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Gamoe · Apr 8, 2003, 08:40 PM

I recently got an HP Photosmart 812 digital camara . However, I've been a little disappointed with it (lack of focus, time it takes to focus, red eye reduction doesn't seem to work...), and I might just take it back before my 14 days are up. Does anyone have any comments on the HP or any suggestions in case I decide to get another camara (model) altogether? I'm looking for something under $400 and preferably 4 megapixels.

Thanks.

todrain · Apr 8, 2003, 10:32 PM

The Kodak LS443 is nice... they just lowered the price to $399.99

The Olympus Stylus 300 is 3.2MP, but it's also a great model.

Also, if size is important, the Canon S230 is a good choice, or the just released S400 that's the same small size, but 4MP (but it's $499)

slffl · Apr 9, 2003, 10:47 AM

I really like the Minolta F100. This little 4MP can be had for $375 at amazon.com.

Orion27 · Apr 9, 2003, 05:00 PM

if you can find a new or used Canon G2, buy it. It includes great software ( Photoshop LE) plus enthusiastic online forums. And it's
OSX supported.

boardsurfer · 06:14 PM

:nevermind:

Gamoe · Apr 10, 2003, 04:09 AM

I returned the HP camera today. Actually, I've reconsidered my budget and I think maybe I should spend a bit more and go for the Canon PowerShot G3 , for a more "professional" camera with more options. Just about everything I've read so far about this camera has been positive, including the linked article. Any thoughts?

Orion27 · Apr 10, 2003, 05:55 AM

The G3 is as tight an integration of software,
OSX, point and shoot, plus manual control
in it's class on the market. I have the G2. There are other fine cameras, like Fuji and
Nikon, but you have to figure in the software and that puts the Canon over the top in this class.

nsxpower · Apr 10, 2003, 11:12 AM

Take it from a person who has had a few digital cameras (Canon S30, Sony P9, Nikon 5000, Canon G3, Sony U-20, Kodak mc3) ... and stayed with Canon G3 at the end of the day. Canon has created a very functional mix in this camera. Mind you, I still have the S30 becuase it is an exceptional camera as well.

- It is much better then the 4Mp/5MP Nikons due to the excessive noise, horrible low light focus, weak built in flash and crappy on-camera interface. I battled with Nikon 5000 for a little over 2 weeks and in the end decided to return it.

- Sony cameras are good becuase they are very easy to use and their batteries are superior, but their optiocs are much worse then the CCD sensors used hence the images produces have a lot of noise in them.(except for F707/717, which may be too big and odd looking for some people). Memorysticks are slower then CF media and are a degree more expensive and until recently were limited to 128Mb maximum capacity. Some of the older Sony cams (P9, P7, P71 ...) will not work with new Memory Sticks that offer capacities upto 1GB (I saw the prices and had to sit down for a minute).

G3 has enough manual control to keep you busy for a while. Images are of excellent quality, although some people find them too neutral an somewhat on the soft side. Both of those issues are much easier fixed in postprocissing then red tinting that really shows on Sony digicams (AWB is a little off on Sony digicams, IMHO). Images also have very little noise and the internal processing manages to take care of noise when shooting at high ISO. Flip-out LCD on the G3 is very very usefull when shooting from odd angles or over the head of people, it is also of very good resolution and color. Canon optics are one of the best and are matched well with the G3's 4MP CCD. There are Tele and Wide angle converters avaliable for the G3. And you can also attach external flashes to the camera and special Macro kit is also avaliable (I am not into Macro photography, so don't know about it too much).
Bottom line, Canon Powershot G3 is an amazing little camera that can do ALOT. However, me wants at 10D ... donations are very welcome

My 0.02$

Hash · Apr 13, 2003, 12:38 PM

Just bought Canon S45. I am not using it much right now, but looking toward shooting great pictures. If anyone knows about sites on manual adjusting to shoot great digital pictures, please give your advise!

firefly · Apr 13, 2003, 04:04 PM

I just got a Canon IXUS 400 (the same thing as the Powershot S400). Its a really great camera, excellent quality, fast and well made. It has pretty much all you can ask for from a camera of its size.

Before this I had a Pentax Optio 430RS for a couple of weeks but it was much worse. There was a lot of noise in shadowed areas and the autofocus was not good at all. It did have manual focus though.

