Years ago I bought a cheapo Digital Concepts camera for $15 - 10 rebate.
Didn't even have a flash. Still works, but it's more a toy than a cam.

I'm strapped for cash, but I've got $150 in Sears gift cards. Figger
I'll buy myself a real beginners digcam for Xmas.

What's good? What's bad? I once asked an Office Max sales guy about
their display of maybe 20 cams and got blank, blank stares.

It's just me and my crazy dawg here. Do any beginners cams (bc's) have
something more sophisticated than 2 and 10 second shutter delays?

I assume they all have software that'll allow USB 2.0 downloads
to .jpg files and the like ...

The only bc's I've seen with as much as 1 yr warranty are Canon.

Sears has Canon PowerShot A560 7mp for $150. Anybody know anything about that
make/model? Know of anything better for comparable $?

Thx,
Peetie

"Peetie Wheatstraw" wrote in message
...

Years ago I bought a cheapo Digital Concepts camera for $15 - 10 rebate.
Didn't even have a flash. Still works, but it's more a toy than a cam.

I'm strapped for cash, but I've got $150 in Sears gift cards. Figger
I'll buy myself a real beginners digcam for Xmas.

What's good? What's bad? I once asked an Office Max sales guy about
their display of maybe 20 cams and got blank, blank stares.

It's just me and my crazy dawg here. Do any beginners cams (bc's) have
something more sophisticated than 2 and 10 second shutter delays?

I assume they all have software that'll allow USB 2.0 downloads
to .jpg files and the like ...

The only bc's I've seen with as much as 1 yr warranty are Canon.

Sears has Canon PowerShot A560 7mp for $150. Anybody know anything about
that
make/model? Know of anything better for comparable $?

Thx,
Peetie


You're asking for a huge amount of information, and it's unlikely anyone is
going to write a book for you when there's already so much information on
the web.

Start he
http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2705,5,00.asp

Take a look at some of the Olympus Stylus models. Some are inexpensive, and
there's also a way to get a great deal on them, as well as other Olympus
models: Buy a refurbished unit FROM OLYMPUS, via eBay.

Example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/OLYMPUS-Stylus-7...em250194060241

This is the seller's profile:
http://myworld.ebay.com/olympusauctions

On Dec 6, 12:32 pm, Peetie Wheatstraw
wrote:
Years ago I bought a cheapo Digital Concepts camera for $15 - 10 rebate.
Didn't even have a flash. Still works, but it's more a toy than a cam.

I'm strapped for cash, but I've got $150 in Sears gift cards. Figger
I'll buy myself a real beginners digcam for Xmas.

What's good? What's bad? I once asked an Office Max sales guy about
their display of maybe 20 cams and got blank, blank stares.

It's just me and my crazy dawg here. Do any beginners cams (bc's) have
something more sophisticated than 2 and 10 second shutter delays?

I assume they all have software that'll allow USB 2.0 downloads
to .jpg files and the like ...

The only bc's I've seen with as much as 1 yr warranty are Canon.

Sears has Canon PowerShot A560 7mp for $150. Anybody know anything about that
make/model? Know of anything better for comparable $?

Thx,
Peetie

Digital Camea Review or www.dpreview.com rates cameras. Actualy they
just tested the new Fuji. If you want a deal I think is the best
Hammacher Schlemmer offers lifetime warranty on what they sell and
they sell Fuji. I dont know the model but Fuji often rates better
than the competion, they have the best sensor I feel, and good optics.
I think they have a fuji for 150 at HS. I only recomend HS because
digicams break easily and the extra warrantys you buy are a rip off, I
just ruined my camera lcd screen and its not worth the money to fix
it. Call HS find out the model and go to dpreview to see its full
review, you wont go wrong, I am likely getting a fuji from HS when I
get a new camera.

"Peetie Wheatstraw" wrote

Sears has Canon PowerShot A560 7mp for $150. Anybody know anything about
that
make/model? Know of anything better for comparable $?

I think thats the same model I have. It looks just like mine but I can't
check as it's in one of the many boxes not yet unpacked after our move back
to the states.

I think you will be happy with it. Its a little bit 'fancy' in that it has
lots of added features but it also will work in a simpler 'point and click'
which the really high end units don't do as easy.

2 drawbacks but as far as i know, all digitals have the same problem and
it's a matter of degree.

1- not much memory at all so you really need an addon card. You'll also
lose any stored pictures in the camera's own memory when you slide the new
card in. This model takes the less expensive cards and sears will have
them. You don't need a huge card but I did so it cost me about 75$ I think.
You can probably get away witht he smallest one and I think those were 25$
or so? You can store something like 4 pictures at the higher resolutions
without the addon card. You can get the card later after trying the camera
out. You should be allowed to try it out at sears and see how many pics at
the resolution you find useful, will fit. You'll need 2 AA batteries. They
might require you provide them to try the camera out grin.

2- Eats batteries fast. To attempt to save them, it autoshuts off. I think
that can be turned off if it starts to be a problem. Sometimes the
batteries die when the lens is extended and you cant retract it til you put
in fresh batteries. It seems to slowly leach batteries even when turned
off? If you plan to use it alot, you may find it 'cheaper' to get some
rechargable batteries and a small recharger. We have a recharger that cost
us about 25$ but it does AA, C, and D cells plus the 9V rectangle ones. You
might be able to find a simpler unit for just AA cells for 10$. Maybe
Craigslist.com and a hunt of your area will turn up a freebie grin, hey,
worth checking!)

Oh, sideline. If you use batteries of any type often, rechargables are much
more cost effective. Just be sure you get the rechargable type. They cost a
little more but are safe to recharge. The regular non-rechargable ones are
not safe to recharge. The rechargable ones last a very long time with an
estimate of at least 20 times in my own experience. Above when I mentioned
the camera eating batteries, it is not related to recharged ones as I'd have
to get new ones when away from home (and the recharger). I noted no
difference in recharged ones and regular ones.

