| Author |
Message |
Mitty
Guest
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 Posted:
Thu Nov 25, 2004 12:23 am Post subject:
Camera recommendations? |
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Sorry this is sort of an FAQ question but I am having trouble finding
information that is organized in a way that lets me compare cameras. And the
camera store clerks are, of course, not much help.
I would like a digital camera that is lighter and more compact than my Nikon F3.
I am taking a trip to India in January and am tired of hauling the F3 with
extra lenses, etc.
Must:
1) Viewfinder must show the through-lens image -- absolutely exact framing is
not necessary but parallax from a separate optical viewfinder is not acceptable.
From what I have found, this probably means an electronic viewfinder. Which
is fine.
2) Zoom lens with wide angle coverage (35mm equivalent) of a 28mm lens, 24mm
would be better. I would like 105 on the tele end but could live with 85.
3) It must not be bulky. Sizewise the Nikon 8400 is about the largest that I
would consider.
Want:
1) Manual zoom. The motor zooms never seem to stop where I want them to.
2) I would really like to stay in the $500+/- range.
Don't Care:
1) Megapixels. Pretty much anything in the market seems to be in the 3+ range,
which is plenty for a snapshot camera.
2) Hundreds of features buried in menus that I'll never explore. Turn the flash
on and off, shoot macro closeups and at distance, that's about all I'll need.
3) Doesn't have to be a current model. I'll just hit eBay if there is an older
model that meets my needs.
TIA
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Harvey
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 25, 2004 12:23 am Post subject:
Re: Camera recommendations? |
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"Mitty" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:8I7pd.5258$Pd2.2173375@monger.newsread.com...
| Quote: | Sorry this is sort of an FAQ question but I am having trouble finding
information that is organized in a way that lets me compare cameras. And
the camera store clerks are, of course, not much help.
I would like a digital camera that is lighter and more compact than my
Nikon F3. I am taking a trip to India in January and am tired of hauling
the F3 with extra lenses, etc.
Must:
1) Viewfinder must show the through-lens image -- absolutely exact framing
is not necessary but parallax from a separate optical viewfinder is not
acceptable. From what I have found, this probably means an electronic
viewfinder. Which is fine.
2) Zoom lens with wide angle coverage (35mm equivalent) of a 28mm lens,
24mm would be better. I would like 105 on the tele end but could live
with 85.
3) It must not be bulky. Sizewise the Nikon 8400 is about the largest
that I would consider.
|
[...]
Take a look at the Minolta A2 or A1's |
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Bill Crocker
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 25, 2004 12:23 am Post subject:
Re: Camera recommendations? |
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Here ya go!
http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html
Bill Crocker
"Mitty" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:8I7pd.5258$Pd2.2173375@monger.newsread.com...
| Quote: | Sorry this is sort of an FAQ question but I am having trouble finding
information that is organized in a way that lets me compare cameras. And
the camera store clerks are, of course, not much help.
I would like a digital camera that is lighter and more compact than my
Nikon F3. I am taking a trip to India in January and am tired of hauling
the F3 with extra lenses, etc.
Must:
1) Viewfinder must show the through-lens image -- absolutely exact framing
is not necessary but parallax from a separate optical viewfinder is not
acceptable. From what I have found, this probably means an electronic
viewfinder. Which is fine.
2) Zoom lens with wide angle coverage (35mm equivalent) of a 28mm lens,
24mm would be better. I would like 105 on the tele end but could live
with 85.
3) It must not be bulky. Sizewise the Nikon 8400 is about the largest
that I would consider.
Want:
1) Manual zoom. The motor zooms never seem to stop where I want them to.
2) I would really like to stay in the $500+/- range.
Don't Care:
1) Megapixels. Pretty much anything in the market seems to be in the 3+
range, which is plenty for a snapshot camera.
2) Hundreds of features buried in menus that I'll never explore. Turn the
flash on and off, shoot macro closeups and at distance, that's about all
I'll need.
3) Doesn't have to be a current model. I'll just hit eBay if there is an
older model that meets my needs.
