# Digital Camera



## 4W4K3

I've been looking around at digital cameras for X-mas and i have had nothing but confusion I really wanted to spend no more than $100, but with that budget the cameras are very cheap/hardly any features. So i raised my price bracket to $180 max and this is what i have found so far...

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=30-120-122&DEPA=7
It's kinda big for my liking...but has alot of features. It has a microphone, big screen, and is very functional, but possibly more than i need? Also runs on a whopping 4 batteries, so battery life should be long (i hope). movie mode is FIXED which is a bummer, 30secs max for highest resolution, and i believe only 3fps.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=30-126-020&depa=7
REALLY the look/style i want and all the features i would want. Only prob is no viewfinder so LCD will be constantly on (battery life?). Here's a review on it in great depth (most ofthe stuff he complains about would not even matter to me lol)
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/dimagex31.html

There website is amazing as well...very in-depth and it looks like they really build quality cameras no matter what the price range.
http://konicaminolta.com/products/consumer/digital_camera/dimage/dimage-x31/index.html

Which one would you pick? Anything else under $180 you think is a better buy? Linkswould be appreciated if you have another camera in mind.


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## Lorand

Two major differences between the two cameras are 1. sensitivity: the Canon's is twice as Minolta's, so the noise level is lower when taking images in poor light with the Canon; 2. autofocus: instead of the Dimage's center focus, the Powershot has a 9 point AI autofocus, which is a very interesting feature and you'd love it.
The Powershot's battery life is pretty long, I took more than 200 photos with the same batteries (with the LCD on!). This camera is made for taking excellent pictures, not videos, and you'd probably never use that feature.

So I'd go with the PowerShot...


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## 4W4K3

Lorand said:
			
		

> Two major differences between the two cameras are 1. sensitivity: the Canon's is twice as Minolta's, so the noise level is lower when taking images in poor light with the Canon; 2. autofocus: instead of the Dimage's center focus, the Powershot has a 9 point AI autofocus, which is a very interesting feature and you'd love it.
> The Powershot's battery life is pretty long, I took more than 200 photos with the same batteries (with the LCD on!). This camera is made for taking excellent pictures, not videos, and you'd probably never use that feature.
> 
> So I'd go with the PowerShot...



interesting. I read that the Minolta did have noise reduction for clearer night pictures but i haven't really looked into the Canon all that much. I know Canon is one of the bigger brands and there cameras pretty good...it was just a tad bigger than what i wanted. If it does prove to take better pictures then i think i will go with it, i'm going to look for a few reviews on it. thnx for the input 

EDIT: What is "Approx 550 Shots /w AA NIMH" mean? More specifically what are AA NIMH batteries? 

After actually measuring out the camera on paper it turns out it is hardly bigger than the Minolta camera...which means it will still fit in the palm of my hand. Also it has a viewfinder, has a bigger LCD screen with 110K pixels (which would mean less battery life compared to the Minolta, but because it uses 2X the batteries and more efficiently at that i'm not worried). I believe i am sold on this camera now


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## Lorand

If you want a smaller camera, then take a look at the IXUS, which is, in fact, a smaller (and much more sexy) box containing the same electronics and optics that the PowerShot has.

That noise reduction is BS: it is a blur applied on the image, so it finally looks smoother, but the clarity is affected. It's better to take a picture with a lower noise sensor than reducing the noise from the photo.


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## 4W4K3

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/a75.html

impressive review on the powershot. i'm going to see how much the ixus sells forr as it does lok good but $$$$ migth be too little.

EDIT: ixus rangs from $250-$450 nice camera but out of my price range.


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## Lorand

The NIMH batteries are rechargeable batteries, so you don't have to worry if they are out: simply recharge them. 
If you'll buy two sets of those batteries, then you'll always have good batteries in the camera while the other set will recharge.


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## Lorand

The IXUS is not a cheap toy, because you must pay an extra buck on the design.  
Another good thing about the Powershot is that is CompactFlash compatible. The CompactFlash is cheaper than other memory stick, but it's bigger (despite this, it can fit into the PowerShot).


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## 4W4K3

Lorand said:
			
		

> The NIMH batteries are rechargeable batteries, so you don't have to worry if they are out: simply recharge them.
> If you'll buy two sets of those batteries, then you'll always have good batteries in the camera while the other set will recharge.



good idea, i think i'll do that. if the IXUS was $50 cheaper i could afford it...but otherwise i don't think i'll have enough money This is by all means an ameatuer camera anyways, i dont need anything too expensive until i decide  really want to get into photography. If i do decide to go more in-depth i will start saving for a nicer camera. Thanks for all your help Lorand, pointing out the camera features really helped me compare them


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## Lorand

Glad I could help.  
After taking a couple of photos tell me what you think about that artificial intelligence auto-focus of the PowerShot. I was amazed by that feature and have absolutely no clue how it works. And it works great!


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## 4W4K3

Lorand said:
			
		

> Glad I could help.
> After taking a couple of photos tell me what you think about that artificial intelligence auto-focus of the PowerShot. I was amazed by that feature and have absolutely no clue how it works. And it works great!



Will be some time after x-mas, sa i have to wait then for  the money and then order from newegg. but i'll be sure to upload some pics here


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## Lorand

If you want to make serious photography, then the Powershot is a very good choice for first steps because it lets you mess around with almost all the settings, just like a professional camera does. Also you can set all the settings to automatic, the images will still look amazing.
Look at these photos taken by a PowerShot:






The same waterfall was shot with different exposure settings. While on left the water looks like a collection of independent drops (short exposure), on the right photo the water is a homogenous body (long exposure).

I bet you'll play around a lot with this excellent toy...


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## 4W4K3

www.overstock.com is the BEST!!! lol i've found so many camera's i didnt think i could afford there.

