ClumsyMonkey.net

Cass wrote:Ok, I can see that. How horrible would that be though? I mean, technology comes by so freaking quickly that all you have to do is blink and it's out of date. Do you think I'd really be selling myself short if I got one that was older but still new?

i dont think so. in fact, generally you dont want to buy the newest thing on the market because it hasnt been debugged. for consumer electonrics the rule of thumb is to buy one year behind the market so that you're sure the product is solid and you'll be able to buy whatever accessories you need for it. the one thing i would check is what kind of memory the camera takes. in fact, i will check it for you in a minute. because that is one thing that's changing a lot, and with good reason. buying a camera only to find you cant get memory for it would suck. the other thing to check is what kind of batteries (although i believe this one just takes AA, i'll double check that as well).

yup. 2 AA batteries. not bad at all.

and the memory is CompactFlash Type I. still easily available, even though it's been upgraded to Type II.

If you're going to get a camera, CompactFlash memory is the way to go - it's easily the best. just dont bother with so called 'high performance' compactflash, it really doesnt have that much of a difference and you're paying more for it.

Are you talking about the 300?

I'm going to write down all the ones I'm interested in and just go in and look at them and price compare.

How do you feel about refurbished? I have a refurbished scanner that seems to work just fine.

And oh yes...from reading all of that I am still dumb! The things that I've heard are really cool are the settings like "firworks", and "snow", etc. And the more important of the two: a stabilizer. I think that is a freaking awesome option. Does the 300 have that?

Oh my goodness! Insanity, insanity!

yup i was checking out the A300 for you. and no, it doesn't have an image stablizer. that's a fairly new feature.

writing down the names and price comparing is a good idea.

basically you want to know before you buy:

-powersource: what kind of batteries, how many pictures they're good for, can you get rechargable, and how much they cost. rechargable are generally worth the investment, because cameras are high drain devices. the best kind of battery arent alkaline, they're called NiMH, and they last longer/charge more. If you look at something like that, they measure power in cells. the more cells the battery contains, the more power they hold. i have 2100 cell NiMH batteries, and the four batteries and the charger cost me $70 canandian. they take one hour to charge and i'm good. all the photographers i've talked to who've done comparisons say they last longer than even energizers.

-recording media (aka memory card): what type does it take? how easy is it to find? how much does it cost? most cameras come with a memory card, but it tends to be small and a bigger one is often necessary, but how many pictures it holds depends on how many mps your camera is.

-mps: don't go below 3, but remember, you wont need more than 5. anyone trying to use that as a selling point probably has no idea what they're talking about/trying to make you buy a more expensive model.

-optical zoom: this is the physical zoom lens. you probably want at least 3x

-digital zoom: a feature you dont want to use. however, on the box of many cameras this number is combined with the digital zoom. make sure what you're looking at says whatever times OPTICAL zoom.

-flash: you want it.

im not too sure what other features you want. i'm sure you want a variety of shooting modes so that you dont have to fiddle around with aperture and shutter speed. some ones that most cameras have are indoor, outdoor, night, etc. (some go on to have snow, fireworks, vivid, neutral, portrait, foliage, landscapes)...it basically sets up the camera to make sure everything will shoot well in those conditions so that you dont have to worry about it.

i

to be honest, i dont know too much about refurbished cameras. *ponders*

it's probably worth the money to get a new one, considering you can get them fairly cheap and then you have your manufacturers warantee to cover anything wrong with it.

i know image stablizers (IS) is available on superzoom cameras, it's a feature i adore on mine when i'm taking slow shutter shots. but you're looking at a more expensive camera. i dont know which of the less expensive models (if any) support it. *ponders*

and here's where i bail out and go to bed. miro's comin over tomorrow *squee!*

good luck checkin out those cameras. it's a good time to buy em - the market's hot with new features, and most companies are offering economically viable cameras.

which means pictures that look awesome without spending a ton of money on a camera.

Thanks so much! I'm going to reward myself with one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... C-d3alt1me

I am in love.

Canon Powershots are frickin awesome cameras. You should be in love.

And it will only cost me $200 new. I really think I get the best combination of mp, optical zoom, price, and versatility with this one. But I still have to go in and look at them and I can't do that till tomorrow.

good choice cass

i am a fan of the powershot series. my camera's a powershot

let us know how it goes when you check 'em out.

I'm so excited it's kind of weird....

cameras are exciting

it's not weird. you shoulda seen me freakin out the day i got mine.

I want to consider all of my options...I've been looking and some others that have seemed pretty good (although give or take on a few things) are the Olympus c-740 or c-765 (I'd have to buy refurb probably), and Nikon coolpix 5200.

I think I still like the Canon a510 the best. I just found out that we have a subscription to consumer reports so I am just having a hay day on there.

Canon makes sexy cameras!!

I have a Canon!

Which one? Do you like it?

I have a Canon Powershot G2 I bought in 03, never had a problem with it!

The pictures I put in the "Photos at Random II" thread were all taken with my Canon. The resolution and depth of field those cameras get are frickin -tastic.