Digital camera suggestions?

[SoarEyes]

Hi all,
Just bought and returned a canon S50.
Overall I liked this 5 MP camera, especially for it’s nice colors.
But I couldn’t get a sharp image out of it.

So was it a lemon, or should I go for another brand?

Any input would be appreciated.

See sample pic.

[SoarEyes]

here the pic

[cubist]

Ugly phone!

I'm thinking about the Fuji Finepix 3800. It has a good optical zoom (3X is not enough), not horribly expensive, uses AA batteries... Consumer Reports just rated it #1, besides.

[Dont Hurt Me]

i have a fuji 2650 zoom and its been durable and great. no complaints 3 optical-2.5 dig & 2 megapixel and takes lil quicktime movies. anyways i give it a 9 or 10. check out steve digicams for reviews on digital cameras. great site.

[radhak]

The canon A70 is better in some ways than the 3800 : if you need to take pictures indoors, with little daylight. The 3800's lcd-display goes almost fully dark, particularly at night. Of course the A70 has only 3x while the 3800 had 6x optical.

But you may not need that - maybe if you tried to snap a better looking phone...? ;)

[SoarEyes]

Yeah I like it too (hehe)
Well checked out the 3800 but it seems a bit bulky and low in resolution.

So to narrow it down five or at least four million pixels and not to big.

thanks sofar, keep ’m coming!

[edesignuk]

I (well, my parents) have a Fuji FinePix S602 Zoon and it's awsome! Great quality pictures. Here's (http://homepage.mac.com/edesignuk/PhotoAlbum1.html) some test snaps taken with it, they're on .Mac so they're not very big, but it'll give you an idea.

Check out http://www.steves-digicams.com it has many good reviews on all the kit you could think of!

[iPC]

My S200 takes better pictures than that...

Did you try various situations (better lighting, outdoor stuff, etc)?

That included pic seems to suffer from faulty composition.... ;)

[SoarEyes]

Originally posted by iPC
My S200 takes better pictures than that...

Did you try various situations (better lighting, outdoor stuff, etc)?

That included pic seems to suffer from faulty composition.... ;)

Well it was a detail of a picture, couldn’t load it otherwise.
Mainly tried it indoors, I need a cam that can also handle dim light. Tried a lot of different settings. But I’m a point-and-click kinda guy.

[Makosuke]

I have no experience with Fuji cameras, but I'll put in a plug for Kodak's midrange models; my dad, who's been a hobbyist photographer for at least 40 years, has a LS443 (http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=102&pq-locale=en_US) and is very happy with it.

The photo quality is quite good, the colors always seem to be accurate, and it's very easy to use--the menus and controls are nicely laid out and easy to get to. Since the same was true of a high end Kodak digicam I bought for work several years ago (still doing quite well today, in fact), I'm assuming that's going to be true for all their cameras. It's cheap, too. If you want 5 MP, the DX4530 is and is also very reasonably priced.

My only other personal experience is with Olympus cameras, which is what I use at home. I have one of the tiny 4.0MP D40s, which I got because it was the smallest 4+MP camera on the market at the time, has a 16 second exposure feature for night shots, and loads of manual controls.

I'm very happy with it--the image quality is usually very good (particularly for its size), and the night shots are spectacular--but the menus are rather hard to get used to. It does also have a small issue with chromatic abberation (I think that's what it's called--basically, if you have a sharp dark edge against something very bright white like a cloudy sky, it'll have a bit of a purple halo), but I'm not enough of a pro that it bothers me. I don't know if their newer models have the same issue, but I seem to remember reading a review that said they didn't.

Anyway, although I'm sure Fuji is fine too, Kodak is worth looking at particularly if you like simple menus, and I like Olympus enough to look at them next time I'm in the market, too.

Here are a few sample shots using my Olympus. Sorry about the low rez...

http://forum.animeworld.com/j2k2gallery/

[QCassidy352]

I have the Fuji 3800. It's awesome! Very clear pictures, and I don't think I could go back to a 3x zoom after using 6x. Not sure what redhak is talking about with the dark lcd, and indoor pictures turn out very sharp and clear. Just have to use the flash indoors.

3.2 megapixels is a good resolution for me, but if it's too low for you, then it's too low. The "bulkiness" of the 3800 is the one thing that I would change if I could.

