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Digital Cameras: What do I look for?
Riale
I'm a little slowRegistered User regular
I'm a little slowRegistered User regular
So I've decided I need to buckle down and get a digital camera. There are too many times I take a picture and want to be able to show it off online without developing and scanning it, or any other number of hassles involved. Unfortunately, I have never owned a digital camera, and I don't know the first thing to look for.
Hopefully one of you fine fellows can give me some pointers as to what all the terms I see bandied about mean, and what I should look for in terms of specs, brands or features.
I don't need anything heavy duty, as I'm nothing more than an amateur/hobby photographer. I also don't want to spend a ton of money (couple hundred, max) so simple and cheaper is better, within reason.
Also, I would absolutely love a camera with a timer feature. I haven't seen this on any of the digital camera's I've borrowed, so maybe it's not that common, but I love to set up shots and it would be quite a loss not to have it.
Anything you gentlemen can recommend?
Just to throw this out there, this is one of the cameras I'm looking at specifically.
Hopefully one of you fine fellows can give me some pointers as to what all the terms I see bandied about mean, and what I should look for in terms of specs, brands or features.
I don't need anything heavy duty, as I'm nothing more than an amateur/hobby photographer. I also don't want to spend a ton of money (couple hundred, max) so simple and cheaper is better, within reason.
Also, I would absolutely love a camera with a timer feature. I haven't seen this on any of the digital camera's I've borrowed, so maybe it's not that common, but I love to set up shots and it would be quite a loss not to have it.
Anything you gentlemen can recommend?
Just to throw this out there, this is one of the cameras I'm looking at specifically.
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Really most cameras have these base features, past that customer reviews on newegg of amazon should be a good measure. Digital cameras are pretty good these days. You really can't go too wrong. That powershot is probably fine. Canon is a pretty tasty brand, and I think the powershot is considered one of the best point and shoots.
It's hard to get a bad digital camera, it's just that getting a really good one is retarded expensive.
The macro focus is bloody great on these things.
But otherwise, my dad's been using the less professional iterations of Powershots over the years and they've been nothing but a pleasure to use. For reference, I took this picture on his old A85. They've always had a nice chunky feel to them, which may sound odd but it's pretty important to me.
edit: Okay, I'll actually try to be helpful rather than just gush about Canons. You should be looking for something with a high optical zoom, because digital zoom makes everything look like it was photographed through a butt. High megapixels don't amount for shite when they're used in tandem with a horrible sensor inside the camera, so don't be tempted by dodgy brands with 15 megapixels, they'll just output huge blurry pictures for the most part. Aside from that, most of your lens choices are going to be pretty similar across the board, apart from the Pseudo-SLR's with collossal fixed lenses.
What he said.
This is because the image sensor is the same size, so you are taking a 10MP picture with a smaller sensor, which actually gives you less detail than an 8MP shot with the same sensor.
Canon SD770IS if you don't. I have a Canon DSLR I love, but I keep meaning to pick up a point and shoot for when I'm not lugging my bag and this is my current pick if I did get one. That is a pretty good price although it may be cheaper elsewhere.
to put it in context, 35mm film quality is somewhere in the 4~5MP range.
I always recommend getting decent optical zoom. Digital zoom actually just crops out part of your image, lessening the resolution. Optical zoom gives you a better picture.
The reason for both is they indicate light sensitivity.
You camera should have low 'noise' or 'graininess' when set to it's highest iso, something only reviewers will tell you.
Most cameras will have image deformations, barrel or pillow deformation for example. These deformations will appear on the extreme zoomed in or out settings. Other issues with lenses are color shift when at these extremes, focus shift, purple glare. Only reviewers can tell you if your camera has an really bad issue with this.
To be honest they cannot be avoided since zoom lenses are an engineering compromise. The more optical zoom you have, the less efficient your lens will be. For many Canon compacts there are zoom extenders available that click on to your camera. If you really need to zoom (practically only when photographing wildlife) you could cary one around rather than go for ridiculous zoom.
Technical issues with a camera will typically show up a year or so after the model is released. Objectives will rarely have a problem. More common are these are electronical problems related to the image sensor. Cameras with older generation image sensors therfore might be a safer bet.
