dreamer85
05-29-2006, 01:02 AM
I have spent over a week researching digital cameras, and have gone from someone who didn't know a thing about digital camera features, to someone who knows pretty much what I want but is frustrated trying to find that perfect one out of the myriad out there! I have tried a couple "product advisors," but didn't get exactly what I was looking for, so I finally decided to try some real, live advice from real people.
My answers:
* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible. I'm thinking to spend up to $300, but am certainly willing to go over to get exactly what I want. Nothing over $500 though.
* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you? Size is pretty important, though it's just a matter of preference, and I would forget my preference if that was the only way to get all my other requirements. I would prefer a medium-sized camera or perhaps a compact, but I don't really care for ultra-compact, and I really don't want to have to get an SLR-sized one.
*How many megapixels will suffice for you? Five or six would be ideal, though I would possibly go with four.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify) Having optical zoom is very important. Standard will do (4x would be better than 3). I'd love to have a higher zoom but don't want to sacrifice my size preference for it. If there was a medium-sized camera with the capability of adding lenses, that would be great.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10) 10
*Do you care for manual controls? Yes. I'm not a professional, so I don't want an overwhelming array of manual controls, but I would like some to learn and experiment with.
* What will you generally use the camera for? Everything. This is my first digital camera and is intended to replace my film camera. I will take it everywhere and probably take a ton of pictures in all kinds of situations. I want to be able to take good quality movies too, and a lot of it, so I require the camera to have 640x480 movie mode using MPEG-4 compression. I would love a voice recorder as well (separate from sound with the movie (which is imperative) and voice tags for photos, which would also be nice), but the only cameras I have found that feature on so far are Samsungs and Casios, and I couldn't find ones that had good reviews that also had everything I wanted.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? Yes. I would like the capability of printing good quality 8x10's, but I don't need bigger.
*Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? Yes, pictures of family. But I will be taking a lot of outdoor pics too. I love taking nature and landscape pics.
*Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? Yes. I would like to be able to capture active kids and animals.
Are there particular brands you like or hate? I am mainly thinking of a Kodak or Sony. I don't really want Canon, Nikon, Olympus, or Fuji because I didn't see any that had the movie format I want.
Are there particular models you already have in mind? No, that's why I'm posting here.
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD) Wide angle would be nice for panoramic shots, but again I'm not willing to sacrifice my size preference for it. And again it would be nice if there was a medium-sized camera that I could put an optional wide-angle lens onto if I want. Image Stabilization isn't so important (I'm young!), especially if it sacrifices image quality. Though image stability for movie mode would be a good thing. The other features mentioned aren't important. Oh, and about the LCD. I would like it fairly large, no smaller than 1.8, preferably 2 and over, and I would like it bright and viewable outdoors. An optical viewfinder isn't too important to me, unless I couldn't get a bright LCD. Oh, and still one more specification––batteries. I want rechargeable batteries, either NIMH or lithium, and I would want the battery life to be good enough to last on a day hike.
Phew! I think that covers everything. I hope I didn't give too much information. Most likely I have conflicting requirements which is why I can't seem to find the "perfect" camera, but I'm hoping that I'll come closer to that perfect camera by your recommendations than I did with automatic product advisors. Thank you in advance for your help!
My answers:
* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible. I'm thinking to spend up to $300, but am certainly willing to go over to get exactly what I want. Nothing over $500 though.
* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you? Size is pretty important, though it's just a matter of preference, and I would forget my preference if that was the only way to get all my other requirements. I would prefer a medium-sized camera or perhaps a compact, but I don't really care for ultra-compact, and I really don't want to have to get an SLR-sized one.
*How many megapixels will suffice for you? Five or six would be ideal, though I would possibly go with four.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify) Having optical zoom is very important. Standard will do (4x would be better than 3). I'd love to have a higher zoom but don't want to sacrifice my size preference for it. If there was a medium-sized camera with the capability of adding lenses, that would be great.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10) 10
*Do you care for manual controls? Yes. I'm not a professional, so I don't want an overwhelming array of manual controls, but I would like some to learn and experiment with.
* What will you generally use the camera for? Everything. This is my first digital camera and is intended to replace my film camera. I will take it everywhere and probably take a ton of pictures in all kinds of situations. I want to be able to take good quality movies too, and a lot of it, so I require the camera to have 640x480 movie mode using MPEG-4 compression. I would love a voice recorder as well (separate from sound with the movie (which is imperative) and voice tags for photos, which would also be nice), but the only cameras I have found that feature on so far are Samsungs and Casios, and I couldn't find ones that had good reviews that also had everything I wanted.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? Yes. I would like the capability of printing good quality 8x10's, but I don't need bigger.
*Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? Yes, pictures of family. But I will be taking a lot of outdoor pics too. I love taking nature and landscape pics.
*Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? Yes. I would like to be able to capture active kids and animals.
Are there particular brands you like or hate? I am mainly thinking of a Kodak or Sony. I don't really want Canon, Nikon, Olympus, or Fuji because I didn't see any that had the movie format I want.
Are there particular models you already have in mind? No, that's why I'm posting here.
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD) Wide angle would be nice for panoramic shots, but again I'm not willing to sacrifice my size preference for it. And again it would be nice if there was a medium-sized camera that I could put an optional wide-angle lens onto if I want. Image Stabilization isn't so important (I'm young!), especially if it sacrifices image quality. Though image stability for movie mode would be a good thing. The other features mentioned aren't important. Oh, and about the LCD. I would like it fairly large, no smaller than 1.8, preferably 2 and over, and I would like it bright and viewable outdoors. An optical viewfinder isn't too important to me, unless I couldn't get a bright LCD. Oh, and still one more specification––batteries. I want rechargeable batteries, either NIMH or lithium, and I would want the battery life to be good enough to last on a day hike.
Phew! I think that covers everything. I hope I didn't give too much information. Most likely I have conflicting requirements which is why I can't seem to find the "perfect" camera, but I'm hoping that I'll come closer to that perfect camera by your recommendations than I did with automatic product advisors. Thank you in advance for your help!