TIA |
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Fred
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 25, 2004 12:23 am Post subject:
Re: Camera recommendations? |
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I second the recommendation for the Minolta A1 or A2. The A1 can be
found under $500 on eBay or elsewhere and has all you've asked for with
the added benefit of taking standard 49mm filters. If you do a lot of
macro work, you can extend the range with a set of 49mm close-up lenses.
Check the review at dpreview.com. |
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David Dyer-Bennet
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 25, 2004 6:02 am Post subject:
Re: Camera recommendations? |
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Mitty <nospam@nospam.com> writes:
| Quote: | Sorry this is sort of an FAQ question but I am having trouble finding
information that is organized in a way that lets me compare cameras.
And the camera store clerks are, of course, not much help.
I would like a digital camera that is lighter and more compact than my
Nikon F3. I am taking a trip to India in January and am tired of
hauling the F3 with extra lenses, etc.
Must:
1) Viewfinder must show the through-lens image -- absolutely exact
framing is not necessary but parallax from a separate optical
viewfinder is not acceptable. From what I have found, this probably
means an electronic viewfinder. Which is fine.
|
This is universal; even the cheapest digital cameras have the LCD
display with preview on the back. The only place you lose it is in
the DSLRs, which are big and heavy worse than your F3, expensive, and
clearly not what you want. (And they have real through-the-lens
viewing, anyway).
| Quote: | 2) Zoom lens with wide angle coverage (35mm equivalent) of a 28mm
lens, 24mm would be better. I would like 105 on the tele end but
could live with 85.
|
You can get 28mm in a couple of places. This is the hardest criteria
to meet. The long end is trivial.
| Quote: | 3) It must not be bulky. Sizewise the Nikon 8400 is about the largest
that I would consider.
|
Thanks for being specific!
| Quote: | Want:
1) Manual zoom. The motor zooms never seem to stop where I want them to.
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This is rare, but the Minolta A1 & A2 and the Sony 828 have it.
| Quote: | 2) I would really like to stay in the $500+/- range.
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You can manage this.
| Quote: | Don't Care:
1) Megapixels. Pretty much anything in the market seems to be in the
3+ range, which is plenty for a snapshot camera.
|
This is easy. And you've done your research, sounds like.
| Quote: | 2) Hundreds of features buried in menus that I'll never explore. Turn
the flash on and off, shoot macro closeups and at distance, that's
about all I'll need.
|
You'll have the buried features :-).
| Quote: | 3) Doesn't have to be a current model. I'll just hit eBay if there is
an older model that meets my needs.
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Sensible.
In addition to the Minolta A1 and A2 people have mentioned, I find the
following that give you 28mm or better:
Panasonic DMC-LC1 -- way too expensive, 3x your limit.
Fuji E500 and E501 -- Price okay, featurues okay, don't know anything
about them though.
Canon S70 and S60 -- S70 could fit your price range, S60 is easy.
dpreview.com has a full review of the S70. It looks like good solid
choice.
Canon Pro1 -- above your price range. High pixel count. Seems to
have VERY bad image noise at even moderately high ISOs (common with
8mp consumer cameras)
Nikon 8400 (24mm! First I've seen. And we even know it fits your size
constraint :-))
Nikon 5400 -- Price is okay. Noise not *so* bad.
Olympus C8080
Olympus C5060
Sony 828 -- Has mechanical zoom control. Noise pretty bad.
So have run!
--
David Dyer-Bennet, <mailto:dd-b@dd-b.net>, <http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/>
RKBA: <http://noguns-nomoney.com/> <http://www.dd-b.net/carry/>
Pics: <http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/> <http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/>
Dragaera/Steven Brust: <http://dragaera.info/> |
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Gene Palmiter
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 25, 2004 6:03 am Post subject:
Re: Camera recommendations? |
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While at www.depreview.com have a look at their comparative search database.
It lets you put in what you think you need and it will show what cameras
meet those requirements.
"Fred" <me@123.com> wrote in message
news:10qa3ipqa9lrq95@corp.supernews.com...
| Quote: | I second the recommendation for the Minolta A1 or A2. The A1 can be
found under $500 on eBay or elsewhere and has all you've asked for with
the added benefit of taking standard 49mm filters. If you do a lot of
macro work, you can extend the range with a set of 49mm close-up lenses.
