Just posted! Canon SX100 IS review
Choosing The Right Digital Camera
Let’s get something straight right out of the box. If you’re looking to buy a new digital camera, you don’t really have to be an expert in pixels and mega pixels and all that kind of stuff. If you expect to find that kind of deep technical discussion here, you’re in the wrong place.
Actually, there’s a whole lot of stuff you don’t really need to know before tackling the daunting task of choosing the right digital camera for you.
First of all, forget all the high-tech jargon. It’s mostly a lot of sales hype anyway. Choosing a good unit is pretty simple really…pretty much all you have to remember is that the higher the mega pixel rating on the front of the camera, the bigger picture you can make without it breaking up into little chunks (called pixels) and most likely the more cash it’s likely going to pry out of your pocket. Each model has an array of techno-widgets that go by different names but they all have the same basic focus, to help you take a better picture.
I have a quick (and admittedly simplistic) overview of the pixel story. The shot on the left on my web page
http://www.great-nature-photography.com/digital-cameras.html
is one I took with a high pixel rating and the one on the right was with a much lower rating. They’ve been enlarged way beyond what you would normally do, but I do have a point to make here. If you look carefully you can see there’s a terrific difference in the way they look or, in the ‘resolution’. The image on the right has already broken up into small pieces (pixels) (I hope) you can readily see. The picture on the left was magnified several times more than the one on the right which should give you an idea of how big you can enlarge it and still retain a fairly decent result. By the way, these shots are of a very, very small piece of a picture I took of snapdragons in our front yard.
A camera with a 5.0 mega pixel rating or higher can produce a decent 16X20 print but one with a 2.0 mega pixel rating or lower should be restricted to a maximum of 4X6 prints. For the most part, you won’t be happy with pictures any larger than 4X6 from the lower rated camera.
Okay, Let’s Pick A Camera…
Well, I have my favorites and my not-so favorites.
When I looked at all the digital cameras available, I was more than a little astounded at the vast selection of available equipment. It seems that every company that’s ever heard the word “computer” has jumped on the bandwagon. It seems they lay their hands on some lenses, wrap a computerized box around them, added a few techno-widgets and bingo, instant digital camera! What can you say…it’s money in the bank!
Where did I start looking? Well, I went back to my tried and true method of buying a film camera that I talk about later. It’s always worked for me and didn’t let me down this time either.
My personal digital camera finally wound up to be an Olympus C-5050. By the way, in my opinion Olympus didn’t do themselves or their customers any favors by dumping the f1.8 lens on the C-5060.
I chose this camera for the fast f1.8 lens and ease of use. I’m lazy at best and wanted a unit that’s going to do most of the work for me while leaving me with the option of doing what I want to do when I want to do it.
This unit has all the automatic features I’ll ever need but I also have the ability to set up the camera completely manually. I can still do minimum depth-of-field work among other things. I never want to completely lose control to a mindless computer although they do have their uses at times.
The first thing I did after I opened the box was print off the user manual - all 265 pages of it! I figured I had done my duty by it and promptly ignored it.
After very quickly killing my first two sets of “high-capacity” alkaline batteries, I sprung for a couple sets of Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeables. Not only did they last longer but it was a heck of a lot cheaper than replacing the alkalines every darn time I picked up the camera.
It boils me to have to admit this but I actually had to go back to the user manual. I wasn’t getting the results I wanted and there was also some ’stuff’ on the camera I had no clue about using. The moral of this story is that you’re gonna have to at least have a nodding acquaintance with your user manual. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is.
Back to choosing a camera…
Throughout the years I’ve learned that if a camera ‘fit’ my hand it worked well for me. It may sound a little strange at first but just think about it. If you’re handling something that feels awkward, your results are going to look like it. I had a Mamiya RB-67 for a lot of years. It was a big, ungainly unit but it was a good ‘fit’ for me and produced a great image. I also used a Hasselblad for quite a while but I much preferred the Mamiya and it gave me better results than the Hasselblad. (Don’t tell Hasselblad lovers I said this, they’ll kill me!)
So, rule of thumb…if it fits your hand nicely, if the main controls are handy to your fingers, if it has the mega pixel number you want and falls within your budget, you can be pretty confident this will do the job you want it to do. Oh yes, if it’s a brand you’ve never heard of before, be very, very wary. It may work well and it may not. If it doesn’t, there may not be any tech backup for you to be able to access.
The major camera companies spend lots of money developing new photo technologies. Although the latest techno-widgets go by different names, they all have the same goal, to make your pictures look as good as possible.
Pretty well every company in the world that has even come close to producing a good digital camera has gotten into the “SLR Wars”.
Single lens reflex cameras dominated the photo market for years until digital technology hit the market. Because of design and price limitations, SLR technology has not been widely available in the non-professional digital cameras until the last year or so.
The furious pace of technological developments has completely overtaken the market and even professional photographers are being boggled trying to keep up.
