Digital Photography

JimBinMI · Nov 25, 2000

I know we talked about this before...but!

I've been looking really hard at digital cameras, and I previously posted the question about...what about digital camcorders that have a built in digital camera or photo mode.

The answer given was that they're not good resolution, however, in my search I have found two Sony digital camcorders that have megapixel capability in photo mode.

My understanding is that 1 megapixel will give you a photo quality 5x7 or so, and a 2 megapixel will give you a photo quality 8x10. I can see where, if I compromised to a two in one camcorder/camera and got an awesome shot that I wanted bigger than 5x7, that I could be dissappointed. But, two in one still sounds like a deal to me since I've wanted to replace my older Sony 8mm camcorder for some time now.

In my search for digital cameras, I've been hovering over at least the 2 megapixel range with some zoom capabilities, price range for what seems to be very good quality is about $600-$800. Camcorder with 1 megapixel photo mode is about $1300 with awesome zoom capabilties, low light and infrared capabilties.

Any comments, specially from those that have or have used 1 megapixel photo mode in a digital camcorder?

Thanks, JimBinMI

JYH · Nov 27, 2000

Can't help you on digital camcorders, but I have a great digital camera to recommend. Last July I bought a Nikon Coolpix 950. It is a 2.1 megapixel and sells for around $600 new from stores. On ebay you can pick up a new or used model for less than that. Nikon came out with the Coolpix 990 which is essentially the same camera with 3.3 megapixels.

The Coolpix 950 takes great shots with a choice of 10 different resolutions. It has an amazing number of features on it -- it takes a few hours of reading the manual to learn how to do all the things it can do. (It only takes a minute or two to learn how to take pictures.)

Two years ago, my brother got an Agfa 1680 -- also a very nice camera that is a 2+ megapixel. I almost bought one of these off the internet when I found one for around $300! The Agfa is a 3 year old design that many people swear by. The CCD is smaller than the Coolpix and therefore the depth of color is not quite as good as the Coolpix (although still quite nice). Also the Coolpix has more menus and options (such as shutter priority, aperture priority, or automatic; ASA adjustments, excellent macro -- less than an inch.

One thing that is a real plus with both the Nikon Coolpix and the Agfa 1680 is the swivel body design. The body has two parts connected by a swivel joint in the middle. This means you can hold the camera by your waist (or overhead) and title the display so you can see it. When taking shots of the family or on vacation etc. the fact that you can take pictures without holding the camera up to your face means that you don't come across as the paparazzi and you get better candid shots as your subjects are less aware of what you are doing.

One other difference between the Agfa 1680 and the Coolpix, the Coolpix as an optical viewfinder and a digital display but the Agfa only as the display. This means in outdoor photo shoots, the sunlight can make it quite difficult to see the display clearly. With the Coolpix you can simply hold the camera up to your eye and frame the picture through the viewfinder just like a non-digital camera. Of course Nikon optics are world reknown for their quality.

Bottom line --
Coolpix 950 ($600 or less) 2.1 Megapixel
Coolpix 990 ($900-1000) 3.3 Megapixel
Agfa 1680 ($300-400 used) 2.? Megapixel

Here are a couple of "have to haves" to buy with any digital camera:
1) Memory Card (at least 32 Megabyte -- $50-100)
With my Coolpix 950 I can take about 27 pictures at the highest resolution or as many as 675 pictures at the lowest resolution. I keep the camera on a medium setting that fits 133 shots on the memory card. The jpeg photos are compressed to about 166K file size, but when opened are 2.25 megabytes (H and W are 1024 by 768 pixels). For viewing on a computer monitor at 72 pixels per inch resolution the picture dimensions are 14.2" by 10.7". I can print an 5"x7" image from this resolution at around 150 pixels per inch. This resolution prints out very nicely. At full resolution I can print at least 8"x10" around 150 pixels per inch.
2) Memory card reader $30-60
The Coolpix and Agfa 1680 come with a serial cord but downloading each picture takes 15-30 seconds. With the Memory Card reader each picture takes about 1 second.
3) Protective Lens $8
This is a clear lens (usually an ultraviolet filter) that screws on the camera lens and protects the camera's built in optical lens from scratches.

