I'm wanting a digital camera for personal use, and the more I read the more confused i get. My budget (my husband) tells me around $600.00 dollars. Of course, like everyone I want the most bang for the buck. In order words, I want it all (bells and whistles) that is. Also, once I get all these pictures on my hard drive How do you manage them (software)? Thanks for any and all advice! Rita

-- Rita Overton (ritao@bitstorm.net), March 29, 1999

Answers

You might consider the Ricoh 4200 or 4300 if you need sound. Both come with an excellent software suite. They are both megapixel cameras 1280x960. The cables, batteries and charger and a smart media card are all included. The 4200 is selling for somewhere in the low $430s. The best thing about the Ricohs is that you don't have to then go out to buy software and battery charger to make the digicam useful. The 4200 takes a 16 mb and up smart media card the 4300 will take up to a 8 mb. Buy the 4200 and an extra smart media card and you are ready to roll. One accessory that is nice but not a must have is a card reader or flash path adaptor. You should be able to get everything including the extra card and reader for about $500 and then go out to have a nice dinner.

I also have a Minolta EX1500 which is a nice digicam but a bit more and much more when you add all the needed extra equiptment.

Cricket

-- Cricket (cricketb@nospam.earthlink.net), March 31, 1999.

I want to buy a digital camera that will give you a good image result. I'm in a garment(sweater)industry,samples have to shot by the digital camera and the result to be print out using canon BJC-7000 printer. thank you

-- hoky.t (indomas@bdg.centrin.net.id), April 01, 1999.

I too have been looking at almost the same cameras in that price range, including the Coolpix 700 (no optical zoom - but does have tele adapters). I've read about the Minolta's bad LCD, but it does have many features I do want/like. I downloaded some comparison photos between the Epson 700 and the "old" Nikon CP900. To me, the Epson showed truer skin tones and of course was much cheaper, but it doesn't allow for much manual intervention. I don't know what to tell you. There are many subjective areas in this arena. What one likes the other finds it as a shortcoming and vice versa. Some like all the buttons and bells and whistles, some want it simple. Neither is better... just different "qualities". I'm not really too sure how good the zooms are since they are relatively small... good for cropping I guess, but you can do that with Corel, Photoshop and the like also. One tries to match the photo qualities with the digi/techno qualites and come up with something that works... and maybe even looks good. Right now I'm still weighing and deciding between the PC-750Z, the Minolta EX-1500, and the Coolpix-700. The coolpix has a rapid fire burst buffer also like the 1500. It has a few other bells and whistles too. It's about $100 less then the minolta, but no zoom unless you consider a digital zoom, and heck, you can do that with a graphic editor as far as I know. Which is best? ALL of them, depending where your focus is. Heck, it may just come down to flipping a quarter!!! Heads Minolta, tails something else. I think/feel minolta will be dropping their price by June. Their camera is about 6 months old and is no longer "lead edge" with the plethora of new ones out this month. good luck in your quest, Places to look::::::::: http://www.imaging-resource.com/DIGCAM01.HTM http://photo.askey.net/ http://www.photoshopper.com/forum/digital.html http://www.steves-digicams.com/ http://www.shortcourses.com/index.htm http://www.pcphotoforum.com/dc/reviews/user_reviews/reviews_list.cgi http://www.scantips.com/

Chuck email: wingit@rocketmail.com

-- Chuck Vistart (wingit@rocketmail.com), April 06, 1999.

Check out my response to the submittal one ahead of yours.

-- William McAuley (wrmcauley@aol.com), April 18, 1999.