I was told not to be to concerned over the pixels (as all cameras really do enough for the average home user), but more over the zoom. I see digital cameras have optical and digital zoom. Whats the diff. and is their one over the other that i should be more concerned about? - (optical or digital zoom that is)
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Whats the differnce between optical zoom & digital zoom?
- Thread starter Boodles
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LCBXX
Honorary Master
Be overly concerned with optical zoom. And don't be deceived by claims of 10X optical zoom. Ask for the exact focal length, eg. 35-130mm etc. 10X optical zoom on a 18mm lens is in effect 18-180mm and a descent lens like that is rare and expensive.
CNA has the Kodak c633 for r999 - I'm thinking of picking one up for the missus.
digital SLR - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-lens_reflex_camera
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LCBXX
Honorary Master
Point-and-Shoot cameras will not have high levels of optical zoom. Usually in the region of 18-55mm (10X).
Most brands will circumvent that limitation with high digital zoom, coupled with high megapixels (7MP+), which in turn mean nothing if you have a 28mm diameter lens.
But ja, you want point and shoot, you won't care probably!
Get the Nikon CoolPix S500
Forget about digital zoom. If you're looking for a point and click, and you really want zoom power, panasonic has the Lumix range which comes with Leica lenses. Check them out.
Here are three things to look out for when buying a digital camera:
1. Response time. How long does it take to get the camera from off, to ready to take a phote? How long does it take from the moment you push your finger on the "take photo" button, till it actually takes a photo.
2. Zoom - as mentioned above. Don't ever waste your time with digital zoom.
3. Low light responsiveness. The flash on every single point and click is crap. It will always wash out the foreground way too much. If the camera has excellent low light settings that don't effect shutter speed too badly (the longer the shutter is open the more light gets in but the more likely you're going to shake and get a blurred image) you don't need to rely on the crappy flash.
4. Extra one - If you can choose for the camera to turn off all it's automatic calibrations, this is also great. It will give all your photos from one event the same lighting level and so forth. Fo example, if you wanted to take a series of pics to and later stitch them into a panarama - you'll have play around in photoshop first adjusting the light levels because the for each photo, the camera would have adjusted differently to the light.
Here are three things to look out for when buying a digital camera:
1. Response time. How long does it take to get the camera from off, to ready to take a phote? How long does it take from the moment you push your finger on the "take photo" button, till it actually takes a photo.
2. Zoom - as mentioned above. Don't ever waste your time with digital zoom.
3. Low light responsiveness. The flash on every single point and click is crap. It will always wash out the foreground way too much. If the camera has excellent low light settings that don't effect shutter speed too badly (the longer the shutter is open the more light gets in but the more likely you're going to shake and get a blurred image) you don't need to rely on the crappy flash.
4. Extra one - If you can choose for the camera to turn off all it's automatic calibrations, this is also great. It will give all your photos from one event the same lighting level and so forth. Fo example, if you wanted to take a series of pics to and later stitch them into a panarama - you'll have play around in photoshop first adjusting the light levels because the for each photo, the camera would have adjusted differently to the light.
Have the same problem (though I should point out my wife carries a handbag not meCanon A540 (think they might be discontinued though) ... very nice camera ... got my wife one for X-mas last year ... much easier to put in the handbag when going out, than the 20D
) but cameras get devastated in there so cheaper is better 
LandyMan
Honorary Master
Have the same problem (though I should point out my wife carries a handbag not me
Maybe I should have said "Man-bag" then
I got one of those foamy cases for the A540, as my wife's handbag also takes quite a beating ... works like a dream to protect the camera.
Nothing protects from the concerted efforts of a two year oldMaybe I should have said "Man-bag" then
