RE: [OT] Digital Cameras

I do not own a good one, but was looking at them last year.

OPTICAL Zoom. One of the important things is OPTICAL zoom. Many of the
budget cameras bost 2x, 3x, 5x, etc. but really mean DIGITAL zoom.
Digital
Zoom takes a portion of the camera's resolution and doubles (or more)
the
pixles. It is the same effect as taking a .gif image in Photoshop (or
any
other graphics program), croping the image to 1/4 the image, then
resizing
the 1/4 picture to the original dimentions of the picture. Which is a
long
way of saying it is a MUCH more grainy picture. Optical Zoom changes the
image that hits the cameria's receptors (the part that converts light to
digital information). If you are going to take pictures of miniatures,
an
OPITICAL Zoom is critical.

Minimum Focal Distance. Related, is the minimum focal distance of the
camera. If the camera can only focus a meter or more away, it is
probably
not suited for taking pictures of miniatures (pictures will be too small
or
too blurry). Do not take the advertisements word for how close it can
focus.
TEST IT YOURSELF. If it has an LCD viewer (see below), you can tell
pretty
quickly how close you can focus on an object.

LCD Viewer. An LCD viewer is a big help for situations like taking
pictures
at a con. Because you do not have to bend over to see if something is is
focus or not, if you have the image you want, etc. it speeds up how fast
you
can take the picture (and minimizes the interruption to the game). An
LCD
viewer also, as stated above, is a nice benifit when shopping for it,
because you can test the minimum focal distance.

Pixels: It depends on what you want to do with the camera, and what your
budget is. If you just want to post .gif or .jpeg to the web, 640x800 is
good enough. I think that once you have a digital camera, you will want
to
be able to take some better quality pictures (wife, kids, pet,
girlfriend,
vacation, etc.) and be able to print a half decient copy. To do this you
will want at least 1 megapixel resolution.

Flash. My wife was trying to be good to me and bought me a bottom line
digital camera without a flash. It is impossible to use any time except
in
bright sunlight outdoors.

Cost. What will fit in your budget. Of the top 5 that I list, this is
the
LEAST important. I have already gone the route of buying a cheap camera
(with horrible results). If you can't get what you want in the price
range
you want, it may be better to wait. The quality of cameras is going up
in
the same price range. I also expect the price of middle end cameras (1
megapixel) to come down. Your budget is your concern. 

Other considerations:

Memory: How many pictures can you take (at best resolution). If it is
too
few, you will be frustrated at some point. Is the memory
expandable/replaceable?

Connections: How to get the pictures into your computer. USB, and
FlashCard/Smart Media Cards are good as they are quick (you may need to
buy
a card adaptor for your computer to read them, but I have seen some of
these
at $20-40). Serial or Parellel are bad. These are SLOW.

Tripod mount. Unessential, but nice feature. Allows you to take sharper
pictures from a tripod than taking them by holding them. You can also
purchase a 6" tripod for taking table top pictures.

Shutter cable release. I have not looked to see if any digital camera
has
this, but combined with a tripod, would improve those shots that you
want to
be crisp.

Batteries. What type of batteries does it use? Can you get them? How
expensive are they? Can they be recharged? If they can be recharged, is
a
recharger included?

Bulk/Mass of camera. How heavy/bulky is it? Would it be hard to
transport
(or be subject to damage easily from doing so)?

Lense size. (Higher End Models only) Is the lens in a standard size that
you
can add standard filters to? A UV filter can protect an expensive (or
irreplacable) lense for minimal cost without loss of picture quality.

Now I will tell you what I am looking for as an example. 
Minimum of 1 megapixel
5x (or better) OPTICAL zoom
Color LCD viewer on back.
Macro lens ability or minimum focal distance 2' or less.
USB or Card interface.

However, a camera purchase is a very personal thing (much like a
computer
purchase). If you settle for less than you want, you may regret it every
time you use it.

-----
Brian Bell
bkb@beol.net
-----

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rick Rutherford [SMTP:Rick@esr.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2001 5:11 PM
> To:	'gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu'
> Subject:	[OT] Digital Cameras
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> After noticing how many people had digital cameras at GZG-ECC 4, I
have
> a question: what do you look for in a digital camera, and how do you
> choose between them? Specifically, I'm looking for one that I can use
> to take really nice pictures of miniatures (of course!).
> 
> Because this is completely off-topic, please just respond to me and
not
> the entire list. If anyone else is interested, I will summarize the
> responses I get and send it to you. Thanks!
>