Digital Cameras

[Huey]

I have general knowledge of a 35mm camera and zero knowledge of digital cameras . Anyway, I've been interested in purchasing a digital camera.

 

It would mostly be used for taking pics of my favorite twinks Ok so that is the fantasy part. Though I will be using it for taking pictures of friends, relatives and places I visit.

 

Currently I'm looking at a model that costs about 300. I would say that is near the top end of my price range. Here's some info about the camera I have in mind:

 

Vivitar 3.3 Mega Pixel 3X Zoom Digital Camera with 1.5" Color LCD

 

It would be great to read your suggestions, tips and insight regarding digital cameras and the above model ;-) .

 

 

-----------

WAR IS OVER

if you want it

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE

[+ deej]

How does it store the pictures?

 

My favorite digital cam to date has been a Sony that stored images on standard floppy disks. No proprietary (and pricey) memory cards, no screwy cable connections, no drivers to conflict with -- just plug the floppy in and copy the pictures.

 

The specs look fine, but check out the cost for extra batteries and storage (memory). $300 is a cool price, but not if you spend that much again to be able to take more than 30 pictures without getting to a PC to upload them. ;-)

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Kodak

 

I take almost all my own pictues (or a few are taken for me) but all using my Kodak digital camera which is now one generation out of date (as my desktop is several!)

 

It (as do some other models) uses a "compact flash" memory card. I recently purchased a 128MB model (just think "BIG" - I honestly have no idea what it really means as opposed to RAM, KB, etc. and you do not need to either) at Staples with a rebate that ended up costing me about $20. I can take over 400 images with this memory card at the highest density, definition and quality.

 

Kodak has several new models, quite lower in price than the one you are contemplating and has a very good built-in flash and auto focus. If you were seriously going to take pictures and wish to blow them up and have them displayed on your walls or in a gallery, I would recommend higher price points. In your case, whether for your favorite Twink or your newphew, a digital camera which works with your computer easily, has Adobe Photoshop Deluxe included and is easy for you to use in the store would be my best recommendation.

 

Good luck!

 

 

UPDATED 09/04/2002 - http://www.gaydar.co.uk/francodisantis

[Karl-G]

I'm not an expert, but I have used Sonys for several years. The Sony/Mavica uses the floppies and I started there, but they are fairly big and heavy and awkward and the floppies hold only a few high resolution pictures.

 

The Sony Cyber-shot series seems very good, and I have been using it for two years. I use the 2.1 mexapixel model. It is light, easy to use inside or out, has zoom, and downloads very easily. It uses a "Memory Stick," and you can get them at 4 mb, 16, 32, 64, and 128. It is true, a stick costs to begin with, but a 64 mb memory stick will hold almost 300 very high resolution (ultra sharp) images. To download, you buy a special "floppy" into which you insert the memory stick, and the images come up right away as jpegs.

 

And it will cost several hundred extra for the peripherals, batteries, etc. How many pixels? The 2.1 gives me very high resolution sharp images that fill a screen. My understanding is 2.0 is plenty unless you intend to print out 8x10 photos or larger. More than that is unused power.

[Michael]

Well, the most important thing is to know what it is that you want to use the camera for.

 

I got my first digital camera (a Canon A5) about 4 years ago and there were two major factors which made me choose it:

 

- I didn't want to have to bother with getting films processed (which is why I wanted a digital camera in the first place)

- I wanted a camera that was so small that I could (and would) take it everywhere with me (which is why I chose the A5)

 

The A5 was rather expensive for what it was but the small size and weight were the deciding factor.

 

Getting into digital cameras fairly early meant that it was inevitable that I would have to upgrade to something better - I really liked the Canon despite some of it's disadvantages (see below) so I stuck with them and went to the A50 as soon as it was available and then to the S20 which I still have and don't have any plans to replace in the near future.

 

Things that you need to think about when choosing a camera include:

 

Batteries: You need rechargable batteries and you will probably need several spares - how much do they cost, how long do they last, how long do they take to charge, how much does the charger cost ... (this is one of the disadvantages of the Canon A5 / A50 / S20 - batteries are really hard to find and expensive). Also check whether the price of the camera includes a battery charger or whether this is an added "extra".

