Because I hate doing research

By D M

16 Nov

My mom wants to buy me a digital camera for Christmas. That’s awfully nice of her, and certainly I wouldn’t mind having one, but I don’t know the first thing about such devices. As I say in the title: I hate doing research.
And it’s not like I’m any kind of photog. I just figure it’d be nice to take a picture now and then that doesn’t have to be scanned. Which should tell you about what my needs are, as far as a camera goes.
So, if ya’ll have any thoughts then I’d be grateful to hear them.

Filed under: Photography, Technology

15 Responses for "Because I hate doing research"

Madster November 16th, 2006 at 5:19 pm 1
D M – I’m partial to Olympus digital cameras if you are looking for a basic, small point and shoot type camera. I’ve owned a few different brands and have always liked the sleek sturdy models that Olympus has available. Most of their models are also all-weather or weather resistant so I take mine kayaking and hiking without too much fear about water damage. (not designed to be submerged but can handle a little rain) There are some pretty good reviews out right now on the Olympus Stylus 700 series (recommend googling the Stylus 750). They are selling it on Amazon right now. I used to hate the Sony cybershots but turns out I had bought one of their really substandard models that didn’t last long. There are some great cybershots available online or at best buy that are of the bigger version cameras with more optical zoom then the smaller point and shoot cameras. Edgeplot and I both have the DSC-H5 and reallly like it. It is not a DSLR though and is pricier than the smaller pocket digitals. You are more than welcome to email me questions. The internet has a lot of tech sites that do some pretty thorough write ups on cameras these days. As your looking, think about optical zoom versus digital zoom. You should be able to find a decent camera with 3X optical or more (worth it). I wouldn’t bother getting anything more than 5 or 7.0 megapixels. I think the Stylus 750 might be 7.1 mp’s which is more than enough for just picture taking. You might also want to pay attention to the power source…what kind of battery or batteries? Who wants to buy AAA’s or AA’s over and over. Try not to go that route unless you are going to buy a fast charger for rechargeable batteries. I just did some research for my parents so they could buy a camera for a trip they took. There are definitely some good cameras out there right now.
D M November 16th, 2006 at 6:10 pm 2
Thanks for the advice.
Kables November 16th, 2006 at 8:22 pm 3
The Casio Exilims are reviewed pretty highly, and everyone I know that has one likes it. They’re super small and slim, for portability. Plus they have like 30 presets, so you don’t have to screw around with settings too much. Here.
edgeplot November 16th, 2006 at 10:52 pm 4
Too bad the cat knocked your last Olympus off the counter, Madster. Oops!!
fuz November 16th, 2006 at 11:34 pm 5
Had Kodak and Minolta…Minolta’s moot, as they no longer make cameras. Kodak…well, the camera I had worked quite well, as does the one I bought for my sister, but I’ve had problems with the quality overall (both were basically DOA). So, I’m not the best person to recommend cameras.

Question: What would you like to do with the camera? That’s an important thing to be asking.
Melissa November 20th, 2006 at 8:36 am 6
I’ve used a digital camera for work for about seven years now. My, how they’ve grown.

I take about 30-40 pictures everyday and I’m notoriously rough on my camera. The Kodak EasyShare was the perfect workhorse. As Fuz said, the quality of the picture? Eh, take it or leave it. But it suited my purposes. But then, after three hard years of service, my third EasyShare bought it out of the blue. Just stopped working. I had to redo (more or less) a day’s work. I was most displeased.

Since it just quit on me, I had to buy my next camera on an emergency trip to Costco between appointments. I didn’t want to spend more than $500 and the selection was really pretty remarkable. I was leaning toward the newest EasyShare when, against my better judgement, I rashly decided to buy an HP that came bundled with about ten toys. That is a mistake I do not intend to duplicate. It died within the first week and left me hung out to dry on another day’s work. Luckily, Costco has a most generous return policy. I went back and the Kodak I wanted was gone. Eventually, after much hand-on-hip, head-cocked-to-the-left, nail-biting (as is my wont to do with the pressure of quotidian, inconsequential decisions) I settled on a Nikkon Coolpix. Its reliable, which is really all I can ask from a piece of equipment with such a delicate composition.

Let me tell you one thing – and you girls will understand that about which I’m speaking – I used to be satisfied with 6.2 megapixels, but now that I’ve had over 8?? Well, I won’t be going back.

Also, a camera that takes the NiCad battery is massively better than a camera that takes the Dr. Kirkland double a’s. Massively.
D M November 20th, 2006 at 10:58 am 7
Thanks, man.
D M November 20th, 2006 at 10:59 am 8
Ah, man, you know me. I’m lucky if I take pictures of my hands.

It’s probably mostly going to be there for drunk blackmailing purposes.
D M November 20th, 2006 at 11:07 am 9
What’s the battery difference? Just rechargability?
Kables November 20th, 2006 at 11:47 am 10
Forget cameras.
D M November 20th, 2006 at 12:01 pm 11
Holy crap. That’s nice!

I wish I didn’t have all my equipment already, damnit.
Madster November 20th, 2006 at 9:10 pm 12
Definitely agree with Melissa on the battery. You wouldn’t believe how annoying a camera can become when you are constantly running out of juice. The NiCad’s are definitely a better way to go, no matter what brand/model camera you end up with. Just my two cents.
A.Ho November 20th, 2006 at 11:17 pm 13
My parents bought me a Kodak Easyshare 2 or 3 years ago. I don’t take a lot of photos but it’s served me pretty well.

It’s only 2.0 Megapixels, but I know how to use them.
Kerry G. November 21st, 2006 at 8:15 am 14
I also have a Kodak easy share. I don’t know the model number, but it has 5 mega pixels. It’s small and fits in my pocket, but the battery thing is my only gripe about it. I’m constantly changing batteries and always bring two extra AA with me just in case. It would be better to not have to worry about that.
fuz November 21st, 2006 at 8:36 pm 15
Seriously, rechargable batteries is the way to go. And good ones to boot.

As for the camera…actually, I found my Kodak took decent pictures, overall…in some cases, better than my Minolta, which has 4 megapixels, as opposed to my Kodak’s 2.

If you’re looking for the small and portable, I wouldn’t obsess over certain aspects…zoom being the primary one. I also wouldn’t get too worried about megapixels…most anything you get is going to be at least 4-5 megapixel, which is perfectly fine for those close up family/blackmail shots. Size/portability should be your motivating factor. If you want something to take nice pics of scenery/distant objects, however, I’d splurge on a large # of megapics with a huge (10x) optical zoom…which will likely mean a larger camera.

-Fuz