 BetterPhoto Member |
Looking For a Beginner's Digital with Everything I like the features of both the Olympus Camedia C-750 and Kodak Easyshare DX6490, but wonder if I'm getting in over my head as a first time digital buyer. I'm interested in taking pictures of the birds in my backyard as well as vacation, and family photos. Are either of these good choices? Will I need a tripod for zoom photos? I don't believe the C750 has that capacity.
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Wing Wong |
Hi Cindy, The C750 is a great camera with it's long optical zoom. The only problem is that it is not a optically or electronically stabilised lens, so yes, you will need a tripod with the camera. If you are looking for a stabilized system with a good zoom, you might try the Minolta A1. 7x optical with CCD stabilizer. If you can wait a few months, the A2 is coming out with all the same features as the A1 but with 8MP instead of 5MP. A good camera I used to use was the C2100 which had optically stabilized 10x lens. But it was only 2MP and had ISO100-400 only. In bright daylight, you should be able to handhold the 750 to take pictures of birds. The 750 has a very fast lens. But at longer telephoto ranges, you will need to brace against a wall or use a tripod. Sorry. ^_^; But if you want relatively long focal length and stabilization, try the Minolta A1($600-$800) or the A2 when it comes out.
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Denise N |
I own a Kodak Easyshare DX4330 (my first digital camera) and absolutely love it for a first-time digital user. I use it for a variety of shots: sports (action), scenery, and family photos. I use my tripod a lot especially with the zoom (I don't have a steady hand). For the price, you cannot go wrong with a Kodak - especially the Easyshare system which is sooooo easy and fast. I personally only buy Kodak and I don't know why they always seem to be "left out in the cold" by everyone. For their products I think they have the best price for the features. But remember to play, play, play with your camera to get to know the features it has and how they all work under different conditions. I've had mine for almost a year and I'm still having fun learning what it can do. Enjoy! and Good Luck!
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Alisha May Furbish |
I own the DX6490, and I like it very much. Image stabilization or not, I think it never hurts to use a tripod- I put off getting one, but when I did I realized how helpful they are. The DX6490 is easy to use and has a lot of manual and auto features. It produces beautiful images. My only qualm is that for a few hundred more dollars I could've gotten a digital SLR. But, being an advanced amature, I found the Kodak had more than enough options to help me learn, and to produce great pictures.
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Douglas |
I got the Panasonic Lumix FZ10 at Christmas. It is a 4mp camera with 12X OPTICAL zoom (35-420 equiv) and it has optical image stabilization. And it is F2.8 all thru the range. It is my first digital camera, and I am very pleased with it so far.
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Joe |
I bought a Kodak Easyshare DX6490 after looking at a lot of cameras and photo galleries. (Look at Alisha May's) The lens is awesome. I will even say it is at least as good if not better than a Zeiss. I used to use a Pentax K1000 but it is too large to take along with the camcorder. The Kodak is an excellent alternative and gives me better prints than what I got with my high quality film cameras. (film processing is not as good as it used to be) I will get a digital SLR in the future, but I do not consider that technology "mature" yet. 5+ megapixel cameras are still a bit on the noisy side and there are some other issues that they need to work out. In the mean time, I will "suffer" with a small, lightweight, easy to use camera with a world class lens and color system. :-)
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Piper Lehman |
Ah..the quintessential request: I want everything, but I don't want to pay for it. :) It has been my observation that you get what you pay for in the camera world. Of course, as a whole, photo equipment is way overpriced. You can pretty much expect that the cheaper a camera is, then the less it has to offer. Features that shoot the price up considerably are resolution, memory card used, optical zoom, image capture formats offered, flash features (red-eye reduction, slow-sync, etc.), white balance options, and manual exposure functions. The more automatic a camera, the cheaper it will be. Just take the little Canon A101 or whatever it's called. It has no zoom at all - just one focal length (I think it's around 35mm). This is the least expensive of the Big 6 brands (Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax, Sony, Olympus). You can grab one for $150. It probably takes/makes better images than, say, the Olympus D-360, which DOES have a zoom lens and higher resolution. Choosing a digital camera isn't easy, nor is it universal. You need to make a list of your priorities - even if you don't know what the function is called, list what you want to be able to do with your camera, and then go play with the cameras at your local Best Buy or even WalMart. These store usually have a ton of demos tied to the counter for customers to play with. Even if you've done all your homework on the web, you will find that holding a super light plastic camera in your hand can really change your mind quick about the relative quality of a particular camera. To me, this just screams "cheap!" Also, although most of the big 6 have been trying to get their cameras as small as possible, I find the smaller they are, the simpler the design and the less they offer.
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Piper Lehman |
Addendum: RE the aforementioned Canon 'A101'. THis is the exception to the rule. Optical zoom, for instance, isn't going to make a damn bit of difference in the 'quality' of the image, but most people will gladly sacrifice this for some zoom power. If there were only two cameras in the world to choose from, I would go for the zoom model, but this is a personal choice. REmember, everyone values each option differently. The trick is finding the "perfect" camera that offers all your favorite options in one package. Camera manufacturers deliberately add or leave out options on certain cameras in order to push you toward the next most expensive or higher end camera. YOu might not want all the bells and whistles that a certain camera offers, but if it's the least pricey model with your one desirable feature, then you are forced to pay for all the others as well. Don't worry too much about making the "wrong" decision. ONce you make your choice and become comfortable using your new camera, you won't remember Jack about what the others might've offered. Frankly, you can make great images with any camera. Pick the best you can afford and then just shoot, shoot, shoot, and you can't go wrong with that.
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Joe |
I agree with Piper, It will be hard to make a really wrong decision. My decision was based on 4 requirements; price, size, image quality and useability. Although the Kodak DX6490 has a 10X optical zoom, it was not a factor. In reality, you will mostly use the wide to medium zoom range and rarely use the full 10X. a 3 - 4X is usually sufficient. Do not use digital zoom. Most large zooms are not as good optically as shorter zooms. The real good German designed lens out there are exceptions. (Zeis and Schneider Kreuznach) A good thing to do would be to write down what you would like the camera to do, go look in the stores and hold the different cameras to determine which ones are too big or small, read some online reviews by experts, re-evaluate your criteria and make a decision. You will love a digital camera. I have taken more pictures in the 2 months I have owned mine, than I did all of last year. :-)
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Joe |
I took a look at some reviews of Douglas's camera. The Panasonic Luminix FZ10 looks like a great one. I almost took my Kodak DX6490 back. I would love to have the manual focus, but I have to have the low light operating capabilities of the Kodak. I wish the Panasonic had the AF systems of the Kodak, or the Kodak had the manual focus of the Panasonic.
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