Q. Wow! i feel like i am stepping out of the ice ages with this question (It's like going from a brownie to a dispoable) but i am getting sick and tired of dealing with the old camera and I am the market for a new digital camera. I am in the mood to put Yahoo! answers to the test and see what you all recommend.
Now, i know this question has been repeated in the past but this is hardly that type of question. I know all about DPI and memory sticks. I am wondering more about the quality of the model of the camera. Is it really worth it to get 3 vs 4 mega pixels. Which places have good salesmen that aren't going to rip me off. Which cameras have the most fun functions?
I am also wondering if there are any digital cameras to stay away from? Quality issues, connectivity problems, Memory stick problems and (really important because i am a butter fingers) durability. Also where are the places to stay away from?
Wow, I have almost used up my 1,000 characters please Yahoo! Answers help me!
Now, i know this question has been repeated in the past but this is hardly that type of question. I know all about DPI and memory sticks. I am wondering more about the quality of the model of the camera. Is it really worth it to get 3 vs 4 mega pixels. Which places have good salesmen that aren't going to rip me off. Which cameras have the most fun functions?
I am also wondering if there are any digital cameras to stay away from? Quality issues, connectivity problems, Memory stick problems and (really important because i am a butter fingers) durability. Also where are the places to stay away from?
Wow, I have almost used up my 1,000 characters please Yahoo! Answers help me!
Answer
First of all, this all depends on what is your definition of "best" AND how much are you willing you spend. If I were you, I would keep a part of my budget of accesories because usually people forget about those. They have $400 and they come in to the store and buy a camera for $400 and then when they get home, they realize the they don't have a memory stick to go with it so they can only take like 10 pictures. Some of the necessary accesories include memory cards and carrying cases. Other optional accessories include a photo paper, some photo editing software, extra batteries, photo paper and ink for the printer, etc...
Now, for the camera, there two kinds; point and shoot, and then Single Lens Reflex). Point and shoot are the small thin ones you see everyone carrying around (which is recommended for a first-time buyer because they are not that fancy and everything is automated). SLR cameras are the huge giant ones which professional photographers (or hobbyists) use. With SLR cameras, you get a bigger CCD (meaning the comes out looking much nicer), faster processing time, and the picture that you take is EXACTLY what you saw through the viewing pane. So for example, a 6MP SLR picture will be better than a 8MP point and shoot.
The megapixels do make a difference and getting higher megapixel (like a 6 as opposed to a 3) is better because you can always downgrade a picture's resolution before OR after you take the picture. For example, if you get a 6MP camera, you can choose the setting to be like 4MP and just take pics at 4MP. And then you have an option of raising it back up to 5MP or 6MP if you need to. But if you get a 4MP, then obviously you can't higher than 4MP. Also people don't buy 6MP so that they can print 6MP pictures. Nobody has printers big enough to actually print giant pictures. The advantages of higher MP include, being able to zoom in further after you take the pic (because usually you are limited to 3x optical zoom in point and shoot cameras), crop out the pic, and then STILL have enough resolution left to print a decent 3x5 or 8x10. I can take a whole family group shot and then crop a person's face and print it without a problem. The norm today is about 5-6MP, some places don't even carry 3MP anymore. So I would go with 6MP or higher if you want.
Next thing is zoom. There is optical zoom (which is before you take a picture) and then there is digital zoom (which is after you take the picture). In point and shoot, you are usually limited to about 3x zoom on both which is good enough because otherwise the lens gets much bigger and heavier so the camera won't exactly fit in your back-pocket. Optical zoom is the one to look at. Ignore whatever number they tell you for digital zoom, it means nothing. In fact, NEVER EVER use digital zoom. Use only optical because digital zoom is not really zoom, it just takes the picture, crops it, and then stretches it out. So if you take a 5MP with digital zoom, it will actually be like a 3-4MP pic.
