camera shopping- suggestions please

Buddy · January 12, 2004

OK I'm in a serious shopping mode for a new camera. a couple of years ago I got an Olympus D490. And proceeded to have a horrible experience with Olympus and their warranty. So Olympus is not an option.

I don't need anything fancy at the professional level.
3+ megapixel and AA batteries are required. (unless someone can convince me that the rechargable proprietary batteries won't leave me stranded with a dead camera after a day of shooting)

I've been looking at the Nikon 3100. not a bad little camera.

What are some other cameras I should look at while shopping around?

thanks

wxwax · January 12, 2004

Definitely check out Canon cameras.

Canon S40. Proprietary battery, but excellent life, and if you buy a second one, you'll be in great shape.

Canon A70. It has the batts you want.

B00008R9NW.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

If you're not in a hurry, Canon's expected to announce a number of new cameras at a show next month.

Richard Cabesa · January 12, 2004

I just bought the Canon A80 a couple months ago and am very happy so far. The AA batteries that came with lasted about 160 shots and then I put in my rechargeables. I'm up to 230 shots on them and they are still going. My old Toshiba would burn thruogh them in about 70 shots.

The camera has given me some greats shots with good focus and is easy to use.
Here's one from the bike show

kbasa · January 12, 2004

Buddy wrote:

What are some other cameras I should look at while shopping around?

thanks

I'm digging my S400. It's small enough that I actually carry it with most of the time.

wxwax · January 12, 2004

Patch29 has a S50, I used it for one or two shots. It felt really solid (much heavier than I expected, actually.) I liked it.

An important consideration for a small camera, IMHO, is that the lens protect itself. I've only used a clamshell slide type mechanism (like the S50, I had an older Olympus, same design) that I know works well. I'm intrigued by the shutter-style lens protection on the Digital Elphs.

wxwax · January 13, 2004

Buddy wrote:

What are some other cameras I should look at while shopping around?
thanks

Buddy, one other thought. Get thee to a camera store if at all possible, and lay yer mitts on the cameras that interest you. Just the feel of the camera, its size and the orientation of the controls may become the deciding factors for you.

If you do decide to buy now, there are lots of excellent cameras in your target zone. Personally, I'd stick with a camera from an established camera-making company. My only exception would be Sony.

aj2 · January 13, 2004

wxwax wrote:

Definitely check out Canon cameras.

Canon S40. Proprietary battery, but excellent life, and if you buy a second one, you'll be in great shape.

Canon A70. It has the batts you want.

If you're not in a hurry, Canon's expected to announce a number of new cameras at a show next month.

I have the S45 and love it(it replaced the S40 that my wife lost

), but I was wondering, does the A80(the 4MP version of the A70) have the same elements and controls as the S45? I used the A70, I liked the feel, and the controls seem virtually identical, as in it has the same level of manual controls, 3X zoom, etc. Will the pictures also be identical? If so, I'd recommend the A series without reservation if you want/need the convenience of AA batteries.

wxwax · January 13, 2004

Here's dpreview's side-by-side comparison of the features of each camera. Each has minor advantages over the other, it would appear. I really like the proprietary batts in the G3, so I see them as a plus, not a minus. Just get a spare - over time, cheaper and convenient IMHO.

aj2 · January 13, 2004

wxwax wrote:

Here's dpreview's side-by-side comparison of the features of each camera. Each has minor advantages over the other, it would appear. I really like the proprietary batts in the G3, so I see them as a plus, not a minus. Just get a spare - over time, cheaper and convenient IMHO.

Cool, I never noticed their side-by-side feature, but it doesn't work as a link...

wxwax · January 13, 2004

That's odd, link works for me. Maybe because I posted it.

Shame they don't have an in-depth review of the A80.

Doh! · January 13, 2004

Pentax Optio S4
I've had this camera a few weeks now and I carry it all the time.

There's a $30 rebate to boot.

