Digital Camera
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Eric, I'll recommend the camera series that I have used over the past 3 years - Sony's DSC-P??? series.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/S ... scp200.asp
(I too recommend the dpreview.com site, it aided in my decision to pick up a Canon 5D)I own the DSC-P100 and a friend of mine owns the DSC-P200 (with a underwater case). I'm a huge camera guy and I simply love this camera. The screen on the back isn't huge, but I like the form factor. I personally don't like the thinner cameras (that have a larger screen). Thinner cameras are harder to hold IMHO, though I understand why you would want to have a larger preview screen.
Check out my flickr account for some artsy fartsy hot rod picks I took on it:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/monsterz3r0/
(the B-17 pictures were taken on my Canon 5D) -
Eric,
I wouldn't totally give up on Kodak. I have
a Kodak EasyShare V705 7.1 Mega Pixel. I
find the Dual Lens very useful for taking
pics of building on streets, where you can't
get back far enough. The 24mm does the trick.Here is a link to the spec,
http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier. ... cale=en_USMike
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i have an olympus evolt e-500. it is a great digital SLR camera with a 14-55mm zoom lens, very well suited to architecture.
although i am quite happy with that, it is fair to mention that i came acroos many excellent reviews about the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, the same kind of camera.
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Thanks for all the suggestions.
Can someone comment on the speed of taking a picture after starting it up. The one I have literally takes 10-12 seconds before I can snap a picture. Then it is 5-6 seconds between photos.
Again, thanks.
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with my olympus there is almost no perceivable delay in both situations.
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My DSC-P100 starts up in a second, and shoots with no perceivable delay. Digital cameras these days are not as slow as you describe. Time to upgrade.
Some others are suggesting "full body" cameras. The series I suggested (which I think are discontinued having checked the sony site) are very nice point and shoot cameras. Put them in your pocket and go. It sounded like that's what you wanted. I love my full frame Canon 5D but it can be bothersome during those vacation/family gatherings.
The best thing to do is to go to your local best buy or camera store and try out the cameras - that's the only way to really get what you want (with regards to speed and feel).
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monsterzero, you are correct in that I want a point and shoot, hide it away camera for vacations. I am not going for pro photos here, I just want a better digital. Like I said above, the one I have was a gift and is about 6 years old. Definately time to upgrade.
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I recently purchased a Olympus Evolt 510 with the dual lens kit and really love it. It does start up fast and has "Live view". It is one of only a handful of DSlr's that use the LCD screen as a viewer. It is a great feature and really sold me for that reason. In addition it can preview aperature and f-stop settings in the lcd prior to taking the shot (or so it says, i have not got that far yet). It is a quite big but surprisingly it fits great in your hand. I purchased the body, 2 lenses and a bag for just over $1000. Well worth a look.
Scott
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After I buy a camera, I usually hole up and not look at cameras for a while. Since my last rig, the Canon 5D, cost me a pretty penny I've been holed up for a year.
Eric, you have stirred up the lens bug in me!
So what cameras are you thinking about? Tell us!
Here is another camera for the proverbial food for thought. It's a classy camera, for that cool architect in ya (not that you need any more coolness). It also has a 28mm wide lens.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/L ... _dlux3.asp
Their cheapest interchangeable lens variant is pretty cool too, but way too expensive and a little big for a snap cam.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/L ... gilux3.asp
Personally, I have a heard time recommending cameras over 500 bucks, if you're just using it for family snaps. Unless you're going to do oversize printing, or doing insane long lens photography, I couldn't justify the extra cost. Most people just do not see the difference in image quality. Plus, cameras get lost or broken all the time when traveling.
My next mini snap cam might have to be a Leica.
Oh, and I'd suggest that you order any camera from http://www.bhphotovideo.com. No tax outside NY. I buy ALL my camera stuff from them.
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@monsterzero said:
So what cameras are you thinking about? Tell us!
Oh, I am still getting info together.
My father has one that has a nice feature. You can add audio to a picture after shooting it. How neat is that.
Also, one feature he wishes his had that a friend of his got was a cord that plugs directly into your TV to show the pics. I want that in a camera. Easy way to impose your vacation on friends
Keep the suggestions coming and thanks monster.
