Digital camera help!

[Sci Teach]

I know i've seen this on the forum before...but I'll start a new thread. I've been researching these a bit..and I'm hoping to get some input from those who already have one. I'm looking for a camera in the 4-5 mP range...with a 6, 8, 10 X optical zoom that will take video.

I'm currently leaning toward the Nikon coolpix 4800. It seems to fit the bill...not too small but seems like it could put up with a bit of abuse.

Anyone out there have experiences (good and bad) about things that I might wnat to look (or look out) for???

Thanks a bunch!

John

[steve_b]

I don't have one, but take a look here:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikoncp4800/

[Jisch]

I have a Minolta Dimage Xt. 3 Meg. Its not exactly the best camera in the world, but it is small, fits easily in a cell phone clip on and despite having a 12x optical zoom, the lens doesn't stick out from the camera (utilizes a prism inside the camera body). Movies are decent, though no image stabilization. I like the fact that I can keep it clipped on the front so I can access it easily. My last camera (Fuji Finepix 2650) I kept in the camelbak and it was a real pain to access. The Dimage also has an all metal body, its pretty rugged. I broke my last camera when I dropped it with the lens extended.

All the images I've taken lately have been with this camera. The prints I've made look great.

John

[Quo Fan]

I have a Kodak DX4900 4 megapixel digital camera. I don't know how to take movies with it, I carry a video camera for that. The pictures are great, my only beef with it is how long it takes to boot when I turn it on.

[ArmOnFire]

The digital photography website (http://www.dpreview.com)is great, they show the same subjects/pictures taken with different cameras.

Check the shutter speed, that is my biggest complaint about my camera, HP320, one of those bundle deals. With action shots you get crappy looking blurry shots, sometimes they are really dark in the woods too.

Good luck on your search John.

-Dan

[TrailBate]

I have a Kodak digital, not sure the specs. It takes shitty movies, but the thing is 2 years old now and was $300 at the time.
Kodak is a great company, though. My wife dropped the camera and it stopped working. We shipped it to Kodak in NY and they fixed it for free and upgraded some internal software.

[digger]

I have never handled one but Canon S1 IS might be worth a look, only 3.2, but meets your other requirements. Seems to have great video, image stabilization.

DS

[Jisch]

BTW - those camera review sites are just about worthless. If you look at multiple reviews you'll see that every camera gets the thumbs up. Notice all the ads on the websites. All I can say is look for the "minor nits" sections - those are just about the only honest parts in there. Once you have selected a camera, they are good to make you feel like you picked the right one ;D

I was looking at one site and found that the review for three different Canon cameras were the exact same review with the camera name replaced.

I can say that I got a killer deal on the camera I bought by clicking on one of those comparative pricing sites.

John

My advice
Megapixels over 3 are a waste. Its a megapixel marketing war. Remember when 3 was the most expensive but not required unless you wanted 8x11 photos. Thats still true for photo size but the cost is way down.
Get the biggest storage media you can. Remember to include its cost in your camera budget. A 256 memory card can double the price of the camera but without it you are not going to take movies and all the megapixels will be wasted because you can only store pics set to low quality or not store very many.
My wife likes her Kodak easy share. It is easy. Beware, it comes with nothing. No battery, no charger, no memory, but some package deals are out there, be sure to get all the parts.

[steve_b]

Whatever you decide to buy, rechargeable batteries are a must, along with 4 extras so you always have a fully charged set. I picked up a charger and 8 batteries off of ebay really cheap. One hour charger and you can also charge them via the power port in your car if necessary.

[slapheadmofo]

I've had good luck w/ Canons, currently have an S230 Elph. I'd def recommend a metal casing over plastic.

Video capabilities on the still cameras aren't so great. Depending on your priorities, you may be better off w/ a camcorder that takes stills. I just picked up a sweet Panasonic 3CCD DV camcorder that also takes 1.2 mp stills to a dedicated card, so you can take the stills while recording video. Less handy than my Elph, but I think it'll get a lot of use this season.

[biffster]

If you're looking for a good all around camera with a small package, 3X optical zoom, 3MP resolution, movie capability and 1gb flash memory capacity, look at the cannon sd200 elph. Under $300 at CompUSA. It's smaller than a pack of smokes. The movies are pretty good (I was amazed at the quality of video this little camera puts out)and you can customize the FPS settings in video mode.

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:SMIOuIoI-JkJ:http://www.dpreview.com/news/0409/canon_SD200.jpg

As far as action shots and clarity go, you will need a good SLR camera. But those are clumsy for carrying. A good one with a decent lens like the Nikon D70 is in the $1200 range.