Buddy · January 14, 2004

thanks folks!! that'll get me started in a nice direction. there are some good camera shops in the Richmond area. I'll drop in one one of 'em.

interesting read. I was just at drummer's thread about that Z1. seems I have another choice.

and wxwax, thanks for the heads up on the show next month.

wxwax · January 15, 2004

Hey Buddy, let us know what you buy. And then start posting pics here.

Buddy · January 30, 2004

Kodak DX 6490
I found a Kodak DX6490 at costco for $469.99 with the camera docking station. which is $30 off the MSRP. It's 4.0 MP with a 10x zoom and some other cool features like maunal controls, b/w etc. so I could learn more about photography than point and shoot.

has anybody out there got this camera?? if so, what do you think of it??

wxwax · January 30, 2004

Second time in 2 days that camera's come up for discussion, Buddy. Here are some links. The first to dpreview... look for the link to owner's comments at the top of the column. The second is to a full review. Seems like the chief gripe is slow autofocus... which may or may not be an issue, depending upon how you expect to use the camera.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Kodak/kodak_dx6490.asp
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/dx6490.html

jimf · January 31, 2004

Buddy wrote:

OK I'm in a serious shopping mode for a new camera. a couple of years ago I got an Olympus D490. And proceeded to have a horrible experience with Olympus and their warranty. So Olympus is not an option.

I'm curious as to what Olympus did to turn you off. Though, these days, I wouldn't likely buy an Olympus anyway. I gave serious consideration to their E1 before I bought my 300D but the picture quality was pretty poor for the price point -- quite a change from when I bought my C2500L, which was a very good buy at the time. (One thing I noticed right away, however, is that the auto white balance on the C2500L kicks the crap out of the 300D ... the only thing it does better but it's a LOT better.)

My wife has an S330, neat little camera. She liked it for its design, I liked the features. I agree with one of the other posters who says that Canon's proprietary battery isn't that much of a turn-off, just get a spare.

cmr164 · January 31, 2004

jimf wrote:

(One thing I noticed right away, however, is that the auto white balance on the C2500L kicks the crap out of the 300D ... the only thing it does better but it's a LOT better.)

Shoot raw and don't worry about white balance.

jimf · January 31, 2004

cmr164 wrote:

Shoot raw and don't worry about white balance.

It's funny you should say that, since I started doing exactly that after mucking with its white balance settings for a couple of hours and never being happy (get a load of the following shots to see what I mean). You had told me to do that before, I realize, but I haven't been terribly upset with JPEG on other cameras and I like the ability to get a pretty hefty number of shots on a single card.

Oh well, it's still way less work than going down to the Photomat.

Here are the shots. Never mind all the myriad technical problems, I was still learning to use even simple things like the autofocus system. The important thing is the mess I made of the colors. This first one was an attempt to correct your typical tungsten cast:

It came out ungodly blue. It should have been more like:

Here's one after I switched to RAW, nice and natural. Still having trouble with autofocus, it grabbed her leg instead of face, but overall not too horrible:

001_RJ.sized.jpg

fish · January 31, 2004

jimf wrote:

Still having trouble with autofocus, it grabbed her leg instead of face, but overall not too horrible:

Cute subject. On the autofocus thing, there should be a mode in your camera (sorry, I'm not that familiar with it) that enables you to use a single AF point in the middle of the viewfinder. In a shot like on the child, put that middle AF point on the face, push the throttle halfway down to lock the focus, then recompose and click the rest of the way. Give it a shot.

Buddy · January 31, 2004

jimf wrote:

I'm curious as to what Olympus did to turn you off.

Purchased D490 christmas of '01. Jan '03 the camera died 2 weeks out of warranty. Olympus response, tough luck. we had it repaired. that got another 6 month warranty. 7 months later the camera screwed up again. it'll take a pic but only three or four and it'll lock up with the yelllow light flashing. that light indicates it needs a flash. and the flash doesn't work.

