archkre Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 I've to buy a Digital camera mainly to take pictures of the sites in which my models are going to be at. What do you consider as the minimum quality/features/megapixeles etc. I should go for, taking into account I want spending as little as possible? Thanks a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 personally i bought myself one of these - http://www.megapixel.net/cgi-bin/fs_loader.pl?p=http%3A//www.megapixel.net/reviews/sony-p10/p10-review.html it's small and portable, easy to use (great point and shoot mode) and being Sony, has excellent image quallity. it does 5 MP (i'd recommend 3 MP a minimum) and has a X3 optical zoom. i've also bought myself a X2.5 telephoto convertor the the lense. this is a great camera imo, great for all my archi work and great for personal work, ie - vacations. and most easy to use. even mrs. STRAT can use it. and the movie mode on it is great too. and it's all pretty cheap too. you can go bigger and better obviously, but how serious do you want to go? for archi use and building sites, textures etc etc this little baby is wonderfull. i bought mine from a private seller on ebay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archkre Posted October 27, 2004 Author Share Posted October 27, 2004 What is a X2.5 telephoto convertor for the lense?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 it's a small attatchment lense that fits over the camera's own lense and automatically doubles the optical zooming by 2.5 times. again, it was most cheap, again, an ebay item http://i17.ebayimg.com/01/i/01/5a/72/be_1.JPG when buying a camera ignore digital zooming completely. it's completely shi*e. Optical zooming is what to look for, and the standard is X3. i only use a telephoto convertor because i like to shoot aeroplanes too, and it just brings them a tad closer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 my rule of thumb, especially on low end.... stick with a company who has a long history of traditrional cameras. canon, nikon, fuji... ect. i went with the canon a80, lots of features for the price. ..and canon has a long history in photography, and a long history in digital imaging (photocopiers/printers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trhoads Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 The powershot A60 is a good little camera. It is very small, very portable, and takes very good pictures. You can find them fairly cheap. I like to use it for taking pictures of skies and what not. More often the not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poco Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 I bought the Fujifilm FinePix S7000 a few months ago. Its has 6 mega pixel and a good 6x optical zoom lens and so far I am very pleased with it. It shouldn’t cost so much anymore (the camera is out for more then 1 year now and the price has dropped considerable since then). review: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilms7000/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 As previously posted, www.dpreview.com is an excellent site for reviews of digital cameras. They also have sample pictures taken with each camera (at least for the majority of the cameras on their site), as well owner's comments. The kind of camera you should buy really depends on your needs. Do you simply want a camera you can stick in your pocket? Or do you want something a little more substantial with a decent set of "prosumer" features? Do you want a long lense with a good optical zoom (4x or more)? Do you want interchangeable lenses like a traditional SLR camera? Unless you really want to stay cheap, I'd suggest a minimum of 5 megapixels. Also, don't forget the little stuff like if the camera uses (disposeable/rechargeable) AA batteries, or if it comes with rechargeable batteries, and you can simply plug the camera into a charger. Do you want low light / no light shooting abilities? Built in flash? The ability to add aftermarket accessories, like hot-shoe flashes, lens doublers or fish eyes, or macro rings? As said previously, stick with the more common names, like Canon, Nikon, etc. Sony is good, but in my opinion, you're paying more for the name, and not always for the quality (not that they don't have good quality, but you can get comparable quality for less money with some of the other big names). Fuji may be better by now, but I remember them using some kind of funky method of calculating megapixels, saying they can shoot much higher than they were actually shooting at - their images looked like they were shot with a video camera (they weren't good images). Bottom line, digital cameras aren't an inexpensive purchase. Think about what/how you plan to use it, then do all the research you can. Compare features and prices, and narrow down your choices. See if the local electronics store has the cameras you're looking at, and take a closer look at them - but DON'T buy! When you finally find the camera you're looking for, chances are something else is hitting the market to replace it, and the prices will be lower, especially on the internet. Be on the lookout for people selling imported cameras as they aren't always held to the same quality standards. Buy from reputable sellers with good ratings. Last, and most important, make the purchase with your credit card!! That way you can get your money back if the seller turns out to be a fraud! I personally own a Canon G5, and love it. It has a nice list of features, and a decent assortment of accessories available. And it's 5 megapixels, has a remote, and a flip-out screen to view the shot while it's being held at odd angles, such as when you're shooting pictures of yourself. It's also heavy enough that it doesn't feel like a toy. And the battery life is beyond belief. Superb. