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Who has what, how much was it, and what do ya like or dislike about it. I’m looking for champagne quality on a beer budget! Thanks, Jeff
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*Kodak DC215 bot it about 12 months ago....4 mg. memmory card..2x zoom.... has a Sans-disk reader that downloads the memory card into the computer......i think it was $399.... i like every thing about it.... carried a Nikon FM with a wide-angle zoom for 25 years before that.... haven't seen it since....
*Jeff, I just one of those Sony MVC CD1000's. Nice, nice, nice!None of those memory cards or other limiting devices. It writes immediately to a 3" CD that you can take out and put directly in your computer's CD drive. It'll hold 160 high quality (2.1 megapixels) shots per CD. It'll also allow you to go to a lower resolution and take a minute worth of video and put it on that same CD.10x true zoom, twice that thru the inner workings. Has a flash, voice recording, and you can crop and/or make other adjustments right on the camera.Pricey at $1300, but saves a lot of fussing with the other types of smaller capacity media. The software that comes with it has a shortcut allowing you to e-mail the photos right from the initial download viewing.
*I read some good things about the Epson camera that will take standard lenses, so you don't have to throw all that glass away. Nikon and Olympus have a similar set-up. I wish I could find a digital host for all my Carl Zeiss lenses... sigh...fv
*Olympus's D-360L($299) and D460 Zoom($399) are both fine cameras. They offer roughly the same features with the 360 having a fixed-focus lens while the 460 has a 3X zoom.They ship with an 8 MB SmartMedia card. Connectivity is serial only however, not good for us USB Mac owners. I bought it anyway and convert images to CD-ROM at work. I'll pick up a Smart Media reader down the road for about $70.If you need zoom capabilities, make sure to get optical zoom. Digital zoom will just lose resolution.
*Sony Mavica MVC-FD71. Not the latest model, but currently $400-500 (I think). Uses standard 1.4 MB floppies (about 35 standard resolution pics on a floppy). 640x480 resolution is more than adequate. True 10x optical zoom, and takes macro down to.... well, I can take pictures of my finger prints! You can also make a copy of a disk right in the camera (to give to a client perhaps). Useability is the key -- you will like everything about it -- everything works just the way you'd think it ought to.
*b WBA At Your ServiceJeff, how much are you looking to spend ? I have a very small local camera shop that is well respected by pros for many miles. I'm always impressed by the owner's knowledge of the most modern equipment. He recently showed me some photos taken by a $300 digital (the minimum he recommends spending) that I could not distinguish from shots taken by a SLR. I need some developing done this week and I could ask him for a recommendation.By the way, that digital Nikon model that accepts Nikkor lenses recently came down in price to $3000 from $15,000. Nikon's specs show it as a 1.3 megapixel. I saw a newspaper ad for another fixed lens camera yesterday that was 3.3 megapixels. Simply amazing.
*I've got an OLD HP, bought it over 2 years ago so it must be about ten generations ago. It works fine, but that serial cable set up is not the way to go. No zoom, but at medium resolution there's a lot of blow up possible and still a decent quality picture. Guess next time I win the lottery I'll step up a generation or three. Took this with it last year, it still works fine. Joe H
*As little as possible! We just picked up a Minolta Vectis 2000 for traveling. Tiny little thing with rounded edges. Great to slip into a pocket. I'm tossing around the idea of a digital for myself. Was planning on a midrange SLR. I took photo for a few years in college, and would like to get back into it. Right now, we really don't have any space for a dark room though. But at least I could still play with the camera. So now I'm thinking maybe go digital, but as all things computer.....I've been waiting as the prices drop. I like playing with SLR's so much, I hope I'm not disappointed with a digital! I like pretending I know what I'm doing. So, for the moment, I'm looking for the biggest bang for the least buck. Three hundred is about what I've been told so far. If you get to your buddys, see what he suggests. What's the min. pixels and such. Thanks, Jeff
*Jeff:Just so you know, there is now way you are going to match the quality of film with a $300 digital cameral. If you are looking to get back into fine photography, I'd maybe stick with film for the time being.The big thing is resolution. You need to look at 3 megapixel cameras to start coming close to the quality of film. For high-quality enlargements and portrature, you need to look at something closer to 7 megapixel...which can easily have you pushing 10 grand. Think of sub-$800 digital cameras as the equivalents to polaroids...great for snap shots and casual shooting, but not a replacement for film (at least, not yet).-Darrel