Buddy · January 31, 2004

wxwax wrote:

Second time in 2 days that camera's come up for discussion, Buddy. Here are some links. The first to dpreview... look for the link to owner's comments at the top of the column. The second is to a full review. Seems like the chief gripe is slow autofocus... which may or may not be an issue, depending upon how you expect to use the camera.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Kodak/kodak_dx6490.asp
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/dx6490.html

thank you!!! playing around with the camera at costco the autofocus did seem a little slow.

wxwax · January 31, 2004

Buddy wrote:

thank you!!! playing around with the camera at costco the autofocus did seem a little slow.

That will really get on your nerves if you're trying to shoot people. They have a tendency to move and the quicker you can get off the shot the better.

fish · January 31, 2004

wxwax wrote:

That will really get on your nerves if you're trying to shoot people. They have a tendency to move and the quicker you can get off the shot the better.

Slow autofocus and shutter lag are two of the things that drove me to a dSLR. I had the S400 out for some indoor flash snapshots last night, and by the time it focused and fired, all the kids had their backs to me

: So if a review specifically calls out shutterlag or slow autofocus as "cons", I'd recommend you keep looking, because it will just frustrate you.

gus · January 31, 2004

Funniest part about my camera is that at night when you hit the button all you can see is this massive red beam punching out all over people. They will shut up & stare like rabbits caught in a headlight.

wxwax · February 1, 2004

Not all cameras have that autofocus assist light. I understand Nikon still doesn't have it, for reasons best known to themselves.

fish · February 1, 2004

wxwax wrote:

Not all cameras have that autofocus assist light. I understand Nikon still doesn't have it, for reasons best known to themselves.

Canon 10D (and I assume their other dSLRs as well) uses the built-in flash as a focus assist light. Kinda stupid, if you ask me. If you mount a speedlite, then it will use the red focus assist from it, and only in the "basic zone". Not terribly unlike Nikon.

Whoops. Sorry. Just realized this was in the P&S forum. So, nevermind.

wxwax · February 1, 2004

fish wrote:

Canon 10D (and I assume their other dSLRs as well) uses the built-in flash as a focus assist light. Kinda stupid, if you ask me. If you mount a speedlite, then it will use the red focus assist from it, and only in the "basic zone". Not terribly unlike Nikon.

Whoops. Sorry. Just realized this was in the P&S forum. So, nevermind.

I know the external flashes all have them, but the P&S Nikons mysteriously don't. Dunno why, 'cause as a result they test poorly - slow low-light autofocus. It's one of the main reasons I didn't buy the Nikon 5700. Even in a well lit store the autofocus was ridiculously slow.

patch29 · February 1, 2004

fish wrote:

Canon 10D (and I assume their other dSLRs as well) uses the built-in flash as a focus assist light. Kinda stupid, if you ask me. If you mount a speedlite, then it will use the red focus assist from it, and only in the "basic zone". Not terribly unlike Nikon.

Whoops. Sorry. Just realized this was in the P&S forum. So, nevermind.

The 1D and 1Ds do not have built in light, they use the AF red light off the flash, I think only in one shot AF mode.

Ruskie · February 9, 2004

I'm going to purchase the S400 and am wondeiring if anyobdy knows who is offering the best price from a reliable dealer?

cmr164 · February 9, 2004

Ruskie wrote:

I'm going to purchase the S400 and am wondeiring if anyobdy knows who is offering the best price from a reliable dealer?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=cart&A=details&Q=&sku=278235&is=REG

http://www.adorama.com/ICAS400.html?searchinfo=s400&item_no=3

Both have it at $359 (at BH the low price does not show until you put it in the cart)

fish · February 9, 2004

Or you can get a very special edition at Adorama for $500:

A.PowerShot S400 Body, B.Wrist Strap WS-300, C.AV Cable AVC-DC100, D.Battery Charger CB-2LS, E.Battery Pack NB-1LH, F.Interface Cable IFC-300PCU, G.Compact Flash Card CF-32M, H.Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM, I.ArcSoft Camera Suite CD-ROM.
This Edition includes a Coach Signature Fabric Case with Leather Trim and wrist strap

camera shopping- suggestions please

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