buying a camera

I've lurked here since it opened - a great group.
I'm a comparitively ebay newbie.

So now I must get a digital camera, but am a cheapskate and unsure of what I
should get.
Any clues please?
Serenity

"Serenity" <serenity@nospamserenitynyespam off.fslife.co.uk> wrote
here on 19 Jul 2003:

> I've lurked here since it opened - a great group.
> I'm a comparitively ebay newbie.
>
> So now I must get a digital camera, but am a cheapskate and unsure
> of what I should get.
> Any clues please?
> Serenity

Well, as a *completely* unqualified person who just likes to take
photos...

Whatever the techies will tell you, 1.3 megapixels (mp) is
*perfectly* acceptable for snapshots and website pictures where you
don't need great big blowups. Yes, you can tell the difference
between them and the 35mm prints from my SLR, but I have several A4-
size printouts on 200gsm glossy photo paper from a (Samsung) 1.3mp
camera, of family gatherings and so on, and they're absolutely fine
unless you plan on looking at them from three millimetres away. On
the other hand, a 2mp camera is only a little more expensive than a
1.3mp that if you can you might as well go for that.

On a more practical level, don't even consider one without an LCD
display, preferably one that can be manually switched off as it uses
lots of battery. Talking of which, anything that takes AA batteries
is good, as they're so much cheaper than anything else.

I will now get a huge horde of people telling me that anything less
than a 6mp Nikon is of no use whatever, just you wait and see... ;-)

--
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"Serenity" <serenity@nospamserenitynyespam off.fslife.co.uk> wrote in
message news:bfa080$ekb$1@news7.svr.pol.co.uk...
> I've lurked here since it opened - a great group.
> I'm a comparitively ebay newbie.
>
> So now I must get a digital camera, but am a cheapskate and unsure of what
I
> should get.
> Any clues please?
> Serenity
>
Look for a minimum 3X optical zoom (most will have digital zoom anyway) and
preferably at least 3 Megapixels. There are plenty of good cameras with
this spec. for around £200 (Fuji, Nikon, Kodak, Olympus, Pentax, Sony etc).
I have a Kodak DX4330 myself which I can highly recommend (available for
under £200 with built in 16MB of memory so you can start shooting
immediately). Another model which looks good is the Sony DSC-P72 (£220 at
Amazon) or the Sony DSC-P52 at £180, with a few less facilities. If you
want to spend less, go for at least 2 Megapixels - this would provide good
quality 7" x 5" prints and would certainly be good enough for posting on
eBay, although the saving isn't really that much - a lot of the cost is in
the optical zoom, which is really a 'must-have' option. Stick with a
well-known brand. Have a look at:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/

It's a US site but the reviews are excellent.

Terry Dutson

Serenity wrote:
> I've lurked here since it opened - a great group.
> I'm a comparitively ebay newbie.
>
> So now I must get a digital camera, but am a cheapskate and unsure of
> what I should get.
> Any clues please?

Do you want it just for adding pictures to Ebay listings and web pages or
for high quality pics to replace a 35mm camera?
If the former , then just about anything that does 1024*768 will be fine and
should cost less than 100 quid.
If you want a proper camera then try to aim for something with more than 2M
pixels , preferably with an optical zoom rather than a digital. Don't buy a
Kodak , but consider a Fuji.

--
Alex

"We are now up against live, hostile targets"

"So, if Little Red Riding Hood should show up with a bazooka and a bad
attitude, I expect you to chin the bitch! "

www.drzoidberg.co.uk

"Serenity" <serenity@nospamserenitynyespam off.fslife.co.uk> wrote in
message news:bfa080$ekb$1@news7.svr.pol.co.uk...
> I've lurked here since it opened - a great group.
> I'm a comparitively ebay newbie.
>
> So now I must get a digital camera, but am a cheapskate and unsure of what
I
> should get.
> Any clues please?
> Serenity
>
>
I bought an Agfa CL18 on eBay for 23 UK Pounds and tried it out for the
first time last weekend. Price last year was 80 UK Pounds.

Fixed focus, no zoom, automatic exposure etc but quite enough for start.
Choice of either 16 or 32 pictures. Slips into the pocket or on the belt.

Taking the pictures is fairly easy with ONLY 5 buttons to master so I dread
to think about the pictures I might lose with a 'super' digital. The real
fun began with the 'processing'. No dabbling in the darkroom or waiting
week for the postman. Pictures on-screen AND printed within a minute or so
of taking them.

Don't like the results? Dump 'em and start gain.

Frankly, I'm thrilled with the results although one day I may buy a 'poseur'
model.

Best wishes from another cheapskate!

"Serenity" <serenity@nospamserenitynyespam off.fslife.co.uk> wrote in
message news:bfa080$ekb$1@news7.svr.pol.co.uk...
> I've lurked here since it opened - a great group.
> I'm a comparitively ebay newbie.
>
> So now I must get a digital camera, but am a cheapskate and unsure of what
I
> should get.
> Any clues please?
> Serenity
>
>
I'm not a camera buff so cannot tell you about zooms ans pixels and other
things. I *can* tell you that I like my konica KD-100.
It takes good pictures, is simple to use, has a LCD screen on the back so
you can line up shots. The software is simple to use too. It would cost new,
under £100, I got mine off ebay for around £60. I use rechargeable
batteries, and I recommend you do too as this eats batteries. Only uses 2 AA
though so not pricey.
Hope this helps.


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On Sat, 19 Jul 2003 00:35:21 +0100, "Serenity"
<serenity@nospamserenitynyespam off.fslife.co.uk> wrote:

>I've lurked here since it opened - a great group.
>I'm a comparitively ebay newbie.
>
>So now I must get a digital camera, but am a cheapskate and unsure of what I
>should get.
>Any clues please?
>Serenity
>
I bought a Fuji Finepix 2800z. It takes superb pics as well as video
!!

> So now I must get a digital camera, but am a cheapskate and unsure of what I
> should get.

Worth paying for a brand name, you get what you pay for. Mine is 1.3
mega pixel 1280x1024, flash, good zoom facility. Just perfect for me.
It's a Panasonic Palmcam PV-DC2090, had it a few years now and never a
problem. Takes four AA size NICADs and I just use a normal battery
charger. You don't need anything with huge image sizes for ebay work.

Thinking of upgrading to a Canon G2 (my mate has one and it's gorgeous)
but can't justify it really.

--
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