Any advice re digital cameras?

[Skunk]

The only thing I have noticed with the 300D is the lense that comes in there "kit" is rather poor. Seems to be just whatever they had lying around that would at least allow the camera to be used straight off the shelf. Once the lense has been changed it is a great camera, but will take alot of fiddling to get the shots just how you want them. The RAW format shots are amazing, for a now $1400 camera I think you'd be hard pressed to beat it.

Very true. The D70 kit isn't much better (friend got the kit but swapped out the lens). But for the price they are good deals.

[NordieBoy]

Another Fuji S602z user here.
But I still have my 1999 vintage Sony FD-95 for when I just have to have 14x optical zoom and am doing action shots

[Krusti]

Or...I have a Canon G1..has been a good digi but for our Sth Is trip I used my SLR and got pics on CD when developed. Digital is good but I missed the quality of normal 35mm pics.

[vifferman]

Wow! Lots of good advice here.

I don't have much to add, except write down your priorities, and then see what's available that matches them, and see what you're prepared to sacrifice for cost or convenience. Like if you want photo-quality images, you'll need 6 megapixels at least, but need more storage. Plus bigger images are hard to send over the interweb. If you want a really good quality camera, then you may have to sacrifice compactness to some degree.

Take a look too at usability - some cameras have stupid features that you don't think about before you use them for a while. F'rinstance - fiddly knobs/switches, need rechargeable batteries, memory cards are proprietary and expensive, etc.
My sister-in-law recently bought a Sony better'n mine, and at first I thought, "Wow! This is a great camera." But there are some dumb features: the flash is a popup one, and is right where you would normally put your fingers when holding it... Not something you'd think of in the shop.

I have a Canon EOS1000FN SLR (non-digital), so if I bought another camera, I'd get a Canon of some sort so I could use the lenses with it. There are some 'older' model Canons for sale at $1200-$1500 now, so I'd love to get one - they used to be anything up to $6K when they first came out.

FWIW, I bought a 100-300 zoom at Cash Converters for stuff all, so cameras with interchangable lenses don't have to be expensive. There's HEAPS of stuff for sale secondhand, both digital and conventional.

My digital is a Sony - my wife listened to what I said I wanted in a digital camera, and bought it for me duty free after I told her not to buy me anything overseas.
It's waaaay outdated now, but still meets my criteria: it's compact, so I can stick it in my jacket pocket when we go for a ride; it has 3X optical zoom; it is very easy to use; the resolution isn't super-duper high, so the images don't require heaps of memory; if you turn the screen off to save battery life, the viewer shows exactly what the photo will look like even when zoomed; the lithium battery lasts for ages, and to recharge it is very simple and quick. Downsides: the memory sticks are expensive, resolution is low c.f. what's available now for less money, the viewscreen is a bit small.

[Skunk]

Like if you want photo-quality images, you'll need 6 megapixels at least,

6MP! That should be good for A3 prints IMHO.
I think 4MP is good enough for *most* uses, but there is no harm in getting more MP.
Of course you will need more storage...

[vifferman]

6MP! That should be good for A3 prints IMHO.
I think 4MP is good enough for *most* uses, but there is no harm in getting more MP.
Of course you will need more storage...

It was just a guess...
I was talking really good photo quality. Plus my son (who knows everything, and has a brain the size of the Moon) says that from a software point of view, you just can't physically render colours properly with an image size of 4 megapixels, as some shortcuts are taken with storing the information.

[Lou Girardin]

I've got a Fuji S5000, now superseded by the S5500. 4 meg, 10x zoom, very good battery life. It's just a little large, definitely not a pocket camera. Quite cheap now too. I got mine from Parallel Imported.

[Skunk]

...says that from a software point of view, you just can't physically render colours properly with an image size of 4 megapixels, as some shortcuts are taken with storing the information.

Aaah, that has more to do with the jpg compression. The MP has nothing to do with it. The cheaper cameras can tend towards heavier compression.

The RAW format has zero compression and 16 bit colour depth. 8 bit colour depth is normal for most printing processes.

Unless the compression is high the colours will not be affected too much.
The images are stored in RGB which has a wide gamut too.

Just thinking... maybe he means that a 'cheap' CCD is more likely to be used?

[FEINT]

Very true. The D70 kit isn't much better (friend got the kit but swapped out the lens). But for the price they are good deals.

The D70 is a very well priced package! I am using the D70 with a Nikkor 18-70mm lens and also a 70-300mm lens.

SLR's will never be CONVENIENT where you can fit them in your purse / bag etc... THere are quite a few cameras out there, but with 10X zoom, you are really cutting down your choices.

Another thing to look at is response / speed of the camera. Most cameras will LAG. Which is annoying if you are buying the camera for taking photos of motorbikes hooning

hope that helps.!

[LB]

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Thanks for all the feedback guys'n gals. Much appreciated.

www.dpreview.com is a great site - recommend it to anyone who's looking at getting a digital, particularly if like me you don't know much (anything!!) about them.

We've bitten the bullet and bought the Panasonic FZ20. Have charged the battery and we're now playing with it (even as I speak, at this early hour of the morning, Hamish is sitting in the lounge with me, with regular "beeps" coming from the camera as he fiddles with it!!)

We decided that smallness wasn't an issue.

Got a really good deal from Wellington Photographic Supplies in Vivian Street - $999 which included a 256 card and a swish camera bag that fits all the accessories in as well as the camera. Big ups for WPS - they were really helpful. (RRP is $1299)

It's got a 12x optical zoom, and 5mp. HEAPS of features that we'll have to figure out how to use, but it also does "point and shoot".

Curious George: I may well contact you at some stage to discuss finer details - thanks for the offer.

Jim2: I got the special lens version with the laser etching.

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[curious george]

w00t! Good choice of camera!
I'm away at Taupo this weekend, but http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/ and http://www.users.bigpond.com/vkelim/DMCFZ10/index.html and http://www.dcresource.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=26 are some further links if you have any questions.
For the FZ10, read FZ20. There is not a lot of difference between the two.
I can gt spare batteries for about $30, UV filters for about $20 and http://www.photo.co.nz is another local shop to consider filters from.
The Marumi seem pretty good value imho.
Look forward to some pics!

[merv]

So now Lynda it will be you posting pics of us on KB instead of just us embarrassing you.

[wkid_one]

Ijust bought Dimage Z3 this weekend - much the same camera