Totally OT -advice on digital camera purchase

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in article [email protected], Simon Barr at [email protected] wrote
on 29/10/04 9:17 am:

> In article <BDA7300A.11F98%[email protected]>, Nikki Cluley wrote:
>> Any recomendations? £250-£300 max and must be compatible with a Mac.
>
> I've got a Fuji S602zoom and I think it's fantastic, does everything I want.
> It uses a 340MB IBM microdrive for storage and as long as you can use USB or
> have a card reader on the Mac it'll probably work.

Only got USB on the mac and have an inbuilt card reader on the printer.
>
> It's been superseded now but I should think that current Fuji models are
> similar. You can do point and click or have everything on manual if you
> like. 6x optical zoom as well.
>
> For lots of choice take a look at
>
> www.digitaldepot.co.uk
>
Will also have a look at this link.
--
Nikki

1990 Discovery V8i
1985 Range Rover V8
1975 88" Series III 2.25 petrol
1979 Series III Lightweight 2.25 petrol

 
in article [email protected], Tim Hobbs at
[email protected] wrote on 29/10/04 9:41 am:

> On Thu, 28 Oct 2004 23:23:54 +0100, Nikki Cluley
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Any recomendations? £250-£300 max and must be compatible with a Mac.
>
> I would look at
>
> www.dpreview.com
>
> and then buy from www.pixmania.com

I think thats where we got the camcorder from.
>
> I have a fairly old Sony 'big brick' 4MP job, and it is great if a
> little slow shutter wise. Battery life is particularly good.
>
> Mandy has a tiny Casio 2MP job, which is great as it is always in her
> handbag and ready to go.
>
> The smaller they are, the more likely they are to break IME.
>
> I know very little about Macs, but presume you can get a media card
> reader for them, in which case just about any camera will work with
> it.
Got one on the Epson printer.

--
Nikki

1990 Discovery V8i
1985 Range Rover V8
1975 88" Series III 2.25 petrol
1979 Series III Lightweight 2.25 petrol

 
in article [email protected], "David G. Bell" at
[email protected] wrote on 29/10/04 11:53 am:

> On Friday, in article
> <[email protected]>
> [email protected] "Mr.Nice." wrote:
>
>> Twas Thu, 28 Oct 2004 23:23:54 +0100 when Nikki Cluley
>> <[email protected]> put finger to keyboard producing:
>>
>>> Any recomendations? £250-£300 max and must be compatible with a Mac.
>>
>> For that money I'd look at a fuji, maybe S602.
>> I personally don't like fuji as they have problems with accurate
>> colour reproduction, probably not an issue for most people but
>> photography is what I do.
>> My personal reccomendation would be to get an olympus C-750 UZ second
>> hand, and as big a memory card as you can afford. (128 is a sensible
>> size to aim for).
>> As long as your Mac OS is a fairly recent one you'll not have any
>> compatability issues, macs are very common in the photography world
>> and camera manufacturers know this.
>
> It's worth checking on what type of memory cards are being used in new
> kit, and the current memory card prices, as some of the cheaper cameras
> use rather expensive memory cards. Mine uses Compact Flash, which goes
> up to pretty huge sizes, but unless you are dealing with really high-
> resolution cameras I wouldn't bother with more than 512MB. You can do a
> quick burn to CD-R without having to do any selection.
>
> It's also worth checking what types of card those digital print booths
> at Boots can take.
>
> Memory cards, of all types, tend to be expensive on the High Street. Go
> for an Internet supplier -- I've been well-satisfied by www.7dayshop.com
>
> If you do invest in more than one card, get a case. I have a nice
> aluminium one, about the size of a fag packet. Many of the cards are a
> bit small and easy to lose. Small in the camera, or other gadget (check
> what PDAs use too) is good. Small in your pocket-fluff is bad.
>
> Memory card choice is a long way from being everything, but if you at
> least check what a mobile phone or other gadget might use, you've a
> chance of not having to spend on multiple formats.
>
> And having a memory card reader, rather than relying on a cable between
> camera and computer, is good. For one thing, it doesn't drain the
> camera battery. For another, it may not need any special software on
> the computer.
>
>
>
>
Thanks for the advice.
--
Nikki

1990 Discovery V8i
1985 Range Rover V8
1975 88" Series III 2.25 petrol
1979 Series III Lightweight 2.25 petrol

 
in article [email protected], Nigel at
[email protected] wrote on 29/10/04 1:56 pm:

> Nikki Cluley wrote:
>> Any recomendations? £250-£300 max and must be compatible with a Mac.
>
> As well as what everyone else says, its worth thinking about the batteries.
> Digital cameras eat batteries, get a camera that takes AA batteries, that
> way if you are ever out and about and run out of power you can just replace
> the batteries rather than trying to find a power outlet and the time to
> recharge the cameras own batteries.
> And of course get some rechargables. Make sure you read the 'mAh' of the
> battery, try and get ones as high as possible, 2000mAh or somewhere around
> there.

