Digital Camera advise

The time has come for me to upgrade to a new digital camera.

What I want is a camera which will mainly be used as a hobby to take panoramic pics and general things like cars, family etc.

I'm not after a camera with many affects. Just a camera with good/excellent zoom and clarity. I quite like the work of fellow members Aeron, Olympus and sparkles.

The budget is up to $1000.

All help is greatly appreciated.

[Psycho Chicken]

We've got a Kodak DX6490 and it's grouse. Seem to be coming in under the $500 mark now. Picture quality is mad and video quality is good too.

[Venomous]

Originally Posted by RATT

The time has come for me to upgrade to a new digital camera.

What I want is a camera which will mainly be used as a hobby to take panoramic pics and general things like cars, family etc.

I'm not after a camera with many affects. Just a camera with good/excellent zoom and clarity. I quite like the work of fellow members Aeron, Olympus and sparkles.

The budget is up to $1000.

All help is greatly appreciated.

Yea im after a new digital camera also, although my budget is just a semi cheapo. Lol around the 250 - 350 mark. Just something i can take pictures of friends cars etc. Im thinkin around 5mp with about a 4x optical zoom. Plus its gotta look good lol. Anyone got any ideas for me also

[parawolf]

What i've found importart for 'good' panoramic shots and more importantly 'photostitching' (blending multi photos together to look as one) is that the pivot point (the screw in for a tripod) is to be directly below the lens assembly.

This is so that when you pan the tripod the axis stays the same as the lens.

[MrSparkle]

Like I was saying on the cruise mate, the S70 is hard to beat for a compact performer. It has a TRUE wide angle as well which, as I have found, is a sensational addition. Solid performance and excellent colour reproduction. Top unit and you can get them in store now for ~$760 (plus whatever memory card you want). In my experience, (have used quite a few different digitals), it is a seriously good buy for the money and is only bettered by the big boys (SLR body type).

As always, www.dpreview.com is a great source for information.

[MITCHAY]

Do you want to develop them or just store them on the computer?

I work in a photolab and if you want to get a good one and plan on developing then a $1000 camera sounds great rather than a cheapy. Digital will never be better than film quality though. Too often people come into my work with pictures that arent true photo size and then discover that there was no point taking them as they are pixelated.

And be aware if your goin to get them printed that the Dig cam 6X4" (standard photo) often isnt like the printer/developer 6X4" format. This results in the picture coming out with 2 white lines at the end of the picture. You can get it stretched but you lose a bit of the picture. Also make sure they have special digital paper. I doubt many places would still be using an old photolab system but the difference between the old paper and the new digital stuff is really noticeable.

So when buying one be aware of these factors. If you just want to put em on the computer then its no probs but if you want to get them developed just take it into consideration and ask around.

[5speedeb]

kodak dx7590 5.0mega pix 10xzoom

[WizBang]

I bought a Tekxon 5.5 mega pixels off e-bay for $180 and the SD card for it for $35 and it works really well

[Racecraft]

http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM

[xr8ute]

Have a look at the Panasonic Lumix series, they are pretty good. the FZ20 is 5 Megapixel, 12x optical zoom, with image stabiliser.

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/pa...ew/index.shtml

Camerafarm.com.au has them for $807 at the moment.

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

Do you want to develop them or just store them on the computer?

I work in a photolab and if you want to get a good one and plan on developing then a $1000 camera sounds great rather than a cheapy. Digital will never be better than film quality though. Too often people come into my work with pictures that arent true photo size and then discover that there was no point taking them as they are pixelated.

And be aware if your goin to get them printed that the Dig cam 6X4" (standard photo) often isnt like the printer/developer 6X4" format. This results in the picture coming out with 2 white lines at the end of the picture. You can get it stretched but you lose a bit of the picture. Also make sure they have special digital paper. I doubt many places would still be using an old photolab system but the difference between the old paper and the new digital stuff is really noticeable.

So when buying one be aware of these factors. If you just want to put em on the computer then its no probs but if you want to get them developed just take it into consideration and ask around.

