Seeking a recommendation

Howdy.

Having just finished my taxes (it's Canada - we have until April 30), I
find I can afford a digital camera, so I'm looking for recommendations.

Criteria:
1. pocketable (coat or vest pocket would do)

2. AA batteries preferred (I travel to odd places on occassion)

3. SD or CF preferred (I have some of both)

4. Good enough to print 8x10 (larger would be nice, though I don't do
many prints beyond 8x10)

5. A reasonable level of manual control (I started with a fully manual
35mm camera decades ago)

6. TIFF or RAW would be nice, but I'm not certain that's available
within my other criteria

7. Upper limit of about $700 Canadian (or about $500 US)

Suggestions? I'm hoping to go to Ireland in late May, so I've about 4
weeks to make a choice and buy. I'd like to buy at least a week in
advance so I can learn the controls before I travel.

Jeff

In article ,
Jeff Williams wrote:


Howdy.

Having just finished my taxes (it's Canada - we have until April 30), I
find I can afford a digital camera, so I'm looking for recommendations.

Criteria:
1. pocketable (coat or vest pocket would do)
2. AA batteries preferred (I travel to odd places on occassion)
3. SD or CF preferred (I have some of both)
4. Good enough to print 8x10 (larger would be nice, though I don't do
many prints beyond 8x10)
5. A reasonable level of manual control (I started with a fully manual
35mm camera decades ago)
6. TIFF or RAW would be nice, but I'm not certain that's available
within my other criteria
7. Upper limit of about $700 Canadian (or about $500 US)

Well, I recently bought a Canon EOS 20D, way out of my original budget,
and not the answer to your needs. But, more or less as an accessory to
that camera, I also bought a Powershot A85. Let me tell you, I'm just
as stoked about getting the Powershot as I am about the 20D! Maybe more
so! Okay, so it's just a 4MP camera. But I'm loving it. You can
actually get a bit higher resolution Powershot, but I chose this one
specifically, and I'm very happy so far. Battery life on NiMH (PowerEx
2300's) is acceptable, and it has the same basic Canon architecture as
the EOS 20D, so it's a great fit for me. It does afford a significant
amount of manual control.

There is a reasonably cheap underwater housing for this camera,
something I may be looking into. (Underwater kits for the EOS 20D are
anything but "cheap".)

Negative; it's not much for Zoom. I'm already spoiled by the image
quality of the 20D, so I'm seeing the limitations of 4MP.


Now, I don't feel comfortable making ANY camera recommendation vis-a-vis
a once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip. But I am stoked about my Powershot,
and I urge you to check it out. The A85 is a last-year's model, so it
can be bought very inexpensively. I think if you check one out you will
be souped, as I was.

Here are some images taken while going home today, done in haste,
various resolutions, and my first attempt to use this particular web
tool:

http://conservatory.com/photos/A85/20050426/

In some of these photos, I was moving briskly, holding the camera to my
side, and snapping as I walked. The photo of St Marys is a tight crop
of a tele shot of a church that is nearly 2 km away. The bookcase is a
handheld, natural light auto shot, from about 10 meters away, and I've
been using the same shot to test all my cameras and lenses
unscientifically.

For an inexpensive snapshot camera that allows creative control and
has decent ergonomics, decent latency, and decent battery life, I am
hooked.


Regards,

James

Jeff Williams wrote:
Howdy.

Having just finished my taxes (it's Canada - we have until April 30), I
find I can afford a digital camera, so I'm looking for recommendations.

Criteria:
1. pocketable (coat or vest pocket would do)

2. AA batteries preferred (I travel to odd places on occassion)

3. SD or CF preferred (I have some of both)

4. Good enough to print 8x10 (larger would be nice, though I don't do
many prints beyond 8x10)

5. A reasonable level of manual control (I started with a fully manual
35mm camera decades ago)

6. TIFF or RAW would be nice, but I'm not certain that's available
within my other criteria

7. Upper limit of about $700 Canadian (or about $500 US)

Suggestions? I'm hoping to go to Ireland in late May, so I've about 4
weeks to make a choice and buy. I'd like to buy at least a week in
advance so I can learn the controls before I travel.

Jeff

I am really only familiar with the Kodak line, but something like a
DX7590 would probably make you happy. Or if compact is more important,
the DX7440. Doesn't use AA batteries, but the lithium rechargeable
gives enough pictures that it probably doesn't matter.


--
Ron Hunter

The same to me, but my deadline for taxes was 'till March.I liked very much
my Kodak CX 7300,99 euro+33 euro for 128 MB lexar sd+11 euro for charger and
4 AA ni-cd batteries.But, you're probably going for something better, you
can take the CX 7530 or something from the DX series.BTW, my aunt lives in
London, Ontario.

--
Tzortzakakis Dimitrios
major in electrical engineering, freelance electrician
FH von Iraklion-Kreta, freiberuflicher Elektriker
dimtzort AT otenet DOT gr
? "Ron Hunter" ?????? ??? ??????
...
Jeff Williams wrote:
Howdy.

Having just finished my taxes (it's Canada - we have until April 30), I
find I can afford a digital camera, so I'm looking for recommendations.

Criteria:
1. pocketable (coat or vest pocket would do)

2. AA batteries preferred (I travel to odd places on occassion)

3. SD or CF preferred (I have some of both)

4. Good enough to print 8x10 (larger would be nice, though I don't do
many prints beyond 8x10)

5. A reasonable level of manual control (I started with a fully manual
35mm camera decades ago)

6. TIFF or RAW would be nice, but I'm not certain that's available
within my other criteria

7. Upper limit of about $700 Canadian (or about $500 US)

Suggestions? I'm hoping to go to Ireland in late May, so I've about 4
weeks to make a choice and buy. I'd like to buy at least a week in
advance so I can learn the controls before I travel.

Jeff

I am really only familiar with the Kodak line, but something like a
DX7590 would probably make you happy. Or if compact is more important,
the DX7440. Doesn't use AA batteries, but the lithium rechargeable
gives enough pictures that it probably doesn't matter.


--
Ron Hunter