Korean Job Discussion Forums

Daechidong Waygookin · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 4:30 am Post subject: Digi Cam? Advice.

Same thread as the one started by AdamH but Im looking for something in the 500-900 thousand won price range.

Something that is small but takes great photos would be great. Im thinking 7 megapixels minimum. I saw a nice one by Samsung in the Samsung store in COEX (I think it went for 600 thousand or something and was small enough to fit in my pocket) and Ive seen some nice Olympus cameras, which had 8+ megapixels but were quite a bit bigger.

My wife doesnt want to buy anything too big, which is too bad because I was really hoping to buy a DSLR by Canon or Olympus, but they are too big and heavy.

Any advice?

AdamH · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 6:09 am Post subject:

Have a browse around http://www.dpreview.com/

I've found it to be pretty helpful, although as you point out, your price range is a little higher.

Giant · Joined: 14 May 2003 Location: South Korea

I agree, that site is probably one of the best around.

The problem is you are going to sacrifice quality for size, so dont buy one these stupid almost credit card size cameras. You will be frustrated very soon with it.

If you have that kind of money to buy, I would suggest forget about a "dica" and get a DSLR like the Canon 300D. Just buy it, trust me in the long run you will have much more enjoyment out of it. And if you want a even better camera, for a couple hundred thousand more get a Nikon D70.

I have used both and the D70 is 10 times better than the 300D.

Hmmm, I know I have gone off on a tangent but let me get back to your question.

If you want to buy a "nice" dica then you need to look for a few things.

1. Megapixel rating

The higher the better. It means you can blow up a picture without sacrificing quality.

2. Optical zoom

The higher the better. Forget about digital zoom, it just makes the pixels bigger and quality goes down the toilet. Any self respecting photographer will disable digital zoom. The kind of standard in dicas is 3x, but try and get a 10x. I am sure you can get that for the price range you are looking at.

3. Memory card size

Get at least a 1GB memory card. I have a 6.4MP D70 and I fill a 512MB card with just 200 or so photos. If you shoot in RAW format then half that.

4. Manual settings

Get a camera that has the ability to be set to different control modes. Like Av and Tv. Basically so you can control the shutter speed and aperture. Once you get more in to photography you will want to play around with these settings.

There are of course many more things but these in my humble opinion are the criteria if you are serious about taking good photos.

What I am trying to say is dont let your wife con you into buying something just because it matches her handbag. Looks are not everything.

Hope this helps.

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

www.steves-digicams.com

That is my favorite site, and shows pics taken in the same areas by different cameras.

Excellent for comparison, and he shows you what the menu screens look like, etc.

By far the best site (although it doesn't give reviews by other customers, which are often skewed by posts from company hires anyway).

Daechidong Waygookin · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 9:14 pm Post subject:

Id love to get a DSLR. I have an SLR (Canon EOS 55) and its great but its time to get a digital camera because I dont have a scanner and transferring pictures onto the computer is a pain in the neck. I lose toooo much quality when scanning. A junky Kodad 3 megapixel makes better looking pictures than a high end amateur SLR like the EOS55 after the photos have been scanned. Im gonna try to convince the wife to buy a DSLR. The Nikon D70 looks interesting, I have my eye on that one. Im gonna have to go and see what it goes for in Korea though. OTOH the Canon 300D is great because I love theor camera and Id like to stick to canon as I trust their products.

Gonna hit Technomart this weekend, look at a bunch of models and then decide at home which one is for me.

Swiss James · Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Location: Shanghai

funny, you don't come across on here as someone who would have much trouble telling the wife what to do, I guess we know who wears the trousers now eh?

One tip on digital cameras, the best prices always seem to be at the import market in Namdaemun- "Seoramun suipsamga" is roughly the pronounciation- it's right opposite the gate, at entrance/exit number 1 to the market, an indoor building selling grey market goods. It's the place I'd go to for buying a point and shoot model, maybe not so good if you're buying from the top end of the range.

Daechidong Waygookin · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 10:55 pm Post subject:

Swiss James · Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Location: Shanghai

I'm interested to see what you get actually, considering a step up from my Canon A75, which is about the same as your kodak.

Daechidong Waygookin · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 11:03 pm Post subject:

bourquetheman · Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Location: Suwon

I'm in a real bind. I lost our digital camera 2 weeks ago and understandably my wife was pissed and I was pissed at myself. It wasn't even a year old, it was the Canon S1 IS and I liked it a lot. I DON'T like small credit card size cameras which was why my wife and I both agreed it would be a great choice, plus the movie mode was great at 30 fps.
Now I don't know if buying the exact same camera makes sense or not. We did like it but for the same price could we get something better. She hates Fuji and likes Canon, Sony and maybe Olympus if memory serves correct. Any personal suggestions? I glanced at the two above sites but I'd much rather hear personal experience.

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

That's a great camera and it takes great video -- better than some MiniDV camcorders!

bourquetheman · Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Location: Suwon

Yeah I know, that's why I liked it so much. I guess if there is one downside to that camera, it's that it was only 3.2 megapixels, so that might be a reason to get a different one I guess. I was told that the video quality is as good as a Canon camcorder (when it's in superfine mode) and I admit it does look sharp. Hmm, what to do........ Sad

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

Canon can't make that camera much better.

Add another megapixel to it, and it'll keep people from buying their more expensive cameras.

They know this.

Daechidong Waygookin · Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 11:10 pm Post subject:

Ok, well what i did end up getting in the end was a Canon Cybershot.

I kind of was the best choice. Price wise it was right where I wanted, as it ran me just about 600 thousand.

7.2 megapixels. 3x optical zoom and Carl Zeiss lens. Its small which pleases the wife but has the optics and the pixels to take a real good shot.

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=DSCP200&Dept=cameras&CategoryName=dcc_DIDigitalCameras_Cyber-shotDigitalCameras

Got 2 free batteries and 256 megabytes of free memory too.

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

Sony Cybershot... not Canon.

Have fun.