All you digi-cam peoples

[mallochai]

Alright, so here's the low-down.

I need to buy a digital cam. I haven't really touched a digital in a long time, except to take pictures of myself, with no real concern for how I used it. I need one for artistic reasons. I'm not talking about photography per-se... I need it mostly to take reference photos for painting. I'd like something not too complicated, that takes nice pictures that will give me good color and detail with minimal blurring, something pretty automatic so I don't have to deal with the asshole of problems known as shutter speed. Something that is easy to operate and get the pictures off of.

I'm looking to spend about three hundred bucks, hopefully on something that will last me a few years without too many idiosyncrasies.

What other kinds of features should I realistically be considering? What are some good brands? Really, I'm totally clueless when it comes to this... so any information at all would be helpful.

[Onyx]

I'm sure those really into photography will have more to add, but be sure to get optical zoom rather than digital zoom. (Digital zoom is pretty much useless because you can do the same thing with software and it gets really fuzzy. Optical zoom is the real thing).

[Vater Araignee]

Get a $150.00 Aiptek they are 6 megapixel and spend the other $150.00 on a decent tripod a remote, control, mem chips and extra batteries.

You want the tripod and remote especially if you want to make some of you reference shots at night.

My Aiptek:

6 Mega pixels

TV VCD DVD recorder

MP3 player

30 fps MPEG4 video recorder

Night shot

Voice recorder

Image stabilizer

[Msterbeau]

Alright, so here's the low-down.

I need to buy a digital cam.  I haven't really touched a digital in a long time, except to take pictures of myself, with no real concern for how I used it.  I need one for artistic reasons.  I'm not talking about photography per-se... I need it mostly to take reference photos for painting.  I'd like something not too complicated, that takes nice pictures that will give me good color and detail with minimal blurring, something pretty automatic so I don't have to deal with the asshole of problems known as shutter speed.  Something that is easy to operate and get the pictures off of. 

I'm looking to spend about three hundred bucks, hopefully on something that will last me a few years without too many idiosyncrasies. 

What other kinds of features should I realistically be considering?  What are some good brands?  Really, I'm  totally clueless when it comes to this... so any information at all would be helpful.

Most important is the subject matter, what lighting conditions and how far away it will be. That will get us pointed in the right direction in terms of what type of lense and how important certain other features are.

So... Info please. :-)

That Aiptek thing... Forget it. It's a cheap do everything product that probably does nothing well and will confuse you with too many features. Vater is right about the necessity for a decent sized memory card. A spare battery is never a bad idea.. The tripod's a good thought too. Depends on what and how you're shooting.

[Draco1958]

Whichever camera you buy, make sure it has image stability, sometimes called antishake. That is so if you were to move, the pic won't blur. Definitely a tripod. Most cameras have a timer so you can set the cam up on the tripod, aim at subject, set and activate timer and you're done. You can search Best buy, Circuit City, Staples, Office Max, Office Depot and CompUSA websites, read the stats on the cameras in your price range. Get an idea of which cameras appeal to you, then go to the store and ask questions. Be comfortable with how the camera feels in your hand, ease of using the features etc. Check to see what memory card it uses and look at the prices of the card, this will give you an idea of pricing when you go to upgrade memory for it. Definitely buy extra batteries. Avoid the really cheap ones as they usually die quickly in a camera.

[mallochai]

Most important is the subject matter,  what lighting conditions and how far away it will be.  That will get us pointed in the right direction in terms of what type of lense

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Subject matter will likely change depending on my whim. I tend towards portraiture though... not faces necessarily, but I use a lot of human entities in my paintings, or strange/urban landscapes stuff. I don't paint in realism, so mostly I'm looking for something that will be able to get color, and shape, because I'm more interested in the patterns and forms of things. I likely won't ever set up any lighting - that's what the paintbrush is for, to create it when it isn't perfect.

[Msterbeau]

OK... Will you be shooting in the dark... or low-ish light? And generally portraits means close in.

If that's the case... A heavy zoom is not necessay. In fact you'll want something with a good wide angle lense. Probably in the 15-20mm range. (Which also suits lansdscapes nicely, as well) Finding one that works well in low light would be an advantage for many occasions... but only if it doesn't sacrifice decent quality elsewhere. If you get really close-in... Good macro capabiltiy becomes important so you can focus on something very close.

With the pattern and shape thing you mention... it sounds like you'ld almost want the capability to throw the image out of focus. That would mean being able to shut off the auto focus. Interesting. Another way to do this is to have a wide open aperature (f-stop). That way almost everything but what you focus directly on will be blurry. It produces very beautiful results when done right.

I'll go lookie around when I have a chance in the next day or two and see if I can come up with decent canidates. Nikon and Canon make nice point and shoot stuff. So do a few of the other large electronics companies. Kodak, Sony, etc...

The image stabilization might be nice... I'm thinking not worth it for the money you're spending and the subject matter.

