I pretty much agree with everything that has been said, except that there is some value to the digital zoom. Keep in mind that many of the people now (and especially in the near future) using digital cameras view them as a "hi-tech" replacement for the cheap film cameras they are used to using.
This means that they, at least initially, don't want to be bothered with learning Photoshop or some other graphics program. The just want to snap a picture, stick the memory card into the printer and press print. The digital zoom allows the neophyte the ability to frame the shot and print it as is, albeit at lower resolution/quality.
Here's some other things to keep in mind:
- No optical zoom=fixed focus. This can be a good thing for those who are not into photography and are used to the point and shoot snapshot cameras. They can only go out of focus if you flinch while pressing the button, pretty much like a cheap film camera. There are also a couple of big cost savers to manufacturers because you need only a simple (sometimed even injection molded) lense system, no mechanical parts and no motors. You can also get away with a cheaper, slower CPU because the camera doesn't have to figure out stuff related to auto-focus. All of this also leads to extended battery life.
And this adds up to:
- Cost. If you are buying a camera to take nice pictures of stuff to put up on the web (and webcams don't fall into that description), the current crop of 3+ megapixel cams seem like a good deal. They aren't going to launch you into a new career as a photographer, but you won't break the bank to get the job done. And with that kind of resolution, you could probably even use it for the occasional snapshot.
My opinion is that the "mainstream" digital camera of the future will be cheap, no optical zoom and SCADS of pixels (at least when memory gets cheaper, and it will). Electronic parts will always (eventually) be less expensive to produce than mechanical/optical parts. This model most closely approximates everything that a simple film camera is/does, with the benefit of being able to post-process the "film" on your desktop.
Virtually every major name in digital cameras now has a model that falls into this category (maybe even produced in the same far-east factories), and it's probably going to be the first of many.
- Recommendations:
If you get a camera with an optical zoom feature, BE CAREFUL. Do some research on it and make sure the mechanical stuff is reliable and lasts. Also make sure that the CPU in the camera is up to the task. I bought an off-brand 4.1mp auto-zoom that was horrible. The auto-focus was slow and not very accurate and manual focus was just about out of the question due to a grainy, lo-res LCD screen. Now that I think about it, every function or feature tied to the CPU (read ALL) was pretty much painful. Very difficult to take a decent picture. On the other hand, the 2.1mp HP digital zoom cameras I bought for my daughters work great! The CPU is fast, the menus are intuitive and the pictures are fantastic, expecially for the uninitiated.
So I guess what I am saying is that there are a number of things to investigate when purchasing a digital camera, and the ones you think are most important, may or may not be. ALL of them affect the quality of the picture you will be able to get out of them, not the least of which being your own skill as a photographer. Some just make it easier than others.
Fortunately, I just got a killer deal on a Nikon D100 that is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. So I stopped worrying about all of this already
RandyT
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Topic: Digi cam question(good deal?). (Read 2198 times)
