posted on November 11, 2000 01:09:21 AM
I have finally had it with my Canon Powershot A-5. Biggest peice of garbage I have ever thrown money at!! Trouble from day one.
I was out shopping today at a Walmart type of store and I found two cameras, both of which go off sale tomorrow, so I need to make a decision quickly. There were not any sales guys there who knew anything about digital cameras so I picked the ones I did based on the resolution (both the same I think) and the price.
First I should mention have very little money and in fact the camera money is going to come out of grocery and bill money so I need to find the best camera for the least amount of money.
The two I looked at were the HP photosmart 315 (sale price is 299.00) and the Fuji Finepix 1400 zoom (I don't recall the sale price but I think it was around $350-$370).
I am more likely to go with the HP because of the price more than anything else. Any opinions pro or con on either of these cameras?
I am not just sticking to these two brands so if anyone has any suggestions regarding an inexpensive and good camera please give me some ideas. Is it possible to get a good camera for around $300?
posted on November 11, 2000 01:33:19 AM
If either one isn't at least a 2.2 megapixel camera, forget about it. Otherwise, you'll end up getting what you pay for.
Use Yahoo and Alta Vista search engines to read various reviews online. Make sure that the places that reveiw cameras doesn't also sell them as well.
If you need a camera for general useage and most auction stuff, go with the Sony Mavica with the floppy disk. Its cheap enough and takes great pictures for the money.
When I shopped for mine, HP had a better line-up than Fuji did. But after so many sucky HP products, I can't reccomend them to anyone. I ended up with a Nikon.
posted on November 11, 2000 08:02:01 AM
You really need to compare features such as zoom, macro ability, mega-pixels etc.
We have an HP C30, and while it is a fair camera, we had to buy add on lenses to be able to do close ups of jewelry or coins. All in all I love the HP, but it is not a high end camera by any means.
Go to each makers web site and print out the features. Try the major magazines such as www.pcworld as well for reviews.
Edited to add:
These cameras use the two different storage methods, the HP uses a Compact Flash card, and the Fuji uses a Smart Media Card. You can buy Compact Flash cards that have much more storage capacity than Smart Media for one thing. CF cards are larger and a bit more "hardy", Smart Media cards are tiny and more fragile. What does your existing camera use?
What does Sony sell in your price range? The method you'll use to get the pics from the camera to your computer has to be considered as well.
posted on November 11, 2000 02:48:12 PM
I have a Fugi mx1200. It is only 1.3 mega pixel, price was $250, and I could have gotten it for $200 with a rebate at a different store(K-mart) that I later found out, and it takes great pics. I can get so close I can get a doll makers mark on the neck of a doll that comes out VERY clear. It is easy to use and almost 1 year and over 200 auctions later, not one problem. For the price I think it was a great deal. My mom has one that costs over $400, and my pics look just as good as hers on the net. If you want to be able to print your pics you take, a more expensive camera would be good, but for auctions, this one is fine. No, I don't work for Fugi!
[ edited by goodbargains on Nov 11, 2000 02:49 PM ]
posted on November 11, 2000 07:37:08 PM
I have the Fuji mx1200 too. I am the worlds worst photographer and can take great pics with this camera. Very user friendly. I am having problems taking closeups but that is because I don't know what I'm doing, not because of the camera.
posted on November 11, 2000 07:45:08 PM
Another fan of the fuji mx-1200 here. I agree that 1/3 megapixels is more than you'll ever need for auctions. If you'll be printing things out, go for the high res cameras. My pictures are all close-ups though, so I can't really speak for the quality of the regular distance photos.
posted on November 12, 2000 02:43:25 AM
Hi,
I have a Fuji MX-700 (1.5 megapixels). The photos are incredible. I get compliments on my photos all the time from other webmasters. Several of the thought that I was taking the photos with a 35mm.
Even close up, the photos are sharp and clear. I don't use 1/10 of the features available with the camera and it works great.
For web photos you don't need anything even close to 2.2 megs. If you need prints then more pixels are better. However my camer turns out some decent prints also.
posted on November 12, 2000 07:42:02 AM
I recently bought the Fuji Finepix 1400 Zoom and have been VERY pleased with it. It has a 3x Optical zoom (very important) and takes some of the best close-ups I have seen from a digital camera. All around it is great, and the photos are comparible to a 2 megapixel camera.
You really need a USB port to use this camera, but if you do, uploading from the camera to computer only takes a matter of seconds. It's fast.
The price you mentioned sounded high though. The Staples website has it for 299, and there are several places on the net that will give you the coupon codes to take another $40 off that price with free shipping. Also, there is currently a $50 fuji rebate on this camera, bringing the total down to just a little over $200. A great deal!
posted on November 12, 2000 08:08:29 AMgmccall- I have the Fuji FinePix 1400Zoom as well and after taking pictures for auctions, it's like a party for my husband and I to look at how great they turn out! The macro does awesome for the very small items that we sell. I'm still learning how to use it for regular pictures of people and such... but so far, it's been great! The only problem I had was when I got it, I had just upgraded to Windows ME and I couldn't install the camera software... so I went back to Windows 98 and did the install. Microsoft insured me that I could reinstall ME and it would be fine... but I haven't done it yet... too stressful!
Here's (hopefully it will work) a closeup of an item.... check out the detail!
_________________
posted on November 12, 2000 02:18:50 PM
Thanks for the advice. I read a bit about the HP on some recomended sites and it does not seem to be a camera that people are too happy with.
Meya: My current camera takes the compactflash card. Do you know the approximate price differences between the two? Also I would love to buy a Mavica just based on 3 x 5 floppy disk thing, however they are BEYOND out of my price range. Truth is $300 is out of my price range and when I said it was going to come out of grocery and bill money I was not kidding. OKAY off subject rant: men who do not pay child support I recommend castration with a dull kitchen knife!!
Anyway, back to the subject at hand, Gmccall: Dumb question, but the USB isn't the printer port by chance is it? Please say it is!! Sounds like staples would be worth checking out, only problem is I will have to use a layaway plan, I don't remember when I last had an extra 300 bucks to spend.
Roxw: That picture shows great detail, but why did you take a picture of the inside of my dog's mouth?
I have another question regarding my Picture it photo program. I kept getting a C++ runtime error when I try to download pictures so I dug out my Filmate Flashcard reader and since I upgraded to win 98 I cannot install it. Does anyone know if this thing only works with Win 95?
All I have to say, is when it rains, it pours!! I cannot find my manual.
Happy Sunday
Lori
[ edited by cmbtboots on Nov 12, 2000 02:20 PM ]
posted on November 12, 2000 09:00:52 PM
CMBTBOOTS: Well, I'm afraid the USB port is a lot different from the printer port. I Won't try to get into the details, but USB ports are generally several times faster than the older parallel printer ports, and are fast becoming a standard for pc connections. If your computer is less than 2 years old you probably have one. My computer did not, but I bought an adaptor that let me connect a USB port to my Motherboard for about $10. Since I installed that, I love USB and will be buying products in the future that use this method of communication. Right now I have my printer connected via USB also.
You may want to wait and watch a few of the bargain sites on the net and see what you can find. techbargains.com is one of my favorites for daily tech-related deals, and they have several site coupons also. I shopped around for about a month before buying this camera. Don't rush into buying anything... With Christmas getting closer I bet a lot of places will be having digital camera deals.