Next thing is memory cards. Different brands use different kinds. Sony made their own cards called Memory Sticks. Olympus and Fuji use xD cards and everyone else (kodak, canon, nikon, panasonic) pretty much uses SD (secure digital) cards. CompactFlash is there but it is mainly for old cameras (precursor to SD cards) or SLRs use CompactFlash. Pretty much the memory cards are the same so the kind of memory card wouldn't really affect my judgement about which brand to buy. For example, SD used to be a lot slower and more power consuming then xD. But then they came out with the High-speed ones. So the high-speed ones actually read and write faster, and they are more power efficient which means that the your battery would last you longer. SD also has a high-speed version with a built-in USB drive so you can actually just flip it open and stick it into your USB port anywhere. I have a 1GB version and it is awesome. You can use like a regular USB flash drive and save whatever from a computer, and the flip it to stick it in your camera and take pictures. SD is what you are most likely going to get.
After that we come to batteries. Rechargeable batteries are good because they last you MUCH longer but then you need to recharge them so they are not recommended if you plan on going to a world tour. A camera with AA batteries will wipe out your batteries like there is no tomorrow but they are universal and dispensable. You can buy them ANYWHERE in the world and replace them instantly. You don't have to wait for it recharge. Even if you don't actually take pictures, the batteries still get drained because of the lens movement and the giant LCD screens that cameras have today. 2.5" is the most common size for an LCD today.
After that we come to brand names. Kodak is known for ease of use. Panasonic is known for their anti-shaking technology. They have the best image stabilization than anyone else. Canon and Nikon are just awesome in terms of features and ease of use (like menu navigation). Canon and Nikon are the most popular. Sony is famous for their sleek, slim, and cool-looking designs (like the thin cybershot T-series). For durability (because you are butterfingers) go with Panasonic or the newer Canons because they use a metallic casing as opposed to a plastic casing so they are heavier but if you drop it...
So here is what I have (and may I remind you that I bought this last year when this camera was like the newest model). I have a CanonSD500 which is 5MP camera with an extra battery (Which I bought off of ebay for like a dollar, don't pay $40 for it at the store). I have the SanDisk high-speed SD+USB with 1GB capacity and a canon leather case. You don't want your lens or your giant LCD screen scratched your ruin. If you are going to spend $500 on a camera, then spend another $20 and get a decent bag.
As a general case, I recommend CanonSD600, 700, 630 or Panasonic FX01.
As for a good place to go to buy, go to either Circuit City or a BestBuy's around you because fry's salesmen are on commission and they will rip you off. Circuit City and Best Buy are not on commission anymore. Go to the store, play around with the cameras and then buy them. Fry's will have more variety then anybody else so if you really want to, go to circuit city to look at the cameras and then just buy it from fry's. I bought mine from circuit city. Other accessories, get them off ebay. You will get brand new factory sealed items for like 2% of the advertised price.
How's that for an answer???
I am sure this more than 1000 characters.
Feel free to contact me if you need anymore help.
First of all, this all depends on what is your definition of "best" AND how much are you willing you spend. If I were you, I would keep a part of my budget of accesories because usually people forget about those. They have $400 and they come in to the store and buy a camera for $400 and then when they get home, they realize the they don't have a memory stick to go with it so they can only take like 10 pictures. Some of the necessary accesories include memory cards and carrying cases. Other optional accessories include a photo paper, some photo editing software, extra batteries, photo paper and ink for the printer, etc...
Now, for the camera, there two kinds; point and shoot, and then Single Lens Reflex). Point and shoot are the small thin ones you see everyone carrying around (which is recommended for a first-time buyer because they are not that fancy and everything is automated). SLR cameras are the huge giant ones which professional photographers (or hobbyists) use. With SLR cameras, you get a bigger CCD (meaning the comes out looking much nicer), faster processing time, and the picture that you take is EXACTLY what you saw through the viewing pane. So for example, a 6MP SLR picture will be better than a 8MP point and shoot.
The megapixels do make a difference and getting higher megapixel (like a 6 as opposed to a 3) is better because you can always downgrade a picture's resolution before OR after you take the picture. For example, if you get a 6MP camera, you can choose the setting to be like 4MP and just take pics at 4MP. And then you have an option of raising it back up to 5MP or 6MP if you need to. But if you get a 4MP, then obviously you can't higher than 4MP. Also people don't buy 6MP so that they can print 6MP pictures. Nobody has printers big enough to actually print giant pictures. The advantages of higher MP include, being able to zoom in further after you take the pic (because usually you are limited to 3x optical zoom in point and shoot cameras), crop out the pic, and then STILL have enough resolution left to print a decent 3x5 or 8x10. I can take a whole family group shot and then crop a person's face and print it without a problem. The norm today is about 5-6MP, some places don't even carry 3MP anymore. So I would go with 6MP or higher if you want.