 

Storage: You need to choose something that is convenient and will work for you - for me it's Compact Flash memory (CF) - readily available and (now) quite cheap - really easy to transfer pictures to a computer with PC card slots (ie any laptop) using a PC card adapter (about $8). (I actually have PC card slots fitted to my desktop machine as well because those external PC card readers are junk ...)

 

Ease of Use: How easy is it to use the camera in the way that you will want to use it. I am not a "photographer" - just someone who wants to take pictures - so I want the camera to do everything for me and I care how well it works in automatic mode, not how easy it is to override things manually - you might have different priorities.

 

Speed: Some cameras can be quite slow - check how long it takes to focus and take a picture and then how long you have to wait before you can take the next picture - the delay on some cameras can be several seconds which can be raelly annoying.

[SoCal]

Those Sony Mavicas that store the images are great! I had one with the floppy drive and loved it. Only problem with the diskette, you're limited on the resolution of the photo you can store on the floppy. That said the cameras with the diskette were never ultra high resolution.

 

So, I recently bought the Sony Mavica CD400, which has a mini CD-Rom in it. At the highest quality, the CD-Rom will hold about 70 pictures. The camera will also hook up to a USB port for downloading, and will hook up to a TV set (via video input) and display pics there. It comes with an adapter ring to the mini CD can fit into your computer's regular CD tray and be read. So far, I've been blown away by this camera and really like it. The bad news for this discussion - it's about $900. They make one with less resolution for about half that price also.

 

I would recommend that you buy a camera in your budget that has 4 million pixel resolution, if you can bump the budget a bit. I don't know the Vivitar camera mentioned in the original post, but the 3.3 MegaPixel is a good start and will be good quality. I'd still try and shop a bit more and try and get 4 MegaPixels.....

[Flower]

>Currently I'm looking at a model that costs about 300. I

>would say that is near the top end of my price range. Here's

>some info about the camera I have in mind:

****

>Vivitar 3.3 Mega Pixel 3X Zoom Digital Camera with 1.5"

>Color LCD

 

Vivitar is about the best for your money -- very few if any other 3.3 MP digicams with a 2 or 3x optical zoom for $300--that's a good price. Quality wise, it will be as good as any from the stand point that you will not be able to notice the little differences there may be, unless you go to a higher MP, which for what you describe, you don't need and would be outside your suggested price.

 

This is a good link for photo/digital equipment:

 

http://www01.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class

 

If for no other reason but to compare prices or get technical information on a specific camera on their web site. They don't carry the Vivitar, however, but most others. Almost all new digicams are using compact flash cards or mimory sticks for the memory, except higher priced sonys which are trying out burning their own mini-CD's--but I like the compact flash. Almost any NEW digital will come with a memory card of some type, as well as a direct connection (usually USB) to your computer and software to download--if you have a MAC with iPhoto you don't need the software--it will download direct to your desktop (with few exceptions like the Sony Mavik).

 

Try not to get less than 3 MP or you will be only be doing email or small prints and when you get that really exceptional shot that you want to make an 8x10 of, it'll be too broken up to do so---3.3MP will make a very good 8x10.

 

Also, take a look at Circuit City or Freys--they often have discontinued or out of box specials and are great deals.

 

Have fun, and if your intended use fantasy comes true, then you know where to post the results

 

Flower :*

[Boston Guy]

Huey,

 

Although I've been in technology for my whole life, I've been been tied to 35mm when it came to cameras. A few months ago, I decided to buy a digital camera. I ended up choosing the Canon Powershot S30, and have been delighted with it.

 

But, more to the point, I found the Digital Photography Review site to be invaluable. Their reviews and buying guide are quite in-depth. I didn't realize what a new world I had entered until I first started reading the reviews. After a while, though, it all began to make sense and I think I made a much better decision for myself than I would have otherwise.

 

I think the reviews will help you decide what features and specs are important to you. If you're like me, you'll decide that certain things are important to you that you might not even be thinking about right now.

