Advice needed to buy a digital camera
Just returned from leave on Thursday. Lost my camera and phone on the first day of my leave. Phone, no problem - can't have built-in camera and bluetooth due to work related issues.
I loose most of my stuff in about 2 years, hence the camera should not be expensive. First camera was Nikon FM2, next minolta, then a couple of easy to use Nikons (auto forward/rewind, red eye, multishot, remote control, auto focus, etc), and finally Pentax with a large zoom lens(obiviously easy to use). I am interested in a Sony digital camera, or DVD movie camera.
Need advise whether to buy 1) a digial camera or DVD movie camera, and 2) brand recommended. I will consider any well known brand. Budget for digital camera is less than $500/- or if DVD movie camera $1,500/- will consider higher price if highly recommended.Â
e46M3, Muhannad, Loki,
I shall pay Salam a visit, I know the brand I want, just need to decide how much I will spend, as I am sure no matter what, it will get lost in a few months.
Shall check out the coolpx P3 and D200.
Nice. I am using the slightly older version - D70 - but am considering an upgrade, hence the curiosity. I like the idea of manual lens compatability (ie metering) on the D200... we'll see. It's not cheap!
Nikon D70s.
I'm happy with it except that images are not as sharp as they should be (a problem with most dSLRs). Nothing that can't be software-corrected though.
And all my previous SLR Nikon and Nikkor Lenses and attachments fit!
e46M3 - what camera are you using now? You mentioned Nikon dSLR... which one?
Cheers
Memory is expandable. Depending on the quality setting of the photos it can fill up very quickly. In addition to jpeg many cameras today use RAW which is basically the whole image with no compression. Think of it as your digital negative. I take my pics in high quality jpeg (jpeg is compressed) + RAW. Then I save them onto a hard disk and DVD for backup.
Get as much memory as you can afford. Minimum 1Gb.
Zoom: Don't fall for the digital zoom. Optical zoom is what's important. The higher the optical zoom rating the better. If the camera has image stabilization that's an advantage. Digital zoom is artificial.
Like I said I'm not happy with 2 previous Sony digital camera experiences. The new ones may be better. I don't know. I'd go for Nikon or Canon because imaging is their bread and butter.
Camcorders don't really take good still pictures. Use each for the purpose it was designed for.
As for losing it, do what photographers, cameramen and journalists do; sleep with your equipment. Get used to it.
Good luck.
Movie cameras which are capable of taking still shots always have bad quality output.
I will recommend that you get a standalone digital camera for your still shots. For 500 dollars you can get the Sony-DSC H5.
* The 7.2 effective Megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-H5 digital camera
* Two NiMH rechargeable AA batteries
* Battery charger
* Lens cap w/retaining strap
* Lens hood
* Conversion lens adapter
* Wrist strap
* USB cable
* A/V cable
* CD-ROM featuring Sony Cyber-shot Viewer
* Fold-out "Read This FIrst" guide + 120 page camera manual (both printed)
3 inch LCD Display
Full manual controls
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/dsc_h5-review/index.shtml
Am planning to get one of these actually.
Thank you for your response. I do not know much about the digital camera range.
Sure I would prefer a Nikon or Sony product.
So from what I gather, 5 megapixels is the minimum spec.
what about the memory size, Zoom range, etc.? what should I expect.
My second question is whether to buy a standalone digital still camera or one of those with a Hard Disk Drive/DVD movie camera which has the capability of stills as well.
I need to also consider that I may loose it in about a year's time, so that is where my concern is also (not too expensive).
Your feedback and any further comments is appreciated.
You don't specify the resolution of the camera you're looking for. These are 5-megapixel cameras in your price range:
Sony Cyber Shot DSC-M2 is nice; quirky design though. Any Nikon or Canon digital camera should do the business. Canon possibly has a slight edge in compact digital shooters though I'm a Nikon guy myself (DSLR). You can checkout both brands at Salam. Sony I'm not a fan of having owned two in the past.
In terms of a DVD-camera, Sony DCR-DVD92 DVD Camcorder, Canon DC20 DVD Camcorder. You should consider the new generation of camcorders that record onto a hard-disk. Example; Sony Handycam DCR-SR80 or the DCR-SR10
You can also go the high definition option but you need the viewing equipment to see the difference, Sony HDR-HC3.