I'm am ready to purchase my first Digital Camera. I am not a professional photographer and am not inclined to spend ages researching every camera and it's specs, as well as what those specs mean. Basically I like to spend a short time researching what I'm going to buy, find the best reviewed in my price range, and buy it. It was easy enough with my TV and DVD player but doesn't seems as easy with digital cameras. I was hoping that someone here might be able to help me out with a recomendation. I intend to use the camera primarily for shooting medium to long distance shots of buildings and objects which will eventually be turned in to textures to be mapped onto 3D objects for a computer game. I would like to be able to capture high resolution pictures that I could print out photo quality shots of if I should take the camera on vacation or something. As far as computer connections it doesn't matter but as many options as possible would be best. And obviously some good battery life is wanted as well. I'm really turned onto the SLR feature as well. Below is my list of choices as it is so far from my brief hunt for the best.

Olympus D-600L Olympus C-2000 Olympus C-2500L Nikon Coolpix 950 Sony DSC F505 (Why aren't Sony's reviewed on this site?)

Someone care to make some impartial comments for me? Any other cameras (name brands) I should be looking at?

-- Jason Holtslander (jasonh@starnetc.com), October 07, 1999

Answers

I'll take a shot (oops, that's a pun). The quality of photographs is a very subjective thing - combined with a field that is changing rapidly; pixels, features, etc - and the leap from film to pixels has advantages and disadvantages that we are all getting used to.. It's not surprising that you can't get a clear answer as to best one. So I'll make some coments on your list; You've got some expensive ones in there; the 2500 and 505 are up in the $1500 range, the others are <$800 thru mail order. You say you aren't worried about download, but you also sound computer savvy. I think you would get bored squeezing pictures thru an rs-232 connection. Look for USB on the camera, or plan on getting a USB card reader (about $80) As for batteries, consider the ones that use AA type nicads/NiMh, so that in a pinch you can buy some alkalines. Others use a special shape, and you can only get them from the vendor. I think you would find the Nikon overly complex for your needs. The C2000 has very good reviews. - I think that would be a good choice. If you need more telephoto lens, the Mavica 91 has the biggest zoom at 14:1 ratio; less pixels, but some like the floppy disk storage. Three more to consider; Epson 850z (my current favorite) Toshiba PDR- M5, or Fuji 2900. All 2m Pixels, all around $700 (street) good luck!

-- John Hoffman (johnhoff@incom.net), October 07, 1999.

Depending on your needs, you might also consider the new Canon S10...I've just seen some pics from this camera and they looked REALLY good. The bummer with that camera, just like the Canon Pro70, is the lack of much zoom range...like 35mm-70mm on the S10, 28-70 on the Pro70. On the other hand, image quality is MOST impressive. The S10 is really compact, so much so that I'd be inclined to carry it almost all of the time...can't say the same for the Olympus D-600L or the Sony DSC-F505. C-2000 and Nikon 950 also excellent...in particular, I've seen some great pics from the C-2000.

One quick note about the Sony DSC-F505, however. There's been alot to like about Sony in the "bells-n-whistles" department, but generally I've been very disappointed with their image quality. HOWEVER, something has definitely changed, because I was recently sent a couple of pics from the DSC-F505 that just simply looked awesome. Not sure what's changed on this Sony model, but it's sure worth a look, based on the images that I've seen. Maybe someone here knows what's up with this camera???

-- Bryan Bennett (coolblueworld@earthlink.net), October 08, 1999.

So far, the top of the low end market appears to be the Olympus C-2500 both for resolution and capability. Right behind it is the Sony D770. However, you should be aware that the best of the cameras right now will look mediocre in six months with Sony (and probably others) putting out a 3.3Meg chip.

-- Greg Bethards (photoassoc@yahoo.com), October 08, 1999.

I have a Nikon CP 950, so you won't get any impartial advice from me. Altho, if I were to buy a camera today, I still would buy the 950.

The most important factor of all the cameras I think is feel! If you don't like the way they feel when you take pictures you probably won't like the camera. Find someplace to play with your final selections. I think they all take good pictures and they all have faults as well as features. I cross-off the Olympus 500 because I could not see through the view finder with my glasses. The over $1000 was over budget.

If money is no object, look at the Kodak DCS 620. It looks like a wow in Digital Camera magazine, but the $16000 was a little steep! :)

-- Dave Clark (Daveclark@prodigy.net), October 09, 1999.

I think Dave has made a good point that many of us try to minimize. The way the camera feels in your hand is the first impression you get of a camera everytime you pick it up. If it isn't comfortable and doesn't feel right it will be disctraction from taking pictures. I started photography with an Olympus OM-G. This camera felt good in my hand. However it didn't have the feature of my later purchased OM-2S. The OM-2S has never felt right in my hand compared to the OM-G. With the extra features of the OM-2S I was able to get my pictures more technically correct, but I think my creativity in composition suffered. For me photography is a mind set. If you aren't in the right frame of mind your pictures will show. The next will be the controls. I had a '83 Thunderbird with electric windows. I traded it for a '88 Thunderbird. the switches for the electric windows were the opposite of the '83. I never did get used to that. I was always running the windows the wrong direction. So if the controls are set up the way you think they shouldn't be you will continuously fighting the camera, another posible hit against creativity. Next will be the viewfinder. For us eyeglass wearers we will "look" at this differently than people who don't wear glasses. Olympus put the camera strap mount in the way of reaching the shutter release on the C2000. For someone with big hands or long fingers they may not care. Myself it was the number one reason I didn't buy the C2000. So if you can get your hands on the camera try to get a feel for it and decide if it is right for you before you let a list of features decided for you. Just remember to make sure the image quality is what you are looking for. I personally have the Epson 750Z. I recommended it to a friend and 3 weeks after getting it he took a pictures that just won Photo of the Day at Steve's Digicam site. Needless to say he is happy with his choice too.

-- Bob G. (rgreg88721@hotmail.com), October 09, 1999.

Of those you mention, the Sony F505 is the best. It has a 5x zoom with 190mm focal length at the long end. It also has much better manual controls. A review is at http://photo.askey.net/ and it is best in comparison photos I have seen.

-- Dan Morris (dmorris@aol.com), October 10, 1999.

For what it's worth, Comp USA, Office Depot and probably others have reasonable no questions asked return policies. I have been looking around for something and have tried several different models. Office Depot has mostly Kodaks.

-- DT Mitchell (dmitch@halcyon.com), October 11, 1999.