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

[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.