Digital Camera Advice

I highly recommend going to www.dpreview.com to read Phil's reviews on each of those cameras. He's got a great site with an active forum for digital cameras.

He concisely lists the pros and cons for every camera he reviews.

 

I didn't check, but they may also have info on these cameras on epinions. This is my only experience.

UPDATE Wow, do I feel stupid. The camera I have is an OLYMPUS not a Canon! I guess they really made an impression upon me! It doesn't seem like Olympus is in the running anyway. Why am I not surprised?


A few years ago, I bought what was then a high-end camera. The
Olympus D-400 came with software and a cable to link the camera to my USB port. All was fine until I had to upgrade my OS to Windows XP and the software and link no longer worked.

After looking at the Olympus website, I contacted Olympus's service department, spoke with someone there about my situaution and was told for about $22 I could get the upgraded software that worked with XP. I ordered the SW and paid about $12 for next day delivery (I needed to clear the media card and this was cheaper than a new mega-ram card at that time).

I got the SW a week later as it was sent UPS ground instead of rush. And then the SW did not work with XP (it still would not recognize the camera at the USB port).

When I called Olympus to explain the error, another service representative told me they would not refund the money for the shipping error (I don't recall why). But what really upset me was after I explained the SW I just purchased would not download from the camera to the USB port I was told verbatim - "Oh, just go get a card reader". My response to him was that I essentially just spent nearly $35 for nothing which garnered some feeble response which I can no longer recall.

OK, I'm probably still venting and this may not help you much but if you use XP or may ever upgrade to it...get an XP compatible card reader and avoid dealing with Olympus's poor service department. Although relatively satisfied with the camera, I will probably get another brand next time based upon this experience with their service department.

 

Sony Cybershot DSC-P72



I have this Sony DSC-72. I have been very happy with it thus far.

 

Ditto. Quality photos, mid-range price. My wife loves it, just ask heypartner or Antisonic.

 

I've also had a bad experience so far with Canon. My powershot S30 had the display crap out and so far they've lost the package I UPS ground shipped to them (which they got July 25!).

The reviews I read say Olympus has very good optics. Optical zoom gets better pictures than digital zoom.

Nikon is also supposed to be good, and then Sony. (from what I read).

 

You cannot really do bad with a Sony. Its is kin of a pain in the ass b/c they have there own media etc, but that is a small trade off for the positives:

- Built in rechargable battery

- Carl Ziess lens (very well known for thier, binoculars, hunting scopes and alike

- Great features




my $.02

 

As a happy Canon owner, I hate to see them getting dogged here, so I went to www.dpreview.com to check out their ratings.

The two Canons have the highest ratings (based on actual owners) of the four cameras you have shown...although the Sony is quite close. Each of the Canons also have more respondants than the Sony and Nikon combined. That may just mean that Canon owners are more likely to post a review, but it probably means there are more Canon owners out there.

The Nikon and Sony DO have slightly wider optical zoom ranges than the Canons though. Optical zoom is definitely better than digital.....although quality within each camera maker's glass can vary.

The Canons also have better autofocus systems. www.pcworld.com also rates digital cameras, and the Canon A70 is their number one highest rated camera right now. The Nikon is number six, and the Sony is number 10. They have the Canon S400 digital elph in their ratings rather than the one you are looking at. I bought the S400 for my wife, and she loves it....and takes pretty good pictures too.

 

Ziess does make great glass, but both dpreview and pcworld have the Sony coming in last in picture quality. Despite construction and features issues though, the Nikon does come in first in image quality.....just not first overall.

My biggest deal would be getting a camera that uses CF....although Samsung is now making memory sticks, so their price should come down somewhat.

 

I've got a DSC-P71 and I love it.

Sometimes I wish I had gotten a P-72 sometimes, but oh well.