Advice re digital camera purchase

lol
I am also lookin for a good digicam. I take my current pics with my Samsung camcorder, and they leave alot to be desired. You can see the results in most of the pics I post here. It just doesn't give that vibrant, ALIVE photo that Im lookin for.

I just did a fast look through Wal-Mart's online site then ebay. Wow Ebay does have some killer deals so that's probably the way I'll go.

Just have to sort out that whole 3x, 4x whatever lens thing and also what the heck is a camera "dock"? It seems to recharge the camera I think but it's not the same as a printer that actually prints out your pics....correct? Some come with this dock thing, other's don't....do I need one? Does one need a printer or can you print pictures out of a regular computer printer if it is a good one (we also need to replace our computer printer at some point).



~~Joanna~~

You can print from your own computer with your existing printer, that's what I do. I use glossy photo paper that my uncle gets for free from somewhere... I'm pretty sure you could buy it at any office supply place though. It usually works well!

i think 4x optical lense just means you can zoom in 4x as much or something like that lol. idk maybe someone else can tell ya but thats what i think it means.

Brian

I have found some great offers at www.butterflyphoto.com This is where I bought my camera. It is a Minolta DiMage Z2, 4.2MP, 10x optical zoom and 4 times digital zoom. I got it for my B-Day in March and I still haven't figured out all of the features. I wubs it :)

Go to www.resellerratings.com and it will give you ratings on the majority of online stores and whether or not it is a good thing to buy from them or not. My camera normally retails for a little over $400. I bought it for $310 with a $50 Mail-In-Rebate from Konica-Minolta.

I have also found that Circuit City has great prices on their memory cards. They have a 256MB SD memory card for $25! I wubs them too... Here I come Constrictors Reptile Expo!

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

I just did a fast look through Wal-Mart's online site then ebay. Wow Ebay does have some killer deals so that's probably the way I'll go.

Just have to sort out that whole 3x, 4x whatever lens thing and also what the heck is a camera "dock"? It seems to recharge the camera I think but it's not the same as a printer that actually prints out your pics....correct? Some come with this dock thing, other's don't....do I need one? Does one need a printer or can you print pictures out of a regular computer printer if it is a good one (we also need to replace our computer printer at some point).



~~Joanna~~

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O.K. Joanna, the 3x or 4x thing is the zoom. 3x means it will zoom in three times closer than the normal view. Much like a pair of binoculars or a scope on a rifle, the bigger the x power the closer it will bring the object you are looking at to you. As far as the "Dock" there are several options with different camera's. Some do print right there providing you don't want any larger prints, others simply charge your camera's bateries (Providing you have rechargable bateries) and also take the pics from your camera and put them on your P.C. I do not use the dock myself. It is just as easy to plug in the cord that came with my camera into the usb port on my pc and use the download software that came with the setup to put pics on my pc files. I also use my ink jet printer to print photo's. You can get the photo paper almost anywhere. I get mine from Wal Mart. This way you can print nice 8x10 portrats if you want and are not limited to the 5x7 that is the max for most dock/printers. my camera also came with webshare software, and print shop software that allows me to change the pics color, size, the brightness and contrast. This is quite handy sometimes when I don't do a very good job taking the pic and use the wrong setting on my camera, And I do this a lot....lol. It is that whole paying attention to detail thing...lol.

Hope this helps, good luck!
Ray

Lenses- a lot of this is interpretation of the viewer generally however;

Canon in my opinion is at the top of the list with affordable cameras (and thus lenses) but still very high quality lenses.

I haven't watched the market for a while but last I looked in the non-pro range of digi cams Kodack was leading the megapixel race and canon was leading the lense competition. I personally own a sony but it's old and I'm looking to buy a newer canon. Anyways just be sure it has a macro feature for those up close photos!

any 3 meg or higher will do fine for internet or up to 8x10 prints. optical zoom is better than digital zoom, the lens actually moves. digital zoom just magnifies the image more. your lighting setup plays a major role in close up shots. a good light setup a basic tripod and an average camera will go far.


vaughn

Something else I didn't think about earlier. You may find a good deal somewhere like e-bay, but if you have a problem, Will you be able to run back down there and exchange it or get it fixed? Something to ponder with a purchas like that..Making a purchas like that, I prefer to do business with someone I can get my hands on,,,,lol,,,if you know what I mean....

Gosh thanks for all the advice folks! Scribbling notes madly so that when we actually start looking (budget....budget....budget) we will have all this great information at hand.

Gotta love this forum!!!!

~~Joanna~~