BrettOZ · Apr 13, 2003, 08:54 PM

I see the Nikon Coolpix 4300 to buy is less than $400 US, I have had this camera for less than a month now - and LOVE IT!

The main thing I like about it is you can add xtra lenses to it!

Gamoe · Apr 13, 2003, 10:38 PM

Thank you all for the advice and recomendations. I finally bought a Canon PowerShot G3!

I like the fact that the camera has a "night scene" mode (because many of my pictures tend to be taken at night), among many other excellent features, and I look forward to learning how to use the manual controls and how to take advantage of the RAW format.

Interestingly, I was testing the included remote control and I noticed that the infrared beam from the remote control appeared as a white light on the screen. It seems then that the lens can see infrared?!

Thanks,

Gabriel Morales

nsxpower · Apr 14, 2003, 03:37 AM

Congrats on a great purchase

- Night Scene mode can be very usefull ... since the camera will fire a fill flash that will make night become day

However, it will also use a slower shutter speed, so you are better off using a tripod or holding the camera real steady

The following photos were shot over the weekend in relative darkness and hand held - hence slight blurring - I was also using very slow shutter speed ... in the end a funky result

Ferrari meet

- The flip out LCD + Remote = you will never be out of the group pictures any more

(You may also want to pick up a tripod.)

- Barcelona shoreline > Taken using Tv mode w/ shutter speed of 15", F8.0 and mounted on a tripod, of course. Would have liked to use a lover ampeture to get rid of the star-like appearance on the lights and reduce some of the chroma abbreviations, but needed for the camera to take all the light it could

Enjoy and take great photos

JHromadka · Apr 14, 2003, 01:03 PM

Can any of these cameras be outfitted to work underwater for taking pictures while diving?

tooki · Apr 14, 2003, 07:32 PM

FWIW, the Nikon Coolpix 4500 (which I bought a couple of months ago for $600) is now $380 (!!!!!) after rebate.

I can't emphasize enough what a great camera that is for that price. (Heck, I love mine at $600!)

tooki

nsxpower · Apr 15, 2003, 06:46 AM

It seems then that the lens can see infrared?!

Yes, you can use Canon PowerShot G3 to take infrared photos. Of course, you need a filter. I sudgest getting a Lensmate 52mm or 58mm adapter (instead of Canon's own more expensive cheapo-plastic one). It will let you attach filters, tele and wide andgle adapters ... and in some cases makes G3 look cooler (but, of course, we should not care about that. [http://www.lensmate.com or search Google if I'm wrong]

Can any of these cameras be outfitted to work underwater for taking pictures while diving?

As far as I know, Canon does not make underwater enclosures for G2 and/or G3, but there are 3rd party solutions as always. There is a variety of underwater enclosures for Canon's S-series cameras (S30, S40, S45, S50 ...).

Gamoe · Apr 17, 2003, 01:30 PM

Orion27 wrote:

The G3 is as tight an integration of software, OSX, point and shoot, plus manual control in it's class on the market.

I see that it has all the software for Mac OS 9 & X now. Funny thing is that it doesn't hint at it on the box. All it has is a "Works with Windows XP" logo, but no Mac/Mac OS X logo in sight. I was willing to bu it anyway, so I'm glad to see I get all these great little apps with it too.

nsxpower wrote:

Congrats on a great purchase

Thanks! :-)

- Night Scene mode can be very usefull ... since the camera will fire a fill flash that will make night become day However, it will also use a slower shutter speed, so you are better off using a tripod or holding the camera real steady

Yeah, I have the tripod I used with my old camera still. Nice feature too, since I take most of my pictures at night.

- The flip out LCD + Remote = you will never be out of the group pictures any more (You may also want to pick up a tripod.)

Yes, I really like that option.

Yes, you can use Canon PowerShot G3 to take infrared photos. Of course, you need a filter. I sudgest getting a Lensmate 52mm or 58mm adapter (instead of Canon's own more expensive cheapo-plastic one). It will let you attach filters, tele and wide andgle adapters ... and in some cases makes G3 look cooler (but, of course, we should not care about that. [http://www.lensmate.com or search Google if I'm wrong]

Interesting possiblities indeed. I will into this later. BTW, according to Google it's http://www.lensmateonline.com/ but that seems to be offline at the moment.

Enjoy and take great photos

Thank you. I definitely will with this camera