*I purchased a Kodak DC200 a couple of years ago. Reviews rated it best for color and sharpness. Both are excellent. Camera cost $400 at Staples. Downside is that it is a battery eater (Kodak upgraded firmware to improve battery life, it has helped some but I still always carry a spare set and very often need them) and has no zoom. Flash is built as it is on most of these cameras. Purchased a 15 Meg memory card, so we can take a lot of pictures. We can get great photo quality prints at home with the HP color printer we got last year using special photo paper. The battery thing is a real drawback, this camera has an LCD screen that is very handy for setting up shots without having to use the viewfinder. Close-up shots can be off-center using the viewfinder since the actual lense is off to one side. I seldom use this feature since the LCD screen significantly accelerates battery usage.At work we have a Sony Mavica, saves photos on diskette and has a zoom feature, light level adjustment, flash and a fish-eye lense. It uses an LCD screen and I have never heard of anyone complaining about the batteries going dead on them. Also, despite industry claims to the contrary, I did not find that time between photos saved to a diskette much slower than saving to the memory card. The cost of the Mavica was $700 which I simply could not justify. Being able to use diskettes is really handy but with the both AC power adapter (a $50 extra from Kodak) and the serial cable in place, it is pretty easy to set the camera on the desk and download the pictures for editing.By the way, don't bang these cameras around too much. DW knocked ours off a table a couple of times, it became incapable of taking focused pictures. The fix was a $100 swap for a replacement from Kodak. If your use is primarily snapshots, 5x7 or less you won't need mega pixel technology.
*Jeff,A digital may not yet be a match for film but PhotoShop beats a darkroom any day! I find I can do dodging/burning, etc.,in PS about 50 times faster than I ever could in a darkroom.
*Jeff, not sure if you got over to CT for their review, but here's the thread: EM "Dixie, some digital camera reviews" 11/3/00 3:36pmThanks for starting this...i'm in the market, too. A graphic artist from one of the art fairs told me the Nikon Coolpix 800 was a good one, and on sale at Amazon for $400--this was about a month ago, however.
*Had too gooda year, and am in the market too....b/4 the end of the year. Keep the reviews comin. And thanks.
*Jeff, Ian brings up a good point, that digital cameras do not have the resolution and versatility of 35mm cameras and Photo shop allows one to fix up even goofed-up photos. Further, by using Mystic Photo (New England area), Seattle Photo Works or Signature Color (Texas) you can get high resolution down loads or a CD, or both, within a couple of days. Additionally, a good scanner coupled with a good 35mm camera is an excellent performing pair and the price is reasonable. If you just gotta go digital I recently read an article in Electronic Design describing two new chips from a small, new company called NuCore. The performance is so good compared to current chips that it will allow a video camera to provide both Stills and Movie with superior resolution... none of them can do that today. Why waste your money when shortly JVC (they have a joint venture with NuCore.) will likely have a camera on the market providing superior performance from a single unit that should be lower in price. The chips sell for $15 and $40 (Analog front-end and digital processor) in very large quantities which is going to impact the market big time. See attached clip for a photo from the magazine cover. I used my UMAX scanner at 300 dpi (not that high) to keep the file small and then converted the over 1 Meg file into a JPG. The Mag cover is significantly better by comparison but the down load to Breaktime would have been several minutes.
*ray.... y is that horse lookin at me ?jeff..you could wait... bet ya won't... .. i can't believe how much i use my digital..and the San-disk memory card reader is USB...fairly fast..want to explore an attic ?stick the camera up.. take a pic.. view it and take another.. crawl space.. no lights .. take a pic..inaccessible areas ? shove the camera in.. take a picclimb up on the roof.. shoot all the areas you need for your estimate.. download, print.. include them in your Proposal..this is NOT just a glorified polaroid....and as a businessman.. you don't need that resolution..buy the cheap one.. use it to make a lot of money.. and then buy your new Zeiss and darkroom..b but hey, whadda i no ?
