I was thinking of purchasing a Kodak DC280 but I am worried about ISO 70 sensitivity and slow shutter speed. I have a three year old and would like to be able to take great shots of her running and playing in the park or dancing at her school's holiday presentation (dim lighting). Should I consider another digicam?

I was thinking about the Casio QV3000EX because of better low-light conditions, higher resolution, and faster shutter speeds. Plus, the 340MB microdrive would be excellent for long vacations without a laptop. A lot more expensive compared to the DC280 but is it worth it?

Thanks.

-- Ricardo Canedo (ricardo_canedo@hotmail.com), May 23, 2000

Answers

Boy, I'm responding to a lot of these tonight as I guess there's several up my alley. I'm totally unhappy with the DC280 in low light conditions as far as focus and grabbing the shot. Noise probably isn't much worse than most digicams but the DC280 won't grab focus so blurred pictures in low light ARE and issue. I've learned to deal with it somewhat by grabbing focus from a lighter area at approximately the same distance as the subject I want to shoot but this isn't always an option. My next camera will have much better light sensitivity than this one but I'm still quite happy with it.

As for picture quality and resolution, the Kodak compares favorably with other cameras that cost more and have a higher pixel count. I am satisfied with the camera as an overall picture taking tool but prefer a different tool for low light conditions.

Just a comment on the microdrive, it's a power hog and with Compact Flash cards right at 300 meg now, what's the advantage? I'm saving my bucks for one of the super cards so I can shoot away on long vacations.

-- Steve Steinberg (ssteinb1@tampabay.rr.com), June 27, 2000.