THIS ANSWERED A QUESTION I HAD ALWAYS WONDERED WHY MY PRINTER DOESN'T PRINT THE EXACT PHOTO I TOOK ITS OK IN 6X4 BUT WHEN I WANT TO PRINT AN A4 SIZE PHOTO IT GETS CHOPPED OR SLIGHTLY OFF CETRE TO THE ACTUAL PHOTO THAT APPEARS ON THE SCREAN . SPEWING . DECIDED I STILL HAVE TO GET A PROFESSIONAL TO PRINT ENLARGED PHOTOS. THOUGHT MY hp 2610 printer was no good.

[MITCHAY]

Yeah mate glad it helped a bit. Happens even with the photolab.

[bindi]

I've posted this sort of reply somewhere before when someone else asked this question! lol

My mother-in-law has become this digital photography "expert" and has even entered some of her photos in a local competition (even though she didn't win anything, her stuff was definitely not out of place).

She had a Fuji Finepix 6.0mp which 2 years ago cost her over $800, now you can pick up better ones in the Fuji range for around the $400 - $500 mark. Lovely little things, easy peasy to use, and although digitals don't seem to last as long as film cameras (the cost of getting these things fixed is pointless - might as well buy another one... like printers, video recorders and dvd players etc), they are still pretty good to have. With this camera she was able to get a particular photo professionally developed to an incredible size without losing picture quality - cost her alot though!

Last Xmas she upgraded to this tops camera (cost her $1800 at the time), the Canon EOS300D (or something like that) which of course has been superceded in the last few months lol. We bought her this brilliant tripod as an Xmas pressie and it's fabulous, has enabled her to take fabulous panoramic shots that she has pieced together.

She has read alot of magazines, researched books and net etc. and become very knowledgeable when it comes to printing (she mostly does her own on her HP), photoshopping, and pixellation etc.

I suggest you read a few mags, research on the net, and get an idea as to what all the numbers mean when they discuss zoom and pixels etc (cos what they say they do and what they actually do are two different things).

Also I wouldn't give up my little Canon 80s zoom 35mm for the world - the picture quality, no matter how hard digital tries, just cannot match it for depth, colour perception and print quality imho.

[big_pete]

ive got a Fuji Finepix S5000. has heaps of features, like full manual mode and 10x optical zoom

very happ with it for $400

or you could get the better model for about $500 which has more features and MegaPixels

[b2tf]

Anything Sony is great, i have a DSC-P32 3.2 MP one and I love it. Idiotproof. My Gf has a Kodak one and I find it difficult to use, with my Sony I just point and shoot. Full video mode with sound too.

I paid about $500 for it over 6 months ago, I know it has almost halved in price since then.

[russellw]

The only people to have really made an effort with Panorama are Olympus - it's supported in every one of their cameras when using their xD cards and it wowrks very well. With a huge range to choose from I'd be probably considering:

OLYMPUS C-7070 WIDE ZOOM 7.0MP DIGITAL
-Wider vision greater excitment
-The first digital camera to offer the degree of Wide-angle capability experts demand
-Powerful 7.0 megapixel CCD
-4xOptical Zoom,1-3.5 Digital Zoom, 27mm wide-angle

Street prices put it just over your budget but it's also a lot of camera for the money.

Cheers
Russ

Thanks everyone for your advise.

At this stage, pending a price I have decided the Canon Powershot S2 IS is the go.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0504/05042201canons2is.asp

But I will still be open to suggestions for a few more days.

[sfr rob]

my olympus died about a month ago...

got a quote to fix it....
$300 have to buy another one.... only problem is the shutter when opened will not activate the camera... SUCKS! cause i liek the camera!

anyway i am in the market now for a new one.. :

[MustangNicko]

Mmm well im looking at buying the new Canon Digi-SLR EOS 20D with a 18-55 lens. Might be a little bit out of your price range though.. I need it for more pro stuff. The PowershotPro1 is a great little digi-semi SLR, comes with 28-200mm lens and a KICKASS macro feature, also ultrafast aperture of f/2.4-3.5. Worth around 1200 but promotes awesome quality. My mate has one ive ive been fooling around with it a fair bit. Just not enough for me though.

[Perana]

I can vouch for Olympus too... I have a C-750UZ 4MP 10x Zoom and its great...

[JTFG]

I've sold my sony dsc-p32 today, and also looking, had my eyes on this camera.

http://panasonic.com.au/products/det...?objectID=2651