I have the Sony CyberShot P71. Spent around 600 after getting accessories. Wish I had gotten the P72 so I could have sound with the movie feature.
Like it a lot, easy to learn and use.
Like it a lot, easy to learn and use.
digital camera suggestions want to buy
want to buy my first digital camera. what is a good one that is easy to learn and operate.... am not really worried about the cost. mostly easy to learn to run.... thank you for all your suggestions. I am 50 so easy is essential.... hee hee will mostly take family pictures etc. thank you all - Status
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I have a Kodak DX3700 and I LOVE IT!!!! YOu could probably pick one up for about $200.00 now. Also, buy the docking pad for $80.00. It works great and I can take about 100 "Good quality" pics before recharging the battery.
I have an Olympus c700 ultra zoom and love it.About $500.Am thinking about buying my wife a Kodak CX4230.Reviews are very good.About $170 at Amazon.com.The Olympus probably has more features than you would need/use, and the Menus can be a little confusing.Get a camera that has optical zoom capability.Digital zoom is just about worthless.
Have fun.
Have fun.
I agree!Originally posted by pedroguy:
optical zoom capability.Digital zoom is just about worthless.
I have yet to encounter a consumer level digital camera that you cant just set on automatic or program with the flash on automatic and be able to snap pictures without any input at all. Having an optical zoom improves most photos and you do have to set that, but it is just a matter of hitting the zoom button until the subject fills the frame the way you want.
Photos are memories and you might want to get more from some in the future than snapshots or screen display. You might also want to crop the images and still have enough digital information left. Basically a 3Mp camera will print an excellent 8 X 10 and a decent 11 X 14 if you dont have to crop the image. A 5Mp will print an excellent 11 X 14 and a decent 13 X 19. The new 8Mp sensor that is coming out soon will be able to do an excellent 13 X 19. Most cheaper cameras have an optical finder that shows between 80% and 85% of the photo, so you will have to crop at least 15-20% off the images just to get what you see through the viewfinder.
All that is a complicated way to say you want as many pixels as you can get IMO since you dont know what use the images will get. I sure wish earlier generations in my family had used better cameras. Digital is catching up to film. A 2Mp digital is about equal to an APS camera loaded with 400 ASA film. A 4Mp is about equal to a 35mm camera loaded with ASA400. 6-8Mp is as good as a 35mm camera loaded with the best consumer ASA 100 film.
If you are sure you wont be learning to do any more than point the camera at what you want a picture of an push the shutter release I dont think you can do better than the Sony P72 that cybertech recommended. It is 3Mp and is compact enough to always have with you. What sets it apart is that it shoots real MPEG 640 X 480 movies with sound. Most digital cameras take dinky 320 X 240 movies which aren't very useful. You can take some pretty nice movies with the P72 along with good snapshots. A downside of the Sony is that it takes proprietary Sony memory sticks. If you look at other cameras get one with CF (Compact Flash) cards if you can as they are the cheapest and still overall best. The P72 takes the new Memory Stick Pro memory and you can get up to 256 Mb now. 256Mb is a good choice if you think you might want to use the movie mode much. Another nice thing about the P72 is that it comes with NiMH AA batteries and a charger. Extra batteries are cheap. Newegg has the camera for $300 with free shipping and B&H has 256Mb Memory Stick Pro cards for $105 delivered. http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/p72.html
Digital photography is a good way to learn about doing photography because you can experiment for free and get fast feedback. You might find you become interested in learning more than just to aim and push the button, and it is nice to have the controls. You might also want more pixels. The P72 is basically a 3Mp point and shoot with a 3X optical zoom.
Photos are memories and you might want to get more from some in the future than snapshots or screen display. You might also want to crop the images and still have enough digital information left. Basically a 3Mp camera will print an excellent 8 X 10 and a decent 11 X 14 if you dont have to crop the image. A 5Mp will print an excellent 11 X 14 and a decent 13 X 19. The new 8Mp sensor that is coming out soon will be able to do an excellent 13 X 19. Most cheaper cameras have an optical finder that shows between 80% and 85% of the photo, so you will have to crop at least 15-20% off the images just to get what you see through the viewfinder.
All that is a complicated way to say you want as many pixels as you can get IMO since you dont know what use the images will get. I sure wish earlier generations in my family had used better cameras. Digital is catching up to film. A 2Mp digital is about equal to an APS camera loaded with 400 ASA film. A 4Mp is about equal to a 35mm camera loaded with ASA400. 6-8Mp is as good as a 35mm camera loaded with the best consumer ASA 100 film.