 

Here's the link:

 

http://www.dpreview.com/

 

By the way, I would recommend that you NOT choose a diskette-based camera. I've already discovered that one of the joys of a digital camera is being able to take literally dozens of shots in a short time, with no worry whatsoever about whether they'll be great or not: you simply discard the ones you don't like. Out of any few dozen shots, a few will be very, very good (even if by accident), a lot will be ok, a few will be marginal and a few will be so bad that they'll make you laugh. And that's ok.

 

With a diskette, the storage capacity is so small that you'll always be worrying about storage.

 

Instead of investing in memory cards, I bought a 340MB IBM microdisk. It works great and I have never, ever come close to running out of space on it. At the end of a day, I just transfer the pics to my PC and edit them there.

 

Whatever you end up with, you'll have fun.

 

One last word: try to get a camera that will offer you a choice of resolutions. If you want to email pics home to friends or family from some exotic place, you'll want a low resolution (the equivalent of 640x480 or so). But for high-quality pics, particularly if you want to print them at larger than snapshot size, you'll need some kind of megapixel resolution.

 

On one recent trip, I forgot to switch the resolution back to low. All of my pics were megapixel, but I emailed them anyway. And then got lots of grumbling back from people who were downloading them with dial-up connections! :-)

 

Have fun,

BG

 

ps: By the way, while I'm not an EBay fanatic, I did find lots of great prices for the components I wanted on EBay and ended up buying the camera itself from a store in Toronto. I got a North American warranty from Canon, had the camera in my hands the day after I ordered it, and saved $100. :-)

[+ deej]

You bring up an interesting point, BG.

 

People used to ask me whether to buy a PC or a Mac and my first question back to them was "What do you want to do with it?"

 

It's really the same thing with a camera.

 

For me, I tend to be taking pics that will ONLY be used on a website. 640x480 is *fine* for that. I've actually never needed to print one of them, and the extremely high resolution images are useless on a website because they download too slowly and once they're down, they can't be displayed on the average computer monitor.

 

I know YOU know the phrase "garbage in, garbage out", but it bears repeating here...

 

Buy the camera that will produce the output you need with the least hassle. Personally, I consider a camera that grabs the serial port and conflicts with my Palm Pilot a hassle. I consider a camera that grabs the USB port and conflicts with my scanner a hassle.

 

But those may not be hassles for others. <shrug>

[Boston Guy]

You're absolutely right. :-) Nobody should buy a camera that's absolutely perfect for someone else.

 

In fact, I think the thing that I found most useful about the DP Reviews was that they were so comprehensive that reading a few of them helped me to figure out what I really wanted in a camera. I thought I knew that when I started, but it turns out I didn't. I had been thinking in terms of a "35mm in digital", but later realized there were lots of important considerations that just do show up in the 35mm world.

 

By the way, I still enjoy my 35mm. But I'm using it a LOT less.

 

BG

[Boston Guy]

Sorry, it should have been "just do NOT show up in the 35mm world".

 

BG

[+ deej]

<<the DP Reviews was that they were so comprehensive that reading a few of them helped me to figure out what I really wanted in a camera>>

 

Yep. I wish I'd had a site like that when I bought my first one many years ago. Remember the early Casio models? They were serviceable but getting the pics into your PC was a royal pain and they were fragile as an egg. It took the *longest* time to get used to taking pictures without looking through a little hole with one eye. LOL

 

Each successive camera has had more features than the previous one and cost exactly the same amount. ;-) But through them all, I've built a list of features that *I* want in a camera.

 

One feature I wish more cameras had is an optical viewfinder in addition to the LCD panel. The LCD doesn't work well in low light situations (like a party in a dimly lit bar). I've gotten pretty good at sorta pointing the camera in the right general direction and squeezing off a few shots because you can always throw them away, but I'd still like a little better predictability in those situations.

 

Burglars liberated me of my Mavica and I'm now at a crossroad. Do I buy another Mavica and leverage my investment in spare batteries, charger, etc., or do I branch out looking for features again?

