Digital Cameras...

[daniilzol]

1. Shutter delay is usually minimal (less than half a second), it's the autofocus that usually kills you. 2. Before buying or asking for advice you should also indicate if you want slim compact camera or you are willing to live with the size of Panasonic Lumix FZ5 or Canon PowerShot S5 IS. 3. Price range?

[Chris Losinger]

any of the Canon SDs should be sufficient for taking pictures of flushable things

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[Bert delaVega]

Depends on what you're looking for. If it's an SLR replacement, then you also need to consider accessories. I'm partial to Nikon only because they've always been reliable, rugged and have tons of addons for specific conditions. For just a snapshot camera, I'd look at the Canon Elf's. They have all the features you're looking for and they're very small. I got one for my wife and we use it constantly since it's handy (you can stick in in your pocket or purse). It's also been really reliable.

[Diego Moita]

Check DP review[^] They have a buying guide section where you can select the features you want and it gives you back recommendations. It looks like you want something very simple, not a highly customizable SLR Canon or Nikon.

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[Frank Kerrigan]

code-frog wrote:

We take pictures of things I won't describe with Katie (flushable things) and we use them to take contrast pictures of how much she eats start plate vs. end plate.

yuurrhh...... X|

Grady Booch: I told Google to their face...what you need is some serious adult supervision. (2007 Turing lecture) http://www.frankkerrigan.com/[^]

[Minosknight]

I JUST bought a new digital camera, I looked at allllll the cannons. As well as almost every other brand, I was most impressed with Pentax. Most of there models have everything you want and more. I just don't know your price range. I got a fully loaded one with all sorts of whistles and bells for around 400$

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[JimmyRopes]

If you are looking for a small (pocket size) camera one consideration is the type of battery it uses. Some use readily available batteries (AAA | AA). You can keep a supply of rechargeable batteries for normal use but still be able to get a quick replacement at many stores if you are traveling and run down the batteries you have with you.

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[daniilzol]

You'd have to check if you can use rechargeable batteries first though. Certain HP cameras in the past used to die when powered by rechargeable batteries for long periods of time. I don't know if this is still the case with new cameras, but better check first than be sorry later.

[Prakash Nadar]

stay away from olumpus,their autofocus sucks (checked in 3 different versions) Sony Cybershot series are good cameras too. Look for scenes that most of the camera now a days support, like night mode, indoor, etc, etc.

[realJSOP]

Whatever you buy, make sure it's a Canon. They have OUT-F***ING-STANDING customer service.

"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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[JimmyRopes]

Good point. I didn't realize that it was an issue.

JazzJackRabbit wrote:

Certain HP cameras in the past used to die when powered by rechargeable batteries for long periods of time.

I have a rather old (7 year old) Fuji that has been working fine on rechargeable batteries (AA) and being able to buy them at places like an amusement park has saved the day. That is why I made the observation but it doesn't mean that all digital cameras will work with them.

Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes

[Chris Maunder]

I've got one of these[^] and love it. Any of the latest Canon powershots will do what you want.

cheers, Chris Maunder

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[Nish Nishant]

I'd recommend that you go to a store and try out all the cameras - different people take to different cameras :-)

Regards, Nish

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[Nish Nishant]

Chris Maunder wrote:

I've got one of these[^] and love it. Any of the latest Canon powershots will do what you want.

Wow Chris. You don't use that giant camera anymore? Decided to go down to amateur level again?

Regards, Nish

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Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link

[Chris Maunder]

My new canon powershot takes pic nearly as good as my D10, is customisable, has amazing battery life, has image stabilisation, is higher res, weighs about 1/10 of the size and fits in the back pocket of my jersey. That's something a D10 can't do. Plus, when I came off the bike a few weeks ago I wasn't worried about breaking it. A few scratches but the thing is bullet proof.

cheers, Chris Maunder

CodeProject.com : C++ MVP

[StevenWalsh]

JazzJackRabbit wrote:

Shutter delay is usually minimal (less than half a second), it's the autofocus that usually kills you.

or you can use a manual apature. Just remember the higher your F-Stop the longer the shutter is going to need to be open. It'll also affect your focus though... but with people you usually don't need that much detail, so F-5.6 is typically more then suffecient. If i remember correctly (its been about 4 years since i've used a camera) that should be 1/32 shutter speed (in average conditions, and average filmspeed assuming your digital camera allows you to emulate film speed). Please correct me if i'm wrong... i don't remember.