I've seen some very good pics taken with a canon s400. You can't get smaller than that, it's 4 megapixel, and it's easy to use "point and click."

[Squire]

I have a Canon Powershot G2. My friend had a Fuji (the big one with a 3.3 MP CCD that acts like a 6.0 MP). Anyway, he got rid of the Fuji and bought a Powershot G3 and he's very impressed with it. Here are (http://homepage.mac.com/davemcguire/PhotoAlbum5.html) some G3 pics taken at the World Martial Arts Festival.

His biggest complaints about the Fuji were it's inability to take good action shots and the low battery life. When he bought his G3, I told him that he was crazy to buy the extra battery. They last forever.

Of course, the only downfall to these cameras is their size- they're not exactly small. However, they're nice cameras.

Squire

[MrBubbles]

Originally posted by SoarEyes
Well it was a detail of a picture, couldn’t load it otherwise.
Mainly tried it indoors, I need a cam that can also handle dim light. Tried a lot of different settings. But I’m a point-and-click kinda guy.

If it's point and click you want, along with sharp pictures, I'd recommend a Canon S400. It takes pictures almost as good as a G3, but it's real small.

I just got one for a cross-country road trip and I couldn't have been happier. Check it out!

[SoarEyes]

Great thanks everybody! Very usefull info.

[Les Kern]

Canon PowerShot G5. Look no further!

[photohead]

Originally posted by Les Kern
Canon PowerShot G5. Look no further!

I like the camera...but...'there's always a but'

for the price across the board...and with all the reports...I would and did go with the canon G3. being a pro photographer...I'm very impressed with the quality that I've gotten with the g3...and after testing the g5 and g3 i've found that the g3 has actually better optics and thats the most important issue concerning camera's. the g5 and the g3 actually have the same sensor the only difference is that the g5 packs more pixels in the same sensor which results in more noise and less sharpness. The g3 has a better ratio; pixels to sensor size which results in good resolution and sharpness. I just recently last week came back from NY where I took pictures and blew them up to 30x40 from a 4mp g3 camera....with just minimal photoshop work...ie. (unsharp mask, and minimal noise reduction) it looked better then 35mm blown up to 30x40...my suggestion is not to waste your money on the g5..the g3 has the same features and costs way less. but if money isn't an issue I'd get the canon 10d...I have had really great experience with mine and I use it for comercial purposes all the time...

my 2 cents...pm me for more info..

N

[Macette]

i'm glad this discussion has come up... i've been trying to decide between the Canon S400 and the new Sony Cybershot P92 (which has 5MP resolution). Has anybody here used the Sony? I've been using the 3MP version of the Canon and think it's a great camera, but the Sony form factor is very tempting!

Because the Sony is so new, there aren't many unbiased online reviews of it.

I'm definitely wanting a small camera here - I've got an awesome film camera, so I'm not going to buy a hardcore digital camera until I can get one that will take all my Nikon lenses - for less than $2000 (Australian).

[foolsday]

I've sold digital cameras since 1999. I personally own a digital Canon Elph and am enamored with it. The blurry picture with your S50 could have been caused by you being too close to your phone (especially if the macro wasn't turned on). The G series Canons are the best line of mid-range digital cameras I've ever seen. Sony accessories are expensive and proprietary. The P series cameras also record subtle garble noises when you take video clips with sound in the higher resolutions. You couldn't pay me to own a P-series Sony.

[Squire]

Good point about video capabilities.

My G2 takes great video clips. The biggest plus, though, is that the battery (Did I mention that they last forever?) is the same as my Canon ZR 20 camcorder. When I go on a trip, I just have to bring one DC power connector and my extra battery works in both devices. (This was a huge plus at the martial arts festival I mentioned in my earlier post. My camcorder battery was just about dead so I switched with my friend's G3 batery, ran that 'til it was just about dead, then switched back.)

Squire

[Macette]

Originally posted by foolsday
[BYou couldn't pay me to own a P-series Sony. [/B]

Thank you - that's the kind of passion i was looking for! - I'll definitely go for the Canon. Tempted by G5, but still very keen on the tiny Ixus (that's what it's called in Australia - I think it's the S400 elsewhere).

