Little off topic but advice on Digital camera's

i know not strictly P related but i am looking at buying a digital camera so i can take and post some pics of my p car. but confused by the varying specifications etc.

eg how many pixels is good and how many just adequate and how many is no good?

Any advice from you guys experiences would be a great help.

thanks.

------------------
mike 87 coupe'

Go to a store and look at several. A friend of mine has a Nikon Coolpix 850 and loves it but hates what he has to go through to get the pics from the camera to the computer.

I have a Olympus 2000 series and love it, PC card adapter takes the memory card and transfers it to the laptop in a minute.

Look at several and see how much hassle it is to do everything, not just pixels and such. My Nikon Coolpix 100 (second generation) is a nice easy camera and requires no adapter, just plugs into the PC card slot.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

JA

Be careful here. I have an RCA 640x480 and it totally blows. The resolution isn't the problem as much as the datastorage.
True 640x480 probably wouldn't be so bad. But the digital pictures I have at the moment are greenish--they're also just plain flat; not glossy or pretty really, and I've had no luck spicing them up on PhotoImpact. So for the pics of my car after everything I've done, I've just taken pocket camera photos and am having them developed on CD.
Unless you pay decent bucks, the digital camera world has a long way to go, so don't waste your money on a 250$ digital camera like I did.


------------------
Kurt B
'84 Carrera Cab.
carrera_cabriolet@yahoo.com

I've got a Canon PowerShot S10 (like the pickup). It's pretty small, decent resolution, zoom, has some nifty features (autostitch for panoramic shots, plus a 3-shots-a-second mode), and uses CompactFlash cards (my 80MB card is good for a 2 week vacation, even at high res.). Just pull the card out and slap it into a laptop or USB CF reader. The images are in standard JPG format. The macro mode is good enough to replace taking fingerprints with ink.

It sucks battery juice like there's no tomorrow, though.

blue

I have 2, a Canon S100 and a Nikon 950. They are both 2 megapixel cameras which is more than adaquate for all but the most demanding applications in which case a good 35mm is the way to go anyway. Most of your shots will need to be reduced by some photo editing software(I like JASC Paint Shop Pro) so beyond 2mp is not very useful(for web publishing most shots are shrunk to 50-250 kp).
I like the swivel of the Nikon, it allows you to compose shots which are otherwise guess and click. The one I use the most is the Canon. Because of its small size I tend to carry it a lot more(it is so small I can forget that it is in my pocket). Other issues are battery life, the nod here goes to the Canon's rechargeable Li battery over the rechargeable NiH of the Nikon. The Canon has a waterproof case so it goes on the boat with me. The optics are pretty much of a toss up. I have several memory cards the largest is 96mb, 32mb would probably be fine (the standard 8mb is too small for most people)
To get pics into your computer just get a PCMCIA card reader or a USB card reader I have both, they work equally well and take all of the pain and wait out of downloading images.

There's a thread on this in the Porsche Talk forum (equally OT, I guess). I initially was looking at the Kodak DC280 (2.1 megapixels), but then jumped to the 3.1 megapixel Kodak DC4800. I think either of these cameras would be totally sufficient for anything up to 8x10 enlargements, and the 4800 has been very easy to use. It takes a flash memory card (which holds 65 pictures at the highest quality setting (which they say will hold up with 11x14 enlargements) or 85 shots at the 2.2 megapixel size, or 115 at the 1.6 megapixel size.

I got a $10 adapter that allows me to pop the flash memory card into the PC-card slot on my laptop, and it can copy a full card of pictures (70, high quality) in about 60 seconds.

I got three rechargable batteries, as well as an external pack that can operate the camera off of AA batteries. This may have been massive overkill, since I took about 70 pictures (some with flash, and not counting the ones I took, didn't like, and discarded) at the Cambria R Gruppe thing, and was still using the first battery.

I bought a second 64 megabyte flash memory card, but this also might have been unneccessary, as you can download the pictures to the computer quickly, and delete shots you don't like while they're still in the camera.


Here's a picture of my dog, Spot. (700k)

If you're just going to do stuff for the web, then 1 megapixel is probably enough. But if you're going to use Photopoint or Zing to have prints made, then I'd get a 2-megapixel model. The prices keep dropping, and the quality keeps improving. Why doesn't this happen with 911s?

------------------
Jack Olsen
1973 911 T (3.6) sunroof coupe
jackolsen@mediaone.net

[This message has been edited by JackOlsen (edited 05-14-2001).]

I recently (6 months) ago got a Sony Cybershot (cant recall the model #...and wife is out of town with the camera...but they are all similar). It uses a "Memory Stick" which is nice b/c it makes the camera smaller as no space for a floppy is required. It hooks to your computer very easilly via a USB cable...but your PC must have a USB port to do this. If it does not...they also sell a floppy sized converter that the stick connects into.
Another advantage to this is that this connection recognizes the stick as if it were another hard drive...so you can edit and resave images right back on the camera...or also save them onto your PC. You can also attach to E-mail right off the camera..which saves time!

