Bieg

Cedric,

A couple of points I disagree with you on;

Printing a Hi-Res file does not consume any more ink than printing a Low-Res file. What changes the amount of ink used is the Resolution setting of the printer and the type paper you set the printer software up to print to. High Gloss finishes consume the least amount of ink, absorbent paper stocks consume more.

If you are going to take pictures you should save them on your computer at the highest res possible. Burn them to CDs or DVDs if they are consuming too much space. Saving something at a low resolution because that will save hard drive space eliminates any chance of printing them in the future.

The Canon Digital SLRs can save their files in a RAW format which for my D60 (6.1 Megapixels) is a little under 8 Megs per in the camera. When the camera gets downloaded through the software it gets converted to a 36 Meg Tiff at 3072x2048 at 180 ppi (16 Bit). This system ensures perfect uncompressed files and with a 512 Meg flash card or the 1 Gig IBM MicroDrive storage is quite acceptable.

While Nikon makes great lenses many would argue that Canon makes as good or better. Some will also say that Carl Zeiss makes the best of all. The point is that the BEST series of lenses from these manufacturers (and we are talking bucks here) are all great.

ReedZ

Check www.imaging-resource.com or www.dpreview.com . Both sites have excellent camera selection grids and imaging-resource has EXTENSIVE reviews of every camera available. I personally prefer Olympus cameras and use an E-20N.

Good luck. There are MANY outstanding cameras out there. Your choice just depends on what characteristics are most important to you.

Regards,
James

Tonky

Bieg.

The point I was really making is that when you're making really large prints it does consume more ink and printing can become a costly business. Many people will never want to print at that size anyway, and what this thread is about is trying to help people choose a digital camera which suits their particular needs.

Of course you should save the files at maximum res if you intend to print them at some stage in the future, but how many of your shots do you actually print and what do you do with them all? Whilst there is a convenience and an immediacy in handing your holiday snaps to someone to view, the whole way we look at and share photos now is changing rapidly, you only have to look around this site.

RAW format is great, I wish I had it, but at 8mb it's still a relatively large file. Whilst keen photographers will happily fork out for large cards and micro drives, not everyone wants to. I know I'm guilty of over-enthusing about this stuff because I find it very exciting, but I'd be doing no-one any favours by urging them to buy a camera which is capable of far more than they're ever going to do with it.

I don't remember discussing the merits of individual lenses, but there's little to choose as you say between them and it really needs a lens testing chart to separate them by deciding which resolves most liines per mm.
Carl Zeiss probably do make the best lenses. Their Planar, Sonnar and Tessar have been around a long time and haven't been bettered. They don't cost big bucks for nothing.

Didn't know you had a D60.... very nice!


Cedric.

kadeshpa

[QUOTE]Originally posted by airgate
[B]I have used a Fuji FinePix 2650 for well over a year.

cdelena

I purchased and tried a few cameras over the holidays.

I think the bang for the buck was this Sony S85 for $407.

http://www.executivecameras.com/productdet...oductid=sonys85

And here is the Fuji for $149.

http://www.executivecameras.com/productdet...ductid=fjfp2650

BTW, this vendor has been fast, reliable, and as cheap as any.

I ride shotgun

NIKON!

I ride shotgun

On a related topic, does anybody have any input regarding a Mini-DV camcorder. I am in the market for a 1ccd, compactness is an issue, still capability is not as much a concern, and i prefer the vertically oriented design. Recommendations, thoughts, criticisms.....

HondaGuy

Chris, thanks for the website, they have great prices. What do u all think about the Nikon 4500?

http://www.executivecameras.com/productdet...p4500&catid=100

I like it b/c it has the tilting camera feature that I can use to take awkward angle pics.

As far as mini-dv camcorders, in the beginning of the summer, I got the Sony pc120BT. I brought it on my trip to HK & it was perfect. Night vision (For the clubs ), pretty good battery life, great video quality, bluetooth & lightweight. The only thing negative I can think of is that it's kinda expensive. I got it online for around $1200+ something in July I think. I'm sure it's cheaper now though.

Tonky

The Nikon 4500 is great. All the Coolpix series have been excellent, with superb build quality. It's a steal at the price shown on that site you linked to. The Nikon 5000 is one of the Coolpix series but instead of having the lens body rotate, they changed to a screen which twists and revolves instead. It just achieves the same purpose differently.

Lots of uses for that tilting lens not the least of which is... if you want to take a really low level shot you don't have to kneel in the mud.

Just note that it's an advanced 'Point and Shoot' camera so it wont have the maual overrides of a more expensive one. If that doesn't worry you, and I've no doubt it will produce great results in most conditions, then it's a good choice.

HondaGuy

Sweet, I think I made up my mind. All I have to do now's try it out first hand...I'll probably go to CompUSA or BestBuy to do that. Thanks again for all the help everybody.