Digital Cameras : Suggestions Here….
April 13th, 2009 by 
Kevin
Pretty sure I\’ll be retiring my current digital camera here very soon. It\’s served me well over the years, including taking the brunt of an assault on my person at an illegal immigration rally. But it\’s frigging huge, heavy, bulky and very prone to blurriness if not using the flash for some reason. Plus it still has a very huge delay between when I press the button and the actual taking of the photograph. All of which I\’d like to move away from. And heh, I got it as a Christmas present approximately 37 years ago so I think it\’s held on pretty good.
I know the prices have come down quite a bit but I haven\’t kept up on what is \”good\” in the digital camera field. Ok in truth I never did keep up on it…hence why my first and only digital camera was a present from someone else. So I\’m looking for suggestions from the audience (all two of you).
Preferably would like something small and flat. I\’m not taking wedding pictures here so I don\’t need NSA-level spy satellite resolution here. Mostly for general day-to-day use, with the occasional use at rallies, conventions and hunting trips.
Suggestions are appreciated. Links are more than welcome.
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6 Comments »
April 14th, 2009 at 6:49 am
No need for much of a compromise. Except for the gimmick cameras built into cereal boxes or binoculars, they’re all 5 MP or more. And the latest pocket size cameras– Nikons, Olympus, even Sony, at their high ends are just wonders, rivalling their 35mm format cousins. The ONLY reason, right now, to buy an interchangeable-lens 35mm format camera would be for the interchangeable lens and for /slightly/ better quality– not resolution.
Things I would look for include CMOS sensor– better low light performance. at least 3:1 zoom with minimum distortion, more is better up to a point. Digital zoom means very little. Things like face recognition are good, but speak more to the smarts level of the camera. If you need it, you need it. Other than that auto-everything.
April 14th, 2009 at 6:56 am
Any specific models you recommend?
April 14th, 2009 at 7:39 am
I think CNET.com has a “which digital camera is right for me” application, that’s kept pretty well up to date. Otherwise go to
http://www.dpreview.com/
and look at the latest Nikons. (They’ve also got a buying guide– features search– after you know a little better what you want. If nothing suits you, look at Olympus and Sony, but be careful of the Sonys. They make two different lines, you want something in the “T” series.
I use a Sony (nee’ Minolta) Digital SLR, 6MP, with a 28-200 lens. It does as close to everything I want as I can get. It has image stabilization, and good performance at ISO 400. For just general snapping around, indoors and out, that’s usually good enough.
April 14th, 2009 at 9:29 am
When you get your ideas and needs narrowed down, I suggest you take a trip over to your nearest National Camera store. Prices as good as any, and the help is exceptional. I don’t really know what you want to do, but I will tell you that the two settings I use most on my camera are the 28mm and the 200mm– the short and long of the range. The short for indoors where you can’t step back and the 200mm where you don’t want to step forward.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:28 am
Yeah, would have considered buying at National Camera but then I noticed their “bans guns” sign on the front door.
Apparently they don’t want my business, nor the business of over 50k other Minnesotans.
April 16th, 2009 at 8:16 am
I understand the sentiment, but they are simply doing the best thing they know how to do to prevent gun violence in their stores. After all, ever since those signs went up, we haven’t had a single liquor or convenience store held up at gunpoint, have we? :-^