scottieking Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 Hey ho my fellow gaggle o' techno nerds, Well summer's here and I'm about to go buy a digital camera to record all those moments that I get too messed up to remember. Knowing that there are some experts on the board, thought I'd pick what's left of your brains for some additional research. Lots of questions... -go 3mp+? -I like black and whites. Get it as a feature or do it in Photoshop? -any feature considered a must? - any and all other advice Thanks y'all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 Black and whites - I always do that after the fact, it provides the same outcome in photoshop. Although, you'll save room on your memory card if you don't use colour. 3 Megapixels - it all depends on what you're planning on printing I guess. I'm still doing fine with 1.3 megapixels. Still, cameras below 2 megapixels probably don't have the features of higher megapixels. I can print pretty much perfectly up to 5 x 7, and I've even ISO rating - make sure you have control for that. The higher the number, you'll have an easier time capturing stuff in the dark and dingy environments of bars - without flash, mind you. I think you can find 3 megapixel cams with 400 ISO setting. Check out the timer. A timer is pretty important. Mine is fixed, so anytime I set up the timer, I have to wait like 10 seconds. If I had a timer that I could set to 2 seconds, I'd be much happier. It's nice to have a shutter speed with a huge range. Mine goes to 8 seconds, but 30 or more would be KILLER for night and sky shots. I think you can even get burst-shot features. That would be nice too. Have it take 5 shots in fast succession. I'm going to have to step off this topic. I'm getting no work done now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asparagus Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 quote: Originally posted by bouche: ...... I'm getting no work done now Now? hehehe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Musicface Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 Yo scottieking, how goes it? Here's my two-cents, I'm not a big expert but I did buy a camera at Christmas so this stuff is still fairly fresh in my mind: * mega-pixels matter if you're doing a lot of printing - the more pixels, the smoother and more realistic the print. If you're doing stuff mainly/exclusively for the web, anything above 2 mp should be fine. If you're printing, I'd check the specs on the printer. Play around with the printers at Future Shop or where ever, they'll often allow you to print samples at different quality levels to see the difference. * B/W is usually something you do in Photoshop or your camera software. I think many cameras have b/w and other colour effects built in, but frankly I'd take it with as many colours as you can and suck 'em out later when you have more control. * One thing to consider is what kind of memory card the camera uses and check around for prices and availability. Most cameras come with like a 16 meg card which you'll probably want to upgrade from. Personally my one 128 Flash Card does me fine, I fill it with 100-200 shots depending on the quality level, then dump 'em off at home and start again. Watch for non-standard memory card types, make sure it's something you can get in most places or you might get stuck with something that can only ever take 20 pictures before you have to unload. That's all I can think of for now. For the record, the wife and I got a nice little Canon S330 and we love it. Certainly there are other good makes but I've got nothing bad to say about the Canon for my part. Peace, Mr. M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secondtube Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 i wish i knew more about my camera. its going to take me a year or more to learn all its functions... Being a buyer of three different digi cameras (i take em back before my 30 refund is up), i recommend only purchasing a Nikon, Canon, or dang, whats the other brand....ummm, shit i forget.... You can have a camera with the same megapixels and optical zoom, but be 200 dollars difference; with reason. The functions on Cannon camera's are incredible...i paid 499.99 for mine... but it was an impulse purchase, i really didn't shop around for a better price... I love it though...its a canon PowerShot A70. Wherever you make your purchase, make sure you can return the product, no questions asked... No point in blowing half a grand on a piece of junk... Future shop, walmart, k mart, all offer 30 days money back no questions asked.... stick with those until you really know which camera you want.... the one i wanted was over a grand....out of my price range.... ITs all about the Canon G3 powershot... (also, make sure you can attach removable lenses to the camera....i can add telescopic lenses and wide angle lenses to mine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Musicface Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 Actually I'd beg to differ a bit with secondtube on where you should purchase your camera - I'd avoid actually buying a camera at Future Shop or the like and stick to a small camera store where you can actually talk to someone who has a clue. The guys at Japan Camera in my area kick ass, and they even through in a couple of unadvertised extras. And they had basically the exact same return policy as Future Shop. - M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secondtube Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 basically or they do? i mean, can you walk in and say, this camera did not meet my 400 dollar expectations, and they will take it back, and give you a full cash refund, not credit? If so, go for it. Your right, dont expect great service from Future Shop (though i get it at our local Future Shop), you'll get better at the mom and pop shop. BUT, you may be led into buying something you may not like, and have no choice but to keep it, or lie about why your returning it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Musicface Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 quote:Originally posted by secondtube: basically or they do?What they told me at that store when I bought the camera was if I had any trouble with it or if my wife didn't like it (it was a gift for her) to bring it back and they'd give me a refund. I didn't have to so it wasn't an issue, but I get your point. However, I've also seen the Street Cents episode where they try to bring back a bunch of MP3 players to Future Shop based on their "no questions asked" policy and in more than half the cases the staff gave them a hard time about getting a refund and they had to write to the corporate head office or such to get their satisfaction. I'd rather deal with a guy where I know he's the owner, and it's his rep and his business rather than some paid-by-the-hour dude who might not be there next week. - M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secondtube Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 agreed. either way, as long as ya do your research, you'll be happy. i've had nothing but fun with mine.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Musicface Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 Indeed! Good fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcane Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 What's the pixel depth on these cameras? They're all CCDs, right? I'm only familiar with specialty CMOS cameras. For a long exposure, the sensor needs to be cooled to keep the dark current noise down ( click here for a geek explanation of dark current noise ). This is not an inexpensive proposition. Click here for a paper about dealing with dark current noise without camera cooling--Acrobat Reader required to view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 Street Cents...one of my favourite shows. When is it on? Remember when J-Roc was on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Photogeek Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 Hey Scottie...here is a page that I find useful whenever people ask me what camera to buy...I deal with mostly high end digital SLRs that are 6 megapixel plus, so sometimes I am not up to date on the newest consumer level cameras...this website should help: what digi camera should I buy?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Photogeek Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 Forgot to mention...its a US site so prices are a little off! mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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