Digital cameras

[Rodgers]

I saw a digital camera on sale yesterday for £50 (about $70 US?) - it came with USB cables and had basic photo manipulation software included. The resolution was something like 600 x 300 (I think??) using the "fine" setting. The memory card was 8mb (well 8 something or other) and could hold 9 "fine" grade images, about 20 "normal" and 39 "basic". The exmples on the box didn't look too good really. There was no screen on the back of it to allow you to look at the shots you've taken and save/delete them etc.

Anyway, at that price I was quite tempted but thought I would check with you wise owls first as to what sort of spec I should be looking for and what might be the disadvantages of buying so cheap.

To give you some idea of what I want - not too bothered about quality of picture really. Would like to preview shots before saving/deleting them. Probably wouldn't get many of them printed out - its more for attaching to emails (and perhaps posts on here) and that sort of thing.

I imagine it's fairly simple to save pictures from cameras to the hard drive? or does this need some sort of special software (ie does the cameras software have to compatible with the computers and is there any chance that it WOULDN'T be considering I use Windows 98)

If that makes any sense I'd appreciate some tips etc

 

[CornMaster]

Personally I think that sucks.

I have a Creative PC-CAM 600 and it does shots at 1280x960 and can store 20 of these on 16MB. 50 at 1024x768 and 200 at 640x480. It also records video clips and sound if you like. Has flash, red-eye reduction, etc...

All for about $150 US. Wonderful little camera.

It uses USB to transfer data, and doubles as a webcam (however it doesn't work as a webcam on WinXP.

 

[Black Fluffy Lion]

If you want a cheap one then I've seen some for < £40...but the picture quality is absolute rubbish.

If you're looking to be a serious photographer then you gotta look at the £300 + ones, and if you want any decent photos you'd be looking at £90+ I expect...Also, if you can try and get one which is done by floppy instead of USB cables...they can be a little chunky compared to all the micro ones which use USB, but they're pretty cool IMHO

 

[Pillager]

I don't have one, but my friend does. His has a card reader that plugs into the USB port, and the memory card (about 1'x1') from the camera plugs into the reader.

The contents then appear as just another drive in Explorer, and you can manipulate the files as any other file. It's very easy. As long as you have a USB port, (and, obviously, the camera is USB) you should have no problems.

As for specs. &c, I don't know enough really, but I would have thought that you should spend at least £100-150.

 

[Rodgers]

So, when posting pics on this site from the camera itself, it should just be a case of plugging it into the computer and doing a kind of "cut and paste" job as I would with any other picture I wanted to post (obviously I'm assuming the camera has all the "right" software in it to start with)??

 

[Black Fluffy Lion]

Originally posted by Rodgers
So, when posting pics on this site from the camera itself, it should just be a case of plugging it into the computer and doing a kind of "cut and paste" job as I would with any other picture I wanted to post (obviously I'm assuming the camera has all the "right" software in it to start with)??

pretty much, yep

 

[damunzy]

Hmm, 70 bucks doesn't sound too bad but the one Corn pointed out would be a better value....I didn't know they were that cheap now...

 

[CornMaster]

Originally posted by PaleHorse76
Hmm, 70 bucks doesn't sound too bad but the one Corn pointed out would be a better value....I didn't know they were that cheap now...

I got mine back in February...they should be cheaper by now.

 

[gonzo_for_civ]

Definately agree w/corn. Spend a touch more and get yourself something nice so you can tell what's what in the picture

 

[Rodgers]

I've done a bit more digging around and it seems the best ones (according to the "customer reviews" on amazon) are all over "1 megapixel" - what's that mean?

 

[CornMaster]

Originally posted by Rodgers
I've done a bit more digging around and it seems the best ones (according to the "customer reviews" on amazon) are all over "1 megapixel" - what's that mean?

Mega Pixels are the maximum resolution.

More pixels means a clearer picture.

My PC-CAM is 1.2 Mega Pixels 1280*960=1,228,800

 

[Hurricane]

You'll need at least 3 megapixels to make print-quality photos. But 1 megapixel will be good enough for web quality.

 

[Rodgers]

Ah, I see!

 

[Shabbaman]

I think that you've got to consider for what occasions you're buying the gadget. If it's for nice everyday snapshots to go with your homepage, low-res will do. There are some of those on the market that you could buy for less than 60 euros...

 

[Rodgers]

Well I've borrowed one with 1.2 megapixels so I'll see how that goes (cost her £150 plus £30 for a 16 mb memory card)

 

[Ansel]

I've got a Sony DSC P1 & IMO things to look out for when considering a buy.......

What do you want to do with the images? (email, printing at home, outsourced printing?)

Battery life & cost of replacements

Quality of the capture device elements - lens & CCD.

Type & cost of memory/Mb - the proprietry Sony memory stick is relatively expensive compared to Smart media & Compactflash & is more difficult to have printing done at a digital kiosk.

 

[col]

I managed to get a battery recharger thrown in for free for my Nikon when I bought it just by asking.

Its like buying a car - most people ARE prepared to do a little negotiation if you talk them in person....