I am interested in using the camera for Family & Outing purposes. I wants to have a Good Resolution (Above 7 Mega Pixels) as well as better Zoom (more than 5-6x Digital/Optical). I also wants, if sometime required, to enlarge the pictures to Posture size. Thanks in advance Friends. How about this Camera ?
" Kodak Z710 Digital Camera"
Specifications:-
7.1 Megapixel (3082x2342 pixels)
10x Optical Zoom.
5x Advanced Digital Zoom.
32 MB Internal Memory with expansion slot for SD/MMC card.
2.0"(5.0cm) Color LCD plus real-image optical view finder.
Continuous Video with Audio.
Self Timer - 2 & 10 sec.
2 AA Ni-MH Rechargeable batteries.
USB 2.0 Connector
Weight - 285 g without batteries.
Warranty - One Year. First of all: A Megapixel chip can only make pictures as good as the lens in front of it.
If you have the choice between a lower Megapixel camera but a large lens, then go for the larger lens (with larger in diameter I mean).
This will help you with low light conditions, as a bigger lens lets in more light. More light means, the chip will have more light to work with and will have less grainy noise in the picture.
So, basically the Powershot models from Canon are very good mid-range digital cameras, with great colors and very little distortions from the lens borders.
The sharpness is also extraordinary. And thanks to the good lenses, the optical resolution of the lens made the photos of my old 3,3 MegaPixel camera (Powershot G1) often better than some 5 Megapixel cameras at that time.
And for the love of god: never - *never EVER* - buy a camera because of DIGITAL zoom. What Digital Zoom does, is taking a small portion of the Chip, and blowing it up to full picture size, and then making up the details. This will basically make a 1 Megapixel Photo out of your 7 Megapixel Chip and will look horribly blurred.
*Always* try to get that zoomed shot with the optical lens.
For Poster size Photos there is currently no (payable) digital camera. For large scale posters you're still better off analogue.
For medium-large sized photos (e.g. 30 cm) a 5 Megapixel camera (still with a very good lens) is enough.
However, if you get the Powershot G7, you will get a 10 Megapixel camera, that can only be topped by a full blown Digital SLR.
It has ISO Sensitivity up to 1600, a 6x optical zoom and a great Digic III chip in the back.
If you only want to shoot Family meetings and other snapshots, this is the camera you will need for the rest of your life.
Those recommending Sony:
Sony has a (bad) habit of pushing their proprietary hardware. This means, their hardware will only work with other Sony hardware correctly.
For example: My Canon camera uses Compact Flash as a memory card. I can plug it into my laptop, my PDA and other CF devices regardless of manufacturer. It just works.
With Sony Cameras I'm stuck with the Memory Stick. It's more expensive than othe Memory cards, and it only works with other Sony devices. So no copying to my PDA or other stunts. Mega Pixels do not define a cameras quality.... i think you should get the samsung s730
its not bad....7.4 mp and its iso sensivity is up to 1000...so theres no problem in taking pictures in slighly dim lighting
zoom is 3x optic 5x digital like most other cameras
lastly, great retro look..
try not to buy casio as the image quality isnt great especially under dim lighting,i noe coz i hav one...higher mp doesnt guarantee good pic quality. The amount of mega pixels you need, based on your usage, sounds like you'd be ok with even a 5 or 6 mega pixel camera. Mega pixels don't really come into play until you start looking at printing larger sized photos. If you're like me and stick with digital (no prints) it's not really much of a concern. But if you're looking for standard 8x10 prints, then a 5 or 6 will be great.
The one thing you shouldn't skimp on though, is the lens quality and the zoom. Remember : optical zoom is always better than digital. The higher the optical zoom, the better your pictures will turn out (when zooming into them from a distance). Digital (sometimes called "smart zoom") zoom is an effective zoom however it simply can't compare to optical zoom. Optical zoom is an actual lens within the camera, and you can't beat that (with a bat!)
I personally own a Sony DSC-H5 (6 Mega Pixel with 12x Optical zoom) and it takes great pictures! I went on a corporate trip a few months back. The motel we were put into was a ten minute drive down the highway. From my motel room I could see the corporate training office and I was able to zoom into the building. Take a look for yourself! These were all taken from my motel room.
http://picasaweb.google.com/yms.1975/TLC...
http://picasaweb.google.com/yms.1975/TLC...
http://picasaweb.google.com/yms.1975/TLC...
http://picasaweb.google.com/yms.1975/TLC...
http://picasaweb.google.com/yms.1975/TLC...
http://picasaweb.google.com/yms.1975/TLC...
As you can tell, the colors are lush and crisp. But just because you have a high mega pixel camera with a great zoom doesn't necessarily mean you'll get great pictures. Each camera is different and trust me....while reading the manual is a GREAT start, picking up a book on general photography will go a looooooong way! Also note that each camera performs differently, so it may take a while of taking pics before you get used to it.
Here's one last pic (one of my faves!) It's of my supervisor and one of my co-workers at the airport.
http://picasaweb.google.com/yms.1975/TLC...
Hope this helps! Choose between SONY & OLYMPUS. Go for Panasonic Lumix TZ1 or TZ3 -- this one is the best, TIPA award winner!
http://www.tipa.com/awa_detail_2006.lass...
http://panasonic.co.jp/pavc/global/lumix...
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0701/070131...
http://panasonic.co.jp/pavc/global/lumix... hi just want to clear you out that:
1. 4 or 5 MPixel is good enough for even slightly bigger enlargements. 7 MP will not be necessary. normally all the companies try to push higher MP cameras to get more money.but for average users its not needed.for enlargements 5-6 MP would be fine.you can even manually set the high resolution mode in camera for enlargements.
2. the more MP more is the cost. if you see any camera with higher MP& low price, you may have to sacrifice some where.
3. forget digital zoom, it simply enlarges the picture -which u can do your comp as well. look for optical zoom as a real measure.
4.although olympus camedia range, panasonic lumix range are really good. i'll suggest you to stick to canon powershot & nikon coolpix series. these are easy to operate cameras with good quality & decent price.even nikon has come out with L series they are good too!
5.kodak, fuji etc are not mainframe camera manufacturer, there fore stick to comapnies who concentrate only cameras in big way like canon, nikon, olympus. Pixel count and zoom range aren't unimportant considerations.
But surprisingly, there's one basic thing about a camera that's often overlooked: how wide does the lens go?
The standard lens for any serious camera is a 28-105 "film equivalent" zoom. Unfortunately most small digital cameras start at 38 or so.
That means you won't get three people in your picture (a common need) without stepping waaay back.
So what, you say? Well, you just might not have that luxury, and you'll miss the shot. And another issue: if those people are indoors, they may be out of range of the dinky flash.
That means underexposed pics, or pics where you have to turn the ISO waay up to get a proper exposure (read "hellaciously noisy").
I know it's impressive to have a 38-380 equiv lens, but how often do you shoot things 200 feet away vs. in the same room?
You may have to look hard for a 28-to-whatever equiv camera (try www.dpreview.com) but you'll make better pictures with it.
As for enlargement, theoretically a 7mp camera should make a good 11X14 or so. But a lot depends on the quality of the lens and the amount of noise in the sensor.
Generally, the bigger the sensor (physically), the better the image. A 3mp DSLR will probably outperform a 7mp compact, mostly due to noise and noise reduction.
Lenses also vary enormously. Some are great and some are like Coke bottles. Some have so much purple fringing it would be laughable except these are not cheap units.
This stuff can ultimately affect your images more than zoom range and pixel count.
I hope I haven't bored you.
Good luck in your quest, and shop carefully! |