Sounds sensible. I had a mobile phone once that you could do the same with.
Bruce has got this charger that I bought from innovations that charges up
ordinary AA batteries.
--
Nikki

1990 Discovery V8i
1985 Range Rover V8
1975 88" Series III 2.25 petrol
1979 Series III Lightweight 2.25 petrol

 
in article [email protected], Mr.Nice. at
[email protected] wrote on 29/10/04 3:30 pm:

> Twas Fri, 29 Oct 2004 14:04:51 GMT when "Alun P"
> <alun.priddle@NOSPAMblueyonderDOTcoDOTuk> put finger to keyboard
> producing:
>
>>
>> "Nikki Cluley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:BDA7300A.11F98%[email protected]...
>>> Any recomendations? £250-£300 max and must be compatible with a Mac.
>>
>> I bought a Fuji S500 last year and I must say i am very pleased with the
>> results, as simple point and click or as complex as you want it with all
>> sorts of controls you find on a 35mm.
>> 128Mb memory and away i go. 20x zoom, (10x optical)
>>
>> Highly recommended
>>
>> AlunP
>
> worth noting that optical zoom is a true zoom, digital zoom simply
> crops the image to the centre thus reducing the quality.
> the common rule is never to use the digital zoom, you can get the same
> effect editing later.
>
>
> Regards.
> Mark.(AKA, Mr.Nice.)

That's why I switched it off on the camcorder, which does take stills, which
are OK if you don't want to enlarge them or take any photos as its getting
dark.
--
Nikki

1990 Discovery V8i
1985 Range Rover V8
1975 88" Series III 2.25 petrol
1979 Series III Lightweight 2.25 petrol

 
in article [email protected], hugh at hugh@[127.0.0.1]
wrote on 29/10/04 7:22 pm:

> In message <BDA7300A.11F98%[email protected]>, Nikki Cluley
> <[email protected]> writes
>> Any recomendations? £250-£300 max and must be compatible with a Mac.
> Canon - gives you the option of point and click or control the settings
> yourself. Also will take additional lenses.

Going to have a look at websites you've all mentioned. Thanks for all the
advice. Will let you know what I get...once I've decided - might be next
year!
--
Nikki

1990 Discovery V8i
1985 Range Rover V8
1975 88" Series III 2.25 petrol
1979 Series III Lightweight 2.25 petrol

 
On or around Sat, 30 Oct 2004 00:32:59 +0100, Nikki Cluley
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>in article [email protected], Nigel at
>[email protected] wrote on 29/10/04 1:56 pm:
>
>> Nikki Cluley wrote:
>>> Any recomendations? £250-£300 max and must be compatible with a Mac.
>>
>> As well as what everyone else says, its worth thinking about the batteries.
>> Digital cameras eat batteries, get a camera that takes AA batteries, that
>> way if you are ever out and about and run out of power you can just replace
>> the batteries rather than trying to find a power outlet and the time to
>> recharge the cameras own batteries.
>> And of course get some rechargables. Make sure you read the 'mAh' of the
>> battery, try and get ones as high as possible, 2000mAh or somewhere around
>> there.
>
>Sounds sensible. I had a mobile phone once that you could do the same with.
>Bruce has got this charger that I bought from innovations that charges up
>ordinary AA batteries.

experience with digicams is that you really do want NiMHs in 'em. Alkalines
in the fuji were a waste of time - unless of course you have a whole lot of
other stuff which can use the part-used batteries.
 
