Our office is planning on purchasing a new digital camera for marketing purposes. The camera will be used to take pictures of buildings, both under construction and completed. Mostly exterior shots during the day, with some interior pics possible. The camera should also work reasonably well in low light conditions, since there is minimal lighting inside buildings that are under construction. SmartMedia cards and either included rechargable or AA batteries preferred.
USB interface is good, however since most of our computers still use Win95a a serial model would also be considered. No firewire, please.
Price range figure about $300-$400 US or $400-$600 CAN.
Somebody at our head office recommended a three-year old 0.5 megapixel model which isn't produced anymore :rolleyes: so any recommendations based on your actual experience is appreciated.
Sowulo
January 15th, 2002, 06:33 PM
Very happy with my Olympus 490z which I believe is available for around $299us right now... :cool:
ilovetheusers
January 16th, 2002, 12:45 AM
You are looking for, um, anything. Just about anything will suit you.
For that price though and with the 95a constraint you may want to look into the sony mavica that saves things to diskette (3.5 floppy).
As for low light shots nothing does well. I have an f707 by sony and it's the best in low light I have seen and it has a infra red mode but is $1000 american. In general low light and photography ain't friends but there are workarounds It sounds like the purpose for your camera will be for real estate, and anything shot indoors during daytime with a low/medium flash will turn out alright.
Tell me what you want to shoot in low light and I will tell you how.
ephmynus
January 17th, 2002, 08:50 AM
That's a pretty good price range for digital cameras right now. I have a Fuji FinePix 1400 zoom and it is great. Wonderful pictures. Also, the do have the 2600 out right now which I hear is pretty magnificent as well.
IT Len
January 17th, 2002, 10:16 AM
Hey Mac...I'm real happy with the Nikon Coolpix 775. Check here for Buy.com's price and info. [347.95 US] <a href="http://www.us.buy.com/retail/computers/product.asp?loc=225&sku=10283040" target="_blank">web page</a>
It's not the best camera I've used, but it is the best for the price range. And it's USB.
Jeff the Brit
January 17th, 2002, 11:02 AM
It's a pity that Kodak don't make the DC280 anymore. Mine has served me very well for a year now It has USB AND serial port connection, which is useful for plugging into older boxes. The low light capability isn't wonderful though. A friend has a Canon Ixus which performs rather better in low light conditions. The high end Olympus and Minota Dimage models also do well in low light from what I've seen from personal experience using them, with the ability to set sensitivity to an equivalent 400ASA, compared with about 70ASA on my DC280.
Brief comments about digicams I've had hands-on experience with:
Fuji 1200, 2200: nice pix, construction feels flimsy.
Canon Ixus : great pix, solid build, don't like the image transfer software. Been described as "digital jewellery".
Kodak DC280 : excellent colour, simple image transfer, decent build quality, ease of use
Minolta Dimage 7 : pricey, but worth it. Long optical zoom, lots of twiddling available for the expert user, very high resolution.
Ricoh RD6000 : 2 megapixel, no optical zoom. Build quality OK, point and shoot simplicity
Olympus Camedia 2500 : Lots of twiddling, excellent optics, handling, build quality.
ShadowWynd
January 30th, 2002, 01:22 PM
Look into the Olympus 2000 or 4000 series cameras (including things like the 2020 and the 2040). I have a 2040Z and it works great. USB interface, SmartMedia, internal/external flash.
It is useful to have some prior photo experience, as you can set all the options like exposure, aperature size, white balance, etc. but you can also take it out of the box and start shooting.
TriState cameras is good (see the Olympus Section on the link below) but be warned - they will pressure you to buy accessories.
i just recently purchased a canon powershot a10 for about 200 dollars (american). and i must say that i am very impressed with it.
i bought it <a href="http://www.mpsuperstore.com" target="_blank">here</a>.
Poseidon
February 12th, 2002, 07:38 PM
A friend received the <a href="http://www.digital-camerastore.com/kodakdx3600.htm" target="_blank">Kodak DX 3600</a> for Christmas and loves it. I have been seriously considering purchasing it as well.
http://www.digital-camerastore.com/kodakdc3600.jpg
Mope
February 12th, 2002, 11:59 PM
I love my Kodak DC4800. I think they are around 380-480 American now. It has a hookup for an external flash. The screen was knocked for its performance in bright conditions but it really is nice in the dark. The controls are fully auto or manual. All you need to do is a little reading to figure out how to operate a "real" camera and you're set with this one. The nice thing about Kodak is that they still look and feel like the "real" thing. It's USB and you plug it into the wall to charge the battery or get a charger.
FooL
February 13th, 2002, 08:17 AM
In my opinion, Olympus is the standard in digital cameras. So I wouldn't have posted except for one thing... I seem to remember reading a review at cnet.com that Poloroid cameras ACTAULLY have some really good outdoors quality pictures.
My advice would be to surf <a href="http://www.cnet.com" target="_blank">www.cnet.com</a> and plug in your requirements. They always have good camera reviews.
Poseidon
February 18th, 2002, 12:53 PM
So, what did you decide?
MacGyver
February 18th, 2002, 12:55 PM
I didn't decide anything, the powers that be decided to do nothing. So I'm happily submitting my biweekly expense of $20 for film and developing instead. :rolleyes:
Poseidon
February 18th, 2002, 01:07 PM
[quote]Originally posted by MacGyver:
<strong>I didn't decide anything, the powers that be decided to do nothing. So I'm happily submitting my biweekly expense of $20 for film and developing instead. :rolleyes: </strong><hr></blockquote>
Bummer.
Believe it or not my boss asked me Friday to get one for our company. I thought I would check to see what you recommended. I think I will go with the Kodak DX 3600,
<a href="http://www.us.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10299344&loc=101&queryType=comp" target="_blank">buy.com</a>
has it listed for $253.95 USD; but it is on backorder.
Scuba
February 19th, 2002, 04:37 AM
find some one to rent you a good digi camera for a day :D
I know the place we are developing the films at is willing to rent us a Digi Fuji when we need it. They also have a new Digital printing system based on a IBM Inteli M-Pro :eek:
Q (OHMSS)
March 4th, 2002, 07:33 AM
I bought the Kodak DX3600 for my partner, for Xmas. It is a lovely camera, the pictures are excellent and the movie feature is good for the price. The only problem with it is 2 batteries only (a special 2 pack supplied by Kodak), so life away from docking station is not that long, especially in movie mode. We take docking station with us when visiting the rellies, then, no problem.
Ice Czar
March 24th, 2002, 09:01 PM
I just ponied up for the Olympus E20N (expensive $1200-2000) dependent on accessories and domestic or international model
Its very very good a low light
and offers a wide range of features
architectural photography can be tricky
good luck
MacGyver
March 24th, 2002, 09:38 PM
I can't believe this topic is still going. Anyways, somebody in our office decided to buy a Canon PowerShot S110 Digital Elph. Haven't had a chance to play with it yet, but it is SMALL.
Could a mod please close this thread and bury it where it belongs. Thanks.
Sowulo
March 25th, 2002, 12:59 AM
Done.
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