Many canon powershots allow custom firmware which will improve the functionality of your camera. It technically voids the warranty, but hey.
Above all test the camera immediately after buying in order to apply for exchange. Register it's warranty asap as well. And buy with a reliable vendor.
edit: optical Image Stabilisation is pretty much standard now, but really really really worth the extra money on older models.
I have an older Kodak without an automatic lens cap. This is really fucking annoying. It also sets the flash to automatic every time I turn it on, which is even more fucking annoying. Don't buy a camera with either of these properties.
My main camera now is a Fuji finepix something or other (f20 perhaps?), and there are a couple things I really like about it, in contrast:
- Remembers flash settings
- Turns off and on with one simple button press (the Kodak require shoving in a button on a very stiff wheel mechanism which then turns)
- Turns off and on quickly
- Doesn't use an external lens cap that goes flying every time you turn the camera on without remembering it
There are some stupid things about this camera, like the fact that it uses non-standard (XD) memory cards, but I just bought one big one and don't do a lot of card swapping so that's fine. I was going to cite battery life as one of the good things about it, but I just left it laying around for a month and it drained a battery simply by running its clock, and then erased all its settings, so that was pretty annoying.
Try to find a camera in your price range with a relatively low time to first picture. Usually it seems like people turn on the digital camera, wait a few seconds, frame the shot, push the button, wait a second, then it takes the picture. I know it's gotten a LOT better recently with the technology, but make sure what you're looking at is relatively low compared to other cameras in the price range (or at least similar).
Also, most cameras use SD cards, and make sure if you go for an older, cheaper model, that it supports SDHC (2GB+). SD is probably preferred since it seems like every device under the sun is starting to come with built in slots for it. Making it easy to transfer to your laptop or computer or print from a kiosk. Most places have all the formats, but having to use Memory Sticks or xD memory can be annoying at times.
Try to find a memory card with a decent write/read speed too, which will help if you take a lot of pictures quickly.
This isn't really all that true. At the P&S level Canon's offerings tend to be somewhat better, particularly in terms of feature set vs. price. A lot of their DSLR offerings are highly comparable though, so long as you step around the obvious landmines (the Nikon models without autofocus motors).
My suggestion for the past four years has been to pick the Canon Powershot at the top of the range that you can afford.
In any case: Budget for a memory card ($10-20 or so if you're getting an SD card) and a good set of NiMH batteries w/charger ($20 or so IIRC) if you're getting a model that takes AA batteries.
It is ALSO worth noting that Canon's cameras tend to be supported by the CHDK project. You might even want to shop for one that fits their compatibility list specifically, as their software GREATLY expands upon what the cameras can do, to the point of really making the competition hard to justify:
http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK
EDIT:
Also, if you look at a Powershot SD model, you're paying extra for a smaller form factor and fewer features. The A models have better features but are slightly larger. I would always recommend the A line.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Actually, even low end estimates put 35mm film quality at double that resolution, although the original point still stands, as does the point about Optical zoom. (Do digital only zooms even exist anymore?)
Yea my aunt and uncle still insist on shooting in VGA because "it's easier to email" but when they get a few pics printed to 4x6 it looks like absolute ass. No amount of banging their heads will make them understand that you can take a picture and make it smaller, but making it bigger means it looks like ass.
I shoot at 8MP and I pretty much can't tell the difference on a 4x6 taken with 35mm and an 8MP digital shot. I mean, if you have a big enough card, you should really be shooting at the highest resolution anyway. I can take 2300 pictures at 8MP with my 8GB SD card.
Also, Digital zoom does still very much exist. most cell phones only have digital zoom, and even regular camers usually have it enabled by default, where it'll go to the 3x optical zoom, then start the digital zoom. I turn that off =/
I'm a huge fan of the AA battery approach rather than an internal rechargeable, and luckily most of the Canons (other than the ELPHs, which are otherwise fine) go that way. You don't have to worry about replacing the battery, and you have the choice of using lithiums or rechargeables- I tend to go with lithium because they don't lose charge as quickly as NiMHs and I don't shoot frequently, so it amounts to replacing my batteries every couple months or so.
