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View Full Version : Need some advice please


Cakey
05-23-2006, 02:00 PM
I need to buy a camera for work purposes. I do most of the graphics for a nonprofit and would like to purchase a decent camera. This will be my first digital camera purchase, so forgive my ignorance!

Budget -- $400 total (camera, case, memory stuff) -- it's a nonprofit so budget is pretty important!

Size -- Doesn't really matter

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? -- I don't know! I'll use some photos for web, some for print graphics but don't need super high quality.

* What optical zoom will you need? -- Standard (?)

* How important is “image quality” to you? -- 8

Do you care for manual controls? -- Don't care

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for? -- Taking photos of buildings and people. Not a lot of fast action stuff.

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? Not often; do not need super print quality.

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? No

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? -- No

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate? -- Nope

Are there particular models you already have in mind? Nope

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD) -- I want image stabilizationa, some zoom capabilities, good and efficient battery use, good memory. I will never use it for movie stuff. I prefer an old-school view finder.

Thanks for your suggestions!

Telecorder
05-23-2006, 05:09 PM
As my other postings will show, I'm a Pany devotee. One suggestion you might consider is the new Pany TZ1. From the postings of photos being taken with this digi, it may be appropriate for your needs...

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Panasonic/panasonic_dmctz1.asp

bascom
05-24-2006, 02:48 PM
The TZ1 is nice but has no VF. Cakey said (s)he "prefers an old-school view finder". Do you mean optical VF or is electric VF ok? There aren't many with a VF and IS for < $400:

Casio Z10/Z110/Z120
Canon S1/S2 - EVF
Kodak P850 - EVF
Pana FZ7 - EVF
Sony H1/H2 - EVF

The Kodak P850 is on sale at Circuit City for only $270 right now but has poor battery life: http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=136825&WT.mc_n=67&WT.mc_t=U&cm_ven=COMPARISON%20SHOPPING&cm_cat=PRICEGRABBER&cm_pla=DATAFEED-%3EPRODUCTS&cm_ite=1%20PRODUCT&cm_keycode=67

I'm thinking the Casio's would fit you best. The others on my list are zoom camera's with an EVF and are fairly big and bulky. The Pana FX01/FX8 and Sony T9 are nice small ones with IS but no VF.