super_si

No point to water cooling, decided after Max Power i want a digi camera ill have 300-£500 to spend whats the ins and outs, Like ive being told get loads RAM etc

Si

BL

Go for the Fuji one designed by porsche.

super_si

theres probably loads of Fiji cams,Do you have the make model #no's etc

ozzy

Si,

You'll need plenty of RAM, but you can buy extra cards as you need them so I wouldn't worry too much about the size that comes with the camera (other than getting a good package deal).

I have a Fuji Finepix 2400Zoom. It's a few years old now although it's replacement (2600) is still around the £240 bracket.

It's 3 megapixels and with the resolution set to 1280x1024 fine takes superb pics. Images at this resolution are around the 650K mark. I've got 3 x 128Mb SmartMedia cards and managed to fill these with around 600 pics when I was in the Czech Republic last week.

The only limits I've found are the optical zoom, battery life (needs 4 bloody AA batteries) and taking pics at night has never turned out well. The last gripe could just be my fault, but I'd look for a camera that helps out more in future.

We have a professional photographer in my work and his advice has always been to get the best optical zoom you can get for your money. Don't worry about Digital zoom, it's optical that gives you the results. My camera has x3 and I find it limiting. I'd go for at least x6.

Fuji cameras are superb and get my vote.

So, if you can get a superb camera for a good price, but the downside is that it comes with a measly 8Mb card, don't let that put you off. I bought 2 x 128Mb cards for £80, so concentrate on getting the best camera for your money first.

Stefan (all IMHO, of course)

ozzy

I *think* it's this one F601

My friend has one and we took both to Ireland a few weeks back. Both cameras took very good pics - you can't tell which are from which camera.

The benefits of his were:-

1. Didn't need as much batteries as me and they lasted longer,
2. He could take small video clips (with sound) - I can e-mail this to you to get an idea of quality (3Mb)
3. The menu system is way easier to navigate than my basic one, so doing things like turning the flash on/of is a lot easier and quicker
4. Both our cameras can take up to 5 pics back-to-back, but his seemed a lot better, especially capturing passing rally cars

Stefan

Trotty

Well you know what one I've got Si (Fuju FinePix 2600 Zoom) - 2.0 megapixel, comes with rechargeable batteries and charger, 16mb SmartMedia but only digital zoom (x3). Max res is 1600x1200.

Ian

super_si

Whats the Idea of ram what does in do in a camera?

mj

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/sho...26&category=16

super_si

nice! nice price aswell

ozzy

Si,

The memory card is used to store the digital images - just like film in a conventional camera.

Basically, the more memory you have, the more pics you can store on each card.

Like I mentioned, if I set my camera to 1280x1024 on Fine picture quality I get 650Kb per picture. This works out to approx. 200 pics on a 128Mb card.

You can either increase the resolution and therefore the size of each picture, which would decrease the number of pics on a card. Or you could decrease the resolution and/or quality and get more pics on your card.

After playing around with different settings I found that resolution was what I wanted for holiday snaps, so I knew roughly how many pics I could take on a card.

If I'm taking pics for sticking straight onto the net, then I reduce the resolution and quality and know I can get 300 pics.

Stefan

super_si

thats what i dont get, i didnt think RAM was stable hence read only memory, puzzling me for ages that

ozzy

Si,

If you want the most flexibility and performance, then an SLR Digital camera is THE only way to travel.

The professional photographer here has a Cannon one. It cost £5000 , but is awesome.

Just like a regular SLR, you can change lenses, light filters, add external flash guns, you name it this can do it.

It also uses those IBM microdrives to store images. No more poxt 128Mb cards, these things come in GigaBytes He can store thousands of A3-size images on his camera.

He's done photoshoots in Ibiza and even some glamour stuff as well, but he'll still not take me along as his assistant - not yet anyway

Stefan

ozzy

Si,

The standard stuff you stick in your pc probably isn't all that reliable in the larger scheme of things, but RAM is just a generic term.

These little SmartMedia cards are similar to the SIM cards used in mobiles. Most come with a 10yr gaurantee, so I've no worries about reliability.

Another thing to look for is the connection to your PC. The one other thing that bugs me is the time it takes for me to download all my pics using USB. I had 3x128Mb cards full of pics, but it took 20mins per card to download them onto my PC.

I think it's the camera as my mates F601 didn't take as long even with the same laptop and USB connector.

Stefan

mj

ozzy,

if i were you i'd go in diguise, wig, liptick and a decent set of twangers should do it.

super_si

can you only trasfer VIA USB port? any other faster types maybe ethernet??

Si

Trotty

Haven't seen any ethernet connections for them? Firewire's available on some cameras.

chiark

Si

http://www.dpreview.com has reviews and is good

What digital camera have a website with an archive of their reviews - see http://www.what-digital-camera.co.uk

I've got the Fuji 6900Z which I think is excellent. Might be overkill - what do you want? Point and shoot or real camera and the complexities that that can bring?

You can transfer from any modern camera using USB, which is fast. Better still is to get a card reader and use that on your PC. I use a Toshiba Libretto with a 20GB disc as a digital wallet. Plug the CF card, or smartmedia card, into a PCcard adaptor and the memory card appears as a new local disc.

Re RAM: memory in the camera *is* important but really for buffer space. The fuji has space for 5 images in its buffer whilst it writes to card, so you never find yourself being unable to take a picture because the camera is busy processing your last picture.

Decide on your pricepoint, read reviews on the above websites, pick a shortlist then GO AND PLAY WITH THE CAMERAS. You would not believe how much difference the feel of a camera makes as to whether you will use it or not. I was thinking of the Nikon Coolpix 995 which was about the same money as the 6900 so played with them both. On picking them up there was only one winner, so I bought it

Finally, some stonking deals can be had on-line, especially with the 6900z just being replaced by the S602. The 6800 was the camera designed by porsche but that's been replaced by the S601, so there's excellent deals on the 6800 too.

So, to reiterate: pricepoint, shortlist, play, find cheapest on-line price, go to local jessops and they'll pricematch it

super_si

never heard of jessops! doh

Thanks probably buy one in sept soon as i get student loan threw

ariel

I'm waiting for my Olympus C720 to arrive. Perhaps have a look at that?

jimbrit

Well happy with my Sony DSC-S85. Only downside is the memory stick format but prices on the cameras have dropped a lot. Now £450ish was £700 till about April

David_Wallis

Well I use a sony DCR-PC9 or something similar with the letters in a different order... takes pretty crap photos... but then again it is a tiny dv camcorder with touchscreen.. was £999 when we bought it last year...

Have been looking for a digital slr to replace my pentax...

Chiark till you said that I had wondered about that.. I like being able to waist a 35mm within seconds

David