I work in an electronics department where we sell Kodak, Samsung, Sony and Canon, and when a customer asks me anything, I just say, "Canon."
In terms of memory cards, does anyone have any thoughts on what's the most reliable out there? I generally stick with Kingston or SanDisk, leaning towards the former because their price points tend to be more competitive. Where I work I have to sell President's Choice cards, made by Core Micro, and I generally tell customers to steer clear of them if they can (mainly since Kingston is about the same price, and PC/CM don't list detailed specs, which I always find suspicious)...is this justifiable, or is an SD card an SD card?
I've been advising known brands since memory cards had disks in them... Pay 8 euros extra for a known brand and thentreat it as if it will die, etc.
I'm going on a marine biology field course this summer, and I want a camera that I can take with me into some salt marshes and rivers without having to worry about any problems. I was told to check out the Olympus Stylus 1030 the best choice around? I'd prefer to not have to deal with a bulky waterproof housing. Also, this will be my first camera since an eight-year-old cybershot. Think it's an okay choice?
If you really want to get anal about them look out fir simple things such as weight, battery type and battery life, and also feel/durability nothing to hate more than a nice point and click that feels like glass everytime i hold it.
Canon just came out with the Powershot D10. It's compact and waterproof so you won't have to worry about dropping it in one of those rivers or marshes and ruining it.
Not sure if it's better or worse than the Olympus.
I think you mean CHDK, not checkdisk.
Anyways, to the guy looking for the waterproof camera, its on sale.
Olympus Stylus 1030SW 10.1MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Wide Angle Zoom in GREEN
Saw it on Gizmodo, but might want to look into the company before ordering, almost seems to good to be true.
edit: Really weird. They had some good prices on the canon I was looking at so I googled them and they were the only thing to come up. Sounds like a new company and possibly shady, buyer beware.
Yeah, the grey market for digital cameras is ridiculous. I almost got burned on my DSLR, but fortunately I was able to reject the charge on my credit card and move on without much fuss. So make sure you are buying the US version, retail box with US warranty if you're going to search off the beaten path for deals.
(ot: why does grey come up misspelled in firefox? That seems so odd. gray doesn't, but according to wiki, grey is the international+US spelling and gray is only used in some parts of the US. Though I never know which to use, but generally default to grey.)
I have never used a warranty in my life. It's nice to no I have it, but if I can save a buck it's worth considering.
Well, the grey market may also contain lesser parts, assembled in china, and/or many other things that would make the actual product quite inferior to the official one. You get what you pay for, I guess. Some of the sites also do not ship official batteries or chargers that are normally included either, and try to sell you their own high capacity and quick chargers that end up bringing the price back up to what you would have paid on Amazon for the real thing.
That's really unlikely... we're talking about the grey market. This is where people in China/Taiwan/Korea notice 'hey, shit be cheap here yo, but when someone puts it in a box and sends it to America, they pay five times as much. Let's buy a bunch of cameras and sell them to Americans!'
It's not like the products are different. They're all rolling off assembly lines in China or Korea or somewhere else in asia anyway. The profit to be made comes in the pricing disparity between what Cannon charges folks in China and what Cannon charges folks in America or Europe. Some guy in China isn't going to waste time taking apart your camera to replace the good bits with shoddy ones before he mails it to you. His business method is: take camera, insert into box, send to american, collect money. Taking shit apart? More profitable to spend that time selling more cameras.
These places don't have a plant for each country of destination for their cameras. They just stick model numbers onto the cameras to mark which country they're designated for (which is why you're lose warranty service --it's not like Cannon is happy to see their profit on a sale shrink from american levels to southeast asian levels.) You often miss out on chargers and that sort of thing because they'll be set for the electrical outlets of their destination countries. Not a concern if you're connecting a device with USB or powering it with double-A's, but otherwise something you do want to be aware of.
But if you're aware of what you're getting, the grey market can be an awesome way to save a lot of money on a good camera. I'd be happy to trade a warranty I'll probably never use for 50% off a product price.