Next thing is zoom. There is optical zoom (which is before you take a picture) and then there is digital zoom (which is after you take the picture). In point and shoot, you are usually limited to about 3x zoom on both which is good enough because otherwise the lens gets much bigger and heavier so the camera won't exactly fit in your back-pocket. Optical zoom is the one to look at. Ignore whatever number they tell you for digital zoom, it means nothing. In fact, NEVER EVER use digital zoom. Use only optical because digital zoom is not really zoom, it just takes the picture, crops it, and then stretches it out. So if you take a 5MP with digital zoom, it will actually be like a 3-4MP pic.
Next thing is memory cards. Different brands use different kinds. Sony made their own cards called Memory Sticks. Olympus and Fuji use xD cards and everyone else (kodak, canon, nikon, panasonic) pretty much uses SD (secure digital) cards. CompactFlash is there but it is mainly for old cameras (precursor to SD cards) or SLRs use CompactFlash. Pretty much the memory cards are the same so the kind of memory card wouldn't really affect my judgement about which brand to buy. For example, SD used to be a lot slower and more power consuming then xD. But then they came out with the High-speed ones. So the high-speed ones actually read and write faster, and they are more power efficient which means that the your battery would last you longer. SD also has a high-speed version with a built-in USB drive so you can actually just flip it open and stick it into your USB port anywhere. I have a 1GB version and it is awesome. You can use like a regular USB flash drive and save whatever from a computer, and the flip it to stick it in your camera and take pictures. SD is what you are most likely going to get.
After that we come to batteries. Rechargeable batteries are good because they last you MUCH longer but then you need to recharge them so they are not recommended if you plan on going to a world tour. A camera with AA batteries will wipe out your batteries like there is no tomorrow but they are universal and dispensable. You can buy them ANYWHERE in the world and replace them instantly. You don't have to wait for it recharge. Even if you don't actually take pictures, the batteries still get drained because of the lens movement and the giant LCD screens that cameras have today. 2.5" is the most common size for an LCD today.
After that we come to brand names. Kodak is known for ease of use. Panasonic is known for their anti-shaking technology. They have the best image stabilization than anyone else. Canon and Nikon are just awesome in terms of features and ease of use (like menu navigation). Canon and Nikon are the most popular. Sony is famous for their sleek, slim, and cool-looking designs (like the thin cybershot T-series). For durability (because you are butterfingers) go with Panasonic or the newer Canons because they use a metallic casing as opposed to a plastic casing so they are heavier but if you drop it...
So here is what I have (and may I remind you that I bought this last year when this camera was like the newest model). I have a CanonSD500 which is 5MP camera with an extra battery (Which I bought off of ebay for like a dollar, don't pay $40 for it at the store). I have the SanDisk high-speed SD+USB with 1GB capacity and a canon leather case. You don't want your lens or your giant LCD screen scratched your ruin. If you are going to spend $500 on a camera, then spend another $20 and get a decent bag.
As a general case, I recommend CanonSD600, 700, 630 or Panasonic FX01.
As for a good place to go to buy, go to either Circuit City or a BestBuy's around you because fry's salesmen are on commission and they will rip you off. Circuit City and Best Buy are not on commission anymore. Go to the store, play around with the cameras and then buy them. Fry's will have more variety then anybody else so if you really want to, go to circuit city to look at the cameras and then just buy it from fry's. I bought mine from circuit city. Other accessories, get them off ebay. You will get brand new factory sealed items for like 2% of the advertised price.
How's that for an answer???
I am sure this more than 1000 characters.
Feel free to contact me if you need anymore help.
