I need to buy a digital camera for work. I know very little about cameras in general. I have two choices. #1, is a Sony MVC-FD200. Shoots directly to floppy disk, or memory card. 6X digital zoom, 2.0 mega pixels. Cost's under $400.00

#2, is also a Sony, an MVC-CD350. Shoots direct to CD's, 3.2 mega pixels, 3X optical zoom and 3X digital zoom, continuous auto focus. This costs right at $500.00.

I have no idea what a mega pixel is, or if it really matters. The camera would be used mostly to document phases of construction, mostly indoor shots but some outdoor as well. Plus, I would take it home with me and shoot family pictures too. Can anyone offer any guidance in this matter? My instinct tells me that the cheaper one would be okay but then maybe the other one is worth the extra $100+? What would be the real advantage other than being able to hold more pictures on a CD, that would make it worth more? Thanks for any advise.

 

Hang10,

To oversimplify megapixels, it relates to the resolution of the picture you take. The higher the number, the better. It doesn't matter "a lot" until you want to blow it up to a larger size. To print out a photo on a good color printer and good photo paper at an 8 x 10, you want at least 3 megapixels to be able to do so. 3 megapixels is the minimum you want.

Optical zoom is what you are used to on a traditional 35mm camera. That is, how close can the lens (optics) zoom in on the subject. The digital zoom is how close the camera can zoom in on the object digitally. This is another area where having a higher megapixel is important. Especially if you are taking construction photos and want to zoom in close to see detail.

I have a sony dsc-5. It is very small (fits into your jeans pocket) and is 3.2 megapixel. I have had it for a little over 2 years and have been very happy with it. It has a 3X optical zoom and a 6X (I Think) digital zoom. It also uses the Sony memory stick. I currently have a 32Meg, 64 Meg and 128 Meg memory stick. I have the different sizes because the higher the resolution of the photo you take, the more memory. I put my higher resolution photon on the bigger sticks since it will hold the most photos.

I personally do not like the ones that use the floppy disc. As I recall, the Sony Mavicas use this. While it is nice to pop the disc out of the camera and into your computer, a 1.44 Meg disc just does not hold any high quality photos. For this reason, I like the memory sticks. I have looked at the CD version. It seems interesting, but I like the size saving in the memory stick only version of it. I just would not pop the mini CD into my computer since I always hook up to the USB port. Plus, the memory sticks come in so many sizes of memory. So, I just like them.

My observations on digital cameras. Most people for recreational and general picture taking tend to use the e-mail or other low resolution picture taking quality. This is good for sending photos via e-mail, it does not allow you to make large blow ups (such as the 8x10 I talked about). You can always size it down. but not up. Also, if you are going to use it for business, get the highest megapixel rating you can afford. Once again. 3 is the minimum I would recommend. 4 is better.

I am sure I missed something, but this is as much as I could type and not forget what I already had put down.

WigWag

 

Oh yeah, I did forget, the prices you have down seem a little high IMO. I bought my camera 2 years ago for 350 and it is around 250 now. I believe you can get the newer version of my camera which is 5 megapixels for about 400 bucks. I am not saying it is the do all be all, but I like it. I had it fall out of my pocket (actually, fly out) when I was throwing stones once. It hit some rocks and dented the body, but the screen did not break and it works fine.

I am including a link to one I found. There are quite a few good ones. You may want to check out cnet or epinions to look up one you are interested in. Hope this helps.

Digital Camera

WigWag

 

look at comsumers reports on digital cameras, i use kodiak good tough, easy to use withdocking port, ive dropped mine in the lake once, dryed it out still works and that was over a year ago,plus i can plug it into a TV(it has a video out) using standard rca plug and do slide shows with it. and record the pics on vhs tape for people that dont have a computer. also use that feature when doing buisness

 

Thanks WigWag. The problem is selection. I misspoke when I said I had only those two to choose from. I am however, limited to this one vendor that we have an account with. My choices actually are:

HP Photosmart 635, 2.1 MP, media card storage. $195.00

HP Photosmart 735, 3.2 MP, Secure digital card storage $265.00

Olympus D560, 3.2MP, Olympus picture card storage $314.00

Nikon 'coolpix' 3100, 3.2MP, flash memory card storage $350.00

Canon Powershot A80, 4.0MP, compact flash memory card $428

Kodak DX4530 'Easy share' 5.0MP, Multimedia card storage $400

Then the two Sony's. The reason I had it narrowed down to the Sony's, was the storage seemed easy, either a 3.5 floppy (that one will accept a storage 'stick' as well) or a regular CD/RW disk. Seemed the easiest, just to remove the disk(s) and view. No downloading through USB etc. So from your information, it would appear that the Kodak would be the best for price, 5.0 MP and a storage card.

