Hi all...as some of you know, I am writing a guide book to Spain. I also have to provide my own digital photos. They have to be high enough quality to print. So...I need your help. Some of you...ie. jer....know a thing or two about digital cameras...i do not.

What I am looking for is:
5 to 7 megapixels for good resolution
aa batteries (so I will never be caught battery-less)
and what else??? I really don't know what else I should look for.

Right now I am down to three cameras in order of preference (all decidedly prosumer):

Casio Exilim PRO 700

kodak easyshare z760

sony cybershot w7

Any advice appreciated. I have to put in the order tomorrow.
xoxo candy

hey Candy.

well, i am a SONY addict myself but it has been a while since i bought a digi cam.

keep in mind that the nbest way to take photos for print is to take them in .tiff mode.

so, get a cam that can do that. i believe the ones you listed above do, at least the SONY is as it states...

quote:

- Sony Memory Stick storage (no card included), compatible with original Memory Stick as well as the Memory Stick Pro format.

also get one that has large storage memory cards available and that the camera can take the larger capacity cards.

for example, the media for SONY is the "memory stick pro" and the largest card to date is 2mb.

see HERE.

i know you will have your laptop with you but the larger the capacity memory card, the less you will have to transfer pics from cam to pc since those .tiff files are HUGE.

ok, the w7 has a weak zoom at 3x so you may want something with more. the w7 is for novice to intermediate users, for a publication i woudl think you need something more advanced?

if ya want a SONY, have a look at THIS BAD BOY! BUT it does not do aa bats

ok, you did not give us a max. budget so don't blame me

saludos,
jer...

Candy.

I just saw a really good report on digital cameras on Sky where they did a compare and contrast based on best quality for budgets.

They compared:
Kodak Z700 for under 200 dollars.
Fuji Finepix F10 under 400 dollars.
Nikkon D-70 S over 500 dollars.

They showed examples and because of the lens and zoom picked the quality of the Kodak Z700 over the Fuji.

They said:
1). All you would need is between 4-6 megapixels if you are not enlarging beyond the A4 size paper.

2). Get a camera with an optical zoom (manual / physical) not just digital zoom (pixelated).

3). Test the camera's zoom sizes.

They also mentioned the turn on speed and shutter lag as far as how quickly you will be able to take your first picture after turning it on and the speed between each picture.

I have been looking for the Kodak Z700 for myself in Spain and know that the model numbers are different, so if you can not find this particular model you can read up on it and find a newer one that they do have that matches most of the same specs. Again, the lens seems to be the best feature. Alternatively, you can just buy one on-line from redcoon or ebay, etc. if you decide you want this cost effective model as well.

Panasonic's new range have an anti-shake system: this makes an enormous difference in the quality of your pictures, often actually more than a higher pixel-count, especially if you're in the point-and-shoot bracket with mates occasionally and also for landscape shots. They have Leica lenses which are excellent quality. I have one of the pre-anti shake versions and it takes great pics and is metal bodied which makes it good for chucking in your pocket and forgetting about. Geek moment over

http://www.geek.com/cgi-bin/swish-cgi.pl?keywords=Panasonic&results=50



saludos,
jer...

Hi Candela

What's your budget, we'll be able to help you out if you let us know what's the max you can spend on a camera.

If it's to publish in a book, you might have to spend a little bit of money to get a good camera, someone advised the nikon d-70 great camera, and konica-minolta has just launched their brand spanking new digital version, which has received some great reviews.

I'm not sure I agree with Jer on the format type, i think the best way to import your pics is in RAW, then transform them to tiff cmyk mode using photoshop.

The sony cameras aren't bad cameras, they have some issues regarding certain shades of green/blue areas, for instance tree leaves against blue skies, never reproduce 100% correctly.

Your also limited as in regards to the lens, the lens is fixed, you can't change it. Even though you can purchase some accessories like an amplifier lens, it's a bit sloppy.

Don't trust that anti-shake technology, it is pretty good, but for low lighting or focusing options other than automatic, it won't be much help, better to get yourself a tripod.

If you have enough budget, then purchase the camera body and the lens separately, usually theses best bargain deals do not supply very good lenses.