The only down side is that it only comes with a 4 MB stick, which will only hold about 40 pics. I bought a 32 MB one ($75) which will hold about 100 pics. They also have a 64 MB size.

I have been very happy with the performance of this camera in picture quality, performance in bright and low light, and the zoom is excellent! It also has tons of cool features for image editing onboard (I guess most digitals probably have this, but its remarkably easy to use on this camera)

Good Luck.
Nick.


------------------
_ _ __ _ _
Nick Shumaker
1982 911SC Coupe
nickshu@yahoo.com
PCA -- Rocky Mtn. Region

[This message has been edited by Nickshu (edited 05-14-2001).]

Okay, finally one I can comment on...

I have owned and used several Digicams (I think my count is now up to 8) so let me do the bullet list thing...

1) Megapixels aren't everything... Compression is. (find one with RAW mode)
I can write a letter of nothing but "T's" it is big, but meaningless. Compression steals away image detail, that is where the true image lies...

2) Storage.. Don't buy anything with Proprietary storage (eg. Sony Memorystick) these will cost you a bundle, stick with standards like compact flash or Compact media.

3) Digital zoom is the pits! Digital zoom enlarges the pixels, it will make your pictures grainy, the higher the optical zoom the better, I recommend at least 3X.

4) Don't get one that uses "AA" batteries. These thing eat batteries. Get one with rechargeable batteries and buy a spare or two.

5)You can buy more storage in smaller bytes (sorry for the pun) The technology changes daily, you can buy 2 32 meg cards cheaper tan 1 64...

6) Always take images at the highest resolution your camera can provide (RAW Mode). You can rez them down pretty easy, hard to add detail after the fact...

7) I could go on and on, but you get the point. Go to this web site, they do independent reviews, and side by sides...

http://www.dcresource.com

If you would like to know, I am now up to a Cannon EOS D-30 Pro Model Digital >3mp and interchangeable lens, IBM 1 Gig microdrive for storage...

Just my 2 cents

Randy

------------------
Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HOLD ON!

1978 911 SC

Anyone have luck with Toshiba? I have $450.00 credit towards Toshiba products and don't need anything else from them. I'm not expecting the best, or one that is free!
-------------------------
Paul
78SC Targa

I agree with Jack, same model/camera. Have been using for the last two months. Great quality pictures/resolution with 3.1 mp.
The only major issue, is reducing the file size - so that it will upload quickly (like Jack does all the time on this board); I still have not figured that out yet.
Bottom line it is easier than the old color pictures and more practical than Polaroid.

------------------

excellent advice guys.

i think ill just print this out and take it with me to pc-world!

Noooooo. Not PC World!!! Go and look there and decide, but save $$$ by buying online

------------------
Phil Garner
'72 911E Sporto
'87 VW Golf CL 1.6 with Weber (x1!)

[This message has been edited by layzee (edited 05-15-2001).]

Once you decide on the camera you want I would try NBCi.Com the have a buying search
engine that will find Vendors for you an you can select the best price.

That is how I got my Olympus 3040z a few weeks ago.

Good Luck

------------------

• Joe A.
• 84 911 Targa
• 75 914/6 3.0

I have the Olympus C2020Zoom, it has three settings for resolution, 1600x1200, 1024x768 and 640x480. It has easy to use software and a 30 second mpeg capablity. I have used it my Private Investigator business. Worked very well. Especially the zoom lens. Can store over 300 shots at 640x480 with the 32 meg card.

I am looking to upgrade and will be selling it for $500.00. It includes three memory cards, 8,8 and 32 meg, two sets of batteries, a wide angle lens and the software. I paid over 900 bucks for it plus the extra cards, batteries and lens 18 months ago.

I am buying a top end Olympus again...2,000 bucks, well worth it.

I am in Santa Brabara CA...let me know if interested. I tested five different cameras and this was the one that my PI association recommended. It never let me down.

Just an added tip on Digitals and supplies.
It was mentioned that they "eat" batteries
which is true! Radio Shack has an excellent
buy on 4 Nickel Metal Hydride Batteries (recommended) with a slick charger for around
$30. The batteries hold their charge better than any I've ever tried. I'm using them in an Olympus D-450 Zoom--1.3MP which takes pics
the quality of my Nikon FTN film camera. Comes with an 8MP card. The newer models are
2.1MP.

George 86 911T

I have a Sony Mavica 1.3MP 2X digital zoom. 3.5 floppy goes into the camera. Very convenient by only stores 5 pics at high resolution so take lots of disks on vacation (or a laptop). Also resolution is poor on zoom.