On or around Sat, 30 Oct 2004 00:39:27 +0100, Nikki Cluley
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>in article [email protected], hugh at hugh@[127.0.0.1]
>wrote on 29/10/04 7:22 pm:
>
>> In message <BDA7300A.11F98%[email protected]>, Nikki Cluley
>> <[email protected]> writes
>>> Any recomendations? £250-£300 max and must be compatible with a Mac.
>> Canon - gives you the option of point and click or control the settings
>> yourself. Also will take additional lenses.
>
>Going to have a look at websites you've all mentioned. Thanks for all the
>advice. Will let you know what I get...once I've decided - might be next
>year!

there'll be a whole crop of new cameras next yer, mind. new minolta SLR
thing looks nice...but they reckon it's gonna sell in the US for about 1600
bucks just for the body.


FWIW, my thinking on going for an olympus was that olympus, being camera
makers of some repute, ought to know how to make a lens.

it's S/H mainly 'cos I can't afford a new one.
 
So Nikki Cluley was, like

>
> Only got USB on the mac and have an inbuilt card reader on the
> printer.

The card reader on our printer (HP Photosmart 1000) only accepts certain
cards, and not the Compact Flash the Nikon uses, and it's also fantastically
slow. We got a universal card reader (this one made by Lexar, but there are
many others) for around 50GBP, which attaches via USB. It reads every card
we have and a lot we don't and is very fast - when you're working with
images up to 6MB this makes a lot of difference. Simple to use - once the
card is in the reader, Windoze reads it as just another disk. Well worth
it, IMO.

--

Rich

Nullum Gratuitum Prandium


 
So Austin Shackles was, like

> FWIW, my thinking on going for an olympus was that olympus, being
> camera makers of some repute, ought to know how to make a lens.

My first digital camera was an Olympus. Even though it was only 1.3
megawhatsits, it took pictures better than some cameras with twice the
resolution. In the end I reckoned it was just that it had a a very good
lens. Got rid of it when I went to digital SLR, but I would recommend the
make for lens quality and general usefulness.

--

Rich

Nullum Gratuitum Prandium


 
in article [email protected], Austin Shackles at
[email protected] wrote on 30/10/04 9:00 am:

> On or around Sat, 30 Oct 2004 00:32:59 +0100, Nikki Cluley
> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>
>> in article [email protected], Nigel at
>> [email protected] wrote on 29/10/04 1:56 pm:
>>
>>> Nikki Cluley wrote:
>>>> Any recomendations? £250-£300 max and must be compatible with a Mac.
>>>
>>> As well as what everyone else says, its worth thinking about the batteries.
>>> Digital cameras eat batteries, get a camera that takes AA batteries, that
>>> way if you are ever out and about and run out of power you can just replace
>>> the batteries rather than trying to find a power outlet and the time to
>>> recharge the cameras own batteries.
>>> And of course get some rechargables. Make sure you read the 'mAh' of the
>>> battery, try and get ones as high as possible, 2000mAh or somewhere around
>>> there.
>>
>> Sounds sensible. I had a mobile phone once that you could do the same with.
>> Bruce has got this charger that I bought from innovations that charges up
>> ordinary AA batteries.
>
> experience with digicams is that you really do want NiMHs in 'em. Alkalines
> in the fuji were a waste of time - unless of course you have a whole lot of
> other stuff which can use the part-used batteries.

This charger charges the part used batteries. Also tells you what life they
have left in them. As long as they don't go down below 1.25ish they charge
up to 1.5 pretty quick - handy for the Gameboy and some of Isaacs remote
control vehicles. Does AAA upto D size battery.
--
Nikki

1990 Discovery V8i
1985 Range Rover V8
1975 88" Series III 2.25 petrol
1979 Series III Lightweight 2.25 petrol

 
in article [email protected], Austin Shackles at
[email protected] wrote on 30/10/04 9:02 am:

> On or around Sat, 30 Oct 2004 00:39:27 +0100, Nikki Cluley
> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>
>> in article [email protected], hugh at hugh@[127.0.0.1]
>> wrote on 29/10/04 7:22 pm:
>>
>>> In message <BDA7300A.11F98%[email protected]>, Nikki Cluley
>>> <[email protected]> writes
>>>> Any recomendations? £250-£300 max and must be compatible with a Mac.
>>> Canon - gives you the option of point and click or control the settings
>>> yourself. Also will take additional lenses.
>>
>> Going to have a look at websites you've all mentioned. Thanks for all the
>> advice. Will let you know what I get...once I've decided - might be next
>> year!
>
> there'll be a whole crop of new cameras next yer, mind. new minolta SLR
> thing looks nice...but they reckon it's gonna sell in the US for about 1600
> bucks just for the body.

