GotAirbus From Singapore, joined May 2001, 851 posts, RR: 1 Reply 1, posted (10 years 2 weeks 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 1785 times:
I can answer (#2)
MegaPixels
I'm not supposed to link to other websites but I think that megapixels around 2.5 and above (bestbuy.com -- sorry, just a basic source of information) are quite adequate.
Optical vs Digital Zoom.
Most cameras do have them both. Only a few cheap ends have just a digital zoom.
The thing is, a camera would "optically" zoom by moving the lens so that you can get a closeup of an image; similar to you adjusting the binocular's lens (good feature).
As an example, my camera has 3x optical, 2.5x digital zoom. When I finish "optically" zooming my camera for closeup, the "digital" zoom takes place and zooms an additional 2.5x,(worse feature) giving the camera a total of 5.5x zoom capability. Why not good? "Digitally" zooming the image actually uses the on-board camera chip to do it; it's just like editing photos on the computer and using Photoshop to enlarge it...very blur and loss of quality.
To answer your question simply, get a camera with a huge amount of optical zoom if you plan on taking sharp pictures from a far distance (the $500 Sony cameras for example have 10x optical zoom). But if you are simply looking for a camera just to simply take pictures of your friends...despite the blurry "digital" zoom, then go for it.
My camera has 3x optical zoom. Not a very far distance for me to zoom and to yet take clear pictures.
(gotAirbus?)
(gotAIRBUS?) - (Got Commonality?) - (Have A Nice Flight!)
Paulc From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2001, 1490 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (10 years 2 weeks 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 1782 times:
www.dpreview.com will give a lot of advice on digital camera's
I have the Minolta D7 which is 5.2mp (so quality is fine) 28-200 zoom (very flexible range of focal lengths) many more features than you will ever need. It is quite small (compared to D10 etc) but does not have interchangeable lenses.
It does have a few not so good points - it is power hungry (like most digital's)
autofocus can be slow / erratic although later models are better.
Once you get a digital, it will change the way you take photo's - the last time i used my other camera was in April but the film i finished at that time had images from june last year on it so this shows just how little my normal camera had been used since getting the digital.
Fallingeese From Canada, joined Apr 2001, 2097 posts, RR: 20 Reply 4, posted (10 years 2 weeks 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 1602 times:
There are alot of Toronto spotters that could help you out. I think GMonney just bought a Sony F717 whic retails for about 1500CAD. Also take alook at Olympus C-730, 740, and 750.
Siggi757 From Iceland, joined Oct 2001, 123 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (10 years 2 weeks 1 day 3 hours ago) and read 1589 times:
I have used a Canon G3 since last December and it is a great camera.
It has a 4 MegaPixel sensor and its battery lasts a long long time. The controls and menus are first class and it has a vast amount of neat options. As a beginner in photography this camera has taught me a lot because of the option of using fully manual everything. I give it me best recommendations.
Now that the Canon G5 (there is no G4) is around the corner you can probably get a good deal on a G3. You could do a lot worse than that. I might mention that I dont care much for the digital zoom and I have only used the standard zoom which performs very well.
For a great source of consumer feedback on cameras, lenses and accessories I always check out www.photographyreview.com
Regards,
Sigurdur Benediktsson
P.s. you can check out my pics for samples (plug-plug-plug)
B777 From Canada, joined Sep 1999, 368 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (10 years 2 weeks 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 1575 times:
Just as Fallingeese said, you might want to take a look at the Olympus C-7x0 range. They are pretty affordable and have very long optical zoom (10X). I myself have the C-730 and I find it great for taxi and ramp shots though not as good for action shots but that can be done with practice. Another good camera to look at the is the Sony 7x7 series.
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