Digital Camera Help!!

[CruisingTeacher19]

I leave on my cruise in less than three weeks and want to purchase a new digital camera. I was looking at the canon 6.2mp is3 with a 12x optical zoom. Does anyone have any experiance with this camera or is there a better one that people like???

 

What camera do you prefer?? I want one with a good image stabilizer as well as a long zoom.

[ksrgatorfn]

Sammyjo,

 

I have a Kodak DX 7630. 6.1 MP, 39mm-117mm zoom optical zoom lens (3x), and a 10x digital zoom. It uses a SD card (I have a 1G card in it that takes several hundred pics at highest quality), and is an easy-share, so it came with a dock that you can plug into your computer to upload your pics.

 

I love it. The quality is fantastic. (I usually use it for NASCAR races).

 

I know it isn't a cruise shot, but it is the best i have to offer right now:

 

 

Starting next week, I'll have cruise shots to share. ;)

[Treven]

I have the Sony 828; it's big, heavy and powerful; you're not going to slip it in your back pocket & accidently sit on it. Nor will any pickpocket lift it out of your shirt pocket.

You can probably pick one up for around $500; I paid $1k for mine, but as Sony came out with this camera about 3 years ago you can probably pick up a new one fairly inexpensively.

8 megapixel, 28 - 200 Carl Zeiss lens. I use a 2-gig Micro Drive memory drive.

 

I love it; although the new Sony 10 megapixel digital SLR is might tempting.

[FlyingPhotog]

Do you want a pocket-size camera or a digital SLR? My signature has pics taken by a Nikon D70 digital SLR.

[Hawkeye75]

I just bought one for our upcoming cruise and decided to go mid-range ($500). It's a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 and it takes gorgeous pictures. It has a leica lens 12x optical zoom 6 Megapixels. It can take images quickly (some digital cameras need to wait a bit between shots). It can be used in simple mode or you can get nitty gritty and adjust shutter speed and such for some interesting shots. It also comes with a recharging kit and battery and the darn thing lasts long. The only downfall is you end up wanting to take the highest quality pictures which chews up tons of space on your SD card so I recommend buying a large capacity memory stick. :D

[jerick]

If you happen to have a film SLR camera that you like - especially if you already own extra lenses, consider getting a digital SLR of the same brand so you can use the same lenses. That way you only need to buy the body.

 

Regarding the zoom, if you take high resolution photos, you can zoom and crop the photos later, without losing quality, effectively giving you even greater "telephoto" capability.

 

Hawkeye75 also made a good point about the delay in taking photos. That can get really frustrating and cause you to lose out on some good shots, so you want to get a camera with a minimum delay. Check out www.dpreview.com for tons of info and detailed reviews of lots of cameras.

[Sunrunner3]

I leave on my cruise in less than three weeks and want to purchase a new digital camera. I was looking at the canon 6.2mp is3 with a 12x optical zoom. Does anyone have any experiance with this camera or is there a better one that people like???

 

What camera do you prefer?? I want one with a good image stabilizer as well as a long zoom.

 

If the Canon is the camera you like, check out what other people are saying about the camera at www.dpreview.com this site has all kinds of reviews!!! I used this site before I bought my camera.

[Guest TRACKER1]

Sammyjo,

 

I have a Kodak DX 7630. 6.1 MP, 39mm-117mm zoom optical zoom lens (3x), and a 10x digital zoom. It uses a SD card (I have a 1G card in it that takes several hundred pics at highest quality), and is an easy-share, so it came with a dock that you can plug into your computer to upload your pics.

 

I love it. The quality is fantastic. (I usually use it for NASCAR races).

 

I know it isn't a cruise shot, but it is the best i have to offer right now:

 

 

Starting next week, I'll have cruise shots to share. ;)

I have the Kodak z760 6MP and you can go down to 1.7 MP it goes from 6.1

5.4,4.0and 3.1,1.7 mP you have to check out this camera! Its great for the price!

[Musicman1]

I purchased the S2 IS (also 12X zoom but only 5mp) last year for our Alaska cruise. I like it very much but, as someone else said, it won't fit in your pocket.

[Guest TRACKER1]

I purchased the S2 IS (also 12X zoom but only 5mp) last year for our Alaska cruise. I like it very much but, as someone else said, it won't fit in your pocket.