[Anna]

It may not be the camera...just the settings...some cameras use auto focus and that is sometimes wrong. Try manual focussing. or hold a white sheet of paper in front and focus on that then use MF

goodluck

[photohead]

Originally posted by foolsday
I've sold digital cameras since 1999. I personally own a digital Canon Elph and am enamored with it. The blurry picture with your S50 could have been caused by you being too close to your phone (especially if the macro wasn't turned on). The G series Canons are the best line of mid-range digital cameras I've ever seen. Sony accessories are expensive and proprietary. The P series cameras also record subtle garble noises when you take video clips with sound in the higher resolutions. You couldn't pay me to own a P-series Sony.

I second this statement....sony is too proprietary...and memory stick is soo much more expensive then CF...but I got to say if you want fast focus...you may have to reconsider...the sony DCS-V1 is very atractive in the fact that the resolution is ok...but it focuses faster then any camera in its class...very good for snap shots on the go...and it has a hot shoe...which is great unlike the f707 that I used to have...sony is a good product though...not to knock it....but untill they drop prices on thier acces. and MS...I won't be back...Canon is the bees knees for me right at the moment...but look out for nikon, fuji, and some other brands to try to top them....they are coming out with some great stuff...canon just has every thing make sense...ie...the battery for my 10d is the same as g3...and flash with etl is great on both...makes a great system..

N

[PaisanoMan]

Originally posted by photohead
I second this statement....sony is too proprietary...and memory stick is soo much more expensive then CF...bN

I'll also agree. I own a Canon PowerShot G3, and couldn't be happier. Excellent build quality, great pictures for the price, plenty of flexibility.

Sony has some smaller cameras than Canon does, but you'll sacrifice some image quality and pay a premium.

[SoarEyes]

Originally posted by photohead
the g5 and the g3 actually have the same sensor the only difference is that the g5 packs more pixels in the same sensor which results in more noise and less sharpness. The g3 has a better ratio; pixels to sensor size which results in good resolution and sharpness.

N

I guess the same thing happened to the 4MP S45 versus the 5MP S50.

I think I’m going for either a G3 or a digital elph

While we’re at it... What’s the advantage of savings pics in RAW format versus JPEG

[jcook793]

Originally posted by photohead : I second this statement....sony is too proprietary...and memory stick is soo much more expensive then CF...Well that used to be the case but the price gap has gotten a lot more narrow. And also I hear people whine about the proprietary memory stick, but seriously, what other device do you have that uses CF cards?

I personally have a Sony F505 and I really love my camera. I bought it nearly 2 years ago. I've loaned it at work a couple of times and 2 of the borrowees ended up buying the same camera (well the newer model versions like the F707 and the F717).

The form factor is a little bit big if you just want to grab a camera and run, but that lens produces some sweet pictures.

If I recall correctly, the guy that took the artsy G5 photos here (http://www.billnoll.com/g5/) used a Sony F505.

Good luck deciding! It took me forever to sort it out when I was looking.

[jcook793]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, the best review site for digital cameras I've seen is here: http://www.dpreview.com/

Great site!

[cr2sh]

The Canon Gseries for my money rocks socks. You can get a G2 anymore for cheap (wasnt there one in the classified forums for $250?). I love mine. The g3 does seem to produce better images but I would argue not by much. Both are great cameras.

The g5 is still a bit costly... so I'd urge you strongly to buy a g3 or 2, either way you'll be very happy.

[neut]

Originally posted by jcook793
I personally have a Sony F505 and I really love my camera.

i here this a lot from 505 owners.

i just bought a 505v used. should be here today or tomorrow. can't wait! that lens is awesome!

[LethalWolfe]

Your s50 sounds like a lemon. I got my s50 2 weeks ago and I've put around 200 pictures thru it and the only ones that look bad are due to user error/exprimentation. If you are looking for a good point 'n shoot I'd ahve to recommend the s400 that others have brought up. I chose the s50 because I wanted to have more control in the camera, but I still wanted something small (smaller than the G series at least).

I've read some reviews and the s50 and s45 will give you the same quality. The only difference is that the s50 gives a bit more res (which might come in handy if you crop your photos a lot) but it does have a bit more chromatic abbrisiation<sp?> basically really hi contrast areas where blacks and whites meet you could get a purple halo effect. I've seen it in a few of my shots, but its not nearly as bad as the reviews made it seem and I've take a good number of hi contrast shots were I've overexposed it 2 stops in order to blow the whites out.