Remember the old Nikon F2? It was the major link in the Nikon chain of professional cameras for over 10 years! This was pretty much the norm until the computer hit the photographic industry big time.
Changes used to come slowly and deliberately and it wasn’t hard to keep up with the latest and greatest when major new developments came along only two or three times in a decade. The battle now is to produce digital cameras that operate faster, can be sold cheaper and will produce a better picture. Severe competition even exists within the same corporate structure where teams of developers do their utmost to ‘outgun’ other camera designers who work in the same building as they do!
Nikon has a distinct advantage over many of the other manufacturers in that owners of some of the older series of Nikon lenses can use them with the new digital bodies, a tremendous dollar saving to the photographer.
Most of this rapid development is focused on the professional photographer. But, with technology changing as rapidly as it is, a camera technology that sells for several thousands of dollars today will undoubtedly become available to people like you and me in the next couple of years for a whole lot less money.
One of the hardest jobs a new camera buyer will have is determine which of the new techno-widgets does the best job and is the best value.
One thing to keep in mind about camera features?they all have the same job and that’s to help you take a better photo.
Picture this if you will. If you lined up 10 cameras from different manufacturers, each with similar basic features, took the same picture with each, I think even the camera manufacturers would have a tough time picking out which of the resulting photos came from their units.
Getting feedback from all kinds of users is one very excellent use of newsgroups. Serious photographers, amateur and professional both, love to talk about their latest ‘toys’. This is a good way to spend time and a good place to ask questions and (sometimes) get intelligent answers.
Don’t wait until you’ve made the investment to start doing your homework.
Another rule of thumb, if you’re happy with a particular brand name already, my suggestion is to stick with it. You’ll probably be more satisfied in the long run.
Now, having said all that, there are currently five search engine ‘favorite’ companies among the people looking for information on the Internet, Sony, Canon, Olympus, Kodak and Nikon in this order of popularity. Of this group, Sony is the only one with no prior experience in camera building before digital.
Understanding how to set your camera’s resolution is absolutely vital. There’s no shortcut and there’s no way around it. This is the core of taking a good, reproducible photograph. If, for instance, your camera is set for 240X360, you can forget making any kind of decent print above a ‘thumbnail’ size.
The low-end cameras are not a bargain if you’re looking for good photo reproduction. Labs are constantly arguing with customers who submit low resolution digital images from a cheap camera for printing and then aren’t happy with the results. They simply don’t understand why the pictures from their brand new digital camera are so lousy. Lenses and the type of digital image recording technology are also critical factors.
I won’t get into the technical details of why but I will suggest you consider spending in the $250 to $400 range if you want something that will satisfy you.
Let’s spend a few minutes on lenses. Pretty well all of the digital cameras these days have a form of zoom lens. Most of the higher-end cameras have the capability for the user to add either an external telephoto or wide-angle lens. Depending on the type of photography you want to do will determine whether or not this is of value to you.
One thing to watch out for. The higher end cameras have very good glass lenses. It’s part of what you’re paying for. The lower-end units have progressively less expensive lenses and consequently, a lower image definition.
There are both optical and digital zoom capabilities on digital cameras. The term “optical zoom” simply means you’re using the glass lenses to do the magnification. “Digital zoom” on the other hand simply increases the size of the pixels to make the image larger. For reasons of image clarity, the optical zoom is a far better way to go.
One last note - if you run across the “best deal in town” on a very low-priced name brand camera, check to make sure it isn’t badly out-dated. Buying well-priced clearance stock is okay if it isn’t too old. In this computer age, pretty well anything over a year old is considered ‘old technology’. As new technologies are developed the price keeps going down so you could actually be money ahead by investing in the ‘latest and greatest’.
Always keep in mind the old adage that ‘you usually get what you pay for.
If you go to a ‘box’ store looking for the best price, don’t expect service. The folks there simply don’t know what they’re selling. Their job is to move as much merchandise as they can as quickly as possible. It’s not to give you advice.
Go to the Internet to get the latest data directly from the manufacturers. It changes very, very quickly. When you do this, try to climb through all the sales hype to get to the ‘meat’ of what the cameras are all about. Newsgroups can also a very excellent source of advice for ‘newbies’.
Most people will be very happy to give you their personal opinion of what you should buy. Just remember, they won’t usually tell you what the downside to their purchase is. They don’t want to look less than ‘expert’ in your eyes. Do your own homework. This is an investment you probably won’t repeat for several years.
A specialty camera store on the other hand gives the buyer both service and product and usually very well. Keep in mind that the specialty store personnel are quite often very highly trained and will probably be well prepared to help you find the best equipment for you and will also give you a ‘leg-up’ in getting started using it.
We need to spend a couple of moments on storage media. Whatever size media card you stick in your camera will determine the number of pictures you can take and store. It’s like a roll of film, the bigger the roll the more pictures you can take. Digital images are no different. The greater the number of available megabytes (Mb), the higher the number of pictures you can take.
