Cheerfulnut
08-17-2005, 11:34 PM
First off, thanks in advance to anyone who replies! :)
Budget
Looking for US$200.. and preferably less (poor college student here)
Size
Size DEFINITELY matters - I want something as compact as possible.. though I am willing to sacrifice ultraportability to some extent in order to have the most features as listed below.
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
I'm guessing that for general use, 3megapixels and up will be fine.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
I would like to have as much optical zoom as possible.. 3x minimum.. but more would be a definite plus.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
I'm not quite sure how this is measured, but image quality is important.. so 8 and up?
Do you care for manual controls?
I don't care - I'm not scared of doing things manually, and if it will help me have more control over my images, then bring it on!
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
This is for personal use.. city sights, moving people/cars/scenery from train.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
How big is big? I plan on taking them to a regular photo place and having them developed for albums, etc. So most of these won't be say.. A4, or 8.5x11.
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Probably some, but as previously mentioned, this is general use, so I would be using it everywhere.
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Probably sometimes
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate?
No idea what's good or not.. just want quality.
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
All I've done so far is go through Newegg - so far what seems to come up with what I'm interested in is the Canon A510. I like that because it's 4x optical zoom at US$170.
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
I don't know what any of that means, so.. No.
As I mentioned previously, I would like a decent zoom. There was 3x zoom on my parents old digital camera, but I was always disappointed in it because images are always smaller through the camera, and 3x zoom didn't do much. What would the difference be between 3x and 4x zoom? The reason I'm seriously considering the Canon A510 is because of its 4x optical zoom. However, if the difference is minimal, then is it worth it? Is there any place where I can look at sample pictures comparing zoom?
Snapshot speed is also important for me - there have been many times where I've tried to quickly take a picture of something moving, but the lag between the time of pressing the button and when the picture is actually taken has always been frustrating. How does the A510 compare? I've heard that with flash it's really slow, but what about without flash? What other cameras take "quick" pictures?
I know I'm a real newbie, but if anyone can offer advice or point out where to look, then I'd be really grateful.
Thanks!
Budget
Looking for US$200.. and preferably less (poor college student here)
Size
Size DEFINITELY matters - I want something as compact as possible.. though I am willing to sacrifice ultraportability to some extent in order to have the most features as listed below.
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
I'm guessing that for general use, 3megapixels and up will be fine.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
I would like to have as much optical zoom as possible.. 3x minimum.. but more would be a definite plus.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
I'm not quite sure how this is measured, but image quality is important.. so 8 and up?
Do you care for manual controls?
I don't care - I'm not scared of doing things manually, and if it will help me have more control over my images, then bring it on!
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
This is for personal use.. city sights, moving people/cars/scenery from train.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
How big is big? I plan on taking them to a regular photo place and having them developed for albums, etc. So most of these won't be say.. A4, or 8.5x11.
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Probably some, but as previously mentioned, this is general use, so I would be using it everywhere.
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Probably sometimes
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate?
No idea what's good or not.. just want quality.
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
All I've done so far is go through Newegg - so far what seems to come up with what I'm interested in is the Canon A510. I like that because it's 4x optical zoom at US$170.
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
I don't know what any of that means, so.. No.
As I mentioned previously, I would like a decent zoom. There was 3x zoom on my parents old digital camera, but I was always disappointed in it because images are always smaller through the camera, and 3x zoom didn't do much. What would the difference be between 3x and 4x zoom? The reason I'm seriously considering the Canon A510 is because of its 4x optical zoom. However, if the difference is minimal, then is it worth it? Is there any place where I can look at sample pictures comparing zoom?
Snapshot speed is also important for me - there have been many times where I've tried to quickly take a picture of something moving, but the lag between the time of pressing the button and when the picture is actually taken has always been frustrating. How does the A510 compare? I've heard that with flash it's really slow, but what about without flash? What other cameras take "quick" pictures?
I know I'm a real newbie, but if anyone can offer advice or point out where to look, then I'd be really grateful.
Thanks!