Any Digital Camera gurus out there?

[Larks]

I'm after a reasonably decent but cheap enough digital camera for both my work and for posting fun/boat stuff on the forum. At the moment I'm using my phone (2MegaPixel) or bulky old digital camera (also 2 MP but seems to be better quality pics'). Both are very slow between pressing the shutter and taking the shot so I mess up the shots quite often.

For work I'm after something compact and reasonably robust.

There seems to be a heck of a lot of choice - priced from as cheap as $122.00 (Australian) for a 7.2mp 3x zoom camera. Am I wasting my money at that price?

I know J.S. about camera's and what to look for, can anyone suggest a good camera or advise what I should be aiming for. What functions should I look for in a camera these days?
Is it the MP that provides the clarity of pic's or do I need to consider something else in conjunction with the MP? I'd like a decent zoom function also, maybe 4 or 5 x zoom but I guess that will depend on cost. Is the anti shake worth while or just a gimick?

any ideas?

thanks
Greg

[htom]

Real anti-shake is worth it, it works by detecting camera motion and moving the sensor or the lens (depending on the maker) to compensate for the motion. Fake anti-shake increases the ISO and decreases shutter time, and that doesn't really work, or not as well as the real anti-shake (and with the real, you can do the ISO shutter change too.)

Canon a570, a650, s5, g9 are things to look at, depending on your budget; other manufacturers have comparable cameras, and Canon has many others.

[Thorne]

Make the call as to whether you want a shirt-pocket point-n-shoot camera, or a larger telephoto-lens camera. Then you can start asking for recommendations / reviews.

I have the Olympus 720 SW waterproof/shockproof small camera, very handy and nice for small boats, rainy/wet weather, and quick shots for webpages.

[soba]

After owning and wrecking about 12 digital cameras, my vote for a general purpose cam is the Panasonic Lumix line. Why? Boots up and is ready to shoot faster than anything else, fewer digital "artefacts" when shooting anything with spotlights or moiré, and ease of use for the menus. And great image stabilization.

Having said that, the Canons take pix that seem "sharper" when I used a tripod.

But the panasonic took more of a physical beating.

FWIW anyway.

[S/V Laura Ellen]

You are a boater.
Boaters are around water.
Cameras don't like water (especially salt water).
It isn't an issue of if your camera will get when, but when your camera will get wet. (Right Paul?)
Don't spend too much the camera if you take it on the boat
- or -
get a water resistant camera or
a camera with a water resistant case.

[htom]

I should put in a link to dpreview (http://dpreview.com/) ; they have a great collection of reviews, and in the "Buying Guide" you can search cameras by features.

And I should link to Steve's Digicams (http://www.steves-digicams.com/) and DCResource (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraList.php) , too.

[Lew Barrett]

Australia is a center for reasonably priced equipment as well, especially if ebay is anything to go by.

dpreview is among the most respected sources for basic info for this technology on the web, but if you think you might get involved on a slightly more serious level, this is another fun site to dabble with:

fred miranda (http://www.fredmiranda.com/)

Don't bother with this one if a DSLR isn't reasonably in your future. Warning: addictive and expensive technology. Enter at one's peril.

[David G]

You are a boater.
Boaters are around water.
Cameras don't like water (especially salt water).
It isn't an issue of if your camera will get when, but when your camera will get wet. (Right Paul?)
Don't spend too much the camera if you take it on the boat
- or -
get a water resistant camera or
a camera with a water resistant case.

This is why I bought the Pentax Optio W20. Waterproof down to (I forget... 20 ft? 30? Deeper than I'm gonna take it). Takes underwater fotos & movies. Dustproof. Shockproof (can be dropped from 5 ft). I've had it for 1.5+ years and am quite impressed with it. Bacause it's so small, I take it on all my boating/camping trips.

Disclaimer: I am no sort of digital camera or photography expert!


"Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can not be done and why. Then go do it" -- Robert Heinlein

[paladin]

If you wanna go really waterproof and deeper than the fake specs given with your camera.....I have a spare IKELITE professional underwater housing and a commercial large underwater flash unit that will do anything you need done.....all in like new condition, all seals and a few spares and the flash with cables.....contact by e-mail message.

[Larks]

Thanks all for some great advice and the links and thanks for the offer Paladin. I'm after pocket size at the moment and something that I won't be too upset about if it gets knocked about. Not too fussed about underwater at the moment (too many crocs up here to be playing in that environment).

I'm going to spend some time looking through the links suggested above and will look more closely at the Canon's that Htom suggested and the Olympus and Panasonic Lumix - Thorne and Doba seem to be talking the same language as me.

cheers
Greg

[elf]

Some of the top of the Lumix line are very good for the pre-prosumer use. They come closest to having no delay, which is pretty important if you're interested in getting that fleeting smile on the new grandchild. Some of them shoot RAW which is v important if you ultimately want decently accurate color. Finally, some have a decently large sensor. Basically an 8MP camera with a tiny little sensor will give you tinier pixels than an 8mp camera with a decently large sensor.

Finally, some of the higher end Lumixes have viewfinders. LCD screens are really useless in bright sun so I really like viewfinders, even if the camera isn't an SLR.

Now, if you want to drop something in your pocket, then you have to live with the delay between the moment when you touch the shutter release and the moment when the shutter releases, because the computer has to figure out what the exposure should be, and locate the focal point after you press the shutter release and before the shutter is actually opened. You can circumvent some of this irritating stuff by depressing the shutter release part way before fully depressing it, and on some digital p&s the camera will do some of the calculations while the button is partway down. But I don't use those little guys so I don't know which ones actually do that.

dpreview does.

[Michael Beckman]

My Olympus 790sw is great. Waterproof, ideal for boats. It takes pictures quickly if you do the part depress elf just mentioned.

[Kaa]

I have shot the waterproof Olympus and was severly underwhelmed. The image quality, not to put a fine a point on it, sucked. It sucked not only in comparison with DSLRs and decent optics, which was to be expected, but it sucked in comparison with plain-vanilla little Canon Elphs. I really wanted to like it since I agree that a waterproof camera is highly useful. Unfortunately I wasn't able to.

Kaa

[Michael Beckman]

I've found the quality is much worse indoors and in low light than otherwise. I don't use the flash ever.

[pipefitter]

No guru here but I have 2 for comparison. I have the Olympus stylus 600 which is great for the glove box and tackle box and I have a Canon Power Shot sx100is that my gfriend got me for Christmas. The Canon is not much larger than the Olympus but has a 10x zoom and seems like a cross between a pocket camera like the olympus and a larger DSLR camera. It takes great photos and has an easy user interface and controls. I agree I would like a viewfinder as well but out of the display screen types, this one is much more visible outdoors than the olympus. With the olympus, I am guessing at what I am shooting at in sunlight, even with the brim of my hat shielding it.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canonsx100is/page2.asp

[Rational Root]

Some notes....

Unless you are planning on "getting into" photography for it's own sake.

1) Around boats, waterproof will rock. That should really be your first criteria.

2) 5 or 6 mega pixels are plenty. Most pocket camera lenses cannot give you any more detail anyway. Any more will not really make much difference.

3) Only pay attention to optical zoom, digitial zoom won't get more detail, it just stretchs the detail you have. You can do this yourself on a computer anyway.

4) An optical viewfinder is very handy if you want to take pics on the water, with all the glare on a sunny day, the screen can be impossible to see. I could not find any waterproof camera with an optical viewfinder

5) Try this http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp set the first field (format) to "Rugged Compact" and have a look.

6) Check places like bhphotovideo dot com for decent prices.

[J P]

I've been pretty happy with the waterproof Pentax Optio WP 5mp I've had for a few years. No issues so far, and I don't baby it. We do a lot of stuff on and in the water, and snow. Lack of an optical viewfinder is my only complaint. I think the newer versions have a bigger screen but I'd still rather have a viewfinder. If I can't see the screen, which is most of the time, I just shoot a lot. Spray and pray.