 

those prices are high for the quality of pictures you are looking at getting, i also agree that kodak makes a good digi camera, i have a 2.0 mp and it cost me $185 eight months ago...

 

F2504x497, there is a Kodak available. Funny, I always thought those as cheap 'junky' compared to Nikons, Canon's, Sony etc. Maybe I should look into this further...

 

I have tbe Sony Mavica 3.2. I bought it because of the CD/RW disk and it had a larger view window than some of the others I looked at. I paid $381 (tax, etc). I'm very happy with the pictures.

 

oh my god! I came on tonight to ask almost the same question!
well anyway what I would like is something extreamly simple, NO frills just point click and dump on 'puter. no bloody web cam or zoom crap. just a simple little rectangle box that does the job, it doesnt need to wipe my butt too. I used a kodak dc20 and loved it, looking for something like that and must be cheap as in NOT expensive. what are y'alls thoughts and whats available in a remote area... I'm about 100 miles from anywhere and the only choices for stores are like wallmart and radiocrap. any ideas? and what ones do you think are good for what I'm looking for?

 

their our alot of choose's out there. kodiak has been around a long time, like timex, but for me its easy and durable plus i like the video out feature, i use it when i visit customers and they don't have a computers, i keep the pic's on the disk, with different subjects on them. i get anywheres from 100 to 400 pic's on each disk depending on the size of the disk,the disks are compact flashwith hard plastic case, very durable and cost effective. for me it works great.

 

Hang10,

I don't know enough about the individual ones you listed to say which is better. My friend has a Canon and he really loves it. The MPEG feature (the ability to record short video clips) is relatively common and is a nice feature. Especially when your buddy gets his truck stuck and he can't believe it, you can record the frustration.

Remember, when people say they get X number of photos to a disc, two factors influence this- the size of the media AND the resolution you are taking. For instance, a 32 Meg card on e-mail mode type res will capture over a hundred photos. At the highest res (on my camera) it will hold less than 10. Of course, you can go back and forth between resolution while you are shooting.. That is, photo #1 is low, # 2 is high and so on.

Just make a simple chart to compare features (megapixels, optical zoom, digital zoom, size of the recording media that comes standard, bonus things (case, batteries, etc...) and of course, cost).

Anyway, again as mentioned, Consumer Reports is a good reference. CNET always has lots of information. My comments are just from my experience. The one you mentioned with the floppy and memstick seems interesting as well. I usually leave the USB cord plugged into my computer so when I want to download from the camera, no reaching around or the like. I also have an HP printer that allows me to pop in the memory stick directly into it and download or print.


Good Luck

WigWag

 

I have a Fuji Finepix 2650. It has 2.0 megapixels, 3x optical zoom.. its a great little camera and costs around $200.. I got mine a year ago, so I'm sure there's a newer version out.

 

4wd67f250,
if you liked it then check out some of the newer kodak's. look at kodak web page. plus i think walmart carries them good prices still the same tough simple camera.just better now, especially with the docking station. also when you hook the camera up when your on their wed site they'll update the camera's software when there any avaible

 

thanks f=2504by497, I think I'll check them out. I dispise shopping but walmart aint too bad. thanks again for the reply.

 

4WD67F250,

There are so many places you can a camera from without going to the store- Ebay (which is where I bough my truck and trailer), Amazon, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc... just do the research. There are plenty of inexpensive ones. Just get a good name- Sony, Canon. Fuji. If you liked the Kodak, check it out again.

You could always get a Wal-Mart rental (not that I am advocating this but...). Find one you like there and use it. If you like it keep it. If not, return and repeat the process until you do find the one you like most. Just a thought.

WigWag