Rate Your Digital Camera

[BIGUN]

I was looking for a camera with a telephoto lense.

I have an Olympus C-750 on order at this time. I like the compact size and the fact you can use standard AA batteries instead of a proprietary battery.

I considered these also.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10 – Negatives on this one is more expensive, hard to find, larger, uses proprietary batteries. Positives, it has an image stabilization system, nice 12X lense.

Kodak DX6490 – About the same price as the C-750. Like the large screen, docking station, low light focusing aid. Uses proprietary batteries though.

 

[dmp437]

Olympus C-4000Zoom, 4.0 Megapixel, 3X optical zoom

We've been using this camera for about 8 months now and have been very happy with it. PCWorld magazine rated it a "Best Buy" for many months. Fingertip controls and easy to use/learn menus make it an enjoyable experience.
Next on the list is a Canon Digital Rebel, a 6.3 megapixel SLR unit. Also a PCWorld best buy at this time.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Brand/Model- Sony DSC-F717

Ease of use- Very easy to use and you will constantly learn more features of the camera that allow you to take even better pictures.

Battery life- Rechargables. So far, I have never had a problem with any of the Sony batteries I have used.

Controls- a lot and it helps to keep the manual with the camera so you can look up anything you need to. The manual is very easy to understand and is written for beginners.

Dependability- I have taken over 4000 pictures with the 717 and close to 4000 with my old Sony DSC-D770. I have never had a problem with either camera. I use the camera in the extreme heat, cold, rain and snow and it always works fine. I take it with me everywhere.

Price- Around the $600-$800 range, I don't remember as I have not checked it recently.

Software that came with it- Don't remember, I have software I use and like so I try out the camera software but usually it doesn't add anything to what I already have.

Comments: The Nightshot and Night framing features are great features if you use your camera at all hours and places like me. If all you do is use your camera inside or during the day then it isn't useful but the Night framing feature allows you to take great pictures in pure darkness.

 

[chim]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I'm in the market for a digital camera. I was wondering what everyone else uses and how good/bad they like them.

If you would, copy and paste the part below and rate each category on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 being the highest/best).


Brand/Model = Olympus C3020

Ease of use = 5

Battery life = Depends on flash and LCD screen use. Bought NiMH (2 sets). Covered all-day events w/o trouble

Controls = 4 More than I normally use. I mainly stick with the auto settings

Dependability = 5 2-1/2 years old and no problems

Price = ~$300

Software that came with it = 4 Adobe Photoshop

Comments: = like many digicams, for an action shot you need to get the button 1/2 pushed to catch the action at the right place. See attached. The light circle is a water droplet on the lens.................chim

)</font>

 

[tawilson]

I've always been a Sony fanatic, but a couple things in the last year have caused me to rethink that. I have 3 Sony digital cameras and a Sony camcorder which will take pictures. The DSC-P1 camera I am preparing to send in for a recall(which Sony is taking care of) because of intermittent battery life. What happens is on a full charge the camera will take a few pictures then show a discharged battery. When you go to recharge the battery, it will show a full charge. I think the contacts inside the camera get corroded from the battery being charged in the camera. The camcorder is starting to show the same symtoms. For this reason, the next camera I get will have an external charger, as I think charging the battery inside the camera puts too much load on the contacts in the camera. Also, with Sony you have to go with memory sticks, which is no problem as long as you stay with Sony.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Hmmmmmmm, my Sony FD97 has problems with the battery contacts. Sometimes it won't come on. I pop the battery in and out and it's fine.

I've found my digital camera is a lot like my Sony HDTV with picture in picture etc. It's sorta like buying a Hummer with every conceivable bell and whistle to get the mail and back and the driveway is paved and only a hundred yards long. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I turn the darn thing on, point and click, and off and never ever venture beyond that. Well, zoom's nice.

I like Sony. Everything in the house from the telleys, surround sound system, phones, everything but the puters, are Sony. Just had good luck, depend a lot on good luck. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I noticed that people complain about Memory sticks and that you can only use them in Sony items. However, most other flash cards have very limited use as well. I have 3 different digital cameras and a GPS unit. The GPS uses SD cards, the Olympus D-390 uses the XD picture cards, the Sony uses Memory Sticks and the Kyocera Micro Elite 3300 uses Compact Flash cards. So I no longer buy into the Memory stick complaints. All 4 of my devices use different memory and are not interchangeable. While there may be other items that do use some of the same media, I just prefer to not worry about it anymore. I like my Sony camera better then the other two for my main camera as it is a better camera as intended. The other two are more point and shoot cameras.

As for your battery problem, my Sony camcorder recharges that way, but I don't recharge the batterys that way as I have an external charger. My D770 came with a charger and the F717 came with an aftermarket charger as part of the package I bought so I don't need to tie up the camera to recharge one of my batteries. They are fairly inexpensive and I hope Sony takes care of your camera. I had to call Sony with a problem about the software I got many years ago when I bought the 770 and dispised their phone system so I wish you all the best with that. Take care.

 

[MossRoad]

If you can get digital devices that use the same memory media, it sure does help. I've got a digital camera that uses compact flash. At the time I bought it, the 96Meg chip was an additional $90.00. The camera that I just bought uses SD. I've seen 256Meg chips for under $60.00. It sure would have been nice to not have to spend the additional $$$ and be able to re-use the memory. It would be nice if they standardized some things in the industry. My Palm uses SD, too.

At least you can buy a USB card reader for under $20.00 that will read most of the different types of media. That's nice.

 

[slowzuki]

Love my sony s75, the 505/717 funny looking series would be nice with the telephoto lense.

I got the s75 as it can be operated on full manual, it is a replacement for my Minolta X-700, a full manual slr.

 

[BillyP]

I think I've about decided to go with the Olympus C-740 UZ. I can get the camera from Digital Delivered for $358, which includes shipping.

Has anyone heard any bad things about this perticular store?