[Scary Guy]

A tripod makes image stabilization useless (well unnecessary).

They've got some cellphones that have fairly nice cameras in them these days. Might want to considder upgrading that as most cellphones cameras are point and shoot anyhow. I've seen a couple with optical zoom too and that way it's always on you and handy, also takes up less room in a bag or on your person. Especially great for that "Oh I want a picture of THIS" moments that pop up at random.

My oppinion on getting an actual digital camera (as my oppinion on anything goes) is get the best you can possibly find for the best cost. The more features and options it has on it the better. You might not use all of them but they're there if you want them. The last thing I want is my hardware treating me like some 5/65 year old child/altzimers patiant who couldn't even properly operate a vehicle. I want the camera that can take long exposure underwater pictures at night of objects 300 feet away from me in high detail. Sure it might cost an arm and a leg but when you want those features they're there and if you can find it cheaply even better.

I saw a 30 megapixel camera that took 10 megapixel shots in all three shades. Instead of regular square pixels it had them as hexagons which made the image look even better. I think the camera was either Sony or Fujitsu... not sure, not important, you probably wouldn't want something like that anyhow.

Anyhow point is a really nice cellphone camera could probably do everything you said you wanted to do.

[mallochai]

Anyhow point is a really nice cellphone camera could probably do everything you said you wanted to do.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, I'm not a cell phone user. I have a home phone, that's plenty good enough for me. I don't talk to enough people via phone to need a cell phone in my life. But thanks for the info.

And Marc... there would be such a mixture of lighting and range that I'd be hard pressed to give you more information. Probably a lot of close ups, and a lot of far-offs. I suppose that for the most part, I'd be dealing with things from five to fifty feet away, both indoor and outdoor situations. All your pointers sound very interesting, regarding pattern blur. I guess I'm just worried that a complicated camera is going to take too much learning for me to be able to do what I need to do. I want instant results! Heh, which is why I paint - I can just do it the way I want. But you've sparked my interest, to be sure.

Also - while I'll be getting a tripod, it's not likely that I'll really be using it very much, except when I'm dealing with a specific subject that I want to get lots of images of. I expect most of my pictures for the next couple of years will be very spontaneous, aside from those I'm specifically choosing. Basically... I'll have subjects that I want to choose and get good quality from, and things I see in every day life that I just need an inkling of, so I don't forget it. Documentation through imagery. A lot of those "Oh I want a picture of THIS" moments that Scary Guy mentioned.

[Draco1958]

Well, I'm not a cell phone user.  I have a home phone, that's plenty good enough for me.  I don't talk to enough people via phone to need a cell phone in my life.  But thanks for the info. 

And Marc... there would be such a mixture of lighting and range that I'd be hard pressed to give you more information.  Probably a lot of close ups, and a lot of far-offs.  I suppose that for the most part, I'd be dealing with things from five to fifty feet away, both indoor and outdoor situations.  All your pointers sound very interesting, regarding pattern blur.  I guess I'm just worried that a complicated camera is going to take too much learning for me to be able to do what I need to do.  I want instant results!  Heh, which is why I paint - I can just do it the way I want.    But you've sparked my interest, to be sure. 

Also - while I'll be getting a tripod, it's not likely that I'll really be using it very much, except when I'm dealing with a specific subject that I want to get lots of images of.  I expect most of my pictures for the next couple of years will be very  spontaneous, aside from those I'm specifically choosing.  Basically... I'll have subjects that I want to choose and get good quality from, and things I see in every day life that I just need an inkling of, so I don't forget it.  Documentation through imagery.  A lot of those  "Oh I want a picture of THIS"   moments that Scary Guy mentioned.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Since you plan on mostly point and shoot pics, image stabilization would be a good choice, more and more cameras are coming out with it and in an earlier post, one of those cameras had it and was priced under $300, I believe around $250 was the price. Tripods come in handy if you want to be in the pic or just take pics of yourself. Cellphone cameras are usually low res, great to email to another camera but small for normal use.

[Msterbeau]

OK.. Lemme snoop around and come up with some recommendations for ya.

[Rayne]

I like my Nikon. I have the Coolpix 5600 or something like that.

[mallochai]

OK..  Lemme snoop around and come up with some recommendations for ya.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are teh awesome.

And thanks everyone else for you input, too. All these factors will someday be realized in some such way or another.

[Vater Araignee]

Most important is the subject matter,  what lighting conditions and how far away it will be.  That will get us pointed in the right direction in terms of what type of lense and how important certain other features are.

So... Info please.  :-)

That Aiptek thing...  Forget it.  It's a cheap do everything product that probably does nothing well and will confuse you with too many features.  Vater is right about the necessity for a decent sized memory card.  A spare battery is never a bad idea..  The tripod's a good thought too.  Depends on what and how you're shooting.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I noticed you say "probably does nothing well" well let me tell you...

