docbill
06-28-2006, 07:45 PM
I am looking for a good upgrade for my wife's birthday to help her transition from 35 mm to digital cameras. A year ago, she baught me a vivitar 3.3 MP camera (ViviCam 3705) for Christmax. She felt it was a good starter camera for me, because it was a reasonable resolution, it is approximately the same size as my old camera, and it uses normal AA batteries. It has features I would like. She was right. However, given the choice between using my camera and her 35 mm, she will pick the 35 mm hands down, because she feels she can still get a better picture with film. In this regards she is also correct. We each took pictures at Marine Land. Many of mine would have been spectacular, but the cammera failed to focus on the correct object, mean while most of her pictures were spectacular.
However, one of the secrets to becoming a better photographer is to take lots of pictures. As long as she is limited to a few rolls of film each trip, she is limited in those regards.
Budget
Approximately $300
Size
Something abit larger than my Vivitar. One of the problems she has using my camera is it is too small for her to comfortably operate.
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
5 MP or more
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
5x or better
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
10
Do you care for manual controls?
Yes
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
Family pictures, landscapes, tourism, flowers, etc.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
Yes. Staples offers poster size prints, and she has expressed an interest in having some made. She also loves to zoom and edit in photoshop.
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Yes.
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Occassionally.
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate?
I would avoid both HP and Panasonics, because of problems I have had with their other products.
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
I have been looking at the Kodak Easyshare Z650 might fit the bill it is hard for me to to say determine.
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
I know she would be overjoyed if the camara included wide angle. Rapid shooting would also be a good feature for her.
However, one of the secrets to becoming a better photographer is to take lots of pictures. As long as she is limited to a few rolls of film each trip, she is limited in those regards.
Budget
Approximately $300
Size
Something abit larger than my Vivitar. One of the problems she has using my camera is it is too small for her to comfortably operate.
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
5 MP or more
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
5x or better
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
10
Do you care for manual controls?
Yes
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
Family pictures, landscapes, tourism, flowers, etc.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
Yes. Staples offers poster size prints, and she has expressed an interest in having some made. She also loves to zoom and edit in photoshop.
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Yes.
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Occassionally.
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate?
I would avoid both HP and Panasonics, because of problems I have had with their other products.
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
I have been looking at the Kodak Easyshare Z650 might fit the bill it is hard for me to to say determine.
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
I know she would be overjoyed if the camara included wide angle. Rapid shooting would also be a good feature for her.