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 See if the local electronics store has the cameras you're looking at, and take a closer look at them - but DON'T buy! On second thought, if warranty is important enough to you, buying from a local might be the way to go. However, I paid just over $500 for mine, when the average electronics store (Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.) was selling it for over $800. At that price difference, I'd rather take up my warranty issues with Canon directly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Mottle Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Hey Daniel, I've got a Nikon 995 (3.34 MP) with a wide angle lens (and other stuff and lenses) for sale on ebay right now here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=30009&item=3848029348&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW If it does not sell I'll be selling the pieces seperatly when I get back from a road trip next week. If you are interested, let me know. The 995 is somewhat of a cult camera and takes really good pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archkre Posted October 27, 2004 Author Share Posted October 27, 2004 Surely it should take wonderfull pics, but I could put up a new PC on the starting bid price! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Mottle Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Surely it should take wonderfull pics, but I could put up a new PC on the starting bid price! Maybe for you. There is lots of stuff in there which is why it costs that much. That price is actually lower than each one of those items usually sell for on ebay though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Nichols Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 I'd probably buy some of those lenses and stuff from you if you sell them seperatly Jeff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 How much money were you realistically looking to spend on a camera? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockley91 Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 STRAT! I had no idea you could buy attachments for the Sony digital cam! My wife bought me the DSC-72 and I love it. Although, when she bought it for me, I was kind of saddened that it appeared to not take attachments! I had no idea until right now that they made attachments for it. Can you get those at Wolf camera or at Best Buy? Question though, the camera can turn itself off after a period of no use. How does the attachment work with that? Does the lens slip off as the camera closes? Did they create a way to prevent that from happening? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 STRAT! I had no idea you could buy attachments for the Sony digital cam! My wife bought me the DSC-72 and I love it. Although, when she bought it for me, I was kind of saddened that it appeared to not take attachments! I had no idea until right now that they made attachments for it. Can you get those at Wolf camera or at Best Buy? Question though, the camera can turn itself off after a period of no use. How does the attachment work with that? Does the lens slip off as the camera closes? Did they create a way to prevent that from happening? Thanks! i dont know what Best Buy or Wolf camera are i bought mine from ebay because it was the only place i could find selling them. (and i found them by accident.) but this is where mine came from - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=30070&item=3849094324&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW the lense is held on by a clear plastic collar that descreetly screws onto the tripod mounting. (you can just make it out in the photo) so when the camera switches off and the lense goes into the body, the attatched lense stays where it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockley91 Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 Great info Strat! Thanks! Wish I had the zoom lens last night for the Lunar eclipse here in San Antonio, Texas. I had to use my Sony with the 3X zoom.....not very good. Very clever about how the lens attaches to the camera. Anyway, I'll have to search around then to see if I can get one here in the US! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Alexander Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 the lense is held on by a clear plastic collar that descreetly screws onto the tripod mounting. (you can just make it out in the photo) so when the camera switches off and the lense goes into the body, the attatched lense stays where it is. Can you use a tripod in addition to the lense? I know it's wishful thinking, but if you have the lense I gotta ask! WDA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 yup, as far as i remember. i'll check it our for you tonight. other than the telephotolense you can also get a wide angle lense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockley91 Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 Strat, went on Ebay and saw several attachments that would work with my Sony P72. I wish they were a little cheaper...oh well. Has it worked pretty good for you? My boss has a digital camera. with the wide angle lens you have to manually focus it. His is an Olympia? or Olympic digital camera? The auto focus doesn't work when the attachment is on. Does the autofocus work on the Sony with the attachment on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 yes. the auto forus works perfectly with the attatchment on. and when you consider the optical zoom is effectively being over doubled from X3 to X8 then i think it's a bargin. WDA - nope, sorry m8, just checked. you cant screw it into a tripod whilst the lense attatchment is on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Alexander Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 Thanks Strat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockley91 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Strat, Thanks for taking the photo of the housing. That cleared some things up for me. I was taking photos with my camera last night for Halloween and I was contemplating how something could attach on to it.... Good to know the autofocus works and you can get an 8X by combining the 3X zoom.....that is cool. Im really tempted to order one now. It appears you are quite content with your purchase.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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