[Roger Wright]

I've had three digis so far. The first, a Polaroid, would better be described as a hemorrhoid. It was obvious from the start that Polaroid has no interest in being a serious contender in the digital arena. Not a big deal, really, since they've never built first rate cameras, they just had the patent on instant developing. The second was a Nikon Coolpix 4500 - a very sweet camera. The unit is light, resolution is excellent. On the flip side, though, the lens is tiny, screw-on lens adapters and filters are expensive and progressively reduce the field of view, the low-light performance sucks, shutter delay almost guarantees that the cute shot you try for will always be missed*, and the autofocus doesn't work worth a damn in anything less than bright lighting. *It does have a rapid sequence mode that allows continuous high speed shooting until the memory runs out, and I've used that for action shots. Usually one or two out of 50 frames will catch a usable view. The current camera is an Olympus E-500, the only DSLR in the lot. It has excellent performance overall, great image quality, a full range of setting options (if you can find them), and a wide assortment of accessories and lenses available. Once you've made the jump to SLR, though, there's no going back. It's almost a perfect WYSIWYG experience. Drawbacks: Color balance in low light is poor, but correctable with WB/EV compensation, and it does offer bracketing. Filters are also available and affordable, if you use third party sources. Lens options are plentiful, but far more expensive than any piece of glass is worth; that's true of all brands, though. Shutter delay is rarely a problem, as it is very fast and responsive. But the autofocus under low-light conditions is also sub-par by my definition. That seems to be a universal problem with digis though. The dynamic range of the sensor technology is getting better, but it still has a long way to go to match the performance of film cameras in the AF function. The battery life varies. I frequently ran out of battery before the memory was full using the Nikon. I have yet to run down the battery during a shoot with the Olympus, and it has 4x the memory of the Nikon. It also recharges in a very short time; I can shoot all morning, transfer the full memory and charge the battery, and be back shooting after lunch. All in all, a very nice camera, and more than adequate quality. The newer versions are even better, but they're expensive and possibly overkill for your use. Still, it's nice

[Member 96]

I've found a good all around camera that is poised on the threshold of an slr but isn't is the Canon A640. Any Canon is a good investment though. Personally I went camera hunting big time a few months back and I really couldn't see any reason to buy any other brand based on all the research I did. As with all digital camera shopping, Flickr.com is your friend as you can search by camera brand and model and see thousands of actual pictures take with it. And of course dpreview.com for the technical details.

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[David Crow]

JazzJackRabbit wrote:

Certain HP cameras in the past used to die when powered by rechargeable batteries for long periods of time.

I've had an HP DX4330 for many years now and it's still going strong with the same battery. It's even been dropped a few times!

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[RoswellNX]

Prakash. wrote:

Sony Cybershot series are good cameras too.

I agree. I've had my DSC-S75 for six years now and it's a great camera in terms of design, with the controls within easy reach and it isn't missing any features. I can usually live without the RAW format support or an interchangeable lens, since i don't really require either for work or play. It does have an option to save pictures as TIFF instead, which is relatively uncompressed, but it takes a full 20 seconds to write that to memory stick - i wonder if that's determined by BUS speed or the media, since i can probably get a newer memory stick if that helps any. The only drawback is Sony's typical problem, a defective sensor, but i've been lucky that it hasn't failed completely. I may end up replacing the sensor, since the rest of the camera is well built and can last for years more, even if i decide to upgrade. Roswell

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