Digital camera questions

David Johnson · 02-19-2002, 10:40 AM

I would like to get a digital camera in the next month or so and would like to here some suggestions/info.

I know I want to get one with lots of pixls for better resolution. I want the camera so that I can put pitures on here and other web sites.

I'm looking to spend in the $300 to $500 dolor price range but in the lower end of that.

Is there any one out there that can give me a good deal or even trade for fishing trips? If not that's fine too.

[ 02-19-2002, 11:44 AM: Message edited by: David Johnson ]

hoochie · 02-19-2002, 10:46 AM

David, I have a Kodak d3500 which is easy to use and has good resolution. I comes with a docking station that allows you to just plug in and download your Pics with one click and charge the battery at the same time.

Under $400 for the whole kit with software and additional 16mg flash card.

Check them out at Kits, then go to Costco

[ 02-19-2002, 11:47 AM: Message edited by: hoochie ]

Artwo · 02-19-2002, 10:50 AM

Dave,
Do a search on here, there was a ton of discussion on this topic back when Jen was looking for a camera.

JK

02-19-2002, 10:55 AM

[ 02-19-2002, 04:23 PM: Message edited by: ****** ]

BlindSquirrel · 02-19-2002, 12:03 PM

Hi David,

Suprised you've lived this long without a digital camera in your business -- it will make those happy clients even happier when you mail them their trophy pic's.
If your primary camera mission will be email/web posting of pictures - most people will not want your 3 megapixel images. Because of compression technology - you can't exactly relate # of pixels to file size - but there is a correlation. Most web sites don't want pictures much bigger than 100 KBytes.

If you will be making large color prints - then you may want to store the images in the highest camera resolution - which will create huge files.
Note that Fry's in Wilsonville sells 128 MB cards for $40 - a screaming deal compared to other places. Most camera's only come with 8 or 16 MB cards.

Happy hunting.

p.s. Hey, how come you're not out fishing - oh -- you must have already limited!

:smile:

Phil Layer · 02-19-2002, 12:34 PM

Here's another vote for Kodaks. I've used several and find the Kodaks to be solid in price and quality of pictures.

Jennie@ifish · 02-19-2002, 12:55 PM

Here is a link.
And here is another one.

I thought there was a really long one, but can't find it!
Jen

FishinFinatic · 02-19-2002, 01:13 PM

David Johnson. i just got a Olympus D-510 zoom. wich is a great camera. This camera will also take small video clips, its kinda a cool feature. 2.1 megapixal. and comes with a usb cable for easy hookup to comp. wich is instant download to comp. also has the lcd screen. I can research somemore if you want. I can also get some excellent deals. So if you find something email me and i can give you the price. Sometimes i can get things at cost. Email me if you have any questions. mike

[ 02-19-2002, 03:01 PM: Message edited by: FishinFinatic ]

parker · 02-19-2002, 01:25 PM

David,

Cameras are like computers. Everybody will tell you theirs is the best, and all that other nonsense.

Here's all you need to do:

Figure out what's most important to you in digital photography and write down a list. For example, my list would be:

Easy of Use.
Batteries and battery life.
non-propriatary memory card. Ie, must be Compact Flash.
Macro isn't important.
camera doesn't need to swivel.
ISO features.
Picture quality
MP's
Price range.

Take that list and check out www.dpreview.com

Finally, once you've settled on the camera, have fun searching around for the lowest price. Be *very* careful of grey market cameras sold on the web. There are a lot of them out there.

Once you get your camera, don't be afraid to "show off" and "brag" like I do!

If no one else, I *enjoy* any and all posted photos and movies!

Oh yeah, and most of the newer cameras will take video clips. Some are time-limited, as mine will only do 30-second clips. Some are limited by how much memory you have in the camera. All just depends on the camera.

http://snappy.fish.washington.edu/pics/cantellya.avi

Also, just buy a Pelican case. The are 100% waterproof and padded. It's all you need to protect your camera. You can find them at any dive shop.

[ 02-19-2002, 04:44 PM: Message edited by: parker ]

Mr.Kitch'nPass · 02-19-2002, 01:33 PM

Dave, I have an olympus c-3000 3.34 pixel this camera takes great pics. :grin: If you e-mail me your address I would be glad to send you some actual pics I took.

Stz ll · 02-19-2002, 01:38 PM

Dave, I also have the Olympus D-510 Zoom. It is a great camera with good resolution. The price of this unit I have noticed for the last few weeks was down to $299.

Pete

Threemuch · 02-19-2002, 02:11 PM

I just bought a Nikon Coolpix 775, internet $300, retail $400. It's really small, and takes great *** in the 2.1 Megapixel range.