Great - it will take even longer to make up my mind!
>
>
> FWIW, my thinking on going for an olympus was that olympus, being camera
> makers of some repute, ought to know how to make a lens.
>
> it's S/H mainly 'cos I can't afford a new one.

I like second hand - especially if its a bargain!
--
Nikki

1990 Discovery V8i
1985 Range Rover V8
1975 88" Series III 2.25 petrol
1979 Series III Lightweight 2.25 petrol

 

"Richard Brookman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> So Austin Shackles was, like
>
> > FWIW, my thinking on going for an olympus was that olympus, being
> > camera makers of some repute, ought to know how to make a lens.
>
> My first digital camera was an Olympus. Even though it was only 1.3
> megawhatsits, it took pictures better than some cameras with twice the
> resolution. In the end I reckoned it was just that it had a a very good
> lens. Got rid of it when I went to digital SLR, but I would recommend the
> make for lens quality and general usefulness.

I'd have to agree that if you can going to DSLR is the best way forward.
Okay, parting with a simlar amount of bunce to buying a new exhaust system
with Cats for the rangie, or a replacement transfer box was a huge leap of
faith, but the results are well worth it.

I went for a Nikon D70 with the 18-79 lens (just under £800 for those bits)
and then added a 120-300 lense (2nd hand) and that seems to work well for
me. OKay, so my wallet is lighter by just under a grand - but the biggest
problem with digital camera's I found was always the lens, not the camera
res - so by going DSLR I think I get the best of both worlds.

At the moment I am still very much in the honeymoon phase (4 months in) and
still take too many photos - on the principle that the more I take at
different settings at the moment then I can learn what makes a good shot.
On the +ve though i've learned a lot about photography, and also added a old
(its older than me!) SLR with similar lenses to compare results.

Si



 
in article [email protected], Richard Brookman at
[email protected] wrote on 30/10/04 12:10 pm:

> So Nikki Cluley was, like
>
>>
>> Only got USB on the mac and have an inbuilt card reader on the
>> printer.
>
> The card reader on our printer (HP Photosmart 1000) only accepts certain
> cards, and not the Compact Flash the Nikon uses, and it's also fantastically
> slow. We got a universal card reader (this one made by Lexar, but there are
> many others) for around 50GBP, which attaches via USB. It reads every card
> we have and a lot we don't and is very fast - when you're working with
> images up to 6MB this makes a lot of difference. Simple to use - once the
> card is in the reader, Windoze reads it as just another disk. Well worth
> it, IMO.

Ours does CF,SD/MS PRO, XD AND SM. I've got a multicard reader
too(somewhere). Got it free with the camcorder.
--
Nikki

1990 Discovery V8i
1985 Range Rover V8
1975 88" Series III 2.25 petrol
1979 Series III Lightweight 2.25 petrol

 
On or around Sat, 30 Oct 2004 12:36:28 +0100, Nikki Cluley
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>in article [email protected], Austin Shackles at
>[email protected] wrote on 30/10/04 9:00 am:
>
>> On or around Sat, 30 Oct 2004 00:32:59 +0100, Nikki Cluley
>> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>>
>>> in article [email protected], Nigel at
>>> [email protected] wrote on 29/10/04 1:56 pm:
>>>
>>>> Nikki Cluley wrote:
>>>>> Any recomendations? £250-£300 max and must be compatible with a Mac.
>>>>
>>>> As well as what everyone else says, its worth thinking about the batteries.
>>>> Digital cameras eat batteries, get a camera that takes AA batteries, that
>>>> way if you are ever out and about and run out of power you can just replace
>>>> the batteries rather than trying to find a power outlet and the time to
>>>> recharge the cameras own batteries.
>>>> And of course get some rechargables. Make sure you read the 'mAh' of the
>>>> battery, try and get ones as high as possible, 2000mAh or somewhere around
>>>> there.
>>>
>>> Sounds sensible. I had a mobile phone once that you could do the same with.
>>> Bruce has got this charger that I bought from innovations that charges up
>>> ordinary AA batteries.
>>
>> experience with digicams is that you really do want NiMHs in 'em. Alkalines
>> in the fuji were a waste of time - unless of course you have a whole lot of
>> other stuff which can use the part-used batteries.
>
>This charger charges the part used batteries. Also tells you what life they
>have left in them. As long as they don't go down below 1.25ish they charge
>up to 1.5 pretty quick - handy for the Gameboy and some of Isaacs remote
>control vehicles. Does AAA upto D size battery.

might work. especially in the fuji 1400, I found that AA alkalines only
lasted for about 10 minutes, much less if usenig the display panel.

