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Saturday, April 5, 2008

Looking for a Camera

The last time I got a camera was in 2006, the Kodak V603 which I featured in Episode 4 in You Got Tech. It's the camera I use both for photos and videos in this blog, but since I started doing vlogs I've been quite unhappy with the quality since it's just a 6.1MP camera, my videos have been grainy and it's not really good for evening photography.

It took me months before I settled with Happy (my laptop). It takes me a long time to purchase a gadget and sometimes it takes me over a year. I've actually been thinking about getting a new camera since middle of last year and I've been looking around eversince. I have quite a number of photography-addicted friends and they've been giving a lot of advise. I'm confused over getting a DSLR or a digicam.

These are my conditions:

1. I should be able to use it both for taking photos and videos.

2. The audio for the video feature should be quite good.

3. It should be quite easy to use. I don't read manuals and normally discover features when I'm using the camera. This means it should be idiot proof (that's why I stuck it out with Kodak for years).

4. Takes good quality photos (siyempre!) and good for taking photos at night (that's where I'm really frustrated over with my current cam).

5. I prefer charging the camera over using AA batteries.

6. It should not be huge. I always bring my camera anywhere I go. I also have small hands so it should allow me to grip it without difficulty.

7. Should allow me to easily upgrade the memory card. I take a lot of random photos and videos.

8. Should be below 30K.

Your suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:05 PM

    If you want a camera that can take videos and photos then I think dSLR is not for you. Check out Canon S3is.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Definitely take DSLR off your list because that is truly dedicated to taking only pictures.

    Looking at your list, it seems you're listing more for video than for photo. Why not look into just getting a video camera instead of a digital camera? Most video cameras these days have the ability to take still pictures.

    I really don't know of any digital camera that has really good sound, to be honest. The video part on a digital camera isn't something that the companies try to emphasis on, it's more of like a bonus feature for those in case you need to shoot a short video.

    Another thing about purchasing a camera where you charge the battery versus AA batteries: You are limited to the specific battery the camera uses. If you do purchase a camera and the battery is a newer model, you'll end up paying more for an extra battery than you would if you went with AA batteries. At least, no matter WHERE you go in the world, you can always always find AA batteries in the event you forget your charger or lose it. I always have backup rechargable AA batteries and lithium disposable ones.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous4:46 PM

    I suggest that you should get point & shoot camera. Why?

    First, very convenient dalhin sa katulad mong gala.

    Second, a lot of features and specs na meron ang point and shoot camera na meron sa mga SLR. Better yet, get mo yung merong movie mode, adjust mo lang yung setting, whoala! you can capture video clips with sound and store them on the memory card. For more picture and movie storage, lakihan mo nalang ang memory cards. Mas "in" ngayon ang video clips, madali ding ipost sa youTube.

    Third, battery issues, i agree with Nikita, i would prefer AA batteries na literally meron sa mga suking tindahan unlike those dedicated batteries na aside from being expensive, marami pang hassle, worst kasama mong papalitan yung kamera dahil wala kang mabilihan or walang stock dahil obsolete na. Please note that technology changes every 3 months.

    And finally, the price, affordable na ngayon ang mga digital camera, its more of necessity now compared 5 years ago. Kaya naman panalo ang mga consumers sa competetion like these:-

    Canon's PowerShot A720IS, 8 megapixel cost around $200US while Nikon Coolpix P50 with the same specs cost $199.99

    Check this also:-

    http://www.crutchfield.com/learningcenter/home/digitalcameras.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous5:36 PM

    We've always had SONY digital camera. The first one is cybershot P-150, bought in 2004 and the latest one T-100 ($400), bought 9 months ago. Both has video feature and for me, the quality of videos taken from these cameras are good. Problem with taking videos is it takes so much memory space. If you want to take a lot of videos from your camera, you need to have large memory.

    I prefer separate video and camera. Sony have camcorders that uses hard disk or memory card as the storage media and has a dolby digital sound - a little bit expensive though.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I suggest Sony T200 Cybershot. Para pareho tayo.

    Reasons?
    The audio for the video feature is very good.

    It's easy to use.

    Takes good quality pictures

    It uses lithium ion battery (rechargeable)

    It's not huge

    Its memory is upgradeable

    It's below 30k. hehehe :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've been using a Sony DSC-P10 since 2003. I guess it's also time that I get an upgrade.

    If you want a DSLR, the Nikon D40 and Canon EOS 40D are both on sale at Abenson and Electroworld. The NikonD40 is around 28K.

    By the way, I just read an ad at Philstar about Kodak. They're accepting trade-ins.

    Check out Anton's blog too, he shows why Samsung cameras rock. I was almost convinced to buy but was discouraged by family because my camera's still working fine.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous1:26 PM

    I just bought a canon powershot sd1000 also known as ixus 75. Locally it costs about 14K but I bought mine at roughly 6K/$160 at amazon. Check out picture quality here ->
    http://apples-pie.com/pictures/v/Events/laluz2008/
    and here ->
    http://apples-pie.com/pictures/v/Family/married/laluzfam2008/

    I am supposed to write an amateur review but havent had time to. By the way those are the first pics taken from it. Hope you find a camera you like soon!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Usually there isn't a camera with the best features of both worlds. Digital cameras are more dedicated to images than video. And video cameras are dedicated more to video than images.

    Nowadays, both types of gadgets can handle the other but as an additional feature and not as a fully-loaded feature.

    Having said that, how about considering an inexpensive videocam ...like the ones that are as small as a digicam ? They range anywhere from 5-10K. This is of course if you're okey with bringing two gadgets and still okey with your current digicam.

    If you really want an all-in-one gadget, then looks like you'll need to check some camera sites for thorough reviews and comparisons.

    I'd suggest http://www.dpreview.com and
    http://www.steves-digicams.com

    DSLR's are bulky. So it's going to be a tradeoff for size versus features. Digicams built for compactness are more expensive due to their small size.

    I still am biased with a couple of brands so I'll recommend them... Fuji, Olympus and Lumix. I wouldn't recommend Fuji for video though as it create humungous files.

    try to look for a cam that supports AVI (DivX with MPG-4) so you can pack more videos with less the size. Some digicams like Sony and Lumix (Panasonic) now support movie recording in full HD.

    I'd be happy to search for the perfect cam with you.

    ReplyDelete