As a digital camera doing a Six mp full frame face shot you can count the pours on a subjects face. It has a button with a camera on it for taking pics.

As a Video cam it takes home VHS quality video. It has a button with the universal "Record" symbol.

This camera is good enough for the average home user. Oh it is also branded with the Sony name and Polaroid so you can say the name is crap but you can end up paying twice as much for the exact same camera.

Now my personal opinion of it's video is that I hate it but I get to spend three hours a month behind a JVC GY-DV550U 3-CCD and when you are working with a studio quality cam it is hard not to get spoiled.

My recommendations for remote still stand and I'll tell you why.

The remote is to keep you from having to touch the camera every time you want to take another shot because on most cams when you use the timer you have to go back through all the menus to restart the timer because it automatically returns to non timed.

[Draco1958]

Actually on most of the ones out now, 2 buttons for the timer, one to activate timer mode then press the shutter and done. I have an Aiptek pen camera, runs on 2 aaa batteries. Not good for things in motion but does take some nice quality pics. A friend took a pic of a spinning prop on an airplane, interesting how the prop looked curved but otherwise pic was good quality.

[Scary Guy]

Cellphone cameras are usually low res, great to email to another camera but small for normal use.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes USUALLY, however there are some really great offerings comming out these days. The only downside I can see is that most don't have a tripod mount.

Also I think everyone needs to switch to cellphones and away from landlines. Instantanious communication is so wonderful. Although VOIP is great too...

[Onyx]

Get a $150.00 Aiptek they are 6 megapixel and spend the other $150.00 on a decent tripod a remote, control, mem chips and extra batteries.

You want the tripod and remote especially if you want to make some of you reference shots at night.

My Aiptek:

6 Mega pixels

TV VCD DVD recorder

MP3 player

30 fps MPEG4 video recorder

Night shot

Voice recorder

Image stabilizer

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I had never heard of that brand, so I got curious and checked it out at BestBuy.

Holy crap! This thing is amazing.

I couldn't resist it.

It was on sale for $99 so I picked one up even though I have another fairly good digital cam that can do short video clips.

The photos and video are coming out very good, but the thing I like best about it is all the other majorly cool things it does. I can record DVDs (with an added memory card). I can record voice. I can use it as an extra hard drive if I need to take a file somewhere with me. I can show off my kid's piccies and I can show short video clips.

Since it will take a 2 gig memory card I can store a ton of stuff.

It's so small I can stick the thing in my little purse without having to carry a huge camcorder with me. It's smaller and lighter than my other camera, which is a big deal for something I want to carry in my purse with me. No more missing cute things my little one does because I'll always have it with me.

[Msterbeau]

OK... I have two recomendations for ya.

1. Fujifilm Finepix E900 - It's a strech at $325ish but has some amazing features for the price. 9MP (Megapixels) is more huge... You'll be able to make great prints at this size. More importantly it's got a nice wide angle to zoom lense.. It's 32mm at the wide end.. 128 zoom.. More wide angle would be better but this isn't bad at all. Most important.. It has a large aperature which allows it to shoot in lower light without using flash and the image quality is rated very well in both good light and low light situations. It starts up quick and has little of the usual shutter lag.

2. Casio Exilim EX-Z600. $275... Reasonably within your budget. It's 6MP which is really a very good place to be. It has a lot of shooting mode options, which I think will suit your desire for simplicity; Just dial in the mode and start taking pictures.. Good quality photos... good lens... decent sixed lcd screen. Not bad at all.

Makes sure you get a good sized Compact Flash storage card for it. 512MB minimum. Better would be a 1GB card... or two 512MB if you want to split things up in case one card gets damaged.

Extra battery is nice but maybe not a necessity just yet. Same with tripods and all that stuff..

[Msterbeau]

I noticed you say "probably does nothing well" well let me tell you...

As a digital camera doing a Six mp full frame face shot you can count the pours on a subjects face. It has a button with a camera on it for taking pics.

As a Video cam it takes home VHS quality video. It has a button with the universal "Record" symbol.

This camera is good enough for the average home user. Oh it is also branded with the Sony name and Polaroid so you can say the name is crap but you can end up paying twice as much for the exact same camera.

Now my personal opinion of it's video is that I hate it but I get to spend three hours a month behind a JVC GY-DV550U 3-CCD and when you are working with a studio quality cam it is hard not to get spoiled.

My recommendations for remote still stand and I'll tell you why.

The remote is to keep you from having to touch the camera every time you want to take another shot because on most cams when you use the timer you have to go back through all the menus to restart the timer because it automatically returns to non timed.

Send me samples sometime. I'm curious to see how good it is. The reviews all say pretty much the same thing: Wow it has a lot of features... but nothing amazing. Basically you get what you pay for in terms of image quality. For some that's perfectly fine. PM me and I'll get you my email address.