The Olympus seems to do better, but then again, the smallest set of
batteries are 1800mAh, the other 2 are 2000, - I see you can now get 2300s.
Naturally, as soon as I bought an inverter so that I could charge the
buggers in the vehicle, I found someone selling a 12V charger plus set of 4
batteries. Mind, I bet the charger wasn't as fast as the Oly one, which is
very quick indeed. gets the batteries a bit warm, mind.

 
On or around Sat, 30 Oct 2004 12:40:16 +0100, Nikki Cluley
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>in article [email protected], Austin Shackles at
>[email protected] wrote on 30/10/04 9:02 am:
>
>> On or around Sat, 30 Oct 2004 00:39:27 +0100, Nikki Cluley
>> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>>
>>> in article [email protected], hugh at hugh@[127.0.0.1]
>>> wrote on 29/10/04 7:22 pm:
>>>
>>>> In message <BDA7300A.11F98%[email protected]>, Nikki Cluley
>>>> <[email protected]> writes
>>>>> Any recomendations? £250-£300 max and must be compatible with a Mac.
>>>> Canon - gives you the option of point and click or control the settings
>>>> yourself. Also will take additional lenses.
>>>
>>> Going to have a look at websites you've all mentioned. Thanks for all the
>>> advice. Will let you know what I get...once I've decided - might be next
>>> year!
>>
>> there'll be a whole crop of new cameras next yer, mind. new minolta SLR
>> thing looks nice...but they reckon it's gonna sell in the US for about 1600
>> bucks just for the body.
>
>Great - it will take even longer to make up my mind!
>>
>>
>> FWIW, my thinking on going for an olympus was that olympus, being camera
>> makers of some repute, ought to know how to make a lens.
>>
>> it's S/H mainly 'cos I can't afford a new one.
>
>I like second hand - especially if its a bargain!

the one I really fancied was the Oly 2100 UZ which has image stabilising as
well, but they were a bit on the pricey side for me, even S/H. the one I
did buy was a serious bargain, came with 5x128MB cards and 3 sets of
batteries, and a decent case, plus of course the camera itself, fer about
165 inc postage ISTR. considering the memory cards were at the time 75
quidsworth.


 
Just bought an Epson R300 takes memory cards and prints from them.
Plugs directly into the camera (Cannon Ixus i nice little compact camera)
and prints pictures without a computer + works as a card reader too


 
On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 18:36:41 +0100, "George Spigot" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>Don't know what these are like but they are near me
>http://www.internetcamerasdirect.co.uk/
>

Useless.

Mandy almost didn't get her Chrimbo present last year, as they 'lost'
the order. Couldn't guarantee stock, so on 23rd December at 1pm I
ordered one from Pixmania. It arrived at 10.30am on Christmas Eve,
having been despatched from Paris. Bloody excellent and cheaper than
the high street.


--

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 88" aka "Stig"
'77 101FC Ambulance aka "Burrt"
'03 Volvo V70

My Landies? http://www.seriesii.co.uk
Barcoding? http://www.bartec-systems.com
Tony Luckwill web archive at http://www.luckwill.com
 

"Tim Hobbs" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 18:36:41 +0100, "George Spigot" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >Don't know what these are like but they are near me
> >http://www.internetcamerasdirect.co.uk/
> >
>
> Useless.
>
> Mandy almost didn't get her Chrimbo present last year, as they 'lost'
> the order. Couldn't guarantee stock, so on 23rd December at 1pm I
> ordered one from Pixmania. It arrived at 10.30am on Christmas Eve,
> having been despatched from Paris. Bloody excellent and cheaper than
> the high street

..
good to know I suppose but as they are less than 8 mile from me I'd go and
pick it up.
I was gonna buy a optio s but when I wanted one they had sold out.
So bought a Cannon Ixus i at a bargain price of £125 from elsewhere
(wanted a tiny camera)
Memory cards dirt cheap now 1gig sd £57 :O( paid £62 for 512 b4 I went on
holliday a couple of months ago.


 
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