In article , Peetie Dot Wheatstraw at Gmail Dot Com wrote:

Sears has Canon PowerShot A560 7mp for $150. Anybody know anything about that
make/model? Know of anything better for comparable $?

Most of the Canon's and Nikon's are pretty decent. The A560
can be had for less -- Dell have it currently at $124;
Buydig.com at $134 with free shipping and probably no tax
depending on where you live. Maybe Sears will match?

Lots of good info and reviews available he

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/

With most cameras you should plan on buying an extra
(larger) memory card. With many, you should plan on
an extra battery too. A few models have really long
battery life but I've normally found it better to
work with two batteries -- put a new battery in and
charge the old one. Then you always have one fully
charged battery on hand.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peetie Wheatstraw wrote:
Years ago I bought a cheapo Digital Concepts camera for $15 - 10
rebate. Didn't even have a flash. Still works, but it's more a toy
than a cam.

I'm strapped for cash, but I've got $150 in Sears gift cards. Figger
I'll buy myself a real beginners digcam for Xmas.

What's good? What's bad? I once asked an Office Max sales guy about
their display of maybe 20 cams and got blank, blank stares.

It's just me and my crazy dawg here. Do any beginners cams (bc's) have
something more sophisticated than 2 and 10 second shutter delays?

I assume they all have software that'll allow USB 2.0 downloads
to .jpg files and the like ...

The only bc's I've seen with as much as 1 yr warranty are Canon.

Sears has Canon PowerShot A560 7mp for $150. Anybody know anything
about that make/model? Know of anything better for comparable $?

On the WinXP and WinVista newsgroups there is universal ragging about the
unbelievably crappy software that comes with Hewlitt-Packard cameras (and
just about everything else HP sells), principally the incompatibility their
software has with the operating system and other functions.

If getting your pictures OUT of your camera and INTO the computer is
important, bear in mind that you may have problems attempting to use HP
software to do it.

"HeyBub" wrote
Sears has Canon PowerShot A560 7mp for $150. Anybody know anything
about that make/model? Know of anything better for comparable $?

On the WinXP and WinVista newsgroups there is universal ragging about the
unbelievably crappy software that comes with Hewlitt-Packard cameras (and
just about everything else HP sells), principally the incompatibility
their software has with the operating system and other functions.

If getting your pictures OUT of your camera and INTO the computer is
important, bear in mind that you may have problems attempting to use HP
software to do it.

Naw, if I am right and it's the same unit I have, when you plug it in to the
USB port, XP thinks it just gained a removable hard-drive. You can just
copy stuff over from it.

I know it doesnt have all the fancy features, but this one is an easy
beginner type which works well for it's price. I do not work for Canon or
anything, just a happy owner. There were some cheaper ones but being camera
'dumb' most were just too hard to figure out. The price was right and the
ease was right. It can also do a sort of moving picture video and i think
it can trap sound as well but I havent played with that feature.

check the red tag specials at walmart. I just bought a nikon coolpix L4 for
$75.



s



"Peetie Wheatstraw" wrote in message
...

Years ago I bought a cheapo Digital Concepts camera for $15 - 10 rebate.
Didn't even have a flash. Still works, but it's more a toy than a cam.

I'm strapped for cash, but I've got $150 in Sears gift cards. Figger
I'll buy myself a real beginners digcam for Xmas.

What's good? What's bad? I once asked an Office Max sales guy about
their display of maybe 20 cams and got blank, blank stares.

It's just me and my crazy dawg here. Do any beginners cams (bc's) have
something more sophisticated than 2 and 10 second shutter delays?

I assume they all have software that'll allow USB 2.0 downloads
to .jpg files and the like ...

The only bc's I've seen with as much as 1 yr warranty are Canon.

Sears has Canon PowerShot A560 7mp for $150. Anybody know anything about
that
make/model? Know of anything better for comparable $?

Thx,
Peetie

Peetie Wheatstraw wrote:
Years ago I bought a cheapo Digital Concepts camera for $15 - 10 rebate.
Didn't even have a flash. Still works, but it's more a toy than a cam.

I'm strapped for cash, but I've got $150 in Sears gift cards. Figger
I'll buy myself a real beginners digcam for Xmas.

What's good? What's bad? I once asked an Office Max sales guy about
their display of maybe 20 cams and got blank, blank stares.

It's just me and my crazy dawg here. Do any beginners cams (bc's) have
something more sophisticated than 2 and 10 second shutter delays?

I assume they all have software that'll allow USB 2.0 downloads
to .jpg files and the like ...

The only bc's I've seen with as much as 1 yr warranty are Canon.

Sears has Canon PowerShot A560 7mp for $150. Anybody know anything about that
make/model? Know of anything better for comparable $?

Thx,
Peetie

Following are three URLs of reviews for that exact camera:

http://tinyurl.com/2xzxq4
http://tinyurl.com/22nqbp
http://tinyurl.com/28djq8

Happy reading,

Don

On Thu, 6 Dec 2007 13:47:12 -0600, "HeyBub" wrote:


On the WinXP and WinVista newsgroups there is universal ragging about the
unbelievably crappy software that comes with Hewlitt-Packard cameras (and
just about everything else HP sells), principally the incompatibility their
software has with the operating system and other functions.

If getting your pictures OUT of your camera and INTO the computer is
important, bear in mind that you may have problems attempting to use HP
software to do it.

I've -got- the software that came with my HP 4215 printer/etc installed.
It's not useless, but it has been damned problematical.

I'm still running Win 2000, swore off OS's that report hardware
profiles, etc years ago. I figger I'll have to install the
vendor's (i.e. Canon) software or a freeware/shareware product
(if available).

HP and GE and any cheapo cam vendors are currently not in my sights.

Thx.
Peetie

On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:45:41 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:



You're asking for a huge amount of information, and it's unlikely anyone is
going to write a book for you when there's already so much information on
the web.

Start he
http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2705,5,00.asp

Is indeed helpful.