[kenjamin]

My digital SLR is a Pentax K-10D. It wasn't cheap (at $899 US) but it's got great resolution for huge prints and excellent detail. It has the all important weather seals for use in the marine environment. I can't drop it overboard as it is not waterproof but that's what the camera strap is for. It also has an effective anti-shake feature. Battery life for the K-10D is also excellent. Point-and-shoots are great for memories and web posting but for more serious photography that can stand up to some salt spray, I like my Pentax K-10D.

[seedy]

Speaking very generally, Canon has it in image quality and sharpness, I like their series that has the fold-out screen like a videocam, very useful for taking photos in tight places.

Panasonic makes a great camera, there have been some reports that their processing software imparts a bit of impressionist blur, nice for people, not so nice for some other things. Reading about the speed makes want one of theirs. Many of their cameras also offer 16.9 format, which is wider and shorter. This allows you to take a more panoramic photo than the standard aspect, and then switch back to standard when you're done. The impressionist thing happens mostly in low light. Their cameras also typically do not do macro (super-closeups of small things) as closely as some of the competition, but they have great anti-shake in their midline.

Pentax are nice, and so are Casio, which sometimes use the same lens setups. Both macro closely, take generally good photos, and last well.

Also, if you want small and great quality, the little Ricoh's are outstanding, and may be cheaper where you are. They are tough and pretty simple, one long-time user is a mountaineer (http://www.gdargaud.net/Photo/index.html) who sells climbing photos. Here's a review of one of them by a pro... http://luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/ricoh-gx100.shtml

That site in general reviews very high end gear, but they also review consumer and prosumer stuff if you look through their reviews (http://luminous-landscape.com/reviews/), and they put them through a good workout. http://luminous-landscape.com/

[Rational Root]

My digital SLR is a Pentax K-10D. It wasn't cheap (at $899 US) but it's got great resolution for huge prints and excellent detail. It has the all important weather seals for use in the marine environment. I can't drop it overboard as it is not waterproof but that's what the camera strap is for. It also has an effective anti-shake feature. Battery life for the K-10D is also excellent. Point-and-shoots are great for memories and web posting but for more serious photography that can stand up to some salt spray, I like my Pentax K-10D.

He's looking at spending $AU 122 for a camera with 3x zoom. To get 3x zoom with a K10D you need to budget for more lenses.

He also claims to know J.S. about cameras. Hardly a great starting point for a DSLR ?

(ps I have the Pentax K200d. But I have a small "point and shoot" as well, Invariably the best camera is the one that you have with you, not the one you left behind in the house.)

[Larks]

Thanks guys, there's some great info to go on here and I gather I can grab something suitable for my needs for under $300.00 with an optical 5x zoom and a viewfinder with no real need to go over the 7.2mp mark.


I'm putting off buying until I head home again in a couple of weeks as everything in Darwin seems overpriced and there is more choice down in Brisbane. Also I'd like to "handle" the camera before buying so amnot that keen on grabbing one off the web as yet but am sure I can use the web prices to do a bit of bargaining.

Once again thanks for all your help, there really is a wealth of great knowledge and generous advice on this forum!!

[Ron Geisman]

The best website for professional, impartial reviews of digital cameras is dpreview.com. Spend a few days there and you'll come away with your head spinning... but a lot smarter 'bout those things. Expect 20—30 page reviews of each of about 300 different cameras.

[Wayne Jeffers]

Let me add a couple of other really good camera sites:

http://photo.net/

http://www.kenrockwell.com/index.htm

I got Michelle a Canon A570IS last Christmas. Nice point-and-shoot camera at a very reasonable price.

Ken Rockwell really sings the praises of the Nikon D40 DSLR, 6.1 MP, with 18-55mm auto focus lens for less than $500.

Wayne