 

I'm enjoying this discussion partly because I do need to make this same decision soon. :-)

[trilingual]

I recently decided to buy a digital camera. For anyone interested in a 4MP camera, prices are coming down. (I know, 4MP may be overkill!) New York's J&R, at http://www.jandr.com, has a Konica for $450, which is what I ended up getting. It's compact, similar to the somewhat more expensive Canon S30, with a sliding lens cover and all the bells and whistles. It has an optical viewfinder. I ordered an extra battery and a 128MB storage card to go with it, and I think I'm set. Now I just have to learn to use it! :7

[Huey]

A lot of great advice And a few good web sites to use for research. I am definitely reviewing everything suggested. Thank you all kindly!

 

-----------

WAR IS OVER

if you want it

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE

[Will]

Thank you, Huey, for introducing this thread. For several weeks I have been trying to find out which digital camera to buy and have gotten so confused I almost gave up. Finally, though, on M4M this thread has been more helpful than anything else I've found, which leads me to think that the guys who post here are great shoppers, period, whether they're going for flesh or for hardware! Thanks to all.

[+ deej]

<<which leads me to think that the guys who post here are great shoppers, period,>>

 

Well, you know, gay men only have two official "sports": shopping and dishing. }>

[Boston Guy]

I forgot to mention a couple of accessories that I bought and have found invaluable.

 

The first was a very small tripod. I enjoy taking pictures at night and they're very tough to do without a tripod, unless you're using fast exposures that may not give you the results you're looking for. The required exposures are long enough that it's hard to hold the camera steady by hand. Without a tripod, you have to look around for some kind of support for the camera. But those can be hard to find.

 

However, I did not want to lug around a large tripod with me. I have one of those and it's just a nuisance to carry.

 

When looking up cameras on EBay, I decided to check out tripods. I saw a lot of offers for a "flexible miniature tripod". The prices seem unbelievably low -- usually less than $10 and often less then $5.00. The tripod has three flexible legs that can be twisted into almost any position and a standard metal mounting shoe. It's only about four inches long.

 

I figured that it must be a joke and not really a useful tool but how can you go wrong for $5.00. So I ordered it and got in a few days.

 

The damn thing works so well that I've become a firm advocate and have recommended it to various friends. I carry it in my briefcase -- airport security doesn't give it a second look -- and it's allowed me to take some pictures at night that I couldn't have taken otherwise.

 

You have to have SOME kind of support for it. But it allows you to position the camera at almost any angle. And, if you carry a little a small bungee cord with you (mine stretches to about 16" long at max extension), you can mount the camera on the tripod and then attach it to a pole. So every streetlight or sign becomes a possible support for your camera in a pinch.

 

Note, though, that if you do want to use a tripod, you're camera needs to accept a standard tripod shoe. Not all digital cameras do. Two other considerations: is the shoe made of plastic (bad) or metal (good), for durability; and is the shoe positioned reasonably in the center of the bottom of the camera? If the shoe is positioned off-center, it can make it hard to prevent the camera from leaning when it's on a tripod, especially if the camera has any weight to it.

 

I just checked EBay and these flexible mini tripods are now selling for $2.88.

 

The other accessories I've found helpful:

 

1. A camera bag. My camera, the Canon S30, came with a very small leather case that just fits the camera. That's fine in some situations. But, when walking about on a trip, I usually want to carry a few things with me -- spare battery, tripod, whatever. I found a case on EBay that was perfect -- not very big at all, but big enough to hold the S30 and the few accessories I wanted. I think it cost $15.00. If you search on EBay, put in the name of your camera and "Case" or "Bag". There are many different types and you need to be sure the bag will accommodate your own camera.

 

2. A spare battery. I've never filled my miniature disk drive. But I've sure run through the battery. In fact, I've run through two batteries on some days, but that's a lot of pictures. The S30 has a charger that will recharge a completely-discharged battery in about 45 minutes or so.

 

 

As mentioned above, I did buy an IBM microdrive and adapter. If anyone's interested in more info on those, I'd be happy to help if I can.

 

BG

[+ deej]

I'll second the tripod reccommendation. In low light, even a candid snapshot can easily get the blurries.