If you are sure you wont be learning to do any more than point the camera at what you want a picture of an push the shutter release I dont think you can do better than the Sony P72 that cybertech recommended. It is 3Mp and is compact enough to always have with you. What sets it apart is that it shoots real MPEG 640 X 480 movies with sound. Most digital cameras take dinky 320 X 240 movies which aren't very useful. You can take some pretty nice movies with the P72 along with good snapshots. A downside of the Sony is that it takes proprietary Sony memory sticks. If you look at other cameras get one with CF (Compact Flash) cards if you can as they are the cheapest and still overall best. The P72 takes the new Memory Stick Pro memory and you can get up to 256 Mb now. 256Mb is a good choice if you think you might want to use the movie mode much. Another nice thing about the P72 is that it comes with NiMH AA batteries and a charger. Extra batteries are cheap. Newegg has the camera for $300 with free shipping and B&H has 256Mb Memory Stick Pro cards for $105 delivered. http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/p72.html
Digital photography is a good way to learn about doing photography because you can experiment for free and get fast feedback. You might find you become interested in learning more than just to aim and push the button, and it is nice to have the controls. You might also want more pixels. The P72 is basically a 3Mp point and shoot with a 3X optical zoom.
Slipe:As always,great info.
Fs44405.Here is a warning.Digital photography is a disease.
First you get a camera.Then of course you have to get a photo quality printer,then a good burner,good quality photo paper,a photo imaging software package,It never ends.
So as you embark on this adventure.take heed the warning.Then of course,you want a better camera.Get the point?
Fs44405.Here is a warning.Digital photography is a disease.
First you get a camera.Then of course you have to get a photo quality printer,then a good burner,good quality photo paper,a photo imaging software package,It never ends.
So as you embark on this adventure.take heed the warning.Then of course,you want a better camera.Get the point?
G
Howdy
as has been said...almost any digital camera you buy now-a-days will get you started and do you well for all but large size prints
certainly don't spend more than $300US on a camera that you are going to use as a startup camera
my dad bought a fuji 2800 and has had a ball with it
buck
as has been said...almost any digital camera you buy now-a-days will get you started and do you well for all but large size prints
certainly don't spend more than $300US on a camera that you are going to use as a startup camera
my dad bought a fuji 2800 and has had a ball with it
buck
I have a Kodak dx4900 4.1megapixel camera and dock with an Epson stylus Photo895 printer.
The Kodak is easy to use, has 3x optical and 3x (digital zoom) it will print A4 size with no loss of quality with 4mb uncompressed or compressed images. Has options for setting everything on auto or manually having colour, black and white or sepia, shutter speed up 16 seconds, ISO up to 400 etc. It does not have movies option (but then I wanted it to take pictures not replace my video camera (who wants to sit down and watch 20-30 second movie clips).
I am really pleased with the Epson printer, the colour reproduction is great and it will do up to A4 including A4 borderless prints.
I see the prices of cameras has reduced by about 1/3 in the past year and the new Kodak range looks nice with an improved colour viewfinder, though I prefer using the small "traditional" viewfinder myself.
The Kodak is easy to use, has 3x optical and 3x (digital zoom) it will print A4 size with no loss of quality with 4mb uncompressed or compressed images. Has options for setting everything on auto or manually having colour, black and white or sepia, shutter speed up 16 seconds, ISO up to 400 etc. It does not have movies option (but then I wanted it to take pictures not replace my video camera (who wants to sit down and watch 20-30 second movie clips).
I am really pleased with the Epson printer, the colour reproduction is great and it will do up to A4 including A4 borderless prints.
I see the prices of cameras has reduced by about 1/3 in the past year and the new Kodak range looks nice with an improved colour viewfinder, though I prefer using the small "traditional" viewfinder myself.
if you want one with the best zoom range, consider the olympus c720. you can get them for <$300 and they do take excellent pics using the automatic settings. it has an 8x optical zoom (35-350 mm equiv. to 35mm camera) which allows you get long range shots that others can't. got one for my wife who hated to use cameras and now she is as big a shutterbug as i am.
Gavi, Certified Photographic Counselor and Nikon Advanced System Specialist
Gavi, Certified Photographic Counselor and Nikon Advanced System Specialist
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