The pocket ones dont have the zoom capacity for long shots or distances, they are good up to certain conditions and distance!Depends on what you use it for!

[zqvol]

If zoom is critical to you make sure to get maximum optical zoom.

 

I have the Panasonic Luminix mentioned above. What I like about it is that the lens is built by Leica, one of the top quality lens makers in the world.

[Guest TRACKER1]

If zoom is critical to you make sure to get maximum optical zoom.

 

I have the Panasonic Luminix mentioned above. What I like about it is that the lens is built by Leica, one of the top quality lens makers in the world.

 

You also forgot that Kodak has the schneider-Kreuznach Varigoon 39mm-117mm 3x Optical Lens they are up there with the rest:D Just get whatfits your abilities, if you are a novice picture taker get you a simple camera!;) If you are a Pro then get you a Pro Camera Just ask the Camera Salesperson! and they will guide you down the right path!:) :D

[zackiedawg]

If you want a super-zoom camera, ignore one thing: BRAND NAME!

 

You simply will NOT get a bad camera if you purchase a super-zoom model. They ALL shoot fast. They ALL have huge zooms. They ALL have a great lens company making their lens.

 

Let price, ergonomics, and features sell you the camera. Try them out - hold them, feel them, check the prices, and see what other features the cameras have that you may prefer. Maybe you like one more because the LCD swivels. Or maybe you like a bigger LCD. Or maybe you like a manual focus ring on the lens. Or maybe you like the camera more automatic.

 

Kodak uses a German lens company called Schneider Kreuznach...a well renowned lens company. Panasonic uses Leica (German again), a renowned camera and lens company. Canon makes their own lenses, and carries it's own fine reputation. Sony uses Carl Zeiss (yep...German again), another lens maker of high regard.

 

You can find a 12x optical zoom, image-stabilized, 5-7.2MP compact camera from Canon, Kodak, Panasonic, and Sony - and any of them will satisfy 90% of the photographers in the world. And each for some reason or another will have its small band of detractors who will do whatever they can to get you to NOT buy that particular brand. Believe me, they're all the same.

 

Sony's H1, H2, and H5...Panasonic's FZ7, FZ20, and FZ30...Canon's S2IS and S3IS, and Kodak's P850 all carry the same basic 12x IS specs (the Kodak models listed above are fine cameras, but they are 3x optical zooms and have no image stabilization, so they fall into another category).

 

I highly recommend you take a look at these models by all of these manufacturers and decide if one fits your needs. You'll do fine by any of them!

[smeyer418]

I assume you know that digital zoom sucks and optical zoom and stabilization is what you want. I use a relatively cheap Canon a75(now obsolete) and it takes great pictures with more features than I could possibly use. Its only 2 megs but it blows up to 10 x 17 very well.... do you relly need much more?

[The Big Booper]

Digital zoom in itself is a worthless feature as all it does is blow up the image from the optical zoom with a significant loss in quality.

 

We use the Panasonic FZ30 with the swiveling viewfinder and love the camera and the results. It is big, heavy and expensive. Anything with a 12x optical zoom is going to be big, heavy and expensive.

 

Try the various similar cameras out in a photo store and choose based on how you like the feel and operations of the camera. This class of camera has so may options and choices when operating that it will be difficult to learn all the features in a short period of time.

 

The only time I use the digital zoom is when shooting something really far away; I click on the digital just to see what the subject is than click it off to take the picture. You can always blow up and crop when printing the picture.

[GoldenZoo]

We just gave my husband an Olympus 7.1 mp digital camera that is waterproof to 10 ft as well as shock proof to 5 ft. as a Father's Day gift. Its brand new so we haven't had a chance to test it, but we picked it over the Pentax. Looking forward to giving it a workout on Freedom!

[Giorgi-one]

I just bought one for our upcoming cruise and decided to go mid-range ($500). It's a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 and it takes gorgeous pictures. It has a leica lens 12x optical zoom 6 Megapixels. It can take images quickly (some digital cameras need to wait a bit between shots). It can be used in simple mode or you can get nitty gritty and adjust shutter speed and such for some interesting shots. It also comes with a recharging kit and battery and the darn thing lasts long. The only downfall is you end up wanting to take the highest quality pictures which chews up tons of space on your SD card so I recommend buying a large capacity memory stick. :D

 

I have also been looking at this same camera. Besides above features, it has a strong flash, electronic viewfinder and large screen. I have seen it advertsied at numerous internet sites for under $350, but that does not include large capacity memory stick.