A word of caution - never, never, never leave your media card in a photo lab. The incidence of loss is high and most labs won’t replace lost cards. Quite frankly, I don’t blame them. Far, far too many false claims have been made and labs now refuse to take any responsibility for your memory cards.
That’s it for now. Keep your film dry your lenses clean!
Gordon
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Just Posted! Our review of the Canon Powershot SX100 IS, the first model in Canon’s brand new line of ‘budget’ superzoom digital cameras. The SX100 IS comes with a 8MP sensor, 10x zoom and a number of manual controls, occupying the gap between Canon’s tried and tested A-series and the more upmarket Powershot S5. In its press material Canon claims the SX series offers exceptional performance in the hands of any member of the family; to find out how it performed in our capable hands check out the review after the link … Continue …
3072×2304 maximum image size. 7.2 megapixel Super CCD. 38 ? 114mm (35mm equivalent lens).
Amazon Price: ?90.99
Used Price: ?72.99
Customer Review: Sony what ??
I was very happy with the purchase - the camera is light, very easy to use and perfect for my situation. Ideal for students/backpackers and the facilities on offer. As mentioned above, deleting pics can be a pain (as this can only be done individually). I already had several memory cards so it was very much a plus they were compatible. Good purchase (first time I am ever purchasing a digital camera). I have to admit when I first saw it the camera looked like a toy and the appearance didn’t look fantastic. The camera is cool though. Hope this helps.
Customer Review: Be warned about reliability
Whilst the camera took good shots while I had it - I had to return it for repair after 18 days and almost three weeks later I still don’t have it back. I would add that I didn’t buy it from Amazon but a high street retailer. I bought this camera to replace my previous Cybershot which stopped working after 18 month’s service. A friend of mine has had a similar experience with his Sony Cybershot. It may be that I am unlucky, or maybe budget cameras are so cheap these days that they are no supposed to last.
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Performance and value come together to form the Coolpix L2 digital camera. 6 Megapixels, and a 3x optical zoom provide the crisp images that anyone can appreciate while the large bright 2″ LCD screen allows you to fix Red-Eye or Crop right in the camera. Don’t forget the included 32MB of internal memory, so you can get going right out of the box, with room to expand with the SD card memory slot, you’ll never run out of room! The flexibility to use AA-alkaline or NiMH means you’ll always be able to pick up more batteries out on the road. These features and more are sure to satisfy your day-to-day digital photography needs at a price that won’t hurt your wallet! Built-in Auto-flash with Red-Eye reduction and in-camera Red-Eye fix Face Priority AF In-Camera Cropping D-Lighting compensates for underexposed or flash deprived areas of an image by adding light and detail In-Camera Help Best Shot Selector Voice Memos 16 programmed scene modes PictBridge for direct printing to your PC without a computer Long battery life (Up to 180 shots on 2 AA-type alkaline batteries) 32MB internal memory; SD memory card slot An SD Card is NOT included, therefore we suggest purchasing an optional 512MB memory card. It will allow you to store a lot more video and images, as well as take advantage of the camera’s high resolution abilities. Interfaces - Audio/Video (output), USB Approximate Unit Dimensions (WxHxD) - 3.6 x 2.4 x 1.0; Unit Weight - 4.2 ounces (without battery and SD card)
Price: $229.99
Customer Review: Very unpredictable
I purchased the L2 prior to a trip to Rome, due to the fact it was small, and easy to carry. It’s also easy to operate, and not too expensive, so I can hand it over to another tourist and they can snap away at me in front of old stuff. In the store, it took some nice pics in the right light, so I bought it, and thought it would be fine. I got some nice photos in Italy, but I would say over half the pics I took ( over 4 Gig) turned out either too dark, black or blurry. The shutter, flash speed is way too slow, if your subject moves at all,even on sports mode, it’s a blur. If the lighting is wrong, it’s a blur. The flash is basically worthless after about 5 feet. I mostly used the default setting on the whole trip with a few exceptions, and I know it has many options. But a camera should be able to point and click and give you an acceptable shot,…you should not have to access the menu every time to get something useable. Actually, I wish I had never bought it, it’s just too unpredictable…maybe I got a bad one, but after 2 previous quirky Nikon cameras, I think I’ll go back to a Canon.
Customer Review: Fantastic outdoor shots, bad indoor, lag time after flash
I bought this camera right before a trip to Hawaii, and i was incredibly happy with the results for the price. Now that i’ve used the camera on more of a regular basis, i’m in the market for a new one. While outdoor shots, regardless of the lighting look wonderful, the indoor shots are consistently poor. There are settings on the camera for different types of indoor lighting, but i’ve never used them because it’s too tedious to get to them through the menu. While usually not bad at all, the lag time after the flash is used is very long. Whenever people want to see their photos right after they’re taken, i have to make them wait a couple of seconds for the display to come back on. If you’re looking for an inexpensive camera and most of your shots will be outdoors, this camera is great. Otherwise, there are (hopefully) better cameras out there.
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