I had told my wife that I want a DSLR when we have any children. So 2 years ago, when my daughter was born, I was going to get my DSLR. I started to look around to find the best price on the Canon XTi. A friend of mine had 2 of the stock lenses (18-55) so he said I could have one and I could save some money buying the body only. Awesome. Amazon had the body only at something like $600, vs. $775 or something like that (I can't remember the prices off hand) for the whole kit. I decided to do some googling.
Through my googling, I found body only offers on many different camera sites, and even found them as low as $450. I thought it was absolutely awesome, but I knew that many of them were absolutely shady. I decided to go with one of the more reputable looking ones that actually stated what it was in full (or so I thought) and save over $100 from Amazon.
I ordered, and started to wait. About a week goes by and then I get a phone call from the company. They want to know what accessoriesI wanted to buy. I told them that I didn't want any accessories, just the retail package of the body and the stuff that comes with it. I was then informed that nothing came with it. I would have to purchase a battery, charger, and if I wanted the software I would have to buy that too. After all of the accessories, I was back up to over $600 after shipping! I asked them why this wasn't the retail box that they advertised which was supposed to include the official Canon software, charger, and battery, and they told me that the retail box was for US distribution, and this was an import package. I told them to cancel the order (as they refused to sell it to me without accessories) and started researching.
From what I read on many different camera sites (some even referring to the specific site I had ordered from), the import model of the XTi was built in China, rather than Japan. The people who actually had purchased this camera from the fishy sites said that the plastic was discolored, the workmanship compared to the US made in Japan model was shoddy, and it overall was a horrible piece of equipment compared to what they thought they were getting.
I ordered from Amazon and I've been using the camera for 2 years and love it. So perhaps you can find a cheaper camera that will save money and you won't get hassled to buy overpriced accessories or risk shoddy workmanship, but I sure didn't.
And there are definitely sites that do shady stuff, ie, buy products from China and re-label them with American product codes and try to pass them off as a different product with an American warranty... But a specific defining point about the grey market is that none of the buying or selling going on is illegal (ie import and export duties are still paid on merchandise, merchandise is not altered or defaced) it's just buying and selling that happens outside normal distribution channels.
IE, people buying PS3's and trying (emphasis on trying, haha) to resell them for profit means the PS3 is on a grey market (though generally it goes the other way, people reselling things in more expensive localities for prices that undercut the local MSRPs.)
edit: in general terms I would consider the grey market to be a very positive thing for consumers. Most of the time you buy good products on an 'ebay store' for much less than you're able to get them in a store, for example, you're doing it through the grey market. You're buying off a seller who's simply able to walk out of his house and buy the same merchandise that we do, but for pennies on the dollar.
Your situation just sounds like shady sites trying to hook you with a good deal and tacking on extras. Even if it means opening boxes in order to sell you what was included as extras.
- There are a thousandfold more fraudulent websites selling cameras than there are legitimate online camera retailers. Your chance of encountering one of these sites increases exponentially if you're shopping specifically for grey-market cameras.
-You need a warranty if you're buying a DSLR. There is a not-insignificant chance that your new DSLR will have something wrong with it straight off the factory floor(*cough*Canon 1DIII*cough*). I'll agree that a warranty is less critical for a $100 P+S.
-If you're buying a lens, you really REALLY need that warranty - focus issues are difficult to catch in QC and can really significantly affect lens performance. I went through three copies of my Sigma 10-20mm before I found one that didn't suffer from a misaligned element causing my plane of focus to run not-parallel to my sensor.
What ArcSyn described is an extremely common scam, where you order a body for a too-good-to-be-true price and then realize they're literally selling nothing but the magnesium-alloy body the camera bits mount on, with the mirror box/focussing screen/viewfinder/hotshoe/battery compartment being items you need to add on. Check every single camera retailer on resellerratings.com twice, and if their rating isn't fantastic do not consider ordering from them.
OP, do what Pheezer said earlier. Canon A-series is vastly superior unless you need the tiny size, in which case consider the SD line.
Anyone have any experiences with it or have any better suggestions? I'm mostly just looking for something solid and cheap until I can scrape up enough for a nice DSLR, which probably won't happen for a while.
The main downside would be the a2000 has twice the pixels on the lcd as the 590. 230k vs. 115k.
Best bet is to go to a store and find one that fits good in your hand and makes sense to you.