So the point of that rant was if you can find an s45 for real cheap compared to an s50 you won't lose very much if you choose the s45.

Lethal

[photohead]

Originally posted by cr2sh
The Canon Gseries for my money rocks socks. You can get a G2 anymore for cheap (wasnt there one in the classified forums for $250?). I love mine. The g3 does seem to produce better images but I would argue not by much. Both are great cameras.

The g5 is still a bit costly... so I'd urge you strongly to buy a g3 or 2, either way you'll be very happy.

Just a little tip about the G2...I wouldn't get this camera if you had the choice between the G3 and G2...The lens on the G2 is less sharp and the resolution is not as good...I think canon was still trying to perfect this level of camera and did a great job with the G3...the G2 lens elements are aranged in a different manner which gives it more pincusion distortion and more chromatic abrasions in the highlights then the G3...but for the price these issues may be overlooked considering that you get a great camera for around 250.?

N

[Les Kern]

Originally posted by photohead
the g5 and the g3 actually have the same sensor the only difference is that the g5 packs more pixels in the same sensor which results in more noise and less sharpness. The g3 has a better ratio; pixels to sensor size which results in good resolution and sharpness. ...my suggestion is not to waste your money on the g5..the g3 has the same features and costs way less.

Sounds like he knows what he's talking about. Besides, I'm REALLY good at wasting money. My experience with the G5 has been tremendous, but methinks the G3 would give me excellent reults and saved me some scratch. Listen to this guy. He has the whole picture on the G series it seems to me.

[SumDumGuy]

I really love my Sony DSC-F717. I use a Canon G3 and Canon S50 at work occassionally and I feel my Sony produces better images. The lens is definitely superior. Plus I like saving pics in TIFF format instead of RAW, just saves me a step. The memory sticks are a little of a hassle, but that's a small complaint.

[photohead]

Originally posted by Les Kern
Sounds like he knows what he's talking about. Besides, I'm REALLY good at wasting money. My experience with the G5 has been tremendous, but methinks the G3 would give me excellent reults and saved me some scratch. Listen to this guy. He has the whole picture on the G series it seems to me.

Les, thanks for the kind words...I did a lot of research before I put my money down...I'm kinda paticular about these things...I hope I didn't make an a$$ out of myself if you wrote that comment sarcastically. Didn't read like it...so thanks...


N

[photohead]

Originally posted by SumDumGuy
I really love my Sony DSC-F717. I use a Canon G3 and Canon S50 at work occassionally and I feel my Sony produces better images. The lens is definitely superior. Plus I like saving pics in TIFF format instead of RAW, just saves me a step. The memory sticks are a little of a hassle, but that's a small complaint.

It is true that the carl zeis lens is far superior to anything on the market at the moment...and technically its the best glass out there (generally) but for the price of the f717...$ 999??? I would just get the digital rebel...sure its gots some minor problems...but the next gen sould be better...or for that manner...I'd muster up a couple of hundred extra and get a 10D...far superior camera then the f717...and interchangable lenses...(the rebel and the 10d) Don't get me wrong here...I'm not a canon fanatic...if anything..I'm a hasselblad fanatic...but as far as digital consumer and prosumer camera's on the market right now...canon seems to be doing all the right things to me....

another tip...if you are in the market for a digital camera (consumer level) and are not in a hurry...I would wait to see what the new canon A80's specs come out like..I've heard nothing but good things about this camera and am very excited to see what kind of reviews it gets...for all you that don't know...its modeled after the A70 but it adds more features and what sold me on specs alone is the tilt and swivel screen from the G3 is added. very exciting...imagin a camera...slightly bigger then the canon digital elph series cameras with a tilt and swivel screen?? are you all drulling yet?? I am and have been...it has the same sensor and pixel ration as the G3...but am unsure if it is the exact same sensor...or better....nevertheless I will be a great point and shoot consumer level camera...sorry I'm not sure what the exact release date is...but it is rummored to be ready for christmas...so for those of you that can wait ... and are in the market for a camera of that calliber I would wait...great for pics of christmas dinner, and all the G5's, and 17" laptops that you all get for christmas. hehehe.