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I have a Ricoh Caplio R4 and it's great for architecture with a wide angle 28mm lens but also goes up to 200mm or 7x zoom all in a very small pocketable size. It also starts almost instantly. Mine is about 2 years old and it's now up to the R7 model which has a few more refinements from my model including a slightly smaller size and better video. The R7 is just out but you can check user reviews of the R6 and older at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Ricoh/
Kenny
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In my continuing search I found this... 8O
160 million pix!
http://www.funniestgadgets.com/2007/01/26/160-million-pixel-digital-camera/
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Put wheels on the back and you can break out some railslides.
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I have the panasonic DMC-TZ1
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/06021 ... nictz1.aspIt has some great features like
1 a real lense
2 fast start up and auto focus
3 powerful optical zoom
4 'anti shakey' modePlus its very durable, i carry it around with just a lense cap in my briefcase and it has held up on the jobsite for almost a year now.
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@kenny said:
I have a Ricoh Caplio R4 and it's great for architecture with a wide angle 28mm lens but also goes up to 200mm or 7x zoom all in a very small pocketable size. It also starts almost instantly. Mine is about 2 years old and it's now up to the R7 model which has a few more refinements from my model including a slightly smaller size and better video. The R7 is just out but you can check user reviews of the R6 and older at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Ricoh/
Kenny
My collegue has the R5 and is very pleased with it.
I may go for the R7 myself when I replace mine in the next few months.Got to have 28mm on my next camera!
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After spending hours on dpreview.com (I too cast my vote for it being the best camera review site) I ended up with the Sony Cybershot DSC-H1.
These were my goals:
-camera that could take reasonably high quality manual pics
-easy point and shoot with decent output (my wife demanded this)
-video clips with sound
-large screen
-ability to add wide-angle lens for interior pics
-under $500I have had it for about 2 years and I love this camera, my business partner and my brother both bought it after seeing what it was capable of. It does have a cable that can connect to any TV with RCA jacks (which is almost all). It has a fast ready time as well. It would be worth checking it out.
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Thanks again all. I still have not made a decision and we leave in 10 days.
I'd better get crackin'
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Ok, I have actually started to look seriously now and this is where I am:
One main factor has limited my choices so far, memory.
I have 3 SD memory cards and do not want to start buying XD or MemoryStick or whatever.
This cuts Sony, Fuji and Olympus out of my search.
However Nikon, Kodak, Canon, Lecia, Ricoh, Panasonic... are fair game.
Lecia and Ricoh… I cannot find locally.
Again, I have a Kodak and do not like it that much.I have tenatively narrowed it down to 3. All of which I can get at the local Costco.
Kodak V1003
$169
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/K ... _v1003.asp
The only reason I am considering this one is it has 10 Megapixels. How much better will this be than 7MP? Or will it just eat up storage space faster.
Opinions please.Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3
$319
Not on dpreview bur found here:
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panas ... ndex.shtml
The benefit I see with this one is the 28mm lens.
However 2 of the 3 demo’s I have seen in stores, the built in lens cover was partially open; broken.
This has not set well in my mind.Panasonic Lumix DMC FX12
$199
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/P ... mcfx12.asp
Other than the lens size, what is the difference in this and the DMC-TZ3?Thanks for any more info.
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Before I read your reply I didn't know that Panasonic had came out with the next DMC, the TZ3. I can speak to the durability of the TZ1, which i have, its real rugged for a camera. many times at work when I'm documenting a project I'll just put the lens cover on and throw it in my tool belt and it has suffered no ill affects. Good camera in my opinion and Im sure that goes for the TZ3 as well but now you got me thinking about the TZ3. Thanks
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Have you made a decision yet? If it were me I would go for the TZ3. You might have just been unlucky with the samples but it is meant to have good build quality. The clincher for me would be the zoom range which should cater for most eventualities and in particular the wide angle. If you photograph buildings or street scenes you will realy appreciate this. Here is a link to the Panasonic cameras on DPReview, scroll down to the TZ3 and it has lots of user reviews as well as DP official review http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Panasonic/
Regards the Kodak and megapixels, from what I have read on the DPReview forums, increasing megapixels is very much a marketing scam. All that is happening is that too many megapixels are being crammed on the same small sensors resulting in noisey images as well as large file sizes. I have a 5 year old 5MP Pentax 6MP Ricoh and both print out great A3 size photos. Finally the only benefit of the FX12 over the TZ3 is the smaller size but it is only a 3x zoom and not a wide angle. If compact size is an issue, the new Panasonic FX33 does have a very small size and a wide angle.
Good luck with the decision!
Kenny
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