Another Digital Camera Thread

Mirlyn

Mirlyn

Well-Known Member
Shopping....

I've narrowed it down to the Nikon Coolpix 4500, the Fuji Finepix 3800 and the Olympus C-720.



Nikon Coolpix 4500


Fuji Finepix 3800


Olympus C-720

Anyone own one of these, or have comments on them or the brand?

Thanks :)

EDIT: Probably helps if I mention the use. Lots of outdoors shots, both daytime and nighttime. I would like to have lots of manual functions (say, shutter delay, focus, etc). :)
 
Buy the most expensive one you can afford, that way you won't be quite so pissed off next year when you see it for half the price.
 
I've been looking at cameras also and found www.dpreview.com/ a great asset.
The Olympus has a 10x zoom over the Fuji's 6x ,but from the reviews and forum posts the fuji has better image quality.I haven't looked at the Nikon ,because the looks/ergonomics are just not that great IMO.
The c720 actually has a newer version ,the c-730.The Fuji 3800 is limited in manual functions ,maybe take a look at the S602z


JUST A NOTE : There are going to be new cameras being announced the first week of Feb. so prices may be coming down shortly.
 
Awesome site....thanks for the link :)

I first saw the Olympus because of the zoom (8x, btw). Fuji's is 6x, but it uses the xdM card (or something like that) and I'm not sure I like the "tinyness" of them, esp with me being outdoors all the time. I've also heard bad things about the Fuji in low light conditions. I think I'm almost turned off on the Fuji.

I like the swivel of the Nikon because it lets you get great angle/level shots without being a trapeze artist. :) I've used the either the 4500 or the 995 (can't remember which) and was surprised by the feel of it. It felt better than it looked.

I'm limited to the C-720 because of purchasing location right now. The 730 isn't available. :)
 
Yeah ,I found the 3800 to be "toy like" too.The 730uz has the 10x(oops) ,I guess that is an improvement over the 720uz ,but I'm surprised they aren't available where you are yet:confuse3:

The S602z uses Smartmedia,Compact flash or MIcrodrive (1GB) and definately feels like a "real " camera,I was able to check one out at Staples.I've used 35mm SLRs for many years and want something with the same look and feel ,so the Nikons aren't right for "me".

The low light autofocus problem is inherent in all Digital cameras ,so I wouldn't "not " look at any specific camera because of this.

If price is a concern check out the Forums(dpreview) ,there are some great tips to getting incredible prices using price matching (buy local but quote Internet price to get the best deal)


I would add that the 3800 also only has an ISO rating of 100 whereas the other two have higher (Oly up to ISO 400 and Nikon ISO 800)

Looks like its down to two;)
 
A.B.Normal said:
... I'm surprised they aren't available where you are yet...:confuse3:
Click to expand...

I'm limiting myself to whats at Best Buy. I'll check this week to see what we're supposed to be getting in for the next month.

We do have the S602z, I'll take a look at it tomorrow. :)
 
yeah, fujis suck in low light, and not just a little!!!

But remember they ALL suck in low light, so I wouldn't let that be the deciding factor. If you wanna take pictures after dark you're gonna need film. Thats life for now anyway!
 
btw, I have a fuji, and my next digital cam will be a fuji as well. So its not THAT bad. More accurately, its not that much worse than the competition.
 
I've been looking...reading reviews ...I think I'm still leaning toward the fuji. I almost bought the 3800 at Sam's for $378. but talked myself into looking some more. So many options and I suck at making decisions... :shrug:
 
Shadowfax said:
if you can afford it, go for the Nikon :)
Click to expand...

Well, I can for now...but the question is do I really want to spend it all on the camera, or leave some for my other plans ;). Ah, decisions decisions. I really like how you can buy more lenses for the Nikon. Hmmmm....I guess for a little more than $500, its not that bad of a deal considering the quality (4MP).
 
well spent imo...the nikons are GREAT, and the lenses are even greater.
it's better to spend a bit more at once than spend less and have a cam that can't live up to the expectations :)
 
Yep, what shadowfax said. Its a hell of a lot cheaper that way, in the long-run at least.

btw, you ought to go to Pricewatch.com and look under electronics for a better price.

I hope you weren't gonna buy from Amazon. I'm sure you can do a lot better on price!
 
RD_151 said:
Yep, what shadowfax said. Its a hell of a lot cheaper that way, in the long-run at least.

btw, you ought to go to Pricewatch.com and look under electronics for a better price.

I hope you weren't gonna buy from Amazon. I'm sure you can do a lot better on price!
Click to expand...

I use amazon just to read reviews on un-reviewed cameras. I'll end up buying locally though. I will pay a bit more than online, but I can get a cheaper warranty. :) I'll probably buy accessories online.

Thanks for your help! I'll probably wait a week or two just to be sure its what I want and then go for it.:headbang:
 
If you print up the prices from several Internet sites (making sure to include a phone#) places like Staples will price match ,Bestbuy may also.There is also a method using American Express to price match ,but the search function at dpreview is down.
May be worth your while to search the forums http://www.dpreview.com/forums/ for pricematch to see if you can find a method to help you out.
 
Nah, best buy won't. Everything excluding internet prices.

I have a discount at BBY and its not much more than online sales. There are rebates for the Nikon, as I remember. Anyway, I feel more comfortable handing my camera to someone rather than sending it off in the mail to be fixed. :)
 
Make sure if you buy a digital camera that you get more memory then you think you will ever use just like a computer you never know how much space you'll need. And personally I'd go with the nikon I used to sell them and the nikon always demoed the best!
 
yeah, make sure to get enough memory. For a 2mp photo the files size averages around 650kb (max resolution), so 64mb should be plenty, but if you are going for a 4mp, I would make sure to go with 128mb. The file sizes at 4mp range seem to range between about 1.4mb and 1.7mb.

however, looking at how prices change with all these kinds of things, I wouldn't buy too much more than you need. But keep that in mind, you need at least 64mb, and 128 would probably be preferable.
 
I have the Olympus C-700 and I think it's great. The 10x zoom is outstanding for outdoor shots and handy indoors when you don't want someone to know you're going to take their picture.

Here's me playing with the zoom a little:

Far

Closer

Closest

Keep in mind that the one I have is only a 2 megapixel so your shots should be even better.

The manual settings are very flexible and the presets are handy. The ONLY complaint is that is uses Smartmedia which only goes up to 128mb right now. I found a deal for 128mb at $25 though and it seems to be plenty of room.

Here's a couple night shots:
 
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