones with AA batteries which have an enlarged area for gripping, or a twist out LCD, or one that has the button more towards the center of the camera instead of the right top which cannot be reached unless using two hands such as some of the Olympus', or ones that have a decent ridge on the front or back right side that allows a better grip. The only store open last night was Circuit City and theirs had a large plastic piece on the bottom for the electricity & cable so could not grip them properly. Today will try some other stores that don't have that "feature." And I think I do agree with you as to the mp, 8 or 10 mp's is unnecessary, and will look in the 5-6 mp range first, then higher if there has been substantial improvements made in later models. Miles |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Buying my first digital camera
In article ,
Miles wrote: For 20 years I have used a nice Canon 1.2 SLR and am now looking at a small digital for taking on extended trips. Have looked closely at and am interested in Canon Powershot S80, SD 500 & 550 and Sony Cybershot DSC P200. Also looked briefly at Olympus C-7070 (too large), Casio Eilim EX Z-750 (OK-but cradle charging scares me away), Nikon CP 7900 (no manual focus and poor focus in low light, etc.), Fuji finepix S5100 (slow start, etc.) Intention is to use it both indoors with groups as well as outdoors in the country-mountains, or in cities taking shots of buildings, people, and stuff of general interest. Opinions as to the Canons and the Sony would be appreciated, as well as if you know of other comparable or better. thanks, Miles I love my Canon A80 - flip screen that I love, love, love. 4MP. -- http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 11-19-05 - Shiksa Varnishkes. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Buying my first digital camera
"Melba's Jammin'" wrote in message ... In article , Miles wrote: For 20 years I have used a nice Canon 1.2 SLR and am now looking at a small digital for taking on extended trips. Have looked closely at and am interested in Canon Powershot S80, SD 500 & 550 and Sony Cybershot DSC P200. Also looked briefly at Olympus C-7070 (too large), Casio Eilim EX Z-750 (OK-but cradle charging scares me away), Nikon CP 7900 (no manual focus and poor focus in low light, etc.), Fuji finepix S5100 (slow start, etc.) Intention is to use it both indoors with groups as well as outdoors in the country-mountains, or in cities taking shots of buildings, people, and stuff of general interest. Opinions as to the Canons and the Sony would be appreciated, as well as if you know of other comparable or better. thanks, Miles I love my Canon A80 - flip screen that I love, love, love. 4MP. -- http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 11-19-05 - Shiksa Varnishkes. The A95 is working out very well for me. I believe that has now been superceeded, not sure of the model# but has same features with a 4:1 zoom, something I would have liked on the A95. To go above that in Canon involves more money, but the G6 is a great camea, somewhat larger and has a hot shoe plus lots more. Next step up would be a dslr. Dave Cohen |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Buying my first digital camera
Dave Cohen wrote:
"Melba's Jammin'" wrote in message ... In article , Miles wrote: For 20 years I have used a nice Canon 1.2 SLR and am now looking at a small digital for taking on extended trips. Have looked closely at and am interested in Canon Powershot S80, SD 500 & 550 and Sony Cybershot DSC P200. Also looked briefly at Olympus C-7070 (too large), Casio Eilim EX Z-750 (OK-but cradle charging scares me away), Nikon CP 7900 (no manual focus and poor focus in low light, etc.), Fuji finepix S5100 (slow start, etc.) Intention is to use it both indoors with groups as well as outdoors in the country-mountains, or in cities taking shots of buildings, people, and stuff of general interest. Opinions as to the Canons and the Sony would be appreciated, as well as if you know of other comparable or better. thanks, Miles I love my Canon A80 - flip screen that I love, love, love. 4MP. -- http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 11-19-05 - Shiksa Varnishkes. The A95 is working out very well for me. I believe that has now been superceeded, not sure of the model# but has same features with a 4:1 zoom, something I would have liked on the A95. To go above that in Canon involves more money, but the G6 is a great camea, somewhat larger and has a hot shoe plus lots more. Next step up would be a dslr. Dave Cohen I also have the A95 and really like it. It is my first digital camera so I only have file ones to compare it with. Tom Atkins |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Buying my first digital camera
Panasonic Lumix FZ5 is worth looking at. I like mine.
