Digital Cameras

[dradamsapple]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> 
wrote:
> Hey, all,
> 
> I want to get my husband a digital camera for his birthday.  He is a
> photographer by nature, so I can't get him anything that doesn't 
take
> good pictures.
> 
> Any recommendations?  Also, does anyone know what "specs" a decent
> digital camera should have?  I have heard that if they have poor
> resolution, they're almost not worth having.  How many of those 
Pixel
> things should I be looking for?
> 
> Cindy -- way too lazy to actually do her own legwork


Ooo!! I know this!

I actually did some homework about 3 years ago when we were shopping 
for digital cameras.  I know that 3 years is a life time when talking 
electronic advancement but I think the theory still holds true.  I'm 
not really good at technical lingo tho, so forgive me.  But I have 
found that the people at Circut City are pretty knowledgabe about 
what they are selling. Yes, they are trying to sell you something, 
but I've found that if you go in and ask questions, they really are 
good about explaining things, so you might want to give them a try 
too!

Digicameraspeak 101:

Pixels are the actual number of 'dots', per say per an area (forgot 
exactly what the dimensions are).  Kind of like the nap of a rug.  
The more fibers per square inch, the deeper and plusher it is. So, 
the more the pixels, the sharper the picture.  For example, a 2.0 
megapixel picture will look great on your terminal as a screen saver, 
but might not look that great as an 8 by 10 picture printed out.  
However, a 5.0 megapixel will look fantastic (or so I gather) as an 8 
by 10 printed picture.

We purchased a Canon Elph, 2.1 megapixel about 3 years ago, and we 
absolutely love it.  We mainly purchased it for the size (it will fit 
into my husbands shirt pocket, about the size of a pack of playing 
cards) but we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of it.  I have 
literally printed out pictures on cheap, ordinary, white printer 
paper, and the pictures are great. (on that note though, you really 
need a good printer too).  We have used it every year to 
make our own christmas cards.  The first year we had it, we took 1000 
pictures (really, no exaggerating).  It was rather pricey at the time 
(about $500) but the cost has more that paid for itself in film 
developing, not to mention the convenience of sitting at the 
terminal, in your underwear, making pictures. (er, not the same dirty 
underwear that I wear to watch red sox games).

We were in Circuit City this past weekend, actually, looking at 
digital video recorders.  Unbelievable how far they have come.  And 
we saw another Canon Elph,  a 5. something for the same price we paid 
for ours 3 years ago.  Now there are also cameras that  will allow 
you to take a 30 sec film on the camera itself. Kind of like the new 
cell phones. Technology is a wonderful thing!

And you'll also need an extra card (one usually comes with the camera)
for storing more pictures when you plan on taking a lot of picutres, 
like vacation or wedding, etc, and can't download them for awhile. I 
had a hard time with this concept: the card is actully like 
the 'film'.
We got an 8 MB (megabite) card with our camera when we purchased it, 
but my husband bought additional 32 and 64 MB cards to have when we 
go on vacation.  A 64 MB card will store about 120 pictures or so.

Anyway, I don't know if your husband like surprises, but I would 
bring him along with you.  It's quite an eduction.  And since he's 
the photographer, he may want to see how it feels in  his hand, as 
they really do come in all shapes and sizes. 

Well, Cindy, there will be a surprise pop-quiz, so study up!

Good luck, and check out some web sites, I know there's lots of 
informaiton out there, and yes, it's overwhelming.

Anna  . . .(who still has not responded to the dirty underwear post, 
but will probably do so when I get home, AFTER the Red Sox game.0