Take a look at some of the Olympus Stylus models. Some are inexpensive, and
there's also a way to get a great deal on them, as well as other Olympus
models: Buy a refurbished unit FROM OLYMPUS, via eBay.

Example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/OLYMPUS-Stylus-7...em250194060241

This is the seller's profile:
http://myworld.ebay.com/olympusauctions

I took a peek. Refurb with 3 mo. warranty. I'd rather plunk down a few more $ ...

Thanks,
Peetie

"Well, there's two trains runnin'.
Ain't neither one goin' my way.
One run at midnight,
the other run just before day."
- from "Still A Fool", Muddy Waters, maybe 1949

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:45:41 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:



You're asking for a huge amount of information, and it's unlikely anyone
is
going to write a book for you when there's already so much information on
the web.

Start he
http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2705,5,00.asp

Is indeed helpful.

Take a look at some of the Olympus Stylus models. Some are inexpensive,
and
there's also a way to get a great deal on them, as well as other Olympus
models: Buy a refurbished unit FROM OLYMPUS, via eBay.

Example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/OLYMPUS-Stylus-7...em250194060241

This is the seller's profile:
http://myworld.ebay.com/olympusauctions

I took a peek. Refurb with 3 mo. warranty. I'd rather plunk down a few
more $ ...


Yeah, that's an important factor to weigh. I decided to take my chances, and
I saved a lot of money. Took 3 weeks to actually win an auction, though.
There were lots of morons bidding the prices up to a level higher than the
best legitimate deals on NEW cameras. I finally got mine on Halloween. I
think the dumb bidders were in a candy coma. Nice quiet night on eBay.

I'll check it out. Thanks.

Peetie

On Thu, 6 Dec 2007 10:47:11 -0800 (PST), ransley wrote:

Digital Camea Review or www.dpreview.com rates cameras. Actualy they
just tested the new Fuji. If you want a deal I think is the best
Hammacher Schlemmer offers lifetime warranty on what they sell and
they sell Fuji. I dont know the model but Fuji often rates better
than the competion, they have the best sensor I feel, and good optics.
I think they have a fuji for 150 at HS. I only recomend HS because
digicams break easily and the extra warrantys you buy are a rip off, I
just ruined my camera lcd screen and its not worth the money to fix
it. Call HS find out the model and go to dpreview to see its full
review, you wont go wrong, I am likely getting a fuji from HS when I
get a new camera.

"Well, there's two trains runnin'.
Ain't neither one goin' my way.
One run at midnight,
the other run just before day."
- from "Still A Fool", Muddy Waters, maybe 1949

In article , "S. Barker" wrote:
check the red tag specials at walmart. I just bought a nikon coolpix L4 for
$75.

It's a pretty basic camera but that was great deal at $75!

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In article , Pudding Dot Man At Gmail Dot Com wrote:

I took a peek. Refurb with 3 mo. warranty. I'd rather plunk down a few more $

Here are some good recommendations covering the spectrum
from $130 to $8000:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm

Rockwell is kind of opinionated but this is a pretty
sensible (although not exhaustive) list of good buys.
He'll wisely steer you away from ebay and other scam
rich sources.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Malcolm Hoar" wrote in message
...
In article , Pudding Dot Man
At Gmail Dot Com wrote:

I took a peek. Refurb with 3 mo. warranty. I'd rather plunk down a few
more $

Here are some good recommendations covering the spectrum
from $130 to $8000:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm

Rockwell is kind of opinionated but this is a pretty
sensible (although not exhaustive) list of good buys.
He'll wisely steer you away from ebay and other scam
rich sources.


Buying a refurb from the original manufacturer isn't a scam.

In article , "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
"Malcolm Hoar" wrote in message
...
In article , Pudding Dot Man
At Gmail Dot Com wrote:

I took a peek. Refurb with 3 mo. warranty. I'd rather plunk down a few
more $

Here are some good recommendations covering the spectrum
from $130 to $8000:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm

Rockwell is kind of opinionated but this is a pretty
sensible (although not exhaustive) list of good buys.
He'll wisely steer you away from ebay and other scam
rich sources.

Buying a refurb from the original manufacturer isn't a scam.

I didn't say it was. However, I do maintain that ebay
is a scam rich source. And even opening an ebay account
exposes one to some of that nonsense. I can safely
discard all of the email that refers to my ebay account
for the simple reason that I don't have one. If I
actually had an account there I'd have to sort out
the genuine from all of the scams. And I get many
of them each and every day!

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 19:21:52 GMT, (Malcolm Hoar) wrote:

In article , Peetie Dot Wheatstraw at Gmail Dot Com wrote:

Sears has Canon PowerShot A560 7mp for $150. Anybody know anything about that
make/model? Know of anything better for comparable $?

Most of the Canon's and Nikon's are pretty decent. The A560
can be had for less -- Dell have it currently at $124;
Buydig.com at $134 with free shipping and probably no tax
depending on where you live. Maybe Sears will match?

Good idea, I shoulda thought of.

They only match to retail B&M's or B&M's web sites
with Sears web site, near as I can tell.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/nb_10153_...atch?adCell=AF

Lots of good info and reviews available he

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/

With most cameras you should plan on buying an extra
(larger) memory card. With many, you should plan on
an extra battery too. A few models have really long
battery life but I've normally found it better to
work with two batteries -- put a new battery in and
charge the old one. Then you always have one fully
charged battery on hand.

A 1gb SD card is maybe $10-15. I'll sort out the battery
stuff later.

Thanks,
Peetie

"Well, there's two trains runnin'.
Ain't neither one goin' my way.
One run at midnight,
the other run just before day."
- from "Still A Fool", Muddy Waters, maybe 1949

Check www.bhphotovideo.com for prices before you make your final purchase.
Excellent service, if you ever need it.

wrote:

On the WinXP and WinVista newsgroups there is universal ragging
about the unbelievably crappy software that comes with
Hewlitt-Packard cameras (and just about everything else HP sells),
principally the incompatibility their software has with the
operating system and other functions.

