Digital Camera
Digital Camera
I am looking to buy a digital camera but know nothing about them. Any suggestions as what to buy?
Theres lots to choose from, so good luck.
Myself, I took into consideration that alot of my pictures might be in the fall (chasing musky) or even winter, so I didn't want a tiny camera... I went with something I could use with thin gloves on.
3 or 4 megapixels will do you, and make sure you upgrade to the larger memory card. Most cameras come with a 16 mb card... good for about 15 pictures. Also, depending on the model... rechargable batteries are a must. Other than that... all major brand names make decent cameras.
Myself, I took into consideration that alot of my pictures might be in the fall (chasing musky) or even winter, so I didn't want a tiny camera... I went with something I could use with thin gloves on.
3 or 4 megapixels will do you, and make sure you upgrade to the larger memory card. Most cameras come with a 16 mb card... good for about 15 pictures. Also, depending on the model... rechargable batteries are a must. Other than that... all major brand names make decent cameras.
KodaK
Get something with video and sound for short fishing clips...they are great. Digital Zoom is crap...look for a good analog zoom X4. At least 2 Mega pixel...Kodak DX series or Canon are fast to power on and off and have great battery pack...good luck.
Depends on what you want!!
Some things that should be standard on your purchase, is a optical zoom as opposed to a digital zoom(cameras usually come with both). The problem with the cheaper digital zoom cameras is that when you zoom in, it spreads the pixels(the points that compose the photo) thus you can end up with a more grainy picture.
If you are only going to do hard copy pictures up to 5x7, then a camera with at least 2.0 megapix works well. I have a HP digital 2.1 meg camera which takes exeptional pictures. The only negative thing about my camera is that when I wish to check the picture that i have just taken, it is difficult to see in thebright sunlight.
I have the ACDSee photo program which allows you do enhance and edit your photos..Works well (came with the camera0. If you plan to only take photos for sharingon the net, then a camera less that 2 megs will suffice.
Just to let you know tha digital cameras usually EAT BATTERIES!!!
so make sure that you get several sets of rechargeable ones. Also, make sure that you can put in scandisk or its equivalent (memory) to allow you to take more pictures. (numbers will vary depending on the quality of picture that you wish to take...with mine I can take 32 high quality pics or over 100 low quality(for internet use)
I am sure that there are others on this board who are well versed in info...but I wanted to give info that was presented to me when I purchased my camera...and I am happy with it for the time being
If you are only going to do hard copy pictures up to 5x7, then a camera with at least 2.0 megapix works well. I have a HP digital 2.1 meg camera which takes exeptional pictures. The only negative thing about my camera is that when I wish to check the picture that i have just taken, it is difficult to see in thebright sunlight.
I have the ACDSee photo program which allows you do enhance and edit your photos..Works well (came with the camera0. If you plan to only take photos for sharingon the net, then a camera less that 2 megs will suffice.
Just to let you know tha digital cameras usually EAT BATTERIES!!!
so make sure that you get several sets of rechargeable ones. Also, make sure that you can put in scandisk or its equivalent (memory) to allow you to take more pictures. (numbers will vary depending on the quality of picture that you wish to take...with mine I can take 32 high quality pics or over 100 low quality(for internet use)I am sure that there are others on this board who are well versed in info...but I wanted to give info that was presented to me when I purchased my camera...and I am happy with it for the time being
I have some experience here so I hope I can shed some light.
If you just want the camera for the web pictures. Under 2.MB will be fine. If you want to have these forever and do multimedia and printing I would recommend a 4MB or abouve.
The digital Cameras that also allow you to take mini movies are fun, but the movie is usually shot in 1MegaPixel mode and its kinda poor quality. Fun none the less. If you want Digital Movies, buy a Camcorder.
Most lines that are coming out now ( Canon, Agfa ) have a water resistant model. This may be the wisest choice for most fisherman. Let me specify, RESISTANT. Not waterproof. Meaning should the rain start or a wave splash ya you will be fine. Don't let it float in the puddle on the bottom of your boat or take some realy cool underwater shots INSIDE your livewell..
Rechargable batteries are a must, two sets and get the extra memory stick 8 or 16MB just won't do it. I have a 256MB stick and take a rediculous amount of pictures, but the great thing is I take several pictures of the same thing and pick my favorite, you can go camera crazy and not worry, you only print or develop the ones you like.
Even better today is that most Photo Stores will allow you to bring in your CD/Memorystick/Disk and they will print your pictures for you. Paper and Ink is still fairly expensive and i prefer to let them do the printing. But I will edit them, adjust the lighting, and pick only the ones I want.
Hope this helpS!
If you just want the camera for the web pictures. Under 2.MB will be fine. If you want to have these forever and do multimedia and printing I would recommend a 4MB or abouve.
The digital Cameras that also allow you to take mini movies are fun, but the movie is usually shot in 1MegaPixel mode and its kinda poor quality. Fun none the less. If you want Digital Movies, buy a Camcorder.
