Author Topic: Digital newbie (Read 1130 times)

armory414 · « **on:** January 18, 2005, 11:36:05 AM »

Hi all,

I've been using an SLR (Canon A-1) for years, and have recently decided to get a digital camera. I know very little about these, so have a few questions.

First--which would you rather have--higher resolution, or better optical zoom. The point and shoot cameras I see seem to have either one or the other, but not both. I'm an amateur photographer, but I like to take outdoor photos mostly--landscapes and animals.

Second--which would you go with--a high end point and shoot, or low end "advanced" or digital SLR (I really don't want to invest $1000 in a camera right now, but. . .)

Third--do the digital SLR's take the same lenses as the newer film SLR's?

Thanks!!!!

Jack Crevalle · « **Reply #1 on:** January 18, 2005, 12:10:35 PM »

If you are going to take pictures of animals in the outdoors then I think you could sacrifice resolution for a higher zoom. I've got a 3.3 Mega pixel camera that's considered low resolution by today's standards but I've never been disatisfied with the results. If you are going to have the pictures printed on large paper that might be a different story.

The zoom allows me to stand somewhat back from animals in the wild to photograph them. If you really want wide angle for landscapes then you may be looking at limiting your upper end because your wide angle setting may need to be 35 focal length or lower.

If you are really into photography you'll probably get tired of a point and shoot quickly. More upper end digital cameras have so many features that you may never use them all. I was on a mission to photograph hummingbirds with their wings somewhat frozen in movement and was able to do it with enough tweaking.

armory414 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 18, 2005, 12:39:19 PM »

I guess one of the deciding points for a camera for me is that my fiancee will also be using it. She HATES my SLR, and would much rather have a point and shoot!

So, I am probably going to be looking for something that has very good resolution, but I want the optical magnification as well, if I can get it.

Billybob · « **Reply #3 on:** January 18, 2005, 03:05:24 PM »

Most of the digital cameras have an auto setting for point and shoot use but many also allow you to choose manual settings and use additional lenses when you don't want to just point and shoot.
There's no reason you can't find a camera that suits both you as well as your fiancee.

Decide what size photos you will be printing to determine what resolution you need. 4 megapixel cameras will allow you to print 8x10 high resolution photos so you don't necessarily have to have an 8 megapixel camera to print high quality photos.

Here's a great site for digital camera reviews. You can browse the cameras and reviews by manufacturer, price, or megapixel rating.
Over on the left of the homepage are different view selections. Check out Daves Picks and you probably want to check out the Long Range picks for hi zoom cameras picks.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/

Jack Crevalle · « **Reply #4 on:** January 19, 2005, 01:18:16 AM »

Quote from: armory414

I guess one of the deciding points for a camera for me is that my fiancee will also be using it. She HATES my SLR, and would much rather have a point and shoot! So, I am probably going to be looking for something that has very good resolution, but I want the optical magnification as well, if I can get it.

You might consider just a cheap point-and-shoot for her. Some with 3 Megapixels are now in the $150 range.

BTW, what I meant to say in my original post was that you might want to sacrefice resolution for more zoom. I edited it to correct that.

armory414 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 19, 2005, 03:29:04 AM »

I was looking at the Imaging Resource page that BillyBob directed me to, and noticed the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20S. Have any of you used/tried this camera? The reviews on that site looked great--and it offered 12X optical zoom and 5.4 megapixels, which is about what I've been looking for. I'd like to be able to take pictures and blow them up to about 8x10 for framing around the house.