Not happy with dig camera - suggestions?

[ddmarsh]

Based upon research and some suggestions here I purchased the Canon A70 and am not pleased at all with the quality of pics it takes. I have an older Olympus I had been using but it is much larger and I had hoped to get a new one with date back which it turns out the Canon doesn't have anyway. I am wondering if I should try and newer Olympus or another brand and wonder what all you have and like and if possible have any images to post so that I can see.

Thanks in advance b/c I know you all are so knowledgable!

[american_mama]

I am about to buy a Canon A80 camera. It is the one with the LCD screen that can swing out of the back, priced around $380. Is that the one you have? If so, I will be leery of getting it, and will be eagerly awaiting your responses to this question.

[wendmatt]

I am extremely UNknowledgable! However, dh just got a minolta dimage xt, it's a tiny one. On the high setting the pic is lovely but haven't tried the economy setting (as you can tell, I don't really know the correct jargon! That was what it was called in the instructions) You can only take about 16 pics on that high setting though. If you go to Cnet.com there are good reviews from editors and consumers as well. I don't know how to e-mail with it yet or I'd send you easter pics! Sorry I'm a technophobe! Shame about the cannon though as I'd heard good things about it.

[amp]

Karen - Just another viewpoint. We have the Canon A70 (not the 80 that you are speaking of), but we love ours! And I have no problem whatsoever with our picture quality. We've taken most of our best pics with this camera!

[ddmarsh]

I know many people are happy with the Canon series, I just don't notice that the pictures are particularly high quality. Mine is the A79 which is the same camera as the one referred to with the turn-around screen but just the 3MP instead of 4.

Andrea - what setting do you use for taking your pics? I always use the auto and have played around with a few others and still am not pleased.

[Imperia]

I have the A80 and I really like it. Most people seem to think the A80 is quite a bit better than the A70. I haven't had any issues with picture quality at all. I LOVE teh LCD screen, you can actually fold it into the body of the camera!

Imperia

[Imperia]

Are you using the higher resolution settings, if you use the lower resolution settings the pictures aren't nearly as nice. No one has ever complained about my picture quality with my A80. I am sure it's not as nice as the $700 cameras, but I find it to be much better than a lot of digital images I see.

I often take mine in high res an dthen edit them in a photo program for size.

Imperia

[suribear]

I'm STILL looking for a digital camera, and this is my fear. I'm taking pictures to develop at a lab(not just to view online) and I wanted a digital so I could take twenty of the same pose and delete the bad ones. BUT I am still nervous about photo quality. I can see myself wanting to use the better resolution setting (?) every time, but it doesn't sound practical.

Kris

[deenass]

I am VERY happy with my sony powershot 10. It's 5 megapixels and I'm very happy with the quality of the pics. We have a 256 card so I can get about 120 shots on the card before having to delete.

I also love that it has a email setting so the pictures I take are stored in high resolution and "email quality" resolution.

I am very picky about my pictures, prior to the digital I had a Canon EOS (precursor to the Canon Rebel) SLR camera.

I'm happy to email you some pics at both resolutions so that you can see them.

[Tracey]

I have a Cannon G5 and it takes phenomenal pictures. It took better pictures than the Cannon digital SLR we were also considering! I can't say enough good things about this camera. It has all the bells and whistles while still being easy to use. Here is a link to some of Ava's Easter pics on the layette board. They were all taken with the G5.

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=8&topic_id=17666&mesg_id=17771&page=

[egoldber]

I ALWAYS use the highest resolution setting on my camera. I don't see any reason not too. Memory cards are very inexpensive and we have 3-4 of them that we swap out. I can take a vcacation's worth of photos on the highest setting with two 48 MB memory cards. (Our cards are older, you can now get much larger memory cards for what we paid for the 48 MB ones 3 years ago.)

HTH,

[egoldber]

Debbie, what is it you're not happy about with the camera? Photo quality, shutter lag time, the time stamp