and for my final note..I'm very interested in some of the high end fuji's and panasonic's, and suprisingly olympus camera's that are coming out..?? spec wise...they seem to have intersting features...I'll reserve judgement untill I can play with one myself....but for all you Mega pixel hoggs...that belive bigger is better...look out for the sony 8mp camera...?? but it still has the same problems as all sony's do...expensive for the features that you get....and expensive accesories...I think they should lower the camera prices in order to compensate for the high acces. prices and proprietary MS ....or move on to CF which has a max now of 8gb of memory and lower the prices of thier acces. and extend battery life....I can shoot all day with my canon's and still have battery left for another half or 3/4 day of shooting.... thats with full flash power....! As I've stated before I've had many sony products and I think they are a great camera....but at the moment I don't have cash coming out of my A$$ so sony doesn't make sense right now...if money isn't an issue....you wouldn't be disapointed *(generally)* with sony...

thanks for reading through my ranting...and long winded suggestion's.

N

[neut]

Originally posted by photohead
It is true that the carl zeis lens is far superior to anything on the market at the moment...and technically its the best glass out there (generally) but for the price of the f717...$ 999??? <snip>...expensive for the features that you get....and expensive accesories...I think they should lower the camera prices in order to compensate for the high acces. <snip>...As I've stated before I've had many sony products and I think they are a great camera....but at the moment I don't have cash coming out of my A$$ so sony doesn't make sense right now...if money isn't an issue....you wouldn't be disapointed *(generally)* with sony...


hmmm, this sounds very familiar. i've heard similar complaints about a little ol' company called apple...;)

picked up my 505v for $295 used. time to buy when others upgrade.

[jayscheuerle]

Olympus makes a couple 740 & 750 ultra zoom. 10x OPTICAL zoom.

I love mine.

[SumDumGuy]

I would agree that the Canon 10D is a better camera than the Sony DSC-F717, but it's a bit out of my price range. I only paid around $600 for my 717.

If I still had the EOS lenses from my old Canon 35mm I would have bought the 10D, but to have to buy new lenses would have added up quickly.

I really do like the digital Rebel. Too bad I already have a camera that does everything I want it to do (and then some!).

[Macette]

so... i just bought the Canon Ixus 400.. still waiting for the battery to charge for the first time. i will report back with my findings, in case that's useful to people. :)

[Les Kern]

Originally posted by photohead
Les, thanks for the kind words...I did a lot of research before I put my money down...I'm kinda paticular about these things...I hope I didn't make an a$$ out of myself if you wrote that comment sarcastically. Didn't read like it...so thanks...


N

No sarcasm. In my business only a fool would not listen to experience. It may not always be right in itself, but I can always think I recognize someone who can analyze then put it into a coherent thought.

[cubist]

Originally posted by jayscheuerle
Olympus makes a couple 740 & 750 ultra zoom. 10x OPTICAL zoom.

Thanks, I've got to look into this. Kodak was showing a camera with a 6x zoom at MWNY, it wasn't too bad, but much more expensive than the Fuji 3800. I need a better zoom, I don't know how people are putting up with these 3X zooms.

[arizona_kimbo]

Just a tip for digital camera users. A lot of blurry pictures are due to camera shake rather than poor autofocus. It also gets worse if you have a long zoom lens since the aperture usually gets smaller the further out the lens is zoomed. This decreases the amout of light getting into the lens and increases the shutter time. Camera shake can be reduced if you use the viewfinder rather than the LCD screen. Using the viewfinder will force you to bring your arms closer to your body, thereby increasing stability.

The drawback is that most viewfinders don't show 100% of the image frame, but you can compensate for that by zooming in more tightly. A bonus to using the viewfinder is that the batteries last longer.

I'm an avid photographer, I own a Canon S30, and I work in a photo lab so I know what I'm talking about. I see blurry digital pictures all the time and most of the time it's due to camera shake.

[Genie]

I really like my Digital Rebel Eos 300D, which you can get with a lens for $900 right now if you shop.

[Squire]

Originally posted by arizona_kimbo
Just a tip for digital camera users. A lot of blurry pictures are due to camera shake rather than poor autofocus.... I see blurry digital pictures all the time and most of the time it's due to camera shake.

