Next Camera ??? -- Suggestions

[Ben H]

I know it seems strange to be looking at a second digital camera when the last is only a year old, but I think I have refined my needs and would like to have more potential.

Currently I have an HP 315 with digital zoom, I did purchase the add on lens for macro etc but the results have not been good. It could be the operator.

Anyways, I been looking and wondering about the Olympus ultra zoom - have seen some listed on Ebay. I know that Shamus uses one and he get great results. Mind you he made his living with a camera so he knows what to do to make them preform.

My wife had suggested the Olympus when I bought the HP so this time I want to be sure of the features and it use.

Any suggestions for similar camers or experience with the Olympus.

Victoria, BC

 

[Railery]

Hi Ben. i like the Olympus. a few years back i bought an olympus D220L. it still takes the same pictures today that it did than. Nice thing is i can interchange my sm card with the new olympus camera that i just purchased, C4000. i did some investigating and found there are 3 ultra zoom cameras to choose from. The 700, 720, and 730. The 730 did replace the 720. U can check them out at the olympus site or search "digital cameras" . u can get lots of feedback. The ultra zoom is a very nice camera. i wonder though if i should have gone with the 700 for its zoom abilities, but i'm happy with the 4000. i did read though that one should purchase a camera from a camera company ie. cannon, nikon, fugi, pentax etc. because of their lense qualities. Anyway i hope u enjoy your new purchase Wait till u shop for a photo printer thats another story.

 

[Dave Hagan]

Hi Ben, Welcome to The Gauge.

I need to draw your attention to our rules regarding animated gifs.
http://www.the-gauge.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=2659

Regards
Dave Hagan
Administrator

 

[shamus]

Hi Ben, and welcome to the gauge. Yes I use the Olympus C700 ultra zoom, and you can photo down to just under 2" with the macro turned on. The camera itself is a joy to use when you get used to it, it has the facility to adjust shutter speed and aperture priority override. There are many features, but here’s the link to Olympus so you can read them all.

Cheers

Ps, I have just bought an Epson C82 printer with a dpi of 5760 to print out the photo's from my camera. (Early Xmas pressy)
http://cf.olympus-europa.com/consumer/digimg/intro.cfm?id=C-700+ULTRA+ZOOM
Shamus

 

[davidstrains]

Hi Ben,

A couple weeks ago, "spitfire" asked the same questions about a new camera and received a wealth of information from the "Gauge" folks. Here is the link. spitfire Enjoy

 

[Ben H]

Thanks for the link, I had missed that thread.

I find interesting that the price of cameras is really coming down even pre-Christmas.

Shamus suggesst that the Olymus 700 ultra zoom could be found for $450, well I'm seeing that and maybe a little below.

Thanks for the help

 

[spitfire]

Hi Ben, Spitfire here. It's now the Olympus C-730 Ultra Zoom and it's an excellent camera for model photography. with the option of point and shoot auto, right up to complete aperture and shutter speed control, and as Shamus mentioned the macro lets you get in to 2" - which is why it's a must-have for us modellers.
If it's within your budget at all, you should definitely go for this camera.

cheers
Val

 

[Ben H]

I was down at a major camera source this evening and they wanted $880 CAfor the Olympus 730. Checked on Ebay and the prices ranged from $550. to closed sales in Germany for $900 CA. All this and its still a few days to Christmas. Could be that prices are are coming down in the new year.

As you can see I'm moving towards the Olympus. Did the store try out this evening-- very nice -- very nice indead.

 

[spitfire]

Yeah, mine cost me over $1000 when all was said and done - GST, PST, A/C adaptor, battery-charger. I didn't even buy extra memory cards or batteries because I don't plan on using it for anything but model photos for now.

The thing is, if you do want good close-up photos of your model, this is what it's going to cost. You could always do what I did, which was to buy a cheaper camera, take it home, try it out, then go back the next day and trade up. Or, if you're happy with the lesser capabilities, keep it. It really depends on what kind of photos you a)want and b) are willing to go to the trouble to get. If you don't see yourself as someone who wants/has time to learn the intricacies of photography, then you don't need all that awesome manual control. If you want pictures like Shamus's, you do. Ultimately it's a money/time/quality equation, and that's what you have to factor in to your decision.

cheers

Val

 

[Ben H]

Yes it is a balance of needs together with how important we make having these needs to met our level of satisfaction.

I now have the HP 315 with the Tiffen add on lens set. Its ok but not like the SLR type view finder and zoom on the 730.


"Settle down boy its just a camera for you hobby not as if its real life and death need here"

 

[RI541]

I tried to post here yesterday but things didn't go right, I couldn't get the link up and have it work.

I have a Fuji FinePix 2800zoom. I love it. It has a bunch of features that I haven't had the time to play with.

Here's a quick run down of some of the features:

2.0 million effective megapixels
Number of recorded pixels 1,600X1,200
1.8" LCD monitor
Electric view finder
Movie with sound
6X optical/2.5X Digital Zoom
Internet conferencing
Voice captioning

Try this link:

Try that link, I think you can get there from here. Just click digital cameras then you'll have to scroll down to find the camera. I tried to get the camera link up yesteraday but no luck.

I just tried it and it let me.

 

[Drew Toner]

My Camera

All my photos are taken with a HP 618. It has the macro setting, as well as aperature and shutter priority. Goes down to f16. The more I use it, the more I like it!! And it was only $500, last christmas.

Drew