Most lines that are coming out now ( Canon, Agfa ) have a water resistant model. This may be the wisest choice for most fisherman. Let me specify, RESISTANT. Not waterproof. Meaning should the rain start or a wave splash ya you will be fine. Don't let it float in the puddle on the bottom of your boat or take some realy cool underwater shots INSIDE your livewell..
Rechargable batteries are a must, two sets and get the extra memory stick 8 or 16MB just won't do it. I have a 256MB stick and take a rediculous amount of pictures, but the great thing is I take several pictures of the same thing and pick my favorite, you can go camera crazy and not worry, you only print or develop the ones you like.
Even better today is that most Photo Stores will allow you to bring in your CD/Memorystick/Disk and they will print your pictures for you. Paper and Ink is still fairly expensive and i prefer to let them do the printing. But I will edit them, adjust the lighting, and pick only the ones I want.
Hope this helpS!
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SkeeterJohn
- Diamond Participant
- Posts: 2867
- Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2002 7:32 am
- Location: Ottawa
I'd recommend the one i have a Cannon A70 a 3.2 MP and lots of battery life. Topwater has one and big-o has the A60 i beleive.
I couldn't recommend this one high enough unless you have mega $$ to burn and go for something further up the line. There's a lot of junk out there so stay away from some of those low end versions.
It seems to be the A75 now but looks the same : $399
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/prodde ... wdeptid=14
I couldn't recommend this one high enough unless you have mega $$ to burn and go for something further up the line. There's a lot of junk out there so stay away from some of those low end versions.
It seems to be the A75 now but looks the same : $399
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/prodde ... wdeptid=14
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M.T. Livewell
- Diamond Participant
- Posts: 2891
- Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2003 3:05 pm
- Location: Rockland
I also have the Canon A70. I've been mostly pleased since buying it last July.
Pictures are excellent. Controls are fairly intuitive and easy to use. Set to auto, point, and shoot. For more advanced photographers it also offers a lot of manual controls to customize shots. I also really like the fact that it uses plain old AA batteries. You can get a couple of sets of rechargables and be good to go, but if you forgot your charger or don't have electricity just stop at the next gas station and buy 4 AA's. Problem solved.
Now the issues. 2 weeks ago (second day of vacation) it locks up out of the blue. Nothing but an "E18" error on the screen. Nothing helps. Went online and searched the Canon website. Under the FAQ's it lists "E18 error message". The solution; take your camera back to the store where you bought it. Thanks for nothing. They sent it in to the repair depot last week (still under warranty by 10 days) and told me to expect it back in 3 weeks or so.
Don't know if this is a common problem, but it was on the FAQ list. Can that be a good sign?
I still use a disposable camera for on the water, and scan the good shots. I'm the guy who'll kick it overboard if it costs more than $25!
Pictures are excellent. Controls are fairly intuitive and easy to use. Set to auto, point, and shoot. For more advanced photographers it also offers a lot of manual controls to customize shots. I also really like the fact that it uses plain old AA batteries. You can get a couple of sets of rechargables and be good to go, but if you forgot your charger or don't have electricity just stop at the next gas station and buy 4 AA's. Problem solved.
Now the issues. 2 weeks ago (second day of vacation) it locks up out of the blue. Nothing but an "E18" error on the screen. Nothing helps. Went online and searched the Canon website. Under the FAQ's it lists "E18 error message". The solution; take your camera back to the store where you bought it. Thanks for nothing. They sent it in to the repair depot last week (still under warranty by 10 days) and told me to expect it back in 3 weeks or so.
Don't know if this is a common problem, but it was on the FAQ list. Can that be a good sign?
I still use a disposable camera for on the water, and scan the good shots. I'm the guy who'll kick it overboard if it costs more than $25!
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eye-tracker
- Gold Participant
- Posts: 1998
- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2003 9:23 am
- Location: Perth, Ontario
- Contact:
bts...
O.K. straight facks about digital...forget the mega pixel jargon, when is the lastime some one said to you that a 35mm slide is only 133 lines per inch
Any digital camera (2 mega pixels and up) on the market today will print a nice image on film paper at 5x7. Most people I know only ever get 4x6 prints so that means most digital cameras being purchased are a waste of money for the average consumer/weekend photographer. Watch out for the hype and technical jargon!!!
For general digital photos I would recommend the Canon A60 (good 5x7 prints) or the Canon A70, A75 (8x10 or larger prints) . Great cameras made by a camera company with outstanding battery life.
Good luck.
O.K. straight facks about digital...forget the mega pixel jargon, when is the lastime some one said to you that a 35mm slide is only 133 lines per inch
Any digital camera (2 mega pixels and up) on the market today will print a nice image on film paper at 5x7. Most people I know only ever get 4x6 prints so that means most digital cameras being purchased are a waste of money for the average consumer/weekend photographer. Watch out for the hype and technical jargon!!!For general digital photos I would recommend the Canon A60 (good 5x7 prints) or the Canon A70, A75 (8x10 or larger prints) . Great cameras made by a camera company with outstanding battery life.