If getting your pictures OUT of your camera and INTO the computer is
important, bear in mind that you may have problems attempting to use
HP software to do it.


Not needed. Connect you camera via USB to the PC and WinXP will
automagically find it and treat it just like it's another hard drive.
Drag the files from the card in the camera to your hard drive. I would
never install any crapware that comes free with a camera.

Agreed. The SD card can be treated as an extra drive and things work quite
well. It's when you try to hook up the camera directly to the computer that
the camera maker's software comes into play.

Plus, HP (for one) tries to bundle in all sorts of crapware to
crop/adjust/color/copy/print/hose down with turtle repellant that the
uninitiated may be encouraged to load on the computer (to his detriment).

The consensus is that Canon's software isn't bad at all.

wrote:

On the WinXP and WinVista newsgroups there is universal ragging
about the unbelievably crappy software that comes with
Hewlitt-Packard cameras (and just about everything else HP sells),
principally the incompatibility their software has with the
operating system and other functions.

If getting your pictures OUT of your camera and INTO the computer is
important, bear in mind that you may have problems attempting to use
HP software to do it.


Not needed. Connect you camera via USB to the PC and WinXP will
automagically find it and treat it just like it's another hard drive.
Drag the files from the card in the camera to your hard drive. I would
never install any crapware that comes free with a camera.

Agreed. The SD card can be treated as an extra drive and things work quite
well. It's when you try to hook up the camera directly to the computer that
the camera maker's software comes into play.

Plus, HP (for one) tries to bundle in all sorts of crapware to
crop/adjust/color/copy/print/hose down with turtle repellant that the
uninitiated may be encouraged to load on the computer (to his detriment).

The consensus is that Canon's software isn't bad at all.

In article , "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
Check www.bhphotovideo.com for prices before you make your final purchase.
Excellent service, if you ever need it.

B&H is an excellent source. Their prices are not always the
lowest but they're usually pretty close. Their service is
pretty much unbeatable. They're totally dependable which is
why many (if not most) professional photographers buy gear
there.

They also stock a HUGE range of gear including exotic and
hard to find stuff.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Malcolm Hoar" wrote in message
...
In article , "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:
Check www.bhphotovideo.com for prices before you make your final purchase.
Excellent service, if you ever need it.

B&H is an excellent source. Their prices are not always the
lowest but they're usually pretty close. Their service is
pretty much unbeatable. They're totally dependable which is
why many (if not most) professional photographers buy gear
there.

They also stock a HUGE range of gear including exotic and
hard to find stuff.


Just don't get all worked about buying something on a major Jewish holiday.
When they say "closed", they mean it. They actually shut down the web site
as well as their retail store.

In article , "HeyBub" wrote:

Agreed. The SD card can be treated as an extra drive and things work quite
well. It's when you try to hook up the camera directly to the computer that
the camera maker's software comes into play.

Plus, HP (for one) tries to bundle in all sorts of crapware to
crop/adjust/color/copy/print/hose down with turtle repellant that the
uninitiated may be encouraged to load on the computer (to his detriment).

The consensus is that Canon's software isn't bad at all.

My Canon software has become quite a bit more intrusive
with each subsequent update :-(

HP and Fuji are dreadful. Nikon not too bad.

Just attaching the camera as a USB drive is definitely
the preferable route to follow to avoid all of the
crapola. It wasn't always an option with the older
digital cameras but it's pretty much universal today,
thank goodness.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In article , "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:

Just don't get all worked about buying something on a major Jewish holiday.

Or Friday evening to Saturday evening!

OTOH, I placed an order with B&H this morning after this
thread started, and my UPS tracking # was received two hours
later. Really!

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

wrote in message
...
On Thu, 6 Dec 2007 17:07:29 -0600, "HeyBub" wrote:

wrote:

On the WinXP and WinVista newsgroups there is universal ragging
about the unbelievably crappy software that comes with
Hewlitt-Packard cameras (and just about everything else HP sells),
principally the incompatibility their software has with the
operating system and other functions.

If getting your pictures OUT of your camera and INTO the computer is
important, bear in mind that you may have problems attempting to use
HP software to do it.


Not needed. Connect you camera via USB to the PC and WinXP will
automagically find it and treat it just like it's another hard drive.
Drag the files from the card in the camera to your hard drive. I would
never install any crapware that comes free with a camera.

Agreed. The SD card can be treated as an extra drive and things work quite
well. It's when you try to hook up the camera directly to the computer
that
the camera maker's software comes into play.


No... I'm saying you can hook the camera itself up with the card installed
in
it, and XP will have no trouble dealing with it. The camera comes with a
USB
cable, and that is ALL you need. Just plug it in and turn on the camera.
XP will
take care of everything. The camera maker's software doesn't ever get
taken out
of the shrink wrap.



Same here. I've never used a camera manufacturer's software to move/copy
pics from camera to computer.

In article , "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:

Same here. I've never used a camera manufacturer's software to move/copy
pics from camera to computer.

I don't either but there are some advantages. Some products
incorporate some nifty features including the ability to
easily/quickly tag the images as they're transferred.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:55:00 GMT, (Malcolm Hoar) wrote:

In article , "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
"Malcolm Hoar" wrote in message
...
In article , Pudding Dot Man
At Gmail Dot Com wrote:

I took a peek. Refurb with 3 mo. warranty. I'd rather plunk down a few
more $

Here are some good recommendations covering the spectrum
from $130 to $8000:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm

Rockwell is kind of opinionated but this is a pretty
sensible (although not exhaustive) list of good buys.
He'll wisely steer you away from ebay and other scam
rich sources.

Buying a refurb from the original manufacturer isn't a scam.

I didn't say it was. However, I do maintain that ebay
is a scam rich source. And even opening an ebay account
exposes one to some of that nonsense. I can safely
discard all of the email that refers to my ebay account
for the simple reason that I don't have one. If I
actually had an account there I'd have to sort out
the genuine from all of the scams. And I get many
of them each and every day!

No offence, but "The Internet" is a scam rich source.