|
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Buying my first digital camera
Thomas S. Atkins wrote:
Dave Cohen wrote: "Melba's Jammin'" wrote in message ... In article , Miles wrote: For 20 years I have used a nice Canon 1.2 SLR and am now looking at a small digital for taking on extended trips. Have looked closely at and am interested in Canon Powershot S80, SD 500 & 550 and Sony Cybershot DSC P200. Also looked briefly at Olympus C-7070 (too large), Casio Eilim EX Z-750 (OK-but cradle charging scares me away), Nikon CP 7900 (no manual focus and poor focus in low light, etc.), Fuji finepix S5100 (slow start, etc.) Intention is to use it both indoors with groups as well as outdoors in the country-mountains, or in cities taking shots of buildings, people, and stuff of general interest. Opinions as to the Canons and the Sony would be appreciated, as well as if you know of other comparable or better. thanks, Miles I love my Canon A80 - flip screen that I love, love, love. 4MP. -- http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 11-19-05 - Shiksa Varnishkes. The A95 is working out very well for me. I believe that has now been superceeded, not sure of the model# but has same features with a 4:1 zoom, something I would have liked on the A95. To go above that in Canon involves more money, but the G6 is a great camea, somewhat larger and has a hot shoe plus lots more. Next step up would be a dslr. Dave Cohen I also have the A95 and really like it. It is my first digital camera so I only have file ones to compare it with. Tom Atkins After far too much consideration I am settling in on the Canon A610 with 5mp. Do not believe the A620 at 7mp is needed. Thank you for the lead to the A95 as apparently this is a later version. The negatives to the camera appear to be: 1) No stability or antishake. 2) No raw/tiff which is surprising since the camera has so many manual settings -- but then I am not a camera head, so will not spend hours and hours playing with each pic. 3) Noise extremely high at ISO 400 rendering it useless, and 200 isn't the best. Curious as to how taking at 100 will affect action shots. 4) Lots of redeye, so will probably need to buy slave. 5) Does not show battery status -- low only -- Is that similar to a temperature idiot light on the dashboard of your car that doesn't go on until it's too late? 6) Construction appears a bit flimsy -- plastic and metal -- but talking with a camera buff who has a 620 he said it's very strong as he straps it to his leg and uses it frequently as he climbs cliffs etc to obtain shots of birds with his other extreme zoom cameras. 7) Need to buy charger & NmH batts. It contains 4 AA's instead of 2 which certainly increases the size of the camera -- but guess that provides longer battery life? And the charger/spare batteries are one more large item to fill my suitcase! 9) Although the shape with the battery housing provides a nice grip, the camera is too large to fit in pants, coat, or shirt pocket. If only I could find an identical camera that uses a small lithium battery that my hands can still grip -- perhaps I could glue a section of a chopstick to the front! The positive points are numerous as seen by the reviews at: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_.../a610_pg6.html And this one of the A620 (identical camera, except 7 mp's instead of 5: http://dcresource.com/reviews/canon/...ew/index.shtml Miles |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Buying my first digital camera
Seems like a good choice, Miles. The A610 is the successor to the A95
which is the successor to the A80 ... good bloodlines. If you haven't already come across Albert Achtung's review of the A80-- http://albert.achtung.com/cameras/A80/index.html --it has some information that may also be useful for the A610, esp. with regard to setting up a fast point & shoot mode (SNAP) that eliminates the time ordinarily taken by the camera's auto focus. He gives instructions for programming the camera for both indoor and outdoor use and I find I use his settings most of the time. Like Ron, I also make frequent use of the 2-sec. timer for shutter release, particularly in lower-light situations. I almost never use the flash except as fill-flash. I've a handful of shots on Flickr, all done with an A80: http://flickr.com/photos/blueshoe The shots on that page aren't print-ready files but I can tell you that printed 8 X 10's come out beautifully. Jon |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Why digital cameras are no good | Scott W | Digital Photography | 26 | April 12th 05 10:14 AM |
I never figured out that buying a digital camera would be so difficult... | JVCarver | Digital Photography | 9 | March 25th 05 06:47 PM |
NYT article - GPS tagging of digital photos | Alan Browne | Digital Photography | 4 | December 22nd 04 07:36 AM |
Digital zoom camera & lots of selection questions | Lou | Digital Photography | 5 | November 12th 04 12:43 AM |
FA: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1 Digital camera with Leica 12X optical zoom lens | Marvin Culpepper | Digital Photo Equipment For Sale | 0 | October 15th 04 01:05 AM |