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:qnJxc_uVm9wJ:http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0128/nikon101.jpg

I ended up with an SLR to take action shots and a small camera like the Elph. The small camera goes to Disney and the SLR goes to races and sports events.

[Curtis Chase]

It's more than MP... it's important also that the camera has a good lens. In general, the Canon's seem to have pretty good lenses.

[Quo Fan]

I'd stick with a company that has some experience in photography. If they have been making film cameras, then they at least understand optics and things that make good photography.

[jh_on_the_cape]

As another said, check out the canon powershot elph series. we have the s110 and it's great. small and durable.

for the guy with the sd230: how long of a video can it take assuming you have a big memory card?

[pk]

If you end up buying the camera from Amazon, don't forget to use the link on the forum or nemba.org so we get a commission!

;D

pk

[Sci Teach]

Wow, come back after a couple of days and there are some great replies! Thanks!

I am kinda leaning toward the Nikon...they've been in the business for a while....so the optics should be good. The other in the race is the konica/minotla dimage 2...both are pretty similar spec wise.

My biggest concern is "shutter lag". Biking is not my only outdoor sport...this camera will be living outside taking pictures. The reviews are, as others have said...a bit of a waste with bits of good hidden inside....any words of wisdom there??

[slapheadmofo]

As another said, check out the canon powershot elph series. we have the s110 and it's great. small and durable.

for the guy with the sd230: how long of a video can it take assuming you have a big memory card?


I can fit 141" seconds video on a 48M card; I'd guess the time would increase proportionally w/ the size of the card.

As for the shutter lag, what you need to do is get comfortable w/ pre-focusing. For example, before the rider you want to shoot comes along the trail, you need to point the camera at something the same distance (and lighting too as much as possible) as where he's going to be when you take the shot and press and hold the button down halfway. The camera does it's autofocus thing (the cause of most of the lag) and waits, then when the subject comes thru you press the button the rest of the way and it takes the pic.

Something to think about w/ a digital is getting an extended warrantee (I usually don't go for these for most things). Ritz has (had?) one where you can basically drive over the camera and they'll hook you up w/ a replacement. My S10 ended up w/ some problems after a few years of being subjected to snow, mud, rain, beer, etc on regular basis. I didn't have much luck getting it serviced and ended up having to buy the 230 to replace it. If I had paid the $80 a year, they would've replaced it free.

One I wish I had is that 'burst' mode, where the camera bangs out a handful of pics really quick. Seems like that would be pretty cool.

[biffster]

I wanted to throw this up here because I thought the moon last night looked pretty cool. The photo was taken with a D70 on a tripod using a 300mm lens.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v704/jmurray04/moon6.jpg

[flyinelvis]

FWIW, I have the Nikon Coolpix 995 and I'm very happy with it. I have a 256 card that gives you 600 plus shots in the basic mode. It's a bit bulky but I dropped it on the floor of the Fleet Center with no damage. My only complaint is a cheesy charger which crapped out after 2 years. Stick with a company that makes cameras. Nice shot of the moon!

[jh_on_the_cape]

thanks! I have been looking for a camera, too. I did some searching and asking and what this guy says about shutter lag is unfortunately true unless you go for the digital SLR cameras which are big and pricy.

our s100 only takes 6 seconds of video! but that doesnt fill up the card, it just has a really small buffer, i think.

Wife wants a s400 or s500. I want to see if those have 'burst mode' which is supposed to really help with the shutter lag and help take good pics of riders and babies!

anyone know if the canon has burst mode???



I can fit 141" seconds video on a 48M card; I'd guess the time would increase proportionally w/ the size of the card.

As for the shutter lag, what you need to do is get comfortable w/ pre-focusing. For example, before the rider you want to shoot comes along the trail, you need to point the camera at something the same distance (and lighting too as much as possible) as where he's going to be when you take the shot and press and hold the button down halfway. The camera does it's autofocus thing (the cause of most of the lag) and waits, then when the subject comes thru you press the button the rest of the way and it takes the pic.

Something to think about w/ a digital is getting an extended warrantee (I usually don't go for these for most things). Ritz has (had?) one where you can basically drive over the camera and they'll hook you up w/ a replacement. My S10 ended up w/ some problems after a few years of being subjected to snow, mud, rain, beer, etc on regular basis. I didn't have much luck getting it serviced and ended up having to buy the 230 to replace it. If I had paid the $80 a year, they would've replaced it free.

One I wish I had is that 'burst' mode, where the camera bangs out a handful of pics really quick. Seems like that would be pretty cool.

[Quo Fan]

I think that my Kodak has a "burst" mode, although I've never used it. I'll have to check.