pianoplayer88key
09-22-2006, 08:59 PM
First off, A = small P&S, B = larger superzoom/dSRL, C = video (could combine with another category maybe)
Budget
* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
A) $250-$400
B) I just became employed, so hopefully my price range can increase somewhat. However I still can't afford a Canon 1Ds Mark II with a 10,000mm F/2.0 IS lens. What (including lenses) can I get for $700 to $1500?
C) I'm not sure. Most vid cams I've seen on C-Net under $600 supposedly have poor low-light capability. I want good low-light capability, via a fast lens and good high-ISO performance, not via a light on the camera. What could I get for $750-$1000?
Size
* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
A) pocket sized. Fuji F30 seems like it would qualify.
B) doesn't matter. Prefer not more than 2 feet by 6 feet including the biggest lens if dSLR
C) pocket size would be nice, but willing to go larger to get better quality.
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
A) 6 minimum, preferably 8, 10-12 would be nice.
B) 6 is fine, 8 or 10 would be better.
C) good enough for DVD/VGA. HD would be nice. I may want to extract individual frames and at least get 2x3 (wallet) prints, preferably 4x6.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
Note: I'll also mention lens apertures here cause there is no other place on the questionnaire that I see it's asked about. Also instead of X factors I'll be mentioning 35mm equivalent focal lengths at least for A and B.
A) the lens on the Fuji F30 would be OK, but I'd really prefer something that goes from 30mm or wider to 150mm or longer, that's F/2.0 at wide, and no slower than F/4.0 at tele.
B) if a dSLR, I'd like a range of focal lengths from 24mm to 600mm (longer would be nice). I'm thinking a few lenses, like a wide zoom (24-70), a mid tele zoom (50-150), a fast (F/2.0 or faster) 50mm or so prime, tele (100-400) zoom, etc. Faster apertures and IS are preferred, but not to the point of breaking the bank.
C) would like a fairly long optical zoom (20x or better). What about 28mm to 560mm in 35mm terms with a relatively fast lens, or what would I be likely to get?
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
all = 10, good high ISO performance (minimum good 800-1600 in p&s, 3200-6400 in dSLR, good enough for indoor sports/club videography in vidcam)
Do you care for manual controls?
all: yes, especially the dSLR
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
A) mainly indoor no-flash photography, as my carry-around-all-the-time camera, taking some videos.
B) in situations where the p&s would not work.
C) videos where the movie mode on the p&s won't work.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
Based on my track record, I probably won't be making ANY prints, although hopefully that will change if I can find ways to print 1000s of 4x6 pics for less than the cost of a 2GB CF card.
I most likely will be doing VERY heavy (3-4x or more) cropping, though, to 4x6 (sometimes 2x3) sizes.
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
all: yes
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
all: yes
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate?
no preference at this point.
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
A) Fuji F30 (but the lens is slower than my liking). was thinking Casio Z1000 but saw its high ISO and scratched it.
B) was thinking Fuji F50 but its high ISO doesn't hold a candle to the Fuji F30.
C) don't know yet.
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
A) wide angle (28mm or wider) with high res sensor would be nice. IS would also be nice, but not required. if I require a rotating LCD, it will eliminate the Fuji F30. What's a worthy replacement with the good sensor and a fast lens?
B) IS would be really nice - required if I get a P&S. Rotating LCD also required if I get a P&S, along with good high ISO performance (P&S also requires minimum 420mm telephoto). if a dSLR, some way to preview pics with the camera held at non-standard angles
C) IS and rotating LCD required.
Ok, so I don't know what to look for in a cam. Any suggestions on how to research this? I'm quite confused by the combined information overload I get from C-Net, dpreview, Steve's Digicams, imaging resource, and dc resource. :(
Budget
* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
A) $250-$400
B) I just became employed, so hopefully my price range can increase somewhat. However I still can't afford a Canon 1Ds Mark II with a 10,000mm F/2.0 IS lens. What (including lenses) can I get for $700 to $1500?
C) I'm not sure. Most vid cams I've seen on C-Net under $600 supposedly have poor low-light capability. I want good low-light capability, via a fast lens and good high-ISO performance, not via a light on the camera. What could I get for $750-$1000?
Size
* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
A) pocket sized. Fuji F30 seems like it would qualify.
B) doesn't matter. Prefer not more than 2 feet by 6 feet including the biggest lens if dSLR
C) pocket size would be nice, but willing to go larger to get better quality.
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
A) 6 minimum, preferably 8, 10-12 would be nice.
B) 6 is fine, 8 or 10 would be better.
C) good enough for DVD/VGA. HD would be nice. I may want to extract individual frames and at least get 2x3 (wallet) prints, preferably 4x6.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
Note: I'll also mention lens apertures here cause there is no other place on the questionnaire that I see it's asked about. Also instead of X factors I'll be mentioning 35mm equivalent focal lengths at least for A and B.
A) the lens on the Fuji F30 would be OK, but I'd really prefer something that goes from 30mm or wider to 150mm or longer, that's F/2.0 at wide, and no slower than F/4.0 at tele.
B) if a dSLR, I'd like a range of focal lengths from 24mm to 600mm (longer would be nice). I'm thinking a few lenses, like a wide zoom (24-70), a mid tele zoom (50-150), a fast (F/2.0 or faster) 50mm or so prime, tele (100-400) zoom, etc. Faster apertures and IS are preferred, but not to the point of breaking the bank.
C) would like a fairly long optical zoom (20x or better). What about 28mm to 560mm in 35mm terms with a relatively fast lens, or what would I be likely to get?
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
all = 10, good high ISO performance (minimum good 800-1600 in p&s, 3200-6400 in dSLR, good enough for indoor sports/club videography in vidcam)
Do you care for manual controls?
all: yes, especially the dSLR
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
A) mainly indoor no-flash photography, as my carry-around-all-the-time camera, taking some videos.
B) in situations where the p&s would not work.
C) videos where the movie mode on the p&s won't work.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
Based on my track record, I probably won't be making ANY prints, although hopefully that will change if I can find ways to print 1000s of 4x6 pics for less than the cost of a 2GB CF card.
I most likely will be doing VERY heavy (3-4x or more) cropping, though, to 4x6 (sometimes 2x3) sizes.
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
all: yes
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
all: yes
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate?
no preference at this point.
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
A) Fuji F30 (but the lens is slower than my liking). was thinking Casio Z1000 but saw its high ISO and scratched it.
B) was thinking Fuji F50 but its high ISO doesn't hold a candle to the Fuji F30.
C) don't know yet.
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
A) wide angle (28mm or wider) with high res sensor would be nice. IS would also be nice, but not required. if I require a rotating LCD, it will eliminate the Fuji F30. What's a worthy replacement with the good sensor and a fast lens?
B) IS would be really nice - required if I get a P&S. Rotating LCD also required if I get a P&S, along with good high ISO performance (P&S also requires minimum 420mm telephoto). if a dSLR, some way to preview pics with the camera held at non-standard angles
C) IS and rotating LCD required.
Ok, so I don't know what to look for in a cam. Any suggestions on how to research this? I'm quite confused by the combined information overload I get from C-Net, dpreview, Steve's Digicams, imaging resource, and dc resource. :(