• New here? Register here now for access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Plus, stay connected and follow BP on Instagram @buckeyeplanet and Facebook.

Help with buying a digital camera

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
Buckin' A

Buckin' A

Veritas Aequitas
Need some advice. The wife and I are looking for a digital camera. We want one that is user friendly and fairly inexpensive (around $150.00). I don't completely understand how many megapixels I need, but we'd like one that takes good clean pics. Anyone have any suggestions?
 
Bucknut319 said:
Need some advice. The wife and I are looking for a digital camera. We want one that is user friendly and fairly inexpensive (around $150.00). I don't completely understand how many megapixels I need, but we'd like one that takes good clean pics. Anyone have any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Just looked at best buy.com and they have an oregon scientific camera for 99.99.....the next cheapest is 229.00.
I wouldn't get anything less than 3 megapixels.
 
Upvote 0
Bucknut319 said:
Are the megapixels what affect the clarity of the picture? Meaning the higher the number the clearer the pic?
Click to expand...
Yeah, but with, say, a 4x6 picture you probably won't be able to tell the difference between 5.1 and 3.2 megapixels. If you try to blow the image up to a 5x7 or bigger you will start to notice the difference. 8x10 is pretty much out of the question with a 3.2, unless you're taking pictures of a wall or something.

Check this out...it'll explain it better than I can.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-megapixel.htm
 
Upvote 0
jwinslow said:
I definitely would not buy a camera from best buy, they are typically overpriced in everything electronic.
Click to expand...
True, but they aren't $70 overpriced on a $229 camera.
I was using that simply to illustrate the difficulty in buying a $150 camera that is user friendly and not a pile of crap. I think he's going to have to raise his price point to have any real choices.
 
Upvote 0
The megapixels on a camera hardly matter anymore to the normal user. Megapixels quantify how many pixels make up the photgraph - but since the pixels are all the same size from camera to camera, megapixels do not determine clarity in themselves. Rather, they determine the size of your photograph. If you're viewing on a computer screen, a higher-megapixel photo will be larger. The only time megapixels determine clarity are when you print the picture - since you are fitting the entire photograph onto a 4x6 or whatever - a higher-megapixel image will appear less grainy. Most people only print 4x6 images, and one can hardly notice the difference of anything 4.0-megapixels or higher. Megapixels also come into play when you use the digital zoom feature on your camera, but you should avoid it at all costs, because it diminishes the quality of your photo (I have the feature disabled on my camera.)

I am on my second camera. I own a 5.0-megapixel Casio Exilim, and before that, owned a 3.3-megapixel Vivitar. If I were buying one today, here are the things I would look for - because digital cameras have come so far in the last couple years, megapixels are less important than all of the following:

  • Battery. Look for a camera with a Li-Ion rechargeable batter. This will provide you with maximum battery life (my camera is good for about 400 shots w/flash per charge), and will save you a ton of money in the long run. If you buy a cheaper camera that uses AA batteries, you will spend the cost of the camera on batteries before you know it. If you have a camera with a built-in Li-Ion battery, you don't have to carry a spare, and you don't have to charge it as often as you do rechargeable AA batteries.
  • Processor speed. Cameras don't really advertise it, but it is the real difference between a great camera and a mediocre one. To find the right one, that means you'll have to go out there and look at a demo model and try it out. How long does it take after you press the shutter button for it to finish capturing and writing the image to memory? The slower the camera is in this respect, the more you'll have problems with poor photos due to an unsteady hand. With my first camera, It took upwards of two seconds for it to record the photo. It is VERY DIFFICULT to hold a camera still enough to get a good shot when it takes that long to record the photo. Also, a faster camera will boot up faster, meaning you miss less spontaneous or candid moments waiting for it to start up. That's really important if you have kids.
  • Optical Zoom. Optical zoom is where the camera's lenz physically zooms in on the subject, as opposed to digital zoom, where the camera enlarges the pixels that form the image to make the image appear to be zoomed. Larger pixels means grainier photos, so you'll want optical zoom. I can't really say how much zoom is enough. Most cameras come with 3x - but there are cameras with better zoom out there.
  • Size. You want something that's large enough for you to operate effectively, but small enough to carry with ease. If your camera is too big, you're less likely to bother taking it with you and using it than if it were easy to carry.
  • Memory card. I don't think format matters all that much, but I'd make sure to get a high speed memory card like the Ultra II cards from SanDisk. It is capable of a faster write speed than their standard memory cards, meaning you can take full advantage of the processing speed of the camera, and will have more success with action photographs.
It probably sounds like I'm giving a sales pitch here. I do sell these things for a living, but I'm speaking mostly from my experience with the two cameras I've owned. I VERY HIGHLY recommend the Casio Exilim line. It excels in all the areas I highlighted, and they have some very affordable cameras right now in the 5.0-megapixel range. I've had mine for just under a year, and it has been nothing short of excellent.
 
Upvote 0
You need or should get 4 megapixels or higher in your range they are out there. I have an old Canon G~2 which is a 4 meg. Now I use the Canon Rebel XT which is 8 megapixels.
Also stick with a camera company such as Canon or Nikon or Fuji in that order it does matter.:)
Above mentioned NewEgg is a good company. I got my two 1 gig cards there! If you want to research a certain camera or company try www.epinions.com,they are excellant on ratings. I saw an ad for my XT at an unbelievable price from a company in New York & researched them on there & I would have been hosed bad. Some of these camera places sell grey market(not made in U.S.A.) & have addresses at places that do not exist! The feedback on this certain company was horrendous. Not one good comment out of a few hundred.WHEW!
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top