Advice Needed

[Adam]

Hi guys!

I'm looking at buying a digital camera, and I'm a bit confused by the whole issue. There are heaps of different brands and models out there! I know the more megapixels is better but that also comes at a price, and I don't really want to spend a huge amount of $$$. I just what to be able to take good, clear photos of my ute, cars at shows, family, friends etc, I have a film SLR for taking shots at races and so fourth where you can't always get very close, because with a digital the more you zoom the worse the photo looks unless your using very expensive equipment.

Clearly there are a lot of guys here who have digital cameras, or maybe there's someone in the business or a professional who could share their experiences or make any recommendations?

Thanks in advance guys!

[Falchoon]

Check all your junk mail catalogues that come in the mailbox and in the newspapers for bargains once you work out what sort of camera you want. A lady at work is going through the same thing as you and doesn't know much about digi cameras and she was reccommended a Canon A70 by a fellow work collegue who is into that sort of thing.

I have a Kodak DC3200 that is 1.2 megapixel and I find it adequate for taking general pics. Cost is around $299, probably less if you shop around.

Remember you will have other assorted reccommended "on costs" such as rechargable batteries and charger (reccomend HiMH), memory card, memory card reader for your computer and possibly a camera case.

Try also these online places:

http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au

http://www.dirtcheapcameras.com.au

http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront

http://www.harristechnology.com.au/

[Superoo]

As for the whole more megapixels is better thing, decide on how big you're likely to print these images first. For standard sized photos, a 2 megapixel would probably suffice. I have an A series canon and am very happy with it.

Good Luck

[bdennis]

alxr6t,

Here are a few general rules for ya. - It depends on what you want....

The more mega pixels the better - Can get the pics blown up at a camera shop on photo paper. You need at least 3Mega pixels for A3

The more OPTICAL zoom the better. - I would suggest min 3x. Forget the digial zoom. It gets blocky real quick.

Supplied Memory - For a 3M or 4m camera I would make sure you option her up to at least 128Mb (4Mpixel cam x 128Mb card = 53 pics)

Battery - Make sure you get HiMH or NiMH - Last longer

Menu System - You really need to try them and see.

Write down what you want - zoom, size etc and go shopping!

Shop around - Go to the camera shops. Get them to show you the ins and outs. Keep a clear head, write stuff down and then once you have made up your mind - Shop On Line!!!

Read reviews.

Alot of it comes down to preference....

I purchased a Samsung V4 ($800 - 12 months ago) for the following reasons:

Easy to use.

Heaps of Manual over rides - like the SLR

4 Mega pixel

3 x Digital zoom - After using it would prefer more but still happy.

Battery options - It came with a NiMH battery with car charger, 240v charger plus it will also take normal AA batteries, Rechargable AA batteries. So if I get stuck and run out of battery then I can just chuck in some normal old AA's and away she goes. (not many cameras do this!)

Size - Fits in the hip pocket (just) - wifes bag

USB port to computer

SD Memory card - Relatively cheep memory / universal (heaps of other brands use it) / I had a 32Mb card from my Digital Video camera.

Came with fairly good software - Not really a selling point as there is heaps of picture editors out there so dont buy a camera for the pic editor..

that's my 2c worth!!

[mercturbo]

I've been looking at the nikon coolpix 4300, 4MP, my mate has one (paid $1200 12 months ago) takes superb shots in most condidtions but avoid anything over 64m flash card as takes ages to load, have seen them now for less than $700, good luck

[Turbo6man]

Canon A80. I currently have an A40 (2.1MP) but would love the extra megapixels for larger prints. The A40 is a bit grainy on A4 but perfect on standard (5x4) photo paper.

There are always some good buys on eBay so do what bdennis suggested - determine what camera you want then go shopping online.

[ms700]

I purchased a Olympus C740, cost me $799, 3.2 megapixel, it has 10x optical zoom and I love it. It can take video's, but no audio unfortunately. The more expensive model has audio, I think I should have spent the extra now.... hindsight is a wonderful thing!

The only thing I hate, is that is uses memory cards, and readers are rare as hens teeth. I have no choice but attach it to my PC using USB until I find a nicely priced reader.

My biggest recommendation? Shop online at digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au, print off a picture and a price of the camera you want, and see if somebody will price match. I did this, went to my local Harvey Norman, and saved myself $200!

[saleen]

I got a Sony Cybershot DSC-P8. Great camera, 3.2megapixel, records video with sound. Shop around though, I think you can buy much better cameras for the money. The thing that makes the Sony dear is 1)the brand and 2)its reasonably compact.

Rob

[HellionXR6T]

I got a Sony Cybershot DSC-P8. Great camera, 3.2megapixel, records video with sound. Shop around though, I think you can buy much better cameras for the money. The thing that makes the Sony dear is 1)the brand and 2)its reasonably compact.

Rob

Yep, I'd go for that. Sony Cybershot range rocks!

[Mondie]

Good advice from all the others

One other important thing to look out for is a high quality lens. Sony make some cameras with Carl Zeiss lenses as do some other brands and the quality improvement especially in colour saturation with a good lens is worth it. Something else to consider along with mpix count, optical zoom etc.

Ebay is a good place to look for good secondhand cameras, but if you know anyone going to the US then word them up on getting you a camera. For US$1k you can get a 6.5meg Canon EOS SLR including a zoom lens, or the current top of the line Sony 8meg for the same price, which here costs $2500