Check the review at dpreview.com. |
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David J Taylor
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:03 am Post subject:
Re: Camera recommendations? |
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Mitty wrote:
[]
| Quote: | 2) Zoom lens with wide angle coverage (35mm equivalent) of a 28mm
lens, 24mm would be better. I would like 105 on the tele end but
could live with 85.
3) It must not be bulky. Sizewise the Nikon 8400 is about the
largest that I would consider.
|
You've named your camera already! The Nikon 8400 is the only camera with
24mm zoom (85mm tele) and it fits your size constraints. It has fast
auto-focussing as it does not rely solely on the slower contrast-detection
method. As it is 8MP, you can crop more to get the effect of a longer
zoom.
David |
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Jan Nademlejnsky
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:03 am Post subject:
Re: Camera recommendations? |
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I posted this a few days ago, but again, my experience with Diamage A1:
I have Diamage A1, but I am not too impressed. This is my most expensive
camera and 5th digital one.The camera is loaded with a lot of features, it
has perfect reviews, but the picture quality and results are not very
consistent. I can make consistently much better pictures with my FinePix
2600 than with this one. I am not beginner, so I know a lot about
photography and cameras. I tried time laps photos every 5 min during the
night with flash. The conditions were absolutely identical, but the pictures
show different exposure. This is very visible when run as a movie. You could
see darker and lighter pictures.
Sometimes it totally shifts colors, to let say to green. I have to turn it
off and on to reset it. Display shows several vertical pink lines when
looking towards a brighter object, like snow. I newer saw this before.
It is almost impossible to take picture of a moving object, especially
random moving, like small kid. You aim, press the trigger and the picture
disappears for a fraction of sec, perhaps even sec. You cannot follow that
moving object, because you cannot see it. The resulting picture shows the
kid walking out of picture.
Automatic object focus tracking is, I would say, useless. It supposed to be
used to focus on moving objects, but it never works. I aimed it on well lit
and very distinctive features, but it almost instantly moves to some random
spot and wanders around.
The bottom line is that, I would be very hesitant to buy A2, because I
believe it is mechanically and optically identical, just the sensor has
higher resolution. A1 is 5 Mp, but I have it set to 3 Mp, which is plenty
for 8 x 11 pictures printed on HP DeskJet 970 Cse.
Jan
"Fred" <me@123.com> wrote in message
news:10qa3ipqa9lrq95@corp.supernews.com...
| Quote: | I second the recommendation for the Minolta A1 or A2. The A1 can be found
under $500 on eBay or elsewhere and has all you've asked for with the added
benefit of taking standard 49mm filters. If you do a lot of macro work, you
can extend the range with a set of 49mm close-up lenses. Check the review
at dpreview.com. |
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bob
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 27, 2004 11:24 pm Post subject:
Re: Camera recommendations? |
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"David J Taylor" <david-taylor@invalid.com> wrote in
news:30lm74F31qvfjU1@uni-berlin.de:
| Quote: | You've named your camera already! The Nikon 8400 is the only camera
with
|
But that fails on the price point (us$500).
For $500 one could buy a used CP5000 which has a 28mm equiv, and also buy
the WC-E68 which takes it to 19mm eq. It does not have a manual zoom, but I
don't find it ending up places I don't want. Then again I mostly use it
full wide.
Bob
--
Delete the inverse SPAM to reply |
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David J Taylor
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Nov 27, 2004 11:39 pm Post subject:
Re: Camera recommendations? |
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bob wrote:
| Quote: | "David J Taylor" <david-taylor@invalid.com> wrote in
news:30lm74F31qvfjU1@uni-berlin.de:
You've named your camera already! The Nikon 8400 is the only camera
with
But that fails on the price point (us$500).
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Oh wait a few months and it will be there - we'll all be saying "only 8MP"
or something like that!.
Your suggestion of a S/H Coolpix 5000 + wide-angle lens is a good one,
though.
David |
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