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What digital camera should I buy???

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Maltman

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Joined
May 24, 2001
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I'm looking for a gift for meee....I mean the girlfriend..hehe...so I need some opinions :)

I have a sony pda that would be compatable with the memory sticks of the sony "dsc" models, so that is at the top of the list. I thought the dsc-p10 and dsc-v1 were the two "coolest" cameras for size and quality comparisons.

The v1 offers some pretty sweet options for "advanced" pictures that would be nice if I decide to play around with apertures, night shots, etc....and it is nice to be able to add on the flash and telephoto or panaramic lenses.

I know a ton of you guys have digital cameras, so let me hear what you think.

Mark

DSC-V1

DSC-P10
 
I have a year old top of the line Sony similar to the P10 you listed. Works very well for me. :) Most of the pictures on my site were taken with that camera.
 
$699 is steep, but it has the better lens and looks to be better at night. Both are 5 megapixel, which is way up there. If you don't plan on printing really big pictures, why not get a lower model with the good lens etc. Mine's 2 (or 3, I forget?) megapixel, and does fine with 5x7, and pretty good at 8x10's. Wish I had 3 or 4 megapixel, but that was costly. I've got the Sony that uses CD RW's. Not for everyone, due to size. I think you're on the right track getting one that uses media that you have a double use for.
 
I have the Sony DSC-F707 (new version of it is the DSC-F717)

As long as I don't break it, I'll never need another camera, period!

If you have a fast connection, check out a couple of pics I took of the fire at Yellowstone last month while on vacation...(dialup will take about 3 minutes each to download, beware!)

Both pics are taken at 3.1 megapixel, with 85% compression (as per MGI Photosuite) to reduce the filesize A LITTLE...both pics are taken standing up in a rocking boat, using zoom, at about 500 yards away...

at the northeast corner of Yellowstone lake, north ridge (743kb)
about 1/2 south & east, on the east ridge (646kb) --my avatar is a (thumbnail version of THIS pic!

btw, these are some of the WORST pics this camera has taken! :D

(If you DO take time to download these, change your screen resolution to 1024x768 pixels!)
 
Yeah....I've looked at the camera and salivated for awhile at the store :)

Definately a high quality piece, but just a tad more than I want to spend....and a little too big. If I was into taking pictures regularly, I could come up with an excuse for buying that bad boy :D

Thanks for the photo examples,

...good tips/opinions so far...thanks guys,

Mark
 
Look at what I found....does it sound shady....b/c it is 200 bucks off the price that I'd have to pay at BestBuy!!!!

DSC-V1 pricing

Looks legit, but I don't know??

Mark
 
You have to read carefully, and be prepared to wait. I bought a 717 for ~$650 brand new from an online place. It took over a month to get it, and you have to go through with their whole closing of them trying to upsell you on accesories. F717 is one bad mother...
 
Ohh and the sonys don't need chargers, all you have to do is plug the camera into the wall. Just make sure it is USA and all warranties apply and it is commercial box. They will make it sound like you need another charger, but you don't
 
Pay attention to online review sites... not only do their staff (at some of them) do reviews, but so do consumers.

I have NOT looked at the models in question but here are some things to consider:

Battery -
What is the battery life? Rechargeable? How quick? Can you swap the battery to charge it while your spare powers the camera?

MP -
I personally think a quality 2mp camera is better than a mediocre 3... the minimum I would get now is a 2.x camera. Anything over 3 will get resized more often than not unless you plan to print them. IMO

File Size -
The above leads nicely into size... storage is cheaper when you dont need as much. Data transfer is quicker too. Weigh this against the quality you need.

Lens Cover -
Not many do now, but make sure your lense is not exposed.

Zoom -
Its nice! More important for ME in the automotive context however is the short focus (micro?). Wanna post a pick of the damage to your turbo fins? Having a 2 or 3 foot minimum distance sucks. That said, I gotta have zoom.

Lens Pt2 -
Wide angle. Car shows for me seem to prevent me from getting away from the car for a good shot cuz folks want to walk in front of me lol... putting on the wide lens means I can get much closer. Not neccessary but I like that option... thought I would mention it.

Size -
Smaller the better but this might bring tradeoffs. How bout this: the larger the camera the less you want to have it with you.

CARD READER! Get one.

Some of what I wrote is generic. Just my thoughts on the subject and I didnt worry toooo much if it matched your particular situation... :D sorry.

Shawn
 
Just got a sony 3.2 mp 72, it fit the family budget fairly well and the pictures it takes look fine, even if you only take 2 megapixel shots. Although one of the 5mp sonys was only an additional $200 canadian, I didn't think it would be worth the extra investment.
 
Excellent! lol.

Not that it matters, but I use my dig camcorder for pics... plenty good (so far) for what Im doing. Its "ok" because of all the features the camera has to make up for a lower MP... its less than 1!

What I wish I had once in a while is a flash. doh! Dont miss what you dont have usually except for that!

I guess my point is dont worry about getting above say 3mp if its a mostly non zoomable fixed distance camera that is large, sucks battery power, and lacks the features of a 2.x or 3 that ultimately may take better pictures over a larger range of environments. Wow, sounds like some of the Kodaks our school purchased. lol

I also have a 1.3 I picked up a while back. Compared to my digcamcorder, it CAN take a better picture but it has a lot less tolerance for lighting and stuff. Of course it was roughly 1/10 of the cost. :eek:

I forgot to mention this before, and is actually the reason I came back, but you can pick up a camera at BestBuy (or similar) and they have a 14day "no problem" return policy - at least around here. If you know what you want you can save money going elsewhere tho.

Shawn
 
GNandGS.....THANK YOU for the details!! It will definitely help out the purchase!!! :)

...maybe I'll check out that idea about BestBuy too....and Buick from Hell, is that detail on the penny from your 707???

Thanks guys,

Mark

P.S.
I think the link came out badly. What he was shooting for was This One
Click to expand...
......you guys are weird :rolleyes:
 
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