digital camera advice

[Iggy]

I'm thinking about buying this digital camera. anyone have any opinions?

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_product_lobbypage.asp?l=1&p=16&bc=1&product=954

 

[jersey_emt]

3.2 megapixel will give you good quality prints up to 5x7, any larger than that you may not be happy.

Not familiar with that specific camera though, can't offer any opinions. I'm a die-hard Canon user/abuser.

 

[scorch70]

I dont know about that one, but I just bought a Canon Powershot A75 for 249 from newegg.com. Seems to be a great camera. heres the page on it:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=30-120-122&depa=7

Well, its went up a few dollars, but seems like a great camera.

scorch70
(not a camera expert)

 

[Protege5Gurly]

Looks good, but havent found a review on it yet ... r u lookin for that $200 price range? The Canon Powershot SD100 and S230 are pretty nice as well.

Pe@ce

 

[Newf]

C A N O N ! ! !

Would not buy olympus. bad lens. Get A Canon, best glass on the market. Nikon also very good but $$$

btw, that 10x Zoom is not worth s***. You want optical zoom, not digital.

 

[Newf]

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

 

[Protege5Gurly]

Our first digital was a Olympus D-360L -- 1.3 megapix ... pretty nice, but started to take crappy pix after about 2 yrs. We have upgraded to the Nikon CoolPix 5700

Pe@ce

 

[servoeyes]

I have a Canon Powershot A70...3 MP and it'll make 8x10 prints if I need it to...a little touch up from Photochop and 8x10 can look damn near perfect.

Of course...they make the Powershot A80 is out there, and it's 4 MP. But...the powershot A-series are amazing. The manual features are spectacular, and it's very easy to get one handed shots.

 

[Iggy]

how much did you pay for your A series? i have found alot of different prices.

 

[Lord_Zath]

Yes like everyone else says, CANON KICKS ALL ASS.

Get the A70 or A75 (both 3mp, 3x optical zoom) if you're looking for 200-250. The A70 and 75 are mostly the same except the 75 has a larger viewscreen (means eats batteries faster) and I did notice that they changed the interface a little on the back as well.

The A80 is even nicer (around 350 now) as it is 4mp and more importantly has a swivel/tilt LCD screen. It's saved my ass several times from having to hump the ground like Jose. Plus I like the ability to flip it around and protect the screen and use the viewfinder.

The Canons also have incredible image quality. I took pictures from the last meet to the photo lab I work in and tried printing them on the Kodak Picture Maker. The new PM's have an "Auto Enhance" feature that will examine the picture and automatically determine the optimum brightness, color, and contrast. I printed up 6 pictures, one as-is, and one w/the Auto Enhance feature. Only 3 looked marginally better on Auto Enhance, telling me that this camera is damned accurate in pictures. Granted, there are times when you need to manually fix things, but for the most part it's Fire and Forget.

It also has auto modes and manual modes if you want to be more creative and have fun.

So to keep a long post medium, buy the Canon brand unless you have PhotoShop starting up with your computer. Here's a synopsis of other major brands out there:

Canon - Great image quality and price.
Nikon - Lacking somewhat in digital, and also more expensive.
Kodak - Great for beginners, eats batteries FASTER than other digicams, medium quality.
Olympus - Great for um... spraying with water? I personally hate their zoom toggle - it would give me wrist pains after 30 seconds of playing with them.
Fuji - Great image quality, usually larger than other digicams, also horrible shutter lag
Minolta - Their Z1 and Z2 are fast (but not as fast as commercial claims). Only problem is the mirror inside breaks way too easily.
Pentax - Optio? WTF?
Sony - Great cameras of course. Not so great is the price. You're spending a good 50 dollars more just for the friggin' name.
Vivitar - Just don't get it.
Any other non-name brand camera - forget it.

The conclusion - GET THE CANON!

That is all

LZ

 

[MSPinVA]

yeah, i just bought my dad a cheap Fuji 2MP camera. Great pictures, but the shutter lag is almost a damn near second. I think I'm going to buy myself a Canon actually....

 

[jred321]

if you want a nice cheap camera the canon a300 can be had real cheap now. it's basically an a70 w/o optical zoom and a few other features, but it is a little smaller and much cheaper (saw it for 130 in an ad last week). canon also uses cheaper memory than lots of the other cameras

 

[Newf]

I work in a IT dept., and we have a few different makes and model camera's. But we all fight over the older Canon G2. It might be a couple years old now, but it is still one of the best 4 meg digi cams around. I loved it so much I bought a G5. The G series has Easily the Best damn battery life of any camera I have ever used as well. 400+ pictures some with flash, and screen on all the time. Amazing.

I talked my mother into getting a a80, and even her being the most non computer type of person in the world, but a good photographer from years ago, loves the a80 and finds it very easy to use.

 

[Replica]

Powershot is where it's at. Mine is a 2 Megapixel and it still looks great. Make sure you fill screen these to check out the quality. There a little blurring here and there due to the low pixel count, but for $200 it can't be beat.

 

[AGR]

I love my Olympus C3000 Zoom (3.34 megapixels). I have had it about 4 years now. Here are some shots, I have done. Believe me; it's the camera, not me!

 

[jred321]

a300 pics shrunken and made crappier quality, they're usually ~1mb per pic

 

[Iggy]

now im looking at this one:
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&catoid=-8025&qp=0072531580711&oid=90890&index=0

is this one good? i might just go buy it tomorrow if i can talk my dad into letting me use some of my saved cash.

 

[Leppy]

Proud owner of a Powershot A60. Hell, it survived my 4 month deployment to Kirkuk, Iraq... I can guarantee this thing is durable...

 

[orangezoom]

I just bought this one on ebay and I love it

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&qp=0&bookmark=bookmark_0&oid=90851&catoid=-8025&m=0

 

[Natey]

I have an Olympus C-730 3.2 meg "Ultra Zoom". It's got a 10X optical zoom which is nice for taking surf-pics, but to be honest this camera is way to complicated to be any fun to use. The owner's manual looks like a phonebook, and after two years, I still only get a good pic about half the time.
If I could turn the clock back, I'd probably find a Canon with a good optical zoom. Canon or Nikon cameras may cost a bit more, but the ease of use makes them worth the extra money, IMHO.