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Digital camera suggestions?

S

SoarEyes

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 4, 2002
88
0
Amsterdam
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.
 
here the pic
 

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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.
 
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.
 
A70

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...? ;)
 
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!
 
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.... ;)
 
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.... ;)
Click to expand...

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.
 
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 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/
 
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."
 
Canon vs. Fuji

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 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
 
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.
Click to expand...

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

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

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).
 
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
 
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.
Click to expand...

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

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.
 
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
Click to expand...

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
 
Originally posted by photohead : I second this statement....sony is too proprietary...and memory stick is soo much more expensive then CF...
Click to expand...
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 used a Sony F505.

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