No reputable business will ask for sensitive personal
info in Email. Delete anthing that does ask.

Ebay is everything, from some great deals to some
100% blatant rip-offs. Caveat emptor. Ebay and
Craigslist are the only practical sources I know
for used/outdated stuff.

Peetie

In article ,
Peetie Wheatstraw wrote:

Sears has Canon PowerShot A560 7mp for $150. Anybody know anything about that
make/model?

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...ategoryid=183&
modelid=14904

B&H is selling it for $128.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...PowerShot_A560
_Digital_Camera.html

You would be hard-pressed to find anything substantially better than that
camera for the same money.

Advantage: Uses Canon's newest DiG!C III image processor. That promises the
best performance regarding "shutter lag" - the bane of virtually all
point-n-shoot cameras to date.

Advantage: Uses two, common 'AA'-size batteries.
Disadvantage: Uses two, common 'AA'-size batteries.

(Huh?)

The real advantage is that you can purchase batteries for this model virtually
anywhere. The downside is that it uses only TWO of them. That means you'll
be changing batteries frequently, particularly if the built-in flash is used
much.

I may buy one of these as a spare camera. That's a helluva price for this
little gem.

You would do well to ask your question in a more appropriate newsgroup:

news:rec.photo.digital.point+shoot

Good luck!
--

JR

Canon EOS 20D

On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:00:02 -0600, Jim Redelfs
wrote:

-snip-
Advantage: Uses Canon's newest DiG!C III image processor. That promises the
best performance regarding "shutter lag" - the bane of virtually all
point-n-shoot cameras to date.

4 of the last 5 cameras in this household have been Canon Powershots.
[they can't fly or swim- so don't throw them down stairs or drop them
in bathtubs] Shutter lag is the only thing I can say bad about
them. We just ordered the A560 for my daughter. [Walmart had a
Blackfriday sale- $148 - with a free all-in-one printer] If the
shutter lag is improved I'll replace my wife's 520 with a 560.

We haven't fired up my daughter's A560- but man what an LCD on that
puppy!


Advantage: Uses two, common 'AA'-size batteries.
Disadvantage: Uses two, common 'AA'-size batteries.

Agree 100% with both premises- If you use a lot of flash get a few
sets of top of the line NIMH batteries and a charger.

You would do well to ask your question in a more appropriate newsgroup:

news:rec.photo.digital.point+shoot


second that-

Jim

In article ,
"Stormin Mormon" wrote:

Megapixels. More means sharper pictures.

I respectfully disagree. Or, at least, that is a misleading simplification of
how megapixels work.

Assuming that no cropping of the image is done, and you print the photo no
larger than 8x10, 3-4 megapixels is sufficient.

One would have to enlarge a photo to WALL POSTER-size to notice the difference
between 4 MP and 7 MP.

There ARE, however, advantages to more megapixels. Viewed on all but the
HUGEST computer display or printed to 4x6, there is NO visible difference
between the same shot taken by a 4 MP vs 7 MP camera.

More megapixels can also be considered "digital zoom". That is, you can
zoom-in to just a portion of the frame and save the photo there. This process
is accomplished by "shedding" pixels from outside the crop area.

7.1 megpixels is MORE than enough for the casual snapshooter.

Memory space. Mine came with 1 GB, though I can buy 1 GB or 2GB cards with
it.

The Canon model queried by the OP comes with a 16 MB (megabyte) card. That is
barely large enough to have fun the moment the box is opened before the
shutterbug is looking for a bigger card. A 1gb card is plenty. A 2gb might
be a little better. They have gotten so cheap lately that buying either one
shouldn't "hurt" too badly.

I shoot low resolution small pictures nearly all the time.

That is probably not a good idea. If the original photo is of a "small" size,
both in JPEG compression and "fine-ness", it can never be improved. This is
particularly important when one captures The Photo of a Lifetime or some,
other special occasion where enlarged prints are a possibility.

Using a computer and basic software, a large-size photo can be easily
downsized for emailing or other purposes where a high-resolution photo is not
required. If it starts out low-res, there's no making it better.

Disk space has become almost cheap, too. Shoot your photos at the highest
resolution and, if the disk fills-up, off-load the files to a spare drive and
start over.

The camera also takes silent movie clips.

The OP's queried camera takes movies up to 60 fps (frames-per-second) with
sound (probably monaural).

For B&H's $128 it sounds like a great camera.
--

JR

Ya, my wife wanted one that she could put in her pocket.


s


"Malcolm Hoar" wrote in message
...
In article , "S. Barker"
wrote:
check the red tag specials at walmart. I just bought a nikon coolpix L4
for
$75.

It's a pretty basic camera but that was great deal at $75!

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peetie Wheatstraw wrote:
Years ago I bought a cheapo Digital Concepts camera for $15 - 10 rebate.
Didn't even have a flash. Still works, but it's more a toy than a cam.

I'm strapped for cash, but I've got $150 in Sears gift cards. Figger
I'll buy myself a real beginners digcam for Xmas.

What's good? What's bad? I once asked an Office Max sales guy about
their display of maybe 20 cams and got blank, blank stares.

It's just me and my crazy dawg here. Do any beginners cams (bc's) have
something more sophisticated than 2 and 10 second shutter delays?

I assume they all have software that'll allow USB 2.0 downloads
to .jpg files and the like ...

The only bc's I've seen with as much as 1 yr warranty are Canon.

Sears has Canon PowerShot A560 7mp for $150. Anybody know anything about that
make/model? Know of anything better for comparable $?

Thx,
Peetie
Hi,
Can't go wrong with any Canon. A-series uses ordinary batteries which
could be a plus when traveling.

On Dec 6, 5:18 pm, (Malcolm Hoar) wrote:
In article , "HeyBub" wrote:
Agreed. The SD card can be treated as an extra drive and things work quite
well. It's when you try to hook up the camera directly to the computer that
the camera maker's software comes into play.

