Digital Camera?

GUMBY GCF

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
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Was think about getting a digital camera. A sony dsc u20 was suggested. I want to take pictures of framing samples, mat samples and some products like tubes of paint and brushes in order to post on internet website and ebay. Willing to spend up to $500.00 but if don't need to I don't believe in over kill.

Here are the details of the camera:

DSC U20 Features

• Super compact and easy-use design provides “always with you” convenience

• 1/2.7” 2.0 MegaPixel effective Progressive Scan Super HAD™ CCD image sensor

• 5mm (33mm 35mm equivalent) f2.8 lens

• Center weighted Auto Focus, 4-step Manual Focus with Auto Macro

• Center weighted Auto Exposure

• Auto shutter speed range 1/30 ~ 1/2000 second

• 1” 64K Pixel TFT transflective LCD Viewfinder with Battery Remaining Indicator

• 4 Mode Intelligent Flash with TTL Pre-flash metering and Red Eye Reduction

• SXGA (1632x1224) and VGA (640x480) Image Sizes

• MPEG Video mail (160x112) Movie mode (w/o audio)

• VGA Burst mode captures up to five 640x480 frames at 2 frames/second

• Selectable Soft snap, Illumination snap and Vivid Nature Scene modes

• Selectable Sepia, Solarize, Black & White and Negative Art Picture Effect modes

• Fast start up time and convenient slide open lens cover make it easy to “capture the moment”

• USB driver for Microsoft® Windows® 98/98SE/Me/2000 Pro, XP Home/Pro, Macintosh® OS 8.5.1/8.6/9.0/9.1/9.2/X

• Rechargeable NiMH AAA batteries with battery charger supplied

• supplied Acc: NH-AAA-DI Rechargeable NiMH batteries, BC-CS1 NiMH battery charger, USB cables, neck strap, MSA-8A 8MB Memory Stick® media; CD-ROM w/Pixela ImageMixer for Sony v1.0 and USB driver

price is about $269.00

Gumby
Think Green
 
Gumby, if you primarily want to post photos to the web (or The Grumble) you don't need much resolution. For this purpose, I find the Sony Mavica's immensely convenient. They use standard 3 1/2" discs for storage and record standard .jpg files. You don't need any drivers or cables and you can use the disc on any computer with a floppy drive.

I paid about $700 for a 1.2 megapixel Mavica several years ago. They're probably less than half of that now.

BTW, Lance doesn't like Mavicas. Just this once, ignore him.
 
Check out cnet.com and others for product reviews.
Then buy last years model for great savings. Look for good battery life. Buy a battery charger and the best rechargables you can get.

I love my Olympus C3030 zoom (3.0 megapixels). I bought it a couple of years ago and have never had a problem. I think it cost me around $400. I heard of someone who recently upgraded his C3030 and he wishes he never sold it.

Aside from the camera, you will want a good editing software. This topic has been discussed here. You should be able to do find it in a search.
 
In my opinion you should buy a camera that has better specifications than you think you need. You can always reduce the size and resolution of a picture, but you can't increase it.
I agree with Lance about Mavica's (Sorry Ron), even at 1.2 megapixels you can only fit a few pics on a floppy disk. When you go away for a weekend and want to take heaps of pics, you have to have twenty seven boxes of disks with you and probably one third of those will fail and you lose the pics.
There are plenty of websites which review digital cameras and you can always ask Lance for his knowledgeable opinion.
Spend as much as you can afford, don't spend as little as possible....cameras are like custom framing.....never buy crap....sorry I can't remember who says that!
 
Hi Gumby!

If all you want to use it for is the web, the 2 megapixels will do, but I suggest going for something with at least 3 if you'll be using it for other purposes.

I looked around (courtesy of pricegrabber.com), read some reviews, and found a $50 rebate for this model
CLICK HERE FOR $50 REBATE LINK - ENDS 3/1/03 The best price I found was $259 ($209) Here are the full results and vendors:

http://www.pricegrabber.com/rating_getprodrev.php/product_id=661491/id_type=M/ut=4409e6857aa4c5d9

I've had a few over the years and currently have a (now old) Kodak DC280 w/2 megapixel. One thing that was a real problem with my previous camera was the battery life. It would kill the batteries in about 12 shots, which was unacceptable. We still carry 3 sets of batteries while on vacation, out of instinct, but have never needed to swap them out yet with the newer camera.

A relative has, and swears by, his cannon model. It can do panoramic pictures (including the one of our store on the web site).

Most cams easily connect to the pc, via USB, and the pictures transfer within seconds. As the megapixels get higher, so does the size of the pictures. Be prepared to have a lot of disk space tied up, or grab a cheap CD burner for offloading.

You'll probably never look back at film again, once you've tried digital. You get immediate results, decent quality, no film or developing delays/expenses, and no harsh chemicals that are bad for the environment. It's a great lil toy


Mike
 
I disagree with the idea of trying to find one camera to do everything.

Gumby says
I want to take pictures of framing samples, mat samples and some products like tubes of paint and brushes in order to post on internet website and ebay.
Keep it simple, Gumby. For travel, I still prefer film.

It's true - at highest resolution the Mavica holds 4 images on a disc. You don't use the highest resolution for web posting. And discs are nearly free.

I use this camera in the shop pretty much exclusively. I take pictures of collage and shadowbox layouts and leave the disc, or a low-definition print, with the framing project for future reference. I do the same with special completed projects. If I work up some designs for someone who's coming back to look, I photograph the mats and frame corners so I can find them easily without leaving them in a pile on the counter.

Cables and card readers are not hard to use, but they can be quirky, especially if you try to use them on different computers with different operating systems.

Define your needs and choose your weapon. And don't throw out your film just yet.
 
Last Oct. I purchased a FDMavica 10x zoom which uses the disc. I had researched camera's and new 1 thing for sure I needed was a long lasting battery. Since I had 90 day return policy at you know where, that place I detest buying, but no one else had this camera at all. Last years model, $259 and came with battery and charger and some movie cap. I really thought about returning and upgrading for higher resolution and then decided I would probably pay another $300 by the time I had all the things needed. I have documented several things at work and had some fun with the grandkids with it.
I like it and I can get up to 25 pics on a disk if not doing a lot of background clutter, guess that's where the zoom is handy. I think they are a lot like computers better will be cheaper later but get the best you can now and upgrade later.
 
The most recent Sony cameras have not been as good as some of their competitors, although they are the best "non-photographic" manufacturer. I cannot comment on the Model you mention, I do know that we have opted not to carry this model. Sony digital still cameras do not produce colo(u)r results as good as others under common "stressed" lighting conditions experienced by our average user. Sony has made cameras that we consider good enough to stock, including the Mavica. My fault with the Mavica was the fact that it does not give a result in any way as good as the similar models available at the time, however the practicality of the Floppy Disk did out-weigh this in some cases.
My sugestion would be to get out and about or let your fingers do the walking, see if you can find a good second-hand (or old stock, there is a very good chance of this) 1.3mp Olympus for doing webby type stuff as they are also very handy if you want "just one" photo from time to time that you want to print (TIFF files!!!).

For the record, I am still a film user.
 
THANK YOU for all the info. I will continue to try and figure this one out. Disk vs memory stick
it does sound like memory is very important. It used to be when we talked about cameras we asked questions like shutter speed, f stops etc. it will probably be a month before I buy so if anyone thinks of anything else feel free to bring it on
Thanks Gumby :D
 
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