john_satc said:
So what are the best things to look for in a camera? I'm gonna take myself along to a camera store, I just don't want to get ript off.
It's probably better if you just gave us a list of camera models that you found on sale at a store, and we tell you whether they're good. Actually, I"m not even sure if we'll need to do that. Consumer level cameras are very very similar in terms of image quality and such. I believe the main difference between small compact digital cameras is in the menu system and how easy it is to navigate, but if you only plan on shooting in AUTO mode, who gives a fart? A lot of these small cameras take photos at about the same quality anyway, so picking up a camera from any of the major brands like Olympus, Fuji, Casio, Sony, Canon, or Nikon will be fine.
The only other difference is the zoom (3x is normal on small thin cameras), or Image Stabalization, which is really useful if you have a camera that can zoom 5x or more. It's not really so useful on 3x zoom cameras.
Mike Teezie said:
It all depends.
To get 8.2 mp out of a sensor that size, they have to pack the pixels in, and that creates a ton of noise. But if you are going to be printing less than 8x10s, you should be fine. If you aren't concerned with printing at all, 8.2mp might even be a bit too much.
Yeah, I really think that the large majority of people print at the regular 4" x 6" photo size, and am actually surprised if I find that a friend has printed at 5"x7". I don't think the John_Satc is going to print at 6"x8", or 8"x10", so I really don't think he'll need anything that goes beyond 6 MP.
Even on my SLR, i don't think 8.2 mp is enough to reliably go past something like a 12x18" print.
That's why I'm getting a 5D - or if business goes as well as I hope it does - a 1DsMkII.
I think of people being in 2 groups when it comes to Megapixel needs. The first group is the group that needs 4-8 MP, and another group that needs 12-16 MP. Someone in the first group may --- very rarely --- print an 8x10" photo one day, but never bigger, and usually much smaller (4"x6"). These people can have the same quality prints as long as their camera has between 4-8 MP. It really shouldn't matter to them. It's also why I didn't bother upgrading my 4 MP Canon SD300 to something better, because even an upgrade to an SD500 would leave me between 4 to 8 MP, so there's no point in upgrading.
It's also why I didn't care whether my Nikon D50 had 6 MP, and the Canon 350D/Digital Rebel XT had 8 MP. They were similar enough in price, and still within the megapixel range where I'd find the print quality to be the same.
The 2nd group are the people who print posters and really large prints of their photos, so more MP is better.
This is why I don't give a rats ass if a company like Fuji releases a thin consumer camera that has 10 MP. It really doesn't fill a need, nor does having that many pixels on such a small sensor going to make their photos better.
