Digital Camera

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satchmo

satchmo

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My wife and I are expecting our first baby in July.

We are thinking about buying a new digital camera. My current one is very old (Kodak EasyShare 2.0 MP). I want one that is at least 6 MP and also has camcorder features.

I am considering the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W55.

Does anyone have any other recommendation? Any pros and cons about the Cyber-shot?

Thanks in advance.
 
That camera will probably be fine for just taking pictures of your kid. Almost all cameras now will record movies too, but you need to be careful - some record only 30s-2 minutes, while others will record until you run out of space.

How much do you have to spend, and what else are you wanting to do with the camera?

Pros of that sony are that it is tiny and moderately priced.
Cons are that it has a small lens, terrible zoom, and uses Memory Stick Duo rather than SD and doesn't use standard batteries.

I've got a Canon S3IS but I think that would be overkill for your use. Its pros are movie length is dependent on SD card size, 12x optical zoom, changeable lenses, and takes AAs. Its cons are it is large, no way it would fit in a pocket, and it is $115 more expensive than the Sony.

Really need a bit more information on what you are looking for.

This one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16830120098
would probably be a better camera than the Sony, and it is cheaper.
 
Thanks.

The Canon S3 sounds amazing from the reviews at Newegg.

I enjoy photography, but never got that serious into it. My brother has a Canon Rebel (digital), and he loves it. However, he paid a grand for it many years ago.

Compare to that price, the S3 is a steal.
 
Have you ever consider Camcorders? they´re great for what you want the camera to, and you can take photos too with it.
i have a Sony DCR-SR60 30GB 1MP Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder, the movie quality is awesome, and you can create a DVD very easily. Photo quality is not great but enough.

well, just another opinion,
Cheers,
 
Well Sort Of, But Not Really

The STILL PHOTO resolution provided by camcorders would simply be inadequate to produce pleasing enlargements. This would be a setback at say, graduations and the like, when we might want want to give Grandmom an 8 x 10 of the festivities. Movies and stills are two way different mediums, and for important events you should use both. And yes, that means 2 cameras and 2 photographers.
 
I was originally in the market for a digital camcorder, but I reached the conclusion that it's a better idea to upgrade my obsolete camera at the same time.

The movie feature isn't as important to me as the still pictures.

I just ordered the Canon S3IS from Newegg. At $307.99 (plus a free 1GB storage), it's an incredible deal.
 
Great, I love mine. You won't be disappointed.

And you got it about $30 cheaper than when I did, and I shopped around for the best deal.
 
September (2006) or so. I got a 2GB SD Card somewhere around Nov or Dec and paid an outrageous amount of money for it then, and they are cheap now. Oh well, thats the way things go.
 
Well....?

Well,.......? Waddya think? Newegg is amazing, and although nobody ever gives them any of the credit, UPS is awesome as well.
 
UPS is great. In fact, one of my good friends works for UPS.

I didn't have too much time playing around with the camera last night. I only took a test pic.

I brought the Advanced User Guide to work with me today, so I'll keep on reading. The camera itself looks beautiful.

One related question....where is the best place to buy the SD memory? Is 1 GB big enough for most purposes (I think so)?
 
Hmmm,...Depends....

The 1 GB cards are substantial, true enough. Ultimately, it will depend on the storage options you choose. Saving in raw format eats space rather rapidly. I'm not certain the extent of Jpeg options The S3 supplies, but the best rule of thumb is to save the biggest files that circumstance permits, you can always shrink them later. Although, that's not a terribly good idea either. I actually would make a choice in that capacity range by brand, speed and PRICE. If the 2GB cards are on sale... well you get the idea. I don't know what you're going to be using as an photo editing application, but I suppose that doesn't matter, as long as you realize you sometimes are best served by saving multiple versions of the same photo. Don't throw away data in a file to print a 4" x 6", use the "save as" option to save a copy for that reason.
 
Thanks for the tips.

I use PaintShopPro for editing my photos, and I do save a copy instead of writing over the original picture when I work.

I am still learning about this camera. The options seem endless. :)
 
Adobe.... The sort of evil empire....

Well they're really not so bad, well not bad at all. I won't comment to Paint Shop, actually I can't since I have an introductory copy on my box, (came with a Wacom Tablet), neither of which I I've used , ( RFI from my wireless desktop).
But, the Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 is spectacular! I have PSE 2.0 and PSE 3.0 (2 copies). But the 5.0 Version is luxurious. It's 80% of Photoshop CS 2, at 20 % of the price. And that's retail. PSE is generally regarded as the single biggest bargain in the image editing industry. Just something to keep in the back of your mind.
 
I've used PhotoShop before, but I had a old version (I think version 4 or something). I've gotten so used to PSP now that I don't really miss the additional features of PSE.

Thanks.
 
To PSE or not to PSE (Hamlet with a lisp)

If you're speaking to Photoshop 4 (and not to PSE 4) I can tell you that PSEs 3.0, 4.0 & 5.0 are all superior to the old issues of Photoshop, especially with respect to the "Organizer". I can't live without the adjustment layers and clipping groups of layers in Photoshop. The "Shadows/Highlights" adjustment of lighting in PSE really can't be duplicated with a standard levels adjustment. I could go on, mercifully I won't.
 
I cannot figure out how to toggle between "auto flash" and "always flash". Depressing the flash button to the left of the flash on top does not toggle the setting at all. The setting is currently stuck at "auto flash".

Of course, the flash is raised during this setting, and the camera is set to the "AUTO" mode.

Granted, this is not a major problem, but it's annoying enough. Is this a defective camera?
 
Stand Back....Or I'll PM You......

You should probably dash off a private message to SNGX1275 about this. I've only lusted after an S3, he's claiming ownership. Besides, I,m the enemy so to speak, a hardened Nikon buyer. I have a closet full of Nikkors looking for a digital body, which they'll get if I can only get my head (and wallet) extricated from these %^&* computers.
 
I'll take a look at mine tonight and see. It may be that you have to be outside of an auto mode to force the flash, which is kind of a bummer. I know that you can't enter super macro mode without being outside of the Auto mode.

If I can remember I'll look into it.
 
Thanks guys.

I've contacted Canon support and they informed me that forcing the flash to go off is not feasible inside the "AUTO" mode. It's only possible in the "P" (programmed) or "M" (manual) mode.

My bad. :p
 
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