Should I buy a new Camera?

[laura_seabrook]

 I saw a $98 camera in Dick Smith's the other day with 6 mega pixels and 3x zoom. Very tempting to replace my old Canon A20 which I bought for $800 in 2001.I'm very tempted to buy it, but am not sure I can afford to do so.

What do you think - is it worth the $$$? I have until the 26st November before it goes back up to about $150.

Urk - maybe not. Just read this:

Size: 640x480, 320x240 (3X Optical Zoom, Mute during Zoom Operation)

Even my A20 can do better than that!

Comments

[carly-kai.livejournal.com]

That's the resolution for the movie mode - the still image size at 6.1 Mpixels is 2816 x 2112.... that will do you nicely at up to 8x10 and the camera features are pretty good.


Carly

[carly-kai.livejournal.com]

and I'd buy one

[kath-ballantyne.livejournal.com]

It doesn't sound bad. I guess it just depends on if you can afford it.

[laura-seabrook.livejournal.com]

That'll be today.

[cyclops25503.livejournal.com]

My advice would be to save up and buy something bigger and better. The old rule "You get what you pay for" very much applies to computer equipment, especially cameras.

And 640x480 for that price, eck :P

[laura-seabrook.livejournal.com]

It seems I misread the specs. The full ones are:

• Type: 1⁄2.5" CCD
• Effective Pixel: Approx. 6.0 Mega-pixel
• Total Pixel: Approx. 6.1 Mega-pixel
• Lens Focal Length: SHD Lens f = 5.8 ~ 17.4mm; (35mm film equivalent: 35~105mm)
• F No.: F2.8 ~ F7.1 (Wide); F4.9~F12.4 (Tele)
• Still Image mode digital zoom: 1.0X ~ 5.0X
• Play mode digital zoom: 1.0X ~ 11.0X (depends on image size)
• LCD Monitor: 2.5" colour TFT LCD (150,000 dots)
• Focusing Type: TTL auto focus
• Normal Range: 80cm ~ infinity
• Macro Range: 5cm~80cm (Wide), 40cm ~ 80cm (Tele)
• Auto Macro Range: 5cm~Infinity (Wide), 40cm~ Infinity (Tele)
• Shutter Type: Mechanical and Electronic shutter
• Speed (TBD): 1 ~ 1⁄1,500 sec.(Manual: 8 ~ 1⁄1,500 sec.)
• Exposure Control: Program AE
• Metering: Multi, Spot
• Compensation: ±2EV (0.5 EV steps)
• ISO Equivalent: Auto, 80,100, 200, 400
• Flash Modes: Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash off
• Range: Wide: 0.3m ~ 3.0m; Tele: 0.4m ~ 2.5m (ISO AUTO)
• Recharging Time: Approx. 5 sec.
• Sharpness: Soft, Normal, Vivid
• Effect: Normal, B&W, Sepia, Red, Blue, Green, Negative, RGB
• White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent_H, Fluorescent_L, Tungsten, Custom
• Voice Recording: Voice Recording (depends on memory size); Voice Memo in Still Image (max. 10 sec.)
• Date Imprinting: Date, Date & Time, Off (user selectable)
• Shooting Still Image Mode Dial: Auto, Program, ASR, Manual, Scene, ASR, Night Scene, Movie, Portrait
• Scene Modes: Children, Landscape, Close-up, Text, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Fireworks, Beach & Snow
• Shooting Modes: Single, Continuous, AEB
• Self-timer Mode: 2 sec., 10 sec., Double (10 sec., 2 sec.)
• Movie Clip: With Audio or without Audio (user selectable, recording time: memory capacity dependent)
• Size: 640x480, 320x240 (3X Optical Zoom, Mute during Zoom Operation)
• Frame rate: 30 fps, 20fps, 15 fps
• Movie Editing (Embedded): Pause during recording, Still Image Capture
• Internal memory: Approx.16MB flash memory
• External memory: SDHC⁄MMC⁄SD card (Up to 4GB Guaranteed)
• Still Image File Format: JPEG (DCF), EXIF 2.2, DPOF 1.1, PictBridge 1.0
• Movie Clip File Format: AVI (MJPEG)
• Audio Format: WAV
• Normal Shooting Mode Image Size: 6M: 2816x2122 pixels; 3M: 2048x1536 pixels; E-mail: 1024x768 pixels;
• Wide Shooting Mode Image Size: 4M: 2816x1584
• 3:2 Shooting Mode Image Size: 5M: 2784x1856
• "E" Button Effect: Colour, Image Adjust, Fun (High Light, Composite, Photo Frame)
• Image Editing: Resize, Rotate, Colour, Special Colour
• Image Adjust: Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Add Noise
• Fun: Cartoon, Highlight, Composite, Photo Frame, Sticker
• Image Play Type: Single image, Thumbnails, Slide show, Movie Clip
• Digital output connector: USB 2.0 High Speed
• Audio: Mono
• Video output: NTSC, PAL (user selectable)
• Power Source: 2 x AA Batteries
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 99.8x62.8x25.7mm (excluding protrusions)
• Weight: Approx. 136g (without batteries and card)
• Operating Temperature: 0 ~ 40 °C
• Operating Humidity: 5 ~ 85%
• Software Camera Driver: Storage Driver (Windows 98SE⁄2000⁄ME⁄XP, Mac OS 10.0 ~ 10.4)
• Application: Digimax Master
• Warranty: 12 months
• Grouping: Compact

...so it's not that bad.

[cyclops25503.livejournal.com]

Doesn't seem like too bad a camera for the price. What brand is it?

[laura-seabrook.livejournal.com]

Samsung. I decided not to get it though. Too much of an impulse buy, and if I take my time some thing better might come along.

[cyclops25503.livejournal.com]

Good thinking.