*Mike, I see we're back agreein'. Im using a Sony Mavica. It uses 3-1/2" floopies. It has a 6 zoom that I sometimes want to be a 10x. I always want more however.We payed about 500 bucks. It includes MPG capabilites. It is very user friendly. I loaned it to my 77 year old mother and gave her three minutes of simple instruction. The pics came out perfect!The batteries are rechargeable and last up to 90 minutes or so.blue
*I've had a mavica for about three years. I paid about 800 bucks cause it was first generation. It's paid for itself many times over. In the old days I used a polaroid instant and the resolution wasn't as good.Mines 640x480, pre megapixel, but its fine for job pictures for me. I will probably upgrade soon and have been eyeing up the sony pc100 mini dv camcorder with the memory stick. I think its barely a 1 megapixel but like I said any upgrade in resolution would be fine for work purposes. I shoot a good bit of film through my two maxxums and use those for all my personal photos. I will make the jump to digital for this purpose when I can get comparable quality with interchangeable lenses for a comparable price to my current slr. Won't be long I suspect.The best thing about digital pics is that its easy to access and categorize them. You need a good printer and excellent paper to make quality prints and even then their longevity is questionable at this point. For me a high quality film camera and reasonable digital quality fills the bill.Tom
*Darrel, that's kinda what I thought. A digital would still be useful at times. Do you think there is much of a difference between the $800 range, and the $300-$400 range? I'm thinking, since I'm definitely not going top of the line, something cheap and simple may fill the bill as well as a mid range model. Definitely starting under $400. Thanks, Jeff
*Mike, I'll be waiting for a little bit. Remember, I got a bike to buy first! First comes fun toys....then work related toys! Jeff
*get the bike with a ladder rack... then it's work related too.....
*Don't forget the trailer hitch. Two little step ladders on each side of that one wheel trailer and a pipe rack welded to the top to hold the larger material. Also, mustn't forget the matched pair of mini side-saddle tool boxes on the main ride and the stepped seat with the sissy back when you have to go down to the labor pool to pick up your help for the day.
*Our discussions have been focusing on digitals, but Jeff, you have touched on something that leads into a new area being developed. That's the old wet chemistry photography.Much has been said about how far digital has come and in some cases, even approaches traditional photography in terms of resolution. I understand that traditional photography still has about a factor of 10 better resolution that the best digital. Recently, I read where someone had spiked the usual silver chemistry with tiny bits of some heavy metal. The resulting improvement in resolution was reported to be astounding. The particular author of this story (I wish I could remember the source, but you know the old CRS syndrome) indicated that it would give at least another 10 fold improvement in wet chemistry resolution - with further development, maybe another 10 fold on top of that.Although Mike is right about digital's simplicity in business applications, your old hobby may still have a future.
*And nothing can touch a quality black and white with absolute black, and absolute white! Don't know how you'd do this with a digital, but it just can't be the same as pulling the near perfect one out of the bath! ......ok, now I gotta find room for that closet! Jeff
*I was actually thinking work related....sorta.....Next spring....and summer....and fall.....Job day one....park the van at the site, Cathy picks me up. Every day after, spend 5 cents on gas on the bike going back and forth instead of 5 dollars in the van. Last day of job, Cathy drops me off to take the van home, then on to the next! Why, I can't afford NOT to! Jeff....btw, just got the little little rust spots painted and chip-guarded today.....van looks brand new again! I think it even sounds better!
*Mike the horse is looking at ya because he can't figure out why you're at the trough and wont drink! I'm not into sales pitches and I'm not going to do a comparison between cameras. Consumers and MacWorld have made the comparisons and surprisingly both agree that the Nikon Cool Pic is a cut better than the rest. However, I'd recommend that anyone who wants to read about the next generation cameras and learn a bit about why, just go to the attached URL: http://www.planetee.com/plane tee/servlet/DisplayDocument?ArticleID=8139. It's worth the surf; hell I'm so convinced that I'm trying to figure out how to get some stock.... not public yet.
*Best deal I have seen lately is a HP 2.1 Megapixel camera, HP Photosmart 315 for $299.95. It has a: 8mb compact flash card, USB conection for quick downloads to a computer with USB Most computers with windows 98. Check out warehouse.com
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Who has what, how much was it, and what do ya like or dislike about it. I'm looking for champagne quality on a beer budget! Thanks, Jeff