Yeah, but doesn't the "camera shake" icon show up on the LCD screen if that's the case? On my PowerShot G2, if I'm not steady with the camera, a little icon depicting a shaky hand appears. Is it the same with your S30?

Oh, and I saw the Digital Rebel advertised on the Apple site. That looks like a cool camera for someone who is used to an EOS but wants to go digital without having to re-mortgage the house.

Squire

[agdickinson]

The new Sony F828 has both Memory Stick Pro and Compact Flash 1/2 slots, so if you move to that you don't loose any investment in high capacity Compact Flash Cards.

I have a 2MP Ixus with 1Gb + 256Mb so at least when I move to hopefully an F828 it will nice not to have to buy new things for a while.

Anyway's I've had a Canon Ixus / Myie? 2Mp and it's always provided lovely results.

Odd about the blurry pictures on the S50. A friend of mine repairs Digital and Film cameras so I will ask him if he knows of any problems.

Andrew

[arizona_kimbo]

Originally posted by Squire
Yeah, but doesn't the "camera shake" icon show up on the LCD screen if that's the case? On my PowerShot G2, if I'm not steady with the camera, a little icon depicting a shaky hand appears. Is it the same with your S30?

Squire

On my S30 the camera shake icon only appears in really low light conditions. If I take a picture using the LCD in normal lighting and retake it using the viewfinder, there's always a noticeable difference in sharpness. The viewfinder photo is always better. It's not always obvious when I use the camera's LCD for playback, but on my computer screen it's like night and day.

[Squire]

Originally posted by arizona_kimbo
On my S30 the camera shake icon only appears in really low light conditions. If I take a picture using the LCD in normal lighting and retake it using the viewfinder, there's always a noticeable difference in sharpness. The viewfinder photo is always better. It's not always obvious when I use the camera's LCD for playback, but on my computer screen it's like night and day.

You're saying the quality of the picture is different when using the LCD vs. the viewfinder? Why?

Squire

[Capt Underpants]

You got a lemon. Canon cameras are great. I bought my Powershot S45 in April and haven't had any trouble with it. It takes wonderfully sharp, vivid pictures. I recently won 2nd and HM in the State Fair, and those pictures were taken with my S45. You just got a lemon. I could email you a pic that I took with my S45 or post it up on this thread if you want.....

[arizona_kimbo]

Originally posted by Squire
You're saying the quality of the picture is different when using the LCD vs. the viewfinder? Why?

Squire

I mean the sharpness is much higher when taking the picture using the viewfinder rather than the LCD.

[Squire]

So, I guess I understood you correctly but I'm curious as to why that would happen. I didn't know that using one or the other would have an effect on the actual photo. I've heard that it's easier to frame the shot, etc. but I always assumed the same photographic process was taking place. What would cause the camera to take a sharper picture using the viewfinder? Does the LCD give off some kind of interference or something?

Don't get me wrong: I'm not doubting you. I just want to learn something. ;)

Squire

[pimentoLoaf]

Been using an Olympus C3000zoom for a couple of years now, but I don't think they make that model anymore.

Whatever you decide, a 3-megapixel is the absolute minimum.

[Genie]

Yes-I get some shaky shots too- I'd like to know how to fix that.

[SoarEyes]

Originally posted by Macette
so... i just bought the Canon Ixus 400.. still waiting for the battery to charge for the first time. i will report back with my findings, in case that's useful to people. :)

How’s it going with your Ixus 400?
You happy?

[SoarEyes]

Originally posted by Capt Underpants
You got a lemon. Canon cameras are great. I bought my Powershot S45 in April and haven't had any trouble with it. It takes wonderfully sharp, vivid pictures. I recently won 2nd and HM in the State Fair, and those pictures were taken with my S45. You just got a lemon. I could email you a pic that I took with my S45 or post it up on this thread if you want.....

Good plan! If you could post it, that be great.

[Macette]

Originally posted by SoarEyes
How’s it going with your Ixus 400?
You happy?


Oh man. It's great. I'll attach a little shot i took last night in Melbourne's Federation Square - there was a free salsa dancing night, and all these people came, and I just snapped this shot. Considering how difficult it can be to light meter properly etc using a film camera in this kind of situation, i reckon it's done a great job:

[Macette]

And in this shot - which is just me waiting for the tram and unable to keep my hands off the new camera! - i think the tonal range is really good - it gets all the subtleties.

