Camera Help

[lesliepear]

Yesterday I was helping my friend set up her new digital camera (she got one although she's computerless at the moment). Oddly enough she got the camera I'd been looking into the Olympus FE-120 - which is a major upgrade from my 4 year old Olympus D-520. So I got to try it out as I showed her what to do. It seemed pretty good - BUT it doesn't have an optical viewfinder. So in bright sunlight it is very hard to see the big LCD screen.

Do they even make cameras with optical viewfinders anymore? I do like the camera and the fact it takes AA batteries - maybe rechargables have longer battery life, but with AA's you can get replacements anywhere in a hurry.

I looked at the Olympus Stylus 710 online but the reviews were so so. I want to get a camera that has a minimal shutter lag and the reviews of this said it didn't.

Any suggestions? It looks like my bonus will come this month, so I'd like to decide soon!

Comments

I have..

[n6vfp.livejournal.com]

I have a Sony DSC-H1. I'm very happy with it and the newest version is 7 megapixel and looks nice in black. It has both a LCD and optical viewfinder. As a bonus it has 12x opitcal zoom.

[goodjoan]

My new Kodak (easychare C643) has an optical viewfinder and a nice big digital screen and you can pick which to use. With the little printer, extra paper, rechargable battery kit with a carry case, the whole mess came in under $400. However, it does have a bit of shutter lag. One neat option that it has to help counter that is an 'action series' shutter speed which takes a series of pictures with one button press. I use it a lot when the kids are doing something 'blurry' like going down the zip line at Stone Mountain. I hit the button once, it takes a bunch of pictures then late I pick the ones that captured what I wanted.

[hippybngstockng.livejournal.com]

I have an older Olympus Stylus, shown in the icon.. I can't remember what the model number is, since it rubbed off long ago. I think it's either a 300 or 500 or something. It's "weather resistant", it takes lovely pictures and I like it a lot, but indeed, the shutter lag can be a big drag sometimes. There's some stuff I will pretty much never be able to do with it that does have me wanting a nice fancy huge SLR one, but I also realize that at the moment I don't usually have the serious time or inclination to do those things anyway. It's annoying when the kiddo is moving fast though, and turns away just as the camera finally gets the idea that I seriously wanted to take a picture.. :P Mostly it works out fine though, and I can't say having something that was a little more reactive would really improve my performance anyway.. Plus, then I'd have to carry it!

[hippybngstockng.livejournal.com]

Actually, in peering at the fine print on the bottom, it IS a 300.. D'Oh!

[lesliepear.livejournal.com]

It looks like the one I have - the D-520. I was hoping a faster camera would let me get better shots.

[mrscake.livejournal.com]

I have a digital SLR (Nikon D70) and have loved that.

[zenren.livejournal.com]

I have a fuji E550, I upgraded from a fuji 3800. I really like the fuji digital, but thas just me. This one has an optical veiwfinder and a large LCD screen. The pictures are amazingly sharp as well.

[fukrware.livejournal.com]

In my experience in selling and using digital cameras, the small point and shoot cameras will all lag a little, especially when using a flash. You can eliminate lag time by pressing the shutter button down half way while composing the picture. (I know this can sometimes be a pain...) However, the lag time all but disappears when outside in the sunlight and not using the flash... Olympus always carries a decent camera... well built, will last a good long time. Nikon also will be a top of the line camera, their L series (as in L2, L3, L4) are very nice. Sony claims excellent cameras and everyone always wants them, but in my experience, they are overpriced, you can never buy generic accessories, and they tend to break frequently.

The only cameras (again, in my experience) that have no lag time at all will be the higher end digital SLR cameras, for instance, like one poster mentioned, and also the same camera I have, the Nikon D70s. However, these are bulky and expensive. You can get a cheaper SLR, say the Nikon D50 which carries less features, is a tad smaller & lighter, but is more user friendly for those not used to SLR cameras. But this camera is still about $700. So, it all depends on how much you are willing to spend, if you mind the camera being bulky, and also if lots of features scare you or not. ;)

Sorry... Thus ends Kelley's camera lesson for the day. lol....

[fukrware.livejournal.com]

I also wanted to mention that a lot of the newer small point and shoot digital cameras are doing away with the view finders. Which, I agree with you, I think it is a big mistake. Looking back, I believe the Nikon L series do NOT have viewfinders.... grr. I love those cameras, though...

[lesliepear.livejournal.com]

The Nikon is really nice. But I need something a little less complex. And I'm sure newer cameras have less of a lag than 4 years ago.

[lunameow.livejournal.com]

I'll comment on the battery part of it. They do have a much shorter battery life when using AA's (my crappy little Kodak point-and-shoot goes through a pair of 'em in about 20 minutes if I leave the camera on). But it's also nice because, as you said, you can snag replacements in a hurry if you need them. And I use rechargable AA's anyway.

[stitchinthyme.livejournal.com]

We have a Nikon Coolpix 4800, and one of the major reasons we got it was because it has an electronic viewfinder -- that is, a second little LCD screen inside the viewfinder. It's not quite as high-res as the main LCD, but it's really nice in bright sunshine. It also has a really good zoom, like 8x or something. (Doesn't take normal batteries, though, unfortunately.)

All our pictures from our London trip (http://monster-island.org/gallery/v/london06/) a couple months ago were taken with this camera, if you'd like to get an idea of how it does.