gator4ever07
07-04-2005, 02:18 PM
I posted a similar thread a few weeks ago, but a few of my needs have changed a bit and I'm still looking for help, so here goes...
Some background info before I do the questionnaire...
I am taking a year off before college to travel and volunteer abroad. I'm going to Central America for 5 months starting in late July, and then possibly to Africa in '06. I currently own a Canon G3, which was a Christmas gift a couple years ago, but I've never sat down to really figure out what all the bells and whistles do. I want a smaller camera that produces good quality photos. Maybe I'm just a hopeless amateur, but when I got my G3, I was impressed with the photos right off the bat, without changing anything or reading the manual. I don't mind a camera having manual controls, as one day I might sit down and figure them out, but I don't want to have to mess with them to get good pics. Now for the questionnaire...
Budget
* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
Max of $375 for camera itself.
Size
* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
Compact...definitely nothing larger than the Canon A95...preferrably smaller
Features
* How many megapixels will suffice for you?
4 is enough, a couple more would be fine, but I don't need 7.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
Standard
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
8-10...I want high quality photos, but I probably won't be blowing them up too much.
* Do you care for manual controls?
As I said before, I want to be able to take it out of the box and start snapping great pics. It would be nice to have various scene modes, but I don't have to have control of ISO, etc (since I have no idea how to use them).
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
Traveling - People and Landscape/Cityscapes; Home - People. I hate having blurry pics, so cameras that are better with this would be good...
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
Probably no bigger than 8x10, if that. I haven't blown up any of my G3 pics.
* Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
30-50% of my pics will be in such conditions. G3 seems good for it, but I don't know what technology it has.
* Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Not a lot, but as I said, I don't like blurry snapshots if I can avoid them.
Miscellaneous
* Are there particular brands you like or hate?
I've been looking at Canon because I have been impressed with my current camera and I'm comfortable with the menus and such, but I'm open to anything mainstream
* Are there particular models you already have in mind?
Canon SD300/400; Sony W1; ? NOT the Fuji F10 (ordered it, didn't like it, sending it back)
* Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
I guess image stabilization would be good if that's what helps get crisp pics.
ALSO, I want the camera to be as fast as possible - I know people hate waiting for me to take a pic, and I don't like missing 'kodak moments.'
I really really appreciate any help you can provide. Thanks in advance!!!
Some background info before I do the questionnaire...
I am taking a year off before college to travel and volunteer abroad. I'm going to Central America for 5 months starting in late July, and then possibly to Africa in '06. I currently own a Canon G3, which was a Christmas gift a couple years ago, but I've never sat down to really figure out what all the bells and whistles do. I want a smaller camera that produces good quality photos. Maybe I'm just a hopeless amateur, but when I got my G3, I was impressed with the photos right off the bat, without changing anything or reading the manual. I don't mind a camera having manual controls, as one day I might sit down and figure them out, but I don't want to have to mess with them to get good pics. Now for the questionnaire...
Budget
* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
Max of $375 for camera itself.
Size
* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
Compact...definitely nothing larger than the Canon A95...preferrably smaller
Features
* How many megapixels will suffice for you?
4 is enough, a couple more would be fine, but I don't need 7.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
Standard
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
8-10...I want high quality photos, but I probably won't be blowing them up too much.
* Do you care for manual controls?
As I said before, I want to be able to take it out of the box and start snapping great pics. It would be nice to have various scene modes, but I don't have to have control of ISO, etc (since I have no idea how to use them).
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
Traveling - People and Landscape/Cityscapes; Home - People. I hate having blurry pics, so cameras that are better with this would be good...
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
Probably no bigger than 8x10, if that. I haven't blown up any of my G3 pics.
* Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
30-50% of my pics will be in such conditions. G3 seems good for it, but I don't know what technology it has.
* Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Not a lot, but as I said, I don't like blurry snapshots if I can avoid them.
Miscellaneous
* Are there particular brands you like or hate?
I've been looking at Canon because I have been impressed with my current camera and I'm comfortable with the menus and such, but I'm open to anything mainstream
* Are there particular models you already have in mind?
Canon SD300/400; Sony W1; ? NOT the Fuji F10 (ordered it, didn't like it, sending it back)
* Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
I guess image stabilization would be good if that's what helps get crisp pics.
ALSO, I want the camera to be as fast as possible - I know people hate waiting for me to take a pic, and I don't like missing 'kodak moments.'
I really really appreciate any help you can provide. Thanks in advance!!!