Should I upgrade from my Olympus D-460

My Olympus D-460 was a gift 4 years ago and has sentimental value but
I have been thinking of upgrading to something newer.
My question is -- How much worth is a camera with the movie option.
Do people really use it that much? I haven't even used all the
features of my Olympus which makes me wonder if a need a newer camera
although I use it a lot. I now have 1.3 megapixels but I think I
would like more.
Is there a camera out there that does not have that delay after
snapping the picture?
Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

Lori

If you ask the typical digicam nerd (=me) they will tell you you need a
Rebel Digital or a Nikon D100 as a step up, etc. The movie option is tagged
as useless by many - I have a Canon S40 (and yes, a fancier eos 10D as
well) and have used the movie option on several ocassions to capture candid
family moments. If you get it, make sure it includes sound, that makes the
moments you capture all the more enjoyable. Also make sure you get a large
card, as movie mode hogs card space. The video I hav captured in the past
3 yrs w that s40 is priceless to me - but not of very high quality.

J
"Kayla" wrote in message
...
My Olympus D-460 was a gift 4 years ago and has sentimental value but
I have been thinking of upgrading to something newer.
My question is -- How much worth is a camera with the movie option.
Do people really use it that much? I haven't even used all the
features of my Olympus which makes me wonder if a need a newer camera
although I use it a lot. I now have 1.3 megapixels but I think I
would like more.
Is there a camera out there that does not have that delay after
snapping the picture?
Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

Lori

Kayla wrote:

My Olympus D-460 was a gift 4 years ago and has sentimental value but
I have been thinking of upgrading to something newer.

Most here would say yes. 1.3 mp is way behind the state of the art.
I'd recomend a dSLR (300D for example) or a Canon S1 IS.

My question is -- How much worth is a camera with the movie option?

Never use it on my C-2100UZ. But I loaned the camera to some folks
today. They somehow got it in the movie mode, and since it has a
microphone, I have a record of their attempts to figure out what
happened. Very entertaining!

Phil

"Kayla" wrote in message
...

Is there a camera out there that does not have that delay after
snapping the picture?
Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

Lori


Hi Lori,

When you mention a delay after snapping the picture, are you referring to
shutter lag, or cycle time?

Shutter lag is the amount of time between pressing the shutter and the
picture is actually captured. I believe that cycle time is the amount of
time it takes before the camera is ready to shoot the next picture, though
I'm not certain.

There's some stats on your camera regarding shutter and cycle time that
might help you decide which of these factors are most important to you. You
can use these numbers as a baseline when making your camera comparisons.

Go to http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D460/D460A7.HTM

Depending on the amount you want to spend, you'll find most P & S and
higher-end digicams all have delays that can vary quite a bit from each
other.

If your priority is actually to shoot very rapid shots in a row, you may
want to compare the speed of the cameras' continuous shooting mode, or burst
mode.

If you're finding that the comparisons are causing a trade-off of other
desirable features, then consider a camera with a good video mode. Some
shoot short clips, others can shoot up to an hour at a time, and others can
shoot up to size of the memory card. Some cameras give you a fairly high
frames per minute when shooting, as compared to the continuous shooting
mode. With these cameras, you can later go through the video frame by frame,
and save the shots you want as pictures files. The quality will not be as
good as still shots, and resolution varies among the models. So you'd have
to decide beforehand what you plan to use the rapidly shot photos or video
shot photos for before buying your camera -- if rapidly shot photos are what
you're looking for.

My Olympus D-460 was a gift 4 years ago and has sentimental value but
I have been thinking of upgrading to something newer.
My question is -- How much worth is a camera with the movie option.
Do people really use it that much?

If you have kids and don't own a camcorder, you'd probably get a lot of use
out it. Personally, I think the cameras that shoot only short video clips
are of little use. The longer videos are more useful. Mine shoots movies up
to 1 GB in length, or 1 hour long. But there are others cameras that shoot
long videos as well. The videos can eat up your flash memory cards fast,
though.

Videos also good if your want to take your camera along to your kid's
recital, sports events, parties, when you're with friends and family, or
anywhere you'd be taking still shots. The camera's so much smaller than the
average-sized camcorder you'd have to haul around. I never had a use for
camcorders but once I got a digicam with good video capability, I'm ready to
use it everywhere.

I haven't even used all the
features of my Olympus which makes me wonder if a need a newer camera
although I use it a lot. I now have 1.3 megapixels but I think I
would like more.

It sounds like at this stage of your picture-taking, features are something
you'd either want to grow into as you progress with photography as a hobby,
or you will choose to ignore. If it's the latter, than all you need to be
doing is comparing the basics of P & S cameras.

You definitely should upgrade from 1.3 megapixels. You won't be sorry, I'm
sure.

Hope some of this helps