If you're going to be taking a lot of pics, then think in investing in a portable hd, on the long run it will be more convenient.

hi all....thanks so much. i think. i am now more confused than i was before.

what i know for sure now is:
1...5 to 7 megapixels
2...big memory card
3...real zoom (not digital)

what i don't know is:
1...is it really important to have aaa batteries or should i just go with a lithium.

what i would like ideally:
1...small size, metal case, something that can handle being in a backpack and doesn't need a special case
2...something with both auto functions (like nikon's scenes) and manual functions

price range:
1...well, i can't go crazy..but around $400 us. i will be ordering in the next two days through a US site, probably 42nd Street Camera in NYC.

no one has said if the Casio Exilim P700 would be a good choice or not. reviews were good. i've been reading steve's digicams and cnet for reviews.

let me know!!!

hi Candela.

no, aaa bats are not needed and most good cameras do not even accept them.

you should buy yourself an extra lith ion bat, that way you have an extra charged just in case.

unfortunately your...

quote:

small size, metal case,

does not usually correspond with professional cameras and i think you will need a pro camera.

quote:

something with both auto functions (like nikon's scenes) and manual functions

again, sounding like a more professional end camera.

quote:

i will be ordering... through a US site,...

if the camera is from u.s.a., be sure it has a worldwide warranty. small print of late often excludes coverage of products bought in u.s.a. in other other countries. for example, dell now does this with their computers and other manufacturers are sure to follow (if they have not already).

also, probably not important to you as you will be visualizing all pics on your mac but if you ever want to hook the cam up to a tv, you will want pal/ntsc compatibility. the mid-higher end digi cams have this.

please link to the review of the casio at steve's as i am not farmiliar with that site. i can have a look and give you my opinion.

saludos,
jer...

hi jer...and all...the website i have been using is

Steve's Digicams

me again....

i really think i am leaning towards the casio exilim pro 700 unless anyone has another to suggest...

it is small...
7.1 megpixels
4x optical zoom
quick power up and between shot times

the only drawbacks i've read about are:

USB is 1.1
only shoots in tiff uncompressed or jpeg fine, normal or economy.

i have a mac g4 powerbook...i know i have usb2...but what the heck is usb 1.1 and will this hurt me.

last question, i swear...
which card should i buy? 512?
do i need a card reader?

oh...that's about it!

xoxo c

Hi candela, don't want to waste any of your time, but if you can afford just a tad more, i'd rather purchase a canon brand camera than a casio, casio good at making digital watches, but not really cameras, besides the casios use canon lenses to begin with...

look into the canon powershot pro 1, it's just a little bit more expenisve than the one you've seen. but the quality is better,

the image sensor is bigger, you can save pics in raw format, better aperture, better resoluction captivity, etc anyway,gotta run can't get into further details, it's just my humble opinion.

If you've already made up your mind, go for it

hi Candy.

that casio looks nice enough but in the end i would agree with Albert, go with a Cannon if you can.

quote:

i have a mac g4 powerbook...i know i have usb2...but what the heck is usb 1.1 and will this hurt me.

usb 1.1 is the original usb, you know, what your old computer had if it had usb

usb 2 is high speed usb.

i'm no mac pro but your usb 2 should accept usb 1.1 as well so that is not a major drawback. usb 2 ports (like those on your mac) accept usb 1.1 devices.

so, as far as i know, usb 2 has replaced usb 1.1 and it encompasses low-speed and full-speed devices also.

quote:

which card should i buy? 512?

the biggest one possible if you ask me.

quote:

do i need a card reader?

if you want to read the card directly connected to your mac, yes but if you will transfer pics via usb, no.

saludos,
jer...

Hi all

It may not seem important, but there is a big difference between using usb 1.0/1.1 and usb 2.0. Not a difference in how you use them, but in the transition speed. You'll notice that with a usb 2.0 the data transfers at least four times faster. When your moving a lot of pics to the pc, you'll appreciate have a camera that supports usb version 2.0

Profesional digital photografers, take about 50-100 pics of one scene download them to the pc, and then choose the best one. Usually you get at least one good picture that way. What that means is that you need a a high capacity memory card, so that you can take enough pics in one session and not have to delete them directly from your camera, which would consume battery power.

Also keep in mind that your editor might require hi-res images, with a 512Mb card you be able to fit about 120 pics a full res. It may seem a lot, but once you cut loose and get trigger happy with your camera, you'll soon realize it's just not enough. And that will happen quickly once you start to improve in your picture taking and specially if you want to make sure you present the best pics for the book, you'll have to take loads of them to find the right one.

I'm kind of in the digital camera world, as a hobby I take pics and know a lot of semi-pro photographers, they'll be able to to explain things a lot better than I, but when it comes to storage, it's just never enough...

There's this website called http://www.ojodigital.com,
big band of digital photographers of all classes, some pro, other just starting. If you want much better counsel on digital cameras, I'd ask my questions there. I know quite a number of them personally, and I know they will be able to set you off on the right track.

albert...you are a font of info dude!! thanks.

i will let you know what i decide soon...
xoxo candela