I would steer clear of the Sony Mavica line. It used to be pretty cool to just bring cheap floppys for film, but at higher resolutions that's a pic a disk. And the memory cards are cheap now. Way cheap. A buck a meg.

I chose the Nikon because it has short video capability and Nikon is a reputable CAMERA manufacturer. The main thing I noticed over my old Mavica was that this thing takes AWESOME low light pictures compared to any other digital that I have seen.

Battery life hasn't been too bad, about an hour per rechargable.

My buddy Karl has the Sony DSC, which is pretty cool. It has short video capability with sound, which can be pretty fun.

Tell ya what, you take me on your fishing trips, and I will be your personal photographer, with my camera! :grin:

Scariest part about a digital for me is water. If they get wet, they are toast. I keep mine in a freezer bag on the boat, and just take it out for use. If they made one for a reasonable amount of money with a good waterproof housing, that would be the one for me.

Good luck,
Kurt

fish_on · 02-19-2002, 02:28 PM

I did a lot of research on this before xmas. From what I found the cannon camers always have some of the best reviews. I am looking at either the S30,S40 or G2. The best prices I have seen have come from Cnet.com they offer product reviews, user comments and let you campare prices from 10-15 suppliers on one page. When you find the loweset price online, print all the price, warranty, and contact information. Take this to a Shutterbug location and they will match the price.

craigzilla · 02-19-2002, 02:34 PM

David Johnson- I heard last week that was a new "chip" coming out in about a month which will greatly improve the quality of the images and the good news was its not supposed to cost more. I personally am going to wait for this improvement, and I too say "ixney" on the Mavica. Before you know it you'll be carrying around a briefcase full of floppies as you don't get many pics/disk. just my 2 cents worth

rojo · 02-19-2002, 02:38 PM

Like my Canon A10...Canon makes a waterproof case good to 30 meters for the A10 and A20.

Rain · 02-19-2002, 03:14 PM

Hi David,

After doing a lot of research I bought a Sony MVC-FD90 last year before my ship left for our 6 month deployment. I wanted a really good camera and am fond of Nikon SLRs, but for the Digital the selling point for me was having the option of saving pictures to memory sticks or standard 3 1/2" floppys and having a rechargeable battery (90 minutes). It also takes up to 30 second .mpeg files. I LOVE my Sony! I took over 2000 photos on our deployment - mainly using the lowest resolution, getting 35 pictures per disc... For photos of fish, of course, I'd use a much better resolution. :grin:

I bought mine at CameraWorld in Portland. They carry several brands of digitals and that'd be a good place for you to shop and compare. I don't see my camera listed on their website (www.cameraworld.com) right now, but the MVC-FD75 lists for $349.99.

Check out Camera World's website for window shopping and figure out which features you like best. Maybe you can even find the one you want on eBay. :smile: I hope this helps a bit.

Love, Elsa

Rain · 02-19-2002, 03:20 PM

P.S. and the Sony MVC-FD90 (and FD75) saves the images as .jpg so you just pop the disc out of the camera, put it in your computer and they're ready to go. You don't need any software to transfer the pictures. That's REALLY cool because you can throw your disc into any computer.

David Johnson · 02-19-2002, 03:44 PM

Thanks for all your help. I will be answering your emails shortly.

What I'm looking for is something I can have photo quality prints made from but I also want to be able to add them to my fishing reports. Can I do both of these?

I'm terible at research but I'll try.

Thanks again.

02-19-2002, 06:05 PM

Go to Costco.com and check out there special on Kodak DX3900. Its 3.1MP and comes with the dock station. One button pops your pictures on your PC. Easy to use and I saw the exact camera in two weekend adds for $479. You can get it for $349 at Costco.com.

Mrdorkfish · 02-19-2002, 07:26 PM

Lots of great information gentlement :smile: I own a DC210plus...kinda behind the times but i love it....David my 2 cents worth...Go to Kodak.com and click on the USonline store and go to reconditioned cameras....I have bought one from here before...You cannot tell the difference from these and a new one....it's worth a look...i just took a look and the latest models are under $300

KODAK DX3600 Digital Zoom Camera/Reconditioned 269.95

and
KODAK DX3500 Digital Camera/Reconditioned 199.95

check out the specs...you might like :smile:

Mrdorkfish

Hookset · 02-19-2002, 07:55 PM

[ 02-19-2002, 08:58 PM: Message edited by: Hookset ]

Fishin Magician · 02-19-2002, 11:05 PM

David - I agree with hoochie on the kodak dx3500 camera. I own one and use it on the river all the time. I will email you a couple pics so you can see the quality. I paid 300.00 for the camera and docing station.
John