If you're not confused enough already, consider another one: the Sony DSC-D770. This is an SLR with true optical viewfinder. The camera was discontinued but new ones still pop up on eBay and at Sony Outlet stores for under $500 (this retailed for $1800 when introduced!). It's only 1.5 Megapixel, but I printed some very nice 8x10's with it. All of my Rennsport Reunion photos (linked below) were taken with it. And, yes, Sony's Infolithium batteries simply cannot be beat!!!!!!!! Digital cameras EAT batteries.

Another fantastic camera manufacturer who is often overlooked is Fuji. www.fujifilm.com I just bought their 6.1 megapixel S1 Pro SLR (a modified Nikon 35MM SLR). It employs a "Super CCD". This CCD is a clean sheet design for digital still cameras, as opposed to conventional CCD's that were originally designed for other uses. Although the S1 is several thousand $$, Fuji uses similar Super CCD's in some of their consumer cameras as well. Alot of bang for the buck with Fuji! -- Curt

To reiterate, having more megapixels provides you with MUCH more flexibility when you are editing with Print Shop, Photo Now, Picture It, Adobe's PhotoDeluxe, etc, etc.
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With three megapixels, after your download the picture to your PC, you can crop and enlarge just one portion of the photo, say a close up of your childrens' faces, the wheels on your Pcar, etc, size the picture to 3x5 and still print out a good image. Thus, you are eliminating say 50 percent of the unwanted, needless background. THEN, you can still save the image to jpeg at a lessor quality, providing a smaller file size, e.g., 35 to 50 kb, for posting on Pelican Parts.
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If you do the same thing with a 1,5 or 2.0 megapixel camera, the resultant picture is fuzzy! More data means more flexibility for manipulating pictures.
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Chuck

Chuck is absolutely correct. It's just like the difference between 35mm and medium format film. You can get by with shorter focal length lenses on a medium format (or large megapixel digital) because you can simply crop a small area of the negative and still wind up equal too or better than 35mm.

Digital Cameras
 

I'm using an older Olympus D-450 Zoom--1.3 MP.
It does a remarkable job for it's age and is way more than needed for e-mailing. The real reason for this trans is to advise of Costco's EXCELLENT deal right now on Ni metal Hydride rechargeable batteries. For $25 they're selling a pkg. deal that includes a Charger, 6 AA's, 2 AAA'and I believe, 2 C's and 2 D's. My Olympus takes 4 AA's and they seem to last forever between charges and I carry 4 Alkalines for emergencies. You might want to check them out if they'd fit your camera.

george 86TSmileWavy

It is all becoming perfectly clear! ;-)
Thanks for all the input, really gives me a place to start....:) :)

I am a huge fan of the Sony DSC-S50. It is last year's model so you may be able to find it cheap/used. It was around $500 when new a year ago. It is 2.1 megapixels and will do macro shots down to 3cm. It has a rechargable lithium battery (>120 minutes use on a full charge) and uses USB for file transfers. I have had mine since last summer and I love it!

The only thing you may find annoying is the lack of a viewfinder (LCD only) but once you get used to it you'll never miss not having the viewfinder except when taking pictures in the dark.

I would have to think that most digital camera`s are capable of using a usb link. I dont think that sony is a good choice because all upgrades and accessories are available from sony only and the prices are high. A camera like olympus is designed to be universal as far as lensces, memery cards, batteries, software, etc
There is endless aftermarket accessories available for the olympus digital camera`s.

I agree that it is good to have a camera that uses universal accessories if you plan to upgrade it. With that said however the only thing I have ever needed to buy for the Sony was a larger memory stick (within weeks of buying the camera). If you are just a casual photographer needing to document your work on the P-car and take photos around town, you're probably not really going to need anything else. By the time you are craving new lenses, etc. you will probably want to move onto more of an SLR style camera and the price tag that goes along with it. The Sony is nice because its capabilities out of the box are above average (lithium battery is a huge plus).

merry christmas guys

i just used the review sites (thanks) and ordered a Fujifilm Finepix A201. i don't want to do any fancy stuff - i've never owned a camera!

can't wait to try it........

richard :D

Just picked up a FujiFilm FinePix 2600 Z at a post-Xmas sale.
I love this little camera! For what I intend to use it for, it should prove to be a very good value.

working with digital images from many sources on a daily basis, i like these the best:

sony
fuji
kodak

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