Digital cameras?

[Phoenix]

Anyone here know about digital cameras? :)

It was only after I became a vegan that I found out that film has gelatine in/on it. :bhead: :dunce: :hbang:

Photography used to be a hobby I enjoyed, but I haven't used my camera for over a year now. :sigh: So, any advice?

If I'd just won the lotto, I'd buy an SLR, but my budget is more point-and-click. I would like a camera with at least a 3X optical zoom, but what's the deal with the mega-pixels? :confused: Is 8 mega-pixels good?

And what about the computer software to print the photos? Any recommendations? :rubchin:

[veggiesosage]

I'd advise not getting too hung up on the number of megapixels in a point and click camera, its one of those easy selling points that manufacturers play up but of course its far from the whole story. In fact, I think you can have too many MP as they have to fit on the same size sensor as lower MP ones, so the individual pixels themselves are smaller. This in turn tends to mean more noise.

Anything around 6-7 MP is enough and will certainly print out at A4 size (about 12"x8") and I would avoid anything more than 8MP myself for this type of camera because of the noise issue.

Have you though of looking for a second hand DSLR? Or you can often get bargains when a new model range is coming out (Olympus are bringing out a new model range this year and there are some real bargain E500s out there).

Have a look at these sites to get some ideas, although I've no idea whether the individual models are available in Oz or necessarily at the same specs.

http://www.dcmag.co.uk/aGO1rCw.html

http://www.dpreview.com/

[Phoenix]

Thanks Veggiesosage. I hadn't considered a secondhand camera becasue I assumed that people would only get rid of one if it was worn out.

I'll check out those websites. Thank you.

[Fauxmage]

I'm thinking about upgrading to a digital SLR. I'm trying to impress my photographer Dad with some of my pictures enough to maybe swing one as a Christmas present. :crossfingers:

[veggiesosage]

I assumed that people would only get rid of one if it was worn out.



You've obviously not been a victim of upgrade fever then? :D

The only thing that would actually wear out on a DSLR would be the shutter mechanism as thats really the only mechanical thing. Even the bottom range DSLRs are generally quoted as being good for 50,000 shutter actuations and, to give you an idea, I've had mine about a year and it has done a little over 3000. Ok, the electronics can fail but its rare and would be obvious when you tried it out before buying. Its also usually obvious if they've been dropped...

Like I said though, look into some of the older but brand new DSLR models from Olympus and also Pentax as some of these are available way cheap at the mo due to new models coming out.