Here is an ebay web page of a Coolpix 950 that was recently sold. This page has lots of details about the camera:
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=484988195&ed=973566743

Or you can go to Nikon.com to look at the official specs.

Good luck. Let us know what you end up with.

John

BKColeman · Nov 28, 2000

I have a Nikon 950 also. I love it. I researched cameras hard for a few months and wouldn't trade my Nikon for any of the other brands, maybe for a 990.

As far as prices go, this site http://www.gotapex.com/deals/ has had some great prices on digital cameras lately. It's one of those sites that just points out good deals, so it changes almost daily. But last week they had a Nikon 950 for under $400 after all rebates and coupons and such. They had the 800 for under $300 (same # of pixels, less features). Of course I didn't see any good deals on cameras today since I'm posting this, but it is worth watching if you're looking for a good price.

My opinion on a digital camera vs. digital camcorder for taking stills is get the camera. I have a handeld Sony camcorder that I almost never use, but I use my Nikon camera all the time because it is small enough to take with me places. I've had mine for about 6 months and have taken about 1500 pictures. I don't believe I would have used it near that much if I had to use a camcorder to take the pics.

Now if I just had a tractor of my own to take pictures of. Coming soon hopefully. Actually my wife has taken pictures of me when I've been at the dealers test driving them. She sneaks the camera out when I get on the tractor. Maybe that's a drawback of having a camera with me so much. /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

WVBill · Nov 29, 2000

I was in a Ritz Camera store ritzcamera.com yesterday and they have the Olympus D-460 on sale for $399.99.
1.3 Megapixel, 3x Optical zoom, good controls, comes with 8MB smart media card.

It's going on my "wish list".

WVBill

JimBinMI · Nov 29, 2000

John,

Thanks a lot for all of the input. I checked out the Nikon 950 on ebay and the Nikon website...I think I'm in Love! Does it come in New Holland Blue!?!

Best new price that I've seen is $648 minus $150 mail in rebate = $498 Some of the ebay auctions have been selling for over $500.

I really like this camera, again thanks.

JimBinMI

JimBinMI · Nov 29, 2000

bcoleman,

Thanks for the info and the link. I really like that Nikon 950, and it might even be in my price range!
If you ever see it for $400 again, please let me know!

Thanks again, JimBinMI

Harv · Nov 29, 2000

JimBinMI -

I do a lot of my computer/electronic shopping at this site:

http://shopper.cnet.com

You search for the item you want and it lists dozens of online vendors that are selling it. You get prices, availability, shipping, etc. plus a link to each vendor's web page which features that item.

For example, check this out for a listing of Nikon 950 vendors and prices.

Good luck. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Billc · Nov 30, 2000

Harv, thanks, great sight!

We send out a lot of flowers to relatives and friends. Normally we pay $59 for a dozen roses, which drives me nuts. I used to live in Shreveport LA. Had friends in Tyler TX, the rose capital of the whole frickin world. On my way back to Shreveport I'd buy my girlfriend some roses. Big, beautiful, long stem, red roses. They were $1 per dozen! I'd buy her 10 or 20 dozen! Man, I used to love coming back from Tyler! Anyway, the sight you listed cut my cost from $59 to 30 something. Thanks!

Bill Cook

M. Sullivan · Jan 7, 2001

JimBinMI-

Wondering if Santa left some electronics under your tree?? Interested in what you learned/got realtive to digital camcorder-camera or camera.

Will have to check-out the Nikon's (great brand), but would still like dual capability if I can get it with full camera capability (like the Nikon 950 from what I've read so far).

Muhammed: Thans for the lead!