Plus, HP (for one) tries to bundle in all sorts of crapware to
crop/adjust/color/copy/print/hose down with turtle repellant that the
uninitiated may be encouraged to load on the computer (to his detriment).

The consensus is that Canon's software isn't bad at all.

My Canon software has become quite a bit more intrusive
with each subsequent update :-(

HP and Fuji are dreadful. Nikon not too bad.

Just attaching the camera as a USB drive is definitely
the preferable route to follow to avoid all of the
crapola. It wasn't always an option with the older
digital cameras but it's pretty much universal today,
thank goodness.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
|http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I bought a Panasonic 6mp online last year for $150 (BestBuy). 6X
optical and image stabilization. (keep in-mind 6X sticks-out further)
Had a Vivitar before-that ate batteries for breakfast.

On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:00:27 -0600, IGot2P wrote:

Peetie Wheatstraw wrote:

...

Following are three URLs of reviews for that exact camera:

http://tinyurl.com/2xzxq4
http://tinyurl.com/22nqbp
http://tinyurl.com/28djq8

Happy reading,

Don

Very helpful.

Thanks,
Peetie

"Peetie Wheatstraw" wrote
Thanks,
Peetie

Hey Peetie, did you get my note? I seem the only one who actually has one
of them and sent you a rundown on them. Just wondering as you repied to
many others but i didnt see any questions to the only one who owns one.

On Fri, 7 Dec 2007 14:14:32 -0800, "Cshenk" wrote:


"Peetie Wheatstraw" wrote
Thanks,
Peetie

Hey Peetie, did you get my note?

Per below? Got it.

I seem the only one who actually has one
of them and sent you a rundown on them. Just wondering as you repied to
many others but i didnt see any questions to the only one who owns one.

On Thu, 6 Dec 2007 11:02:26 -0800, "Cshenk" wrote:

I think thats the same model I have. It looks just like mine but I can't
check as it's in one of the many boxes not yet unpacked after our move back
to the states.

Did you unpack it? It is indeed an A560? Even if it's an A550 or
whatever, there's some good info here.

I think you will be happy with it. Its a little bit 'fancy' in that it has
lots of added features but it also will work in a simpler 'point and click'
which the really high end units don't do as easy.

Check.

Some say the Canon SD1000 is better. Comes with recharger, etc.
Features are -very- similar. Costs maybe $40 more, mostly it's
just smaller. I think I'll stick with the A560, but I'll see
how it fits in my hand, etc before pucrhasing.

2 drawbacks but as far as i know, all digitals have the same problem and
it's a matter of degree.

1- not much memory at all so you really need an addon card. You'll also
lose any stored pictures in the camera's own memory when you slide the new
card in.

Was news to me. Thanks.

This model takes the less expensive cards and sears will have
them. You don't need a huge card but I did so it cost me about 75$ I think.
You can probably get away witht he smallest one and I think those were 25$
or so? You can store something like 4 pictures at the higher resolutions
without the addon card. You can get the card later after trying the camera
out. You should be allowed to try it out at sears and see how many pics at
the resolution you find useful, will fit. You'll need 2 AA batteries. They
might require you provide them to try the camera out grin.

I think 1 gb SD cards are down to $10-$15, no sweat.

2- Eats batteries fast. To attempt to save them, it autoshuts off. I think
that can be turned off if it starts to be a problem. Sometimes the
batteries die when the lens is extended and you cant retract it til you put
in fresh batteries.

Didn't think of that. Guess it makes sense, 'tho.

It seems to slowly leach batteries even when turned
off? If you plan to use it alot, you may find it 'cheaper' to get some
rechargable batteries and a small recharger. We have a recharger that cost
us about 25$ but it does AA, C, and D cells plus the 9V rectangle ones. You
might be able to find a simpler unit for just AA cells for 10$. Maybe
Craigslist.com and a hunt of your area will turn up a freebie grin, hey,
worth checking!)

I can look into that after I've got/fiddled the cam.

Oh, sideline. If you use batteries of any type often, rechargables are much
more cost effective. Just be sure you get the rechargable type. They cost a
little more but are safe to recharge. The regular non-rechargable ones are
not safe to recharge. The rechargable ones last a very long time with an
estimate of at least 20 times in my own experience. Above when I mentioned
the camera eating batteries, it is not related to recharged ones as I'd have
to get new ones when away from home (and the recharger). I noted no
difference in recharged ones and regular ones.

Good to know.

I'll just let it eat regular batteries for a couple-3 pairs, whilst I'm
getting used to the cam.

Much Thanks,
Peetie

"Peetie Wheatstraw" wrote
Hey Peetie, did you get my note?

Per below? Got it.


Ok sorry, I must have missed your reply in the blizzard of spam.

I seem the only one who actually has one
of them and sent you a rundown on them. Just wondering as you repied to
many others but i didnt see any questions to the only one who owns one.

On Thu, 6 Dec 2007 11:02:26 -0800, "Cshenk" wrote:

I think thats the same model I have. It looks just like mine but I can't
check as it's in one of the many boxes not yet unpacked after our move
back
to the states.

Did you unpack it? It is indeed an A560? Even if it's an A550 or
whatever, there's some good info here.

It's the same one. Unpacked it now. Took a bit to find it.

I think you will be happy with it. Its a little bit 'fancy' in that it
has
lots of added features but it also will work in a simpler 'point and
click'
which the really high end units don't do as easy.

Check.

Some say the Canon SD1000 is better. Comes with recharger, etc.
Features are -very- similar. Costs maybe $40 more, mostly it's
just smaller. I think I'll stick with the A560, but I'll see
how it fits in my hand, etc before pucrhasing.

That one may be better. I figured you have the Sears gift card so are
limited to what they have. If they have both, try them out?

2 drawbacks but as far as i know, all digitals have the same problem and
it's a matter of degree.

1- not much memory at all so you really need an addon card. You'll also
lose any stored pictures in the camera's own memory when you slide the new
card in.

Was news to me. Thanks.