What is a good amount of megapixels for a cheap video camera?
joe
Answer
Standard definition video at 4:3 aspect ratio is 640x480
Standard definition widescreen (16:9) aspect ratio is 854x480
High definition video (by standards definition) 16:9 is 1280x720 or 1920x1080
The second number is the horizontal row count and represents the video resolution that defines whether video is Standard definition or high definition. Quick Math:
640x480 = 307,200 = 1/3 of a megapixel
854x480 = 409,920 = less than 1/2 of a megapixel
1280x720 = 921,600 = less than 1 megapixel
1920x1080 = 2,073,600 = 2 megapixels
Below 480 horizontal lines is less than standard definition video. Above 1080 horizontal lines is "extra high definition" video.
"Megapixel count", as shown above, is NOT used for defining "video quality". Megapixel count is used as a still image measurement. The amount of compression applied to video has more to do with video quality. A low-end camera or video capture in a smartphone can give you 1080p video at very high compression. I can assure you that a low compression format (like DV/HDV) will provide much better video quality.
Next clarification: "cheap". In my book that means something that has little value, is poorly made and won't last long once you start using it. There are many instances of inexpensive, well made, products. Assuming you want the latter, we don't know what that means in relation to money. Video cameras range in price from about $80 to about $80,000. Even is we stay under $1,500 for consumer grade cameras, "inexpensive" can still mean $200.
If the lighting is good, any video camera can capture good video. At the low end, lenses and imaging chip are small making it impossible to have good low light video behavior - suggestion: always capture under bright, sunny, sunlight or good (studio grade) indoor lighting. As camcorders increase in price, the lenses and imaging chips get bigger and the low light behavior improves - but "good" lighting is still strongly suggested.
Audio is an important aspect of video. At the low end, really loud audio or really low audio will be problematic. As the camcorders increase in price, a mic jack and various levels of manual audio gain control are added.
If you can provide specific detail, we will be in a better position to provide you specific product recommendations. If you can't, the the easiest thing to do is to set a budget, see what fits and get it. Products from different manufacturers at around the same price point will provide basically the same level of video quality.
Standard definition video at 4:3 aspect ratio is 640x480
Standard definition widescreen (16:9) aspect ratio is 854x480
High definition video (by standards definition) 16:9 is 1280x720 or 1920x1080
The second number is the horizontal row count and represents the video resolution that defines whether video is Standard definition or high definition. Quick Math:
640x480 = 307,200 = 1/3 of a megapixel
854x480 = 409,920 = less than 1/2 of a megapixel
1280x720 = 921,600 = less than 1 megapixel
1920x1080 = 2,073,600 = 2 megapixels
Below 480 horizontal lines is less than standard definition video. Above 1080 horizontal lines is "extra high definition" video.
"Megapixel count", as shown above, is NOT used for defining "video quality". Megapixel count is used as a still image measurement. The amount of compression applied to video has more to do with video quality. A low-end camera or video capture in a smartphone can give you 1080p video at very high compression. I can assure you that a low compression format (like DV/HDV) will provide much better video quality.
Next clarification: "cheap". In my book that means something that has little value, is poorly made and won't last long once you start using it. There are many instances of inexpensive, well made, products. Assuming you want the latter, we don't know what that means in relation to money. Video cameras range in price from about $80 to about $80,000. Even is we stay under $1,500 for consumer grade cameras, "inexpensive" can still mean $200.
If the lighting is good, any video camera can capture good video. At the low end, lenses and imaging chip are small making it impossible to have good low light video behavior - suggestion: always capture under bright, sunny, sunlight or good (studio grade) indoor lighting. As camcorders increase in price, the lenses and imaging chips get bigger and the low light behavior improves - but "good" lighting is still strongly suggested.
Audio is an important aspect of video. At the low end, really loud audio or really low audio will be problematic. As the camcorders increase in price, a mic jack and various levels of manual audio gain control are added.
If you can provide specific detail, we will be in a better position to provide you specific product recommendations. If you can't, the the easiest thing to do is to set a budget, see what fits and get it. Products from different manufacturers at around the same price point will provide basically the same level of video quality.
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Title Post: which digital camera is the best?
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Author: Yukie
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Rating: 92% based on 9788 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Yukie
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
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