Good luck.
Sheldon Hatch
Just a guy that likes to fish walleye
Just a guy that likes to fish walleye
eye-tracker was right on with his response. The other two main positive points with the Canon are:
1) Standard AA batteries are used, which can be purchased anywhere. Some cameras have a special shapped rechargable battery that may cost over $100.00 to have a spare. I like the idea of just changing batteries in the woods, rather than look for an outlet to plug the charger into.
2) The other point is, someday you may accidently erase all of your images instead of just the bad one. With the Cannon and most other cameras, you can get your photos back from being gone, with software. But some cameras, like Fuji FinePix and certain Olympus models, do a complete destructive erase when you delete photos, and those cannot be un-deleted.
So, those are two points that support eye-trackers Cannon series.
Cheers,
Chas.
1) Standard AA batteries are used, which can be purchased anywhere. Some cameras have a special shapped rechargable battery that may cost over $100.00 to have a spare. I like the idea of just changing batteries in the woods, rather than look for an outlet to plug the charger into.
2) The other point is, someday you may accidently erase all of your images instead of just the bad one. With the Cannon and most other cameras, you can get your photos back from being gone, with software. But some cameras, like Fuji FinePix and certain Olympus models, do a complete destructive erase when you delete photos, and those cannot be un-deleted.
So, those are two points that support eye-trackers Cannon series.
Cheers,
Chas.
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slushpuppy
- Retail Advertiser
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You have to ask yourself: what will I be using this camera for - most of the time?
I use mine mostly for wildlife and nature shots, so I got a 10X optical zoom with stabilizer. Unfortunately, they don't make it anymore
I also agree with eye-tracker when it comes to the megapixels. 2.1 megapixels is great for me, I can get an 8x10 picture out of it. How often would you want to print pictures bigger than that? Every picture I've ever taken for sharing on the web, I've had to reduce the size because the file is usually too big. Even after reducing the size, the quality of the picture is still very good.
extra set of rechargeable batteries and extra memory cards are a must.
I didn't bother buying the $80 AC adapter for my camera (used to power the camera when downloading to your pc so you don't eat up batteries), I just bought a $40 card reader for my pc and download that way.
I, personally, would stick with the major manufacturers, Canon, Olympus, Minolta, Pentax, Nikon, even Fuji and Vivitar (my sister just bought a 3megapixel Vivitar from TigerDirect.ca at a good price, haven't received a report from her as to her satisfaction with it). Kodaks I find to be too "plastickee".
here's a good website for comparisons, it's American, but it's good for research.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/
I use mine mostly for wildlife and nature shots, so I got a 10X optical zoom with stabilizer. Unfortunately, they don't make it anymore
I also agree with eye-tracker when it comes to the megapixels. 2.1 megapixels is great for me, I can get an 8x10 picture out of it. How often would you want to print pictures bigger than that? Every picture I've ever taken for sharing on the web, I've had to reduce the size because the file is usually too big. Even after reducing the size, the quality of the picture is still very good.
extra set of rechargeable batteries and extra memory cards are a must.
I didn't bother buying the $80 AC adapter for my camera (used to power the camera when downloading to your pc so you don't eat up batteries), I just bought a $40 card reader for my pc and download that way.
I, personally, would stick with the major manufacturers, Canon, Olympus, Minolta, Pentax, Nikon, even Fuji and Vivitar (my sister just bought a 3megapixel Vivitar from TigerDirect.ca at a good price, haven't received a report from her as to her satisfaction with it). Kodaks I find to be too "plastickee".
here's a good website for comparisons, it's American, but it's good for research.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/
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Gordo
- Bronze Participant
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- Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2003 8:34 pm
- Location: Smiths Falls, Ontario
Some solid advice on here. The more megapixels the clear your picture are when you print out larger sizes. If you plan to print normal sizes and the odd 8 X 10 then 2 megapixels is more than enough. Digital zoom and the rest of it doesn't really matter all that much either. If you plan to spend $250.00 - $400.00 on a camera you will get everything you need. The only additional advice I will offer is buy a camera from a camera company (like Cannon). Don't get me wrong Sony makes a great product, but they make everything (DVD, Steros, etc.), but a camera company specializes in making cameras. Better bang for your buck if you ask me.
Gordo
Gordo
Gord
NPAA#553
NPAA#553
For those (like me) who have a tendancy to drop your expensive digital camera while wading or in the boat, I see that Radio Shack has a VGA (640 x 480) quality mini digital camera by Nexxtech on sale this week for $30. Yes the resolution won't be as good as a 2.1 MP or above camera but for posting on Fish-hawk this will be more than adequate. Besides, a medium quality pic is better than no pic, right?? For $30 I'm thinking that you can't go wrong.
Karack
Karack