I am looking at purchasing a digital camera, but I have a few reservations over the conventional slr for producing slides.

1. Autofocus is useless as I do hand surgery and frequently need to zoom down on field from the size of a hole hand/knee to a single finger to a digital nerve (<0.5 mm). The zoom in shots are tight and in a hole usually so autofocus tends to gauge the periphery not the center.

2. Accurate flash. I have to turn the overhead operating lights away to prevent glare and I want flash that will highlight the small, deep holes that I work in.

3. Archiving. Is there a way to digitally archieve on the fly...for me entering a patient's name or hospital number would be ideal. The picture#/date/time format is cumbersome and sloppy.

4. Collecting many pictures. I frequently see 50-60 patients per day and often take 30-90 photographs. Is there enough memory on the currently available discs or do I have to keep many of them with me.

I looked at the Nikon Coolpix 950 online and wondered it it is the right one, although I did not see a price. The 900s price is right, but can it do the job?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

-- peter john evans (peterjevans@msn.com), March 11, 1999

Answers

Nikon Coolpix 900 is a good product (I do have one), but I believe you need to wait for Sony DSC-D700, it seems to be a great product, it uses ATA Flash PC card, PCMCIA type II memory module (available up to 224MB). Transferring Photos to Notebook or desktop will be very quick and trouble free, with a very large 224MB memory module. Your other choice is Canon Powershot Pro 70, this one uses two CmpactFlah memory cards (available up to 48MB) for maximum of 96MB of on board memory modules. I do recommend to wait and check these two Digicams out, the specification for these two camera looks great. Sony will be available sometimes next month.

-- Fred (tabarrok@ariver.com), March 11, 1999.

The answer is not simple but I believe a number of cameras allow recording of voice to add to dates you can set in the pictures. Those problems are of a minor nature compared to storage on memory cards. Purchasing enough of the small memory storage chips will solve that problem. If that is not good enough the Canon Pro70 can use the new IBM minidrives with up to 520 MB. Some cameras connect to a TV Monitor and let you see what you take a picture of but not always when you are taking the picture. A Single lens reflex design is a must so you can precisely see what you are photographing. Kodak , Canon, Fuji and minolta make cameras like that. they are all compatible with the normal 35 mm lenses and allow full use of another important gadget for a close-ups, the ring-flash for shadowless lighting in very tight spaces. These cameras also let you choose which area to use for the autofocus mode. If you are enough of a camera nut you can probably make an inexpensive amateur model use a ring flash but be prepared for very slow and cumbersome work. If there is a Large Hospital in your neck of the woods, call them and talk to the resident photographer for some expert advise.

-- Rinus Borgsteede (rinuspho@cadvision.com), March 21, 1999.