I see others tell you that you'll need a memory card too. It suprized me
when I got mine that we needed to run back next day to get a card. As I was
usng it overseas in foriegn ports (am Navy, was stationed in Japan and on
the high seas 9 months of the year), I neede to be able to snap away for
hours on end and then store the pics.

This model takes the less expensive cards and sears will have
them. You don't need a huge card but I did so it cost me about 75$ I
think.
You can probably get away witht he smallest one and I think those were 25$
or so? You can store something like 4 pictures at the higher resolutions
without the addon card. You can get the card later after trying the
camera
out. You should be allowed to try it out at sears and see how many pics
at
the resolution you find useful, will fit. You'll need 2 AA batteries.
They
might require you provide them to try the camera out grin.

I think 1 gb SD cards are down to $10-$15, no sweat.

Yup. Figure that will work for you. You wont often be 3-4 days away from a
computer where you can crossload them off so that will work. You have to
get the type for that camera but they are common ones.

2- Eats batteries fast. To attempt to save them, it autoshuts off. I
think
that can be turned off if it starts to be a problem. Sometimes the
batteries die when the lens is extended and you cant retract it til you
put
in fresh batteries.

Didn't think of that. Guess it makes sense, 'tho.

It takes 2 AA's so the 'recharger' part of the other unit isnt workable
here.

It seems to slowly leach batteries even when turned
off? If you plan to use it alot, you may find it 'cheaper' to get some
rechargable batteries and a small recharger. We have a recharger that
cost
us about 25$ but it does AA, C, and D cells plus the 9V rectangle ones.
You
might be able to find a simpler unit for just AA cells for 10$. Maybe
Craigslist.com and a hunt of your area will turn up a freebie grin, hey,
worth checking!)

I can look into that after I've got/fiddled the cam.

Trying to remmember but i think I would get a day's use per set of
batteries.

Oh, sideline. If you use batteries of any type often, rechargables are
much
more cost effective. Just be sure you get the rechargable type. They cost
a
little more but are safe to recharge. The regular non-rechargable ones
are
not safe to recharge. The rechargable ones last a very long time with an
estimate of at least 20 times in my own experience. Above when I
mentioned
the camera eating batteries, it is not related to recharged ones as I'd
have
to get new ones when away from home (and the recharger). I noted no
difference in recharged ones and regular ones.

Good to know.

I'll just let it eat regular batteries for a couple-3 pairs, whilst I'm
getting used to the cam.


Ok! You won't have any expense in this unit other than batteries and 3 sets
will work for a time to let you see how they last for you.

On Sat, 8 Dec 2007 09:13:19 -0500, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

"Jim Redelfs" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Stormin Mormon" wrote:

Megapixels. More means sharper pictures.

I respectfully disagree. Or, at least, that is a misleading simplification
of
how megapixels work.

CY: OK, lets look at th at.

Assuming that no cropping of the image is done, and you print the photo no
larger than 8x10, 3-4 megapixels is sufficient.

CY: The manual that came with mine said that different picture sizes (in
terms of kb or mb) relate to different print sizes. I can choose 300 kb, up
to 7 mb, I think it is. As I undertand, megapixels relates to the graininess
of the image. Graininess is a very old term, from the black and white film
days.

One would have to enlarge a photo to WALL POSTER-size to notice the
difference
between 4 MP and 7 MP.

CY: I'll take you word on that.

There ARE, however, advantages to more megapixels. Viewed on all but the
HUGEST computer display or printed to 4x6, there is NO visible difference
between the same shot taken by a 4 MP vs 7 MP camera.

CY: You haven't menitoned the KB and MB yet.

More megapixels can also be considered "digital zoom". That is, you can
zoom-in to just a portion of the frame and save the photo there. This
process
is accomplished by "shedding" pixels from outside the crop area.

CY: You havn't mentioned KB and MB yet.

7.1 megpixels is MORE than enough for the casual snapshooter.

CY: That sounds reasonable.

Memory space. Mine came with 1 GB, though I can buy 1 GB or 2GB cards with
it.

The Canon model queried by the OP comes with a 16 MB (megabyte) card. That
is
barely large enough to have fun the moment the box is opened before the
shutterbug is looking for a bigger card. A 1gb card is plenty. A 2gb might
be a little better. They have gotten so cheap lately that buying either one
shouldn't "hurt" too badly.

CY: My 2 GB card was $15 on Black Friday. I shoulda bought two of them.

I shoot low resolution small pictures nearly all the time.

That is probably not a good idea. If the original photo is of a "small"
size,
both in JPEG compression and "fine-ness", it can never be improved. This is
particularly important when one captures The Photo of a Lifetime or some,
other special occasion where enlarged prints are a possibility.

CY: I got a couple 8 x 10 from a low KB picture, and it was usable.

Using a computer and basic software, a large-size photo can be easily
downsized for emailing or other purposes where a high-resolution photo is
not
required. If it starts out low-res, there's no making it better.

CY: Agreed. Though, most of the pics I'm taking aren't Florida vacation or
something like that.

Disk space has become almost cheap, too. Shoot your photos at the highest
resolution and, if the disk fills-up, off-load the files to a spare drive
and
start over.

CY: Which is fine, when you have the drive space for 7 MB frames. I'm
working with a small camera, and a small computer drive. For me, 120 to 150
KB per frame is just fine. I can also email them without overloading the
person on the other end.

The camera also takes silent movie clips.

The OP's queried camera takes movies up to 60 fps (frames-per-second) with
sound (probably monaural).

For B&H's $128 it sounds like a great camera.


I just read this and wanted to comment even if it is totally off
topic. My Olympus which I got about 3 years ago suddenly just died.
It was a 3MP, and it took excellent pictures. I am not endorsing
Olympus though, because I have owned 4 of their dig. cameras and all
of them seem to just suddenly die after a few years, and I do keep my
cameras in a case and take good care of them. I also do not take very
many pictures. I actually would have not bought that last Olympus
because of the bad luck I had with their cameras, but got it as a
gift.

Anyhow, that 3MP took great pictures as long as the camera was alive.

