Need Some Digital Camera Help From You Wonderful Camera Buffs!

[Marmee_Noir]

Got both cameras as gifts and I'm not sure which one is better. Need to return one of them. So any info from some one who knows a lot more about digital cameras would be appreciated.

Kodak zd710 or z1275 which is better? More pixels or more features?

12Mega Pixels with 5x zoom or 7.1Mega Pixels with 10x zoom and more features! Here are links for the specs on each camera.

Kodak zd710 http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jht...pq-locale=en_GB

Kodak z1275 http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jht...pq-locale=en_GB

{Just a quick note, both cameras cost the same so price isn't an issue}

[SuZQZ]

Quick question before I go looking for Marc to guide you through your choice... What kind of photography do you see yourself using the camera for? Do you like to do a lot of zooming? Up close, tight shots? More tourist type use? Just want a camera for catching special moments? etc., etc., etc. What purpose and types of pictures you want to take will help in figuring out which one to choose.

Ok, so that was several questions..... And on that note *goes looking for Marc*

[Msterbeau]

*Marc come out of hiding when beckoned by Suzie*

I can't find any decent reviews on image quality, but I would tend to go with the zd710. One of the things to remember about image quality and compact camera lenses: As you pack more megapixels onto a given sensor size, you get more noise (grain). My understanding is that 7-8MP is a good place to be and after that they get a lot worse and the software in the camera has to do a lot of work to compensate. Neither one has a very good wide angle focal length. (You want 28mm at least and 18mm - 24mm is much better. These cameras are 35mm-38mm.) Get rid of them both and get a Canon Powershot G7 or G9. :-) Ok... more realistically. Use the money from the one you sell to get an extra battery and a couple 2GB SD cards so you can take lots of shots.

[Draco1958]

I have to agree with it depends on what you plan to do with the camera. The Z1275 has a better video capability than the Z710 but the 710 has the overall better zoom. 25x zoom compared to 50x zoom:

Z1275:

Picture size 12.0 MP (4000 × 3000)—4:3

10.7 MP (4000 × 2664)—3:2

9.0 MP (4000 × 2256)—16:9

6.0 MP (2832 × 2128)—4:3

3.1 MP (2048 × 1536)—4:3

2.2 MP (1800 × 1200)—3:2

2.1 MP (1920 × 1080)—16:9

1.2 MP (1280x960)—4:3

Zoom: 5x optical, 5x digital total of 25x

Video Quality HD (1280 × 720) at 30 fps,

VGA (640 × 480) at 30 fps,

QVGA (320 × 240) at 30 fps

Length continuous up to 80 min. or 2 GB based on memory capacity

Dimensions W × H × D: 3.5 × 2.5 × 1.2 in. (89.5 × 64.5 × 31.6 mm)

ZD710:

Picture size 7.1 MP—best (3072 × 2304), prints up to 30 × 40 in. (76 × 102 cm)

6.3 MP—best 3:2 (3072 × 2048), optimized ratio for 4 × 6 in. (10 × 15 cm) prints

5.0 MP—better (2592 × 1944), prints up to 20 × 30 in. (50 × 76 cm)

3.1 MP—good (2048 × 1536), prints up to 8 × 10 in. (20 × 25 cm)

1.9 MP—e-mail (1600 × 1200), small prints

Zoom: 10x optical, 5x digital. total of 50x

Video VGA (640 × 480) at 10.5 fps, QVGA (320 × 240) at 20 fps (dropped lower, used to be 30fps for both)

Length continuous up to 80 min. based on memory capacity

Dimensions W × H × D: 3.8 × 3.1 × 2.9 in. (97.8 × 77.5 × 72.6 mm)

I used to have a Z710 but it was stolen so now I have a Z712.

Z710 is silver, ZD710 is black otherwise same camera.

It depends on what you plan to do with the camera. If you don't need to high zoom but want higher video quality, go with the Z1275. If you want the zoom then the ZD710. I've always been told that the higher the megapixel, the tighter and cleaner the pic. I'll take pics at a high level then resize on the pc. Always have had great results in quality. When I print, I get photo quality. I posted the main stats for people to read and compare easier. The Z1275 has image stabilization, reduces blur from camera movement. My Z712 has it, very nice feature.

[Marmee_Noir]

Yeah I ummm was wishing for a Canon.. But some how ended up with two Kodaks.. Anyways as for the type of pics I'll be taking.... I'm a huge HUGE concert freak, love graveyards and such so nothing with in the preofessional range. I'm really looking for a digital with decent video for concerts and such! The 5.2 mp HP I have right now takes great pics but shite video! So I'm really looking for which one would take good pics and better video. The 12mp one takes HD video but what good is that if you do not have a HD tv?

Well everybody seems to be leaning twards the ZD710 with more features over the more MP's.. I guess the only hard part is that you're told by close to everyone that more MP's are better; though I know that is not really true all the time..

Thank you guys for the quick reply it is much appreciated! XO Heather

[Marmee_Noir]

*Marc come out of hiding when beckoned by Suzie*

I can't find any decent reviews on image quality, but I would tend to go with the zd710. One of the things to remember about image quality and compact camera lenses: As you pack more megapixels onto a given sensor size, you get more noise (grain). My understanding is that 7-8MP is a good place to be and after that they get a lot worse and the software in the camera has to do a lot of work to compensate. Neither one has a very good wide angle focal length. (You want 28mm at least and 18mm - 24mm is much better. These cameras are 35mm-38mm.) Get rid of them both and get a Canon Powershot G7 or G9. :-) Ok... more realistically. Use the money from the one you sell to get an extra battery and a couple 2GB SD cards so you can take lots of shots.

Yeah I really wanted a Canon... I think I may be able to get rid of both and get a Canon.. One was purchased through QVC and one at walmart, so returning both is probable...

Anyways thanks for the info and I'll see what I can do about getting my hands on a Canon..

[Msterbeau]

Strictly speaking... More megapixels = ability to print larger without loss of image quality. More do not automatically mean better images. The problem comes in with the sensor size, as I described earlier. When you pack more information on the same size sensor (And compact camera sensors are NOT increasing in size) then you get more noise and lower quality. Also... The higher the zoom magnification, the more likely you'll introduce distortions into the image because of lens optics. And for what you want to do (Concert and graveyard shots = low light) you definitely want something that can shoot at higher ISO's with less noise. No compact made does this well. But the 7.1MP will do a better job then the 12MP. Remember that numbers are not the whole story.

[Marmee_Noir]

Strictly speaking... More megapixels = ability to print larger without loss of image quality. More do not automatically mean better images. The problem comes in with the sensor size, as I described earlier. When you pack more information on the same size sensor (And compact camera sensors are NOT increasing in size) then you get more noise and lower quality. Also... The higher the zoom magnification, the more likely you'll introduce distortions into the image because of lens optics. And for what you want to do (Concert and graveyard shots = low light) you definitely want something that can shoot at higher ISO's with less noise. No compact made does this well. But the 7.1MP will do a better job then the 12MP. Remember that numbers are not the whole story.

Yeah that's what I read about mp's also.. I'm still hoping to get my hands on a good Canon but thank you for clearing up which would take better video.

And thank you, SuZQZ and Draco1958 for your input also!

[Msterbeau]

Yeah that's what I read about mp's also.. I'm still hoping to get my hands on a good Canon but thank you for clearing up which would take better video.

If you didn't care about video I would recommend finding a used Canon DSLR.