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Digital Camera

 
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plummer150





Joined: 04 Jan 2003
Posts: 542
Location: Jersey City, New Jersey

PostPosted: 3/25/2003, 6:48 pm    Post subject: Digital Camera Reply to topic Reply with quote

Looking at getting a digital camera here soon and I would appreciate any and all suggestions that anyone can give me on them. Websites, links, brand names, quality, personal review of yours, price, any and all info will that you could give would be very helpful. Thanks to all who reply to this ahead of time!
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evenstar





Joined: 03 Jan 2003
Posts: 5548
Location: SCW by way of CA

PostPosted: 3/25/2003, 7:25 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Mine's a Sony Cyber-Shot 3.2. All the photos I've posted on Yahoo are with this cmaera. Fits in my pocket; rechargable battery stick and re-usable photo sticks. Love it!
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plummer150





Joined: 04 Jan 2003
Posts: 542
Location: Jersey City, New Jersey

PostPosted: 3/25/2003, 7:35 pm    Post subject: re: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Nice. I think I want a pocket size one too. That would definitly be a plus there.
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bzachar





Joined: 10 Feb 2003
Posts: 88
Location: Mesa, AZ

PostPosted: 3/25/2003, 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Plummer150:

Here's some sites to get you started:

http://www.imaging-resource.com
http://www.steves-digicams.com
http://www.epinions.com/Digital_Cameras

If you want to avoid pixilated images go with at least 3 megapixels.

Being an engineer I poured over the performance numbers vs. price and went with the Olympus D-40ZOOM. It fits in your shirt pocket and also comes with a belt-mount carrying case.

Two things I consider are must-have accessories are rechargable NIMH (nickel metal hydride) batteries and a smart battery charger. Stay away from NiCad batts because of the memory problems. You want a smart charger because it senses the state of charge of the battery and stops charging as soon as it reaches full-power. Over-charging shortens the battery's life. Stay away from so-called "automatic" battery chargers that just run for a period of time and then just shut-off. These don't check how much power is already in the battery and will cook them.

More info at
http://www.imaging-resource.com/ACCS/BATTS/BATTS.HTM

Hands-down best battery charger in the world:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/ACCS/C401FS/C401A.HTM

Bill
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Arizonaheat
Got Supes Juice?




Joined: 04 Jan 2003
Posts: 1741
Location: Mesa, AZ

PostPosted: 3/26/2003, 4:52 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

http://www.dpreview.com/

This is another decent site to go along with what bzachar posted.
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plummer150





Joined: 04 Jan 2003
Posts: 542
Location: Jersey City, New Jersey

PostPosted: 3/26/2003, 8:11 am    Post subject: re: Reply to topic Reply with quote

bzachar- Thanks a bunch for the links and all of the detailed info. That's exactly what I was looking for. The battery and memory thing- thanks for clueing me in. Now I have a much better idea what I'm looking for. Thanks to everyone on this one!
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Tom





Joined: 19 Feb 2003
Posts: 3
Location: NWHikers.net

PostPosted: 3/26/2003, 6:59 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

As far as memory, one thing I never liked about olympus, fuji and sony digicams was their memory format. Except for their higher end and/or more recent introductions, the smartmedia and/or memory stick formats these cameras used has been discontinued, smartmedia being replaced by xD picture card and memory stick being replaced by memory stick pro. To the extent you buy a digicam that takes the older standard you are limited to 128 MB cards. To the extent you buy a camera that takes one of their newer memory standards, you pay 2x the cost vs. equivalent compact flash (used in canon, nikon, and kodak digicams). If you want a pocketable camera with excellent picture quality and something you can grow into, I would consider a Canon S45. Watch techbargains.com for a stackable $35-50 coupon and you can get the S45 for about $400-415 shipped from dell home. The S45 uses lithium ion rechargeable batteries. I personally prefer lithium ion rechargeables over AA rechargeables because they last longer for the equivalent weight and hold their charge better. You can buy aftermarket spares for about $12 on ebay. If you are a thru-hiker, AA is probably a better option (easier to re-supply), but for most hikers lithium ion rechargeables vs. AA is a toss-up IMO and shouldn't be a primary consideration.
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DesertHkr





Joined: 16 Mar 2003
Posts: 24

PostPosted: 6/19/2003, 4:12 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

At the risk of sounding out-of-date, I will point out that 35mm film cameras still have a useful place, certainly for Arizona deserts. Consumer-level digicams are still relatively fragile, and I don't use them for that reason. Try comparing the build quality of current $500 digicams with, say, a Nikon FM3a 35mm SLR. The Nikon would last you a lot longer, too. Digicams don't like bumps, knocks, or desert heat - the LCD panels are particularly fragile. Other problems include slow performance in cold weather, and loss of firmware stored in a volatile memory. Most of my friends with consumer digitals are reporting about a 3-year lifespan overall before they die, no more.
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desertgirl





Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 3350
Location: Chandler, AZ

PostPosted: 6/19/2003, 8:33 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

DesertHkr...

Excellent note -- I will totally agree with you .. I just returned from hiking in the Everest Area last month &" gets slow in cold" really hit home...reviewing pictures -- pictures taken when the tems were low are fuzzy!!! and I had missed some shots -- subject moved! I was lucky to have my trusty SLR with some high end fim & I have some truly incredible pictures...Hauling the camera weight of SLR piad off well.

However, digitals do quite well - cost, film & developing costs and size!
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