A couple weeks ago I bought a new HP camera. I also had to buy a new
card for it. because my older cards are no longer used (smart media).
This new camera is a 6.2MP. I am extremely dissatisfied with this
camera, and intend to return it next week. 1. The pictures are all
grainy, and just not clear and crisp like the ones I got on my older
camera. 2. This camera takes 2 AA batteries. I have gotten at most,
20 pictures from a pair of new alkaline batteries. My Olympus would
take hundreds of pictures from 4 AA batteries. (and I tried a
different brand of battery). 3. It has no viewfinder. Ya. it has the
digital screen, but I've never owned a camera without a viewfinder and
taking pictures at arms length is just uncomfortable is not weird.

So I have more than twice the MPs I had on my last camera, and the
pictures are terrible in comparison. I hate evereything about this
new camera, which is a HP M547. I'm now trying to decide if after I
return this one, if I should get another brand, or just buy a used
Olympus like the one I had before and hope it lasts awhile. For one
thing, it seems that there are hardly any brands that have viewfinders
these days. Whoever came up with that assenine idea is really an
idiot.

New is not always better !

Gary

wrote:

On Sat, 8 Dec 2007 09:13:19 -0500, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:


"Jim Redelfs" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Stormin Mormon" wrote:


Megapixels. More means sharper pictures.

I respectfully disagree. Or, at least, that is a misleading simplification
of
how megapixels work.

CY: OK, lets look at th at.

Assuming that no cropping of the image is done, and you print the photo no
larger than 8x10, 3-4 megapixels is sufficient.

CY: The manual that came with mine said that different picture sizes (in
terms of kb or mb) relate to different print sizes. I can choose 300 kb, up
to 7 mb, I think it is. As I undertand, megapixels relates to the graininess
of the image. Graininess is a very old term, from the black and white film
days.

One would have to enlarge a photo to WALL POSTER-size to notice the
difference
between 4 MP and 7 MP.

CY: I'll take you word on that.

There ARE, however, advantages to more megapixels. Viewed on all but the
HUGEST computer display or printed to 4x6, there is NO visible difference
between the same shot taken by a 4 MP vs 7 MP camera.

CY: You haven't menitoned the KB and MB yet.

More megapixels can also be considered "digital zoom". That is, you can
zoom-in to just a portion of the frame and save the photo there. This
process
is accomplished by "shedding" pixels from outside the crop area.

CY: You havn't mentioned KB and MB yet.

7.1 megpixels is MORE than enough for the casual snapshooter.

CY: That sounds reasonable.


Memory space. Mine came with 1 GB, though I can buy 1 GB or 2GB cards with
it.

The Canon model queried by the OP comes with a 16 MB (megabyte) card. That
is
barely large enough to have fun the moment the box is opened before the
shutterbug is looking for a bigger card. A 1gb card is plenty. A 2gb might
be a little better. They have gotten so cheap lately that buying either one
shouldn't "hurt" too badly.

CY: My 2 GB card was $15 on Black Friday. I shoulda bought two of them.


I shoot low resolution small pictures nearly all the time.

That is probably not a good idea. If the original photo is of a "small"
size,
both in JPEG compression and "fine-ness", it can never be improved. This is
particularly important when one captures The Photo of a Lifetime or some,
other special occasion where enlarged prints are a possibility.

CY: I got a couple 8 x 10 from a low KB picture, and it was usable.

Using a computer and basic software, a large-size photo can be easily
downsized for emailing or other purposes where a high-resolution photo is
not
required. If it starts out low-res, there's no making it better.

CY: Agreed. Though, most of the pics I'm taking aren't Florida vacation or
something like that.

Disk space has become almost cheap, too. Shoot your photos at the highest
resolution and, if the disk fills-up, off-load the files to a spare drive
and
start over.

CY: Which is fine, when you have the drive space for 7 MB frames. I'm
working with a small camera, and a small computer drive. For me, 120 to 150
KB per frame is just fine. I can also email them without overloading the
person on the other end.


The camera also takes silent movie clips.

The OP's queried camera takes movies up to 60 fps (frames-per-second) with
sound (probably monaural).

For B&H's $128 it sounds like a great camera.



I just read this and wanted to comment even if it is totally off
topic. My Olympus which I got about 3 years ago suddenly just died.
It was a 3MP, and it took excellent pictures. I am not endorsing
Olympus though, because I have owned 4 of their dig. cameras and all
of them seem to just suddenly die after a few years, and I do keep my
cameras in a case and take good care of them. I also do not take very
many pictures. I actually would have not bought that last Olympus
because of the bad luck I had with their cameras, but got it as a
gift.

Anyhow, that 3MP took great pictures as long as the camera was alive.

A couple weeks ago I bought a new HP camera. I also had to buy a new
card for it. because my older cards are no longer used (smart media).
This new camera is a 6.2MP. I am extremely dissatisfied with this
camera, and intend to return it next week. 1. The pictures are all
grainy, and just not clear and crisp like the ones I got on my older
camera. 2. This camera takes 2 AA batteries. I have gotten at most,
20 pictures from a pair of new alkaline batteries. My Olympus would
take hundreds of pictures from 4 AA batteries. (and I tried a
different brand of battery). 3. It has no viewfinder. Ya. it has the
digital screen, but I've never owned a camera without a viewfinder and
taking pictures at arms length is just uncomfortable is not weird.

So I have more than twice the MPs I had on my last camera, and the
pictures are terrible in comparison. I hate evereything about this
new camera, which is a HP M547. I'm now trying to decide if after I
return this one, if I should get another brand, or just buy a used
Olympus like the one I had before and hope it lasts awhile. For one
thing, it seems that there are hardly any brands that have viewfinders
these days. Whoever came up with that assenine idea is really an
idiot.

New is not always better !

Gary

Hmmm,
Higher MP tends to have noise problems.
I must have a VF for acurate framing.
For my family picture taking 6MP is plenty.
And mine has built-in 12X zoom and OIS.