[pimentoLoaf]

What is that? Concrete slabs, tarmac, and paving bricks all within a meter of each other?

Nobody makes neat tarmac like that in the USofA: it's always so gloppy and random.

And what's that circular thing?

[SoarEyes]

Thanks for the pics! Very nice indeed.
No lack of sharpness in the pavement pic.
like it.. like it...

Does it focus quickly enough? What about dim light situations without flash?

ta

[arizona_kimbo]

Originally posted by Squire
So, I guess I understood you correctly but I'm curious as to why that would happen. I didn't know that using one or the other would have an effect on the actual photo. I've heard that it's easier to frame the shot, etc. but I always assumed the same photographic process was taking place. What would cause the camera to take a sharper picture using the viewfinder? Does the LCD give off some kind of interference or something?

Squire

It all comes back down to camera shake. Using the viewfinder will reduce camera shake because your arms are brought in closer to your body which increases your stability and thus, reduces the chances that the shot will be blurry. If you use the LCD to frame the picture, your arms will stick out a certain distance away. This makes you less stable because your arms are out there with little to support them and the chances of your photo being slightly out of focus are higher. This is a photo technique that is standard in film photography and makes a lot of sense, but has been somewhat abandoned since digital has taken off. People really love those LCDs, but they don't always make for the best pictures. I prefer to use the LCD simply as a playback tool for after the photo has been taken. Of course, the best way to ensure the sharpest pictures is to use a tripod, but few people have time for that.

[Squire]

OK. I see your point now and it does make sense. Thanks for the tip.

Squire

[Macette]

Originally posted by SoarEyes
Thanks for the pics! Very nice indeed.
No lack of sharpness in the pavement pic.
like it.. like it...

Does it focus quickly enough? What about dim light situations without flash?

ta

Yep, the focus is very responsive, and that first shot - the dancing one - was taken without a Flash. It was quite well lit, but it was night time, so it wasn't THAT bright. It wanted to use the Flash, but I turned it off, and I didn't get camera shake (you would see it around the lights I there was shake I think) - just a bit of movement from the crowd.

[doctorhook]

If you want a great 5Mp camera the Olympus C5050 is a winner.

[SoarEyes]

Thought I’d get back to you all. Well finally made up my mind and bought the Sony DSC-V1. sofar It’s pretty good doesn’t feel as solid as the Canon and battery life is short, but it does focus very well and doesn’t suffer from alot of noise in the higher ISO levels. so overall I’m a happy geek.

Have a look

[neut]

first few pics with my first digital camera (505v):

random shot photoshoped (http://www.organech.com/images/00003.jpg)

macro, one of the very first pics (http://www.organech.com/images/505v_example.jpg)

these were taken the first day i got it.

i love this digi-cam!

[neut]

Originally posted by SoarEyes
Thought I’d get back to you all. ... I’m a happy geek.

is the pattern from a low quality jpg or from the camera?

[SoarEyes]

Yeah It’s a Jpeg pattern, had to use a low quality Jpeg to post it.

[PlanB]

Depend what you need it for doesnt it

i got a fuji s304 and i cant complain
good value for good results

[Counterfit]

*slaps Canon*. I want a 1-Ds at $200!!! :D

But the replacement for the 10D would do well at $1200 ;)

[fBaran]

Hi all,
Just bought and returned a canon S50.
Overall I liked this 5 MP camera, especially for it’s nice colors.
But I couldn’t get a sharp image out of it.

So was it a lemon, or should I go for another brand?

Any input would be appreciated.

See sample pic.
Buy mine! A Canon S45. 370 shipped? I have everything original (box, manuals), 32mb CFcard). Like new condition! PLEASE! buy it! I have no use for it

[aswitcher]

Well I would check out the following sites for good reviews and also check the compatability with Photoshop for any camera that you might get that supports RAW images and iPhoto.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/cameras.html

I've got an A70 (A75 just got announced) and it works very fine, nice 3mp with 3x optical zoom, 640x480 video at 15fps. Nice.

http://www.dpreview.com/

http://www.dpmac.com/cameras/index.html

http://www.imaging-resource.com/NEWS.HTM

http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html