[The Big Booper]

Ah, two posts in a row talking about OUR cameras. We bought the Olympus Stylus 720 for DW because she was intimidated by the Panasonic and its size and features. And for a few bucks more than the typical small digital we got a waterproof camera. One point to remember, the Olympus uses xD cards, not the sD types, which don't go on sale that often. We did pick up 2 xD cards at CompUSA for $46 each, after rebates, each is 1 gig, for a total capacity of 1100 pictures.

 

For the sD types used by the Panasonic they are always on sale at some electronic store. I found a 1 gig card at Best Buy for $9.00 (san disk) after the rebate.

 

Nothing beats dunking the Olympus into a water glass at the dining room table before 8 startled tablemates , then pulling it out and taking 8 pictures in a row. Priceless !!!!

[Rowtyd]

Do you want a pocket-size camera or a digital SLR? My signature has pics taken by a Nikon D70 digital SLR.

I have seen your pictures before. Those are amazing pictures. How do you feel about the Nikon D50 in comparison? Are most of your pictures taken in the MANUAL setting mode with special filters/lens and "know-how" or do you mainly use the programmed autofocus mode on the camera? Either way, you certainly know what you are doing. Do you Photoshop any of your pics? Those colors are so brilliant.

[teacherkim]

We just gave my husband an Olympus 7.1 mp digital camera that is waterproof to 10 ft as well as shock proof to 5 ft. as a Father's Day gift. Its brand new so we haven't had a chance to test it, but we picked it over the Pentax. Looking forward to giving it a workout on Freedom!

 

 

We have one of these too, and it is great! It is an Olympus Stylus 720 SW to be exact. Great snorkeling and pool pics since it is waterproof. Cost us $380 and is very small, which I like. Who wants to lug a heavy camera around all day. I,m much too lazy for that:D

[silentbob007]

As others have said, make sure that you don't buy a camera without trying it. If you don't like the feel, that will bother you more in the long run than price or zoom.

[Paul 2006]

Whatever you buy take time to read the manual and also take it with you or take the quick reference guide that most cameras have. I took over 600 pics. this past week. We also took a couple of Fuji 35 mm waterproof disposables with us.

[egh170]

I use a Canon 20d SLR with a 18-200mm lens. It is a bit pricey but takes great photos and with the zoom lens it is optical(not digital), so no degradation of the pics. On max resolution I can blow up to 3' X 3' with no loss in quality. But understand it costs about $2000.00. I also use a Canon A620 for portability and it also does fine but I dont like the digital zoom.

[futaba951]

I have seen your pictures before. Those are amazing pictures. How do you feel about the Nikon D50 in comparison? Are most of your pictures taken in the MANUAL setting mode with special filters/lens and "know-how" or do you mainly use the programmed autofocus mode on the camera? Either way, you certainly know what you are doing. Do you Photoshop any of your pics? Those colors are so brilliant.

 

I'm assuming you are looking to buy a D50? I use one everyday for work. I love it. I also have a Nikon F2 and a Contax RTS 35mm slrs that I never use anymore. Both were high end models in their day and the D50 is right up there with them as for as features go. I have never used a D70 so I can't compare the two for you but if you are just looking to move up from a P&S you will be more than satified with the D50. It takes pictures instantly when you push the shutter and has continuous mode that shoots at 2.5 fps. I usually use the shutter priority exposure and the AF but switch to manual focus when using a flash indoors as sometimes the AF can get fooled by stark white walls and such. I use a 18-55mm and 70-300mm lens all day long. Since both cameras use the same lenses the main difference between the two will be nitpicky features that may or may not be worth the extra money to you. I believe you will be beside yourself with satisfaction whichever model you choose. Just make sure you get genuine Nikon lenses and don't let someone talk you into Tamron or Sigma lenses to save money. You can tell the difference in your pix.

[CruisingTeacher19]

I bought it, the canon SI3 with 12x zoom. I got it on beach camera for a really good price and upgraded to a larger memory stick. I will let you know in two weeks when I go on the cruise how it works! The reviews were really good.