I'm still leaning towards he PowerShot...but take a look at this...

http://www.vupointsolutions.com/DC-C310/DC-C310.htm
only $130 with free shipping (originally a $300 camera)

There inventory changes often so after x-mas when i can actually order one everything wil probably be different. But if i find a Powershot on there for less than newegg i will definetly get it. What do you think of those cameras? Anything standout?


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## Lorand

Whoa??? That DC-C310 camera sucks when compared to a PowerShot! Don't get be fooled by the 6 MP resolution - it's only interpolated from a 3.2 MP sensor. Besides it has CMOS sensor (instead of CCD as Canon has), and so far I didn't see good pictures taken by CMOS sensors...


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## Praetor

EOS-1DS!!!!  ... too bad they cost three arms and an eyeball ...


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## Lorand

> EOS-1DS!!!!


That would be my first choice if I could win the lottery jackpot...


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## 4W4K3

Lorand said:
			
		

> Whoa??? That DC-C310 camera sucks when compared to a PowerShot! Don't get be fooled by the 6 MP resolution - it's only interpolated from a 3.2 MP sensor. Besides it has CMOS sensor (instead of CCD as Canon has), and so far I didn't see good pictures taken by CMOS sensors...



i know it's not as good as the powershot. i only posted it because of the pricing (over 50% off!) that's why i want the powershot to be on there lol...might save liek $20, maybe more? did you see any cameras on there worth comparing? I only know the basics with digital cameras and technical descriptions usually o over my head. i think at least 3MP is what i want (actual 3MP) and nothing too big to fit in my pocket.


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## Lorand

There are some good cameras there, but as far as I saw they are mostly discontinued and/or refurbished products. And the few good cameras' price is way over the Powershot's price.
I think the prices are ridiculously high on that site, so they can afford the 50% off... Damn marketing...


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## Lorand

Just look at that crappy VuPoint camera here and here.
So where's the 56% off?

Damn marketing...


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## 4W4K3

Lorand said:
			
		

> Just look at that crappy VuPoint camera here and here.
> So where's the 56% off?
> 
> Damn marketing...



yah...that does look fishy. though i'd rather buy form overstock.com than a yahoo based store. i never liked yahoo lol. Maybe the O has really terrible deals or sumthin' lol.


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## Lorand

That yahoo-store was the first I found. But the price of the camera is almost the same at other stores too.
So overstock = overpriced


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## Lorand

Here's an almost professional camera: http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/canon-powershot-g6-reviews.html
It's a bit expensive, but look for the prices at different stores, maybe you'll be lucky and find a x-mas sale somewhere...


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## smitherz

tis a very nice camera, although its only going to reach its full potential when in use by a professional photographer, and the odd regular user of course.


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## Praetor

> tis a very nice camera, although its only going to reach its full potential when in use by a professional photographer, and the odd regular user of course.


Thats just like everything else in the world though, put it in the hands of a pro and you get different results!


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## 4W4K3

link dont work for me what's the camera model? Maybe i can learn with it and match it's potential over time? lol. 

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/g6.html
This one? it was in the URL...
This guy has like EVERY camera reviewed lmao...i alway link him.


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## Lorand

That's the one! It's probably the best semi-professional camera and its price is 12 times smaller than that of the EOS-1DS...


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## 4W4K3

Lorand said:
			
		

> That's the one! It's probably the best semi-professional camera and its price is 12 times smaller than that of the EOS-1DS...



wow...i could buy a used car for the price of that camera lol. i'm not even getting that much for me car $5K if im lucky lol.


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## Lorand

But as you could see, that EOS looks like a real camera. First time I saw an earlier version of an HP Photosmart I thought it was an electric razor...


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## 4W4K3

Lorand said:
			
		

> But as you could see, that EOS looks like a real camera. First time I saw an earlier version of an HP Photosmart I thought it was an electric razor...



hah yah it does look like a "real" camera. They have $40 credit-card cameras that would be fun to have. but i would be afraid it would crack if i stuck it in my pocket.


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## Lorand

Some low-end cameras have some really strange design. Just look at this one:






It's like a cigarette lighter... I'd never appear in public with such a hilarious thingy.


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## 4W4K3

lol it does look like a lighter. if it had a flip top and a flint i'd be dumb enough to try it


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## Praetor

> But as you could see, that EOS looks like a real camera


God yea... you seen the EOS-2DS?


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## Lorand

> EOS-2DS


 What's that?


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## Praetor

Here's the lowdown on the Mk2 for the already prestigious EOS1DS: http://www.tomshardware.com/consumer/20041115/holiday_guide-19.html ... it seems that it is (incorrectly) being referred to as the EOS-2DS in places (like the first place i saw it). There is a EOS-20DS (to replace the -10DS) but to my understanding the -2DS is not available yet.


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## Lorand

So we can still save some money to buy the 2ds when it will available...


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## Praetor

LOL yes i would imagine so


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## Scrat

I just bought the Canon EOS 20D with 18-55mm lens yesterday afternoon for AU$2650.00
It's not quite as good as the EOS 1D(Profesional Series) but its still amazing.

Already i'd prefer a better lens though as it needs to go better than 55mm, but once i can aford it i'll buy a better lens & a Flash as the built-in one is ok, but doesn't seem to keep up with the camera in high speed mode(5frames/sec).

Still the camera is awsome. I dont know much about cameras but i'd still recomend it to anyone.

Does anyone know if there are any on-line tutorials on photography?


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## Lorand

An interesting fact: the first ever photo (taken in 1827) needed an exposure time so long that in the meantime the sun circled the sky, so there's no shadows on the photo.
Take a look on that photo. You can see no shadow... In fact, you can hardly see a thing...


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