Re: Can anyone recommend a good digital camera?

• From: fb <fb@xxxxxxxxxxx>
• Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2005 12:01:22 -0800

On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 18:29:24 +0000, Carrie wrote
(in article <#Ai#z7WDGHA.2820@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>):

Or maybe warn me about one that's not so good?

I think (at last) I am going to have a chance to get better equipment
(thanks to the offer of a loan) which I've been wanting, to do more with
computer graphics/desktop publishing. Right now I'm mainly still learning
and practicing, setting up flyers, business cards, etc. for people (that I
know) "for the practice" (and they buy the supplies)

I know this is a Publisher group, but assume many of you probably have a
good digital camera and have had some, and know about them?

 Right now I have a (bought used last year) Epson 750Z, which is better
than the one I had before, but still has limitations and doesn't always work
good (reliably). I have an idea it's not just the megapixels (mine has 1.9)
but the lens quality that matters. I know people who have cameras with more
megapixels (Kodak EasyShare is one) but I think my camera takes better,
clearer pictures.

 I'd like to take pictures that can be enlarged- not so much for me, but
I've seen people selling CDs of pictures, and I live in a scenic area (VT)
Also, screensavers, which I can make, but my camera now doesn't enlarge good
on big monitors. Also, I want to print my own notecards, taking advantage of
this being a tourist area. (also selling on ebay).

  Not sure about price range, thinking around $500-600. Or maybe a 1-2 year
old more expensive when new camera? But, if a camera is being sold after a
year or so, why?

   I can find all kinds of websites that compare cameras, but someone who
actually has or has had one knows more about it. My daughter has a $500 Sony
Mavica that uses little cds and does NOT like it. I thought those where one
of the best. A lot of the time the cds don't work, and she says it's slow
(unless there's something in the huge booklet of directions she missed).
I've seen one on TV a Canon SLR - digital. But, just because something is on
a TV commercial doesn't make it great.

    I'd like something with enough megapixels, but also a  good lens, as I
said I think this is very important, too. I've had regular 35mm SLRs in the
past and some of them that seemed popular or known name (and cost quite a
lot) didn't seem as good as I thought they would. The best camera I ever had
was an old WW2 Exacta SLR. At one point it broke and I gave it away- later
realized I could have kept the lens and bought a body to put that on.

    I just need some leads on what to start looking for, (there are so many
cameras and brands, models, etc!) so if this works out.... I can then get
into computers, printers, scanners, etc. to go with it.

  Thanks,
    Carrie

Canon or Nikon, no question. Oh and if you're going to be serious about graphic design/DTP you'll be wanting a Mac running Photoshop/InDesign/Illustrator. Don't even contemplate putting CS2 on a PC - it's a headache you just don't want.

Ignore anyone who tries to tell otherwise - serious graphic designers use Macs, end of story. Why? It's simple - they're far more reliable. No BSODs (OK, they do have an equivalent - called a kernel panic, but they're rarer than hen's teeth - I've had one in six months of Mac ownership - had it, repaired permissions, that was it. Nothing since. Used to have a BSOD at least once a fortnight).

Whilst I wouldn't say that Macs were indestructible - they're certainly more robust than PCs - and most stuff you plug in and that's it - no drivers. The only thing I needed a driver for was my scanner - nothing else. I also didn't need to configure my network - it just worked as soon as I plugged in the cable.

Each to their own, but I only managed to get anything serious done when I switched.

Oh and they don't overheat (well, not to the extent that PeeCees do at least). Why? There's nothing in 'em. There is one cable from the PSU to the logic board, that's it; The cables for the hard drives are just 4" long and the drives just slide in - no screws. The other reason is that the high-end Power Macs are partially liquid cooled.

The new ones can also handle 16GB RAM (I don't think there's a PeeCee out there that can take more than 8).

No, I can't use Publisher anymore it's true and, in the beginning, I did miss it, but it was the perfect excuse to learn how to use InDesign and Illustrator (quite a steep learning curve it has to be said).

For the OP, I personally recommend the Canon S80.
Happy New Year!
Frank
.

• References:
  • Can anyone recommend a good digital camera?
    • From: Carrie
  • Re: Can anyone recommend a good digital camera?
    • From: Margolotta

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