digital cameras

Helen,
I agree with sam about the nikons

I have been using a kodak dx4900 (4 mega pixel) for almost 12 months for taking "happy snaps" and also use this camara for work, It gives reasonable picture quality, compared to using a Quality 35mm(film) SLR they are slower to take fast action shots, they still don't quite have the tonel quality of film but this being said they are very cheap to run.
For the average person a 4 mega pixel camara will print to A4 with very good quality results. the NIkon & canon digital gear is very good.

Owning a collection of AFD nikor lense my next digital will be a nikon D100 or better, if you have the funds & the work to justify the outlay you couldn't go far wrong with a nikon! (Sam what frame rate does the d100 get at 6.1 mega pixel?)

best thing is with the advances taking place you will get better quality cheaper soooner rather than later!

I know with the old professional SLR's (NIkon F3 and F4's) you could drop them on their lens without too much drama. The old film type cameras can be picked up relatively cheaply now, would it be worth doing that and investing in a decent negative scanner if you want to catalogue them on a computer? could well work out to be cheaper in the long run if you are going to subject the camera to any significant adverse conditions (vibration, dust, etc.).

As above, I would not buy anything but a Nikon (substantial lens mounts, high quality optics, good dealer service), but I would steer towards their professional or semi-professional cameras in film or digital to withstand the outback conditions.

Jack,

from memory, I think the memory buffer in the D100 allows it to fire off about 3 photos in a row before it will stop you from taking any more until it has processed at least one shot (you still need to allow it to process all the shots before it can fire off another 3 in a row). The Nikon has the ability to store the photos in two formats at once. It also (with special software - of which a trial version is provided with the camera) allows you to access the RAW image. This allows you to apply changes to the photo rather than having the camera do it. The canon digital SLR's are jsut as good if not better. I did a comparison once on the D100 and a similarly priced Canon, and there wasn't much between them. The Canon was better in some aspects, the Nikon in others.

The only problem with taking photos in RAW format or say full resolution NEF files, is that you need a heap of storage. Microdrives are good (especially if you dont have a laptop handy or easy access to a CD or DVD burner). I have seen 2Gb ones for about $440.

cheers,
Sam.

i luv my canon g3
quality memory cards at good prices from www.zxpro.com

I've got the Kodak 4800 I think it is, 4 megapixel. Can take some nice pics but also some bloodly terrible pics. In high contrast situations the shadows come out too dark. I'm not a fussy person but this really annoys me. May chuck it and get something else.Hooroo

I have a Kodak DC4800 (3.1 megapixels). With some 2500 shots on it I have had no problems. Sure it is not an SLR digital and neither was the price. If you use it in the auto mode you will find that if the larger section of the photo is brighter than the rest any areas the shadows will be dark. The same happens with a film camera. True all of the digital cameras in under the $5000 do not have the same dynamic range as does film. The idea is to reframe your shot or use the "centre spot" feature in the exposure when shooting. Like all cameras results can only be as good as the operator. I shoot at 2.1 megapixels and the pictures on a 10 x 8 print are very good. I have a professional photographer friend with both Nikon and Cannon digital SLR's. He agrees thast the 4800 gives really nice results but it is not as forgiving in some circumstances. For happy shots most of the current crop of digital cameras under $2000 will give good results.

Keith

Tony and Helen
The Sony the DFC F717 is available from Sony for $1990.I have the old 505V,which gives me perfect photos,obviously the higher the resolution the more memory you need ,but it is well and truly worth it .128 mb memory sticks are down to less than $140. I will be upgrading to Sony F717 or next model as soon as finances permit.
Regards
RonnieLimmen Bight River July

Helen & Tony
I purchased the previos model to Alpacas (Olympus C730 - didn't know there was a new one coming) and it is a great little camera. I paid $1200 for mine and thought that was a good deal so he's done really well.
10 x Optical zoom is about as good as is going at the moment (a few have 6x but most are 3x).
Don't worry too much about digital zoom as your computer can do all that. You do not get clarity with digital zoom.
Make sure you get at least a 64 MB memory card but 128 like Alpaca has is probably best depending on how high you set resolution of yopur pics. These Olympus cameras have new xD memory cards and they are so small it's truly amazing. Will be available in up to 8 Gig sizes in the very near future.
I'm anything but an expert but these are my thoughts anyway
I wish you luck

Helen & Tony

I too have an Olympus C730 and what sold me on it was the 10X optical zoom. This effectively gives a focal range of 38 - 380 mm and as yet I have yet to use digital zooming. The optical zoom capability more than offsets the lower pixel rating (3.2)

Really is a very good camera and worth having a look at although I did not realise that it has already beed superseeded.

I carry 2 x 128MB & 1 x 16MB cards which on high resolution gives 350+ photos.

Like most digitals, you will probably use only a fraction of its capability and I am sure that it will do everthing that I will want it to do plus a lot more.

Only negative is battery usage and that it does not run off AC without buying an adaptor.


Rgds


David


Rgds


David

Hi Richard

I'm not in the least bit surprised by the number of replies - these are a fantastic group of people. I have learned a lot and can make an informed decision as a result.

My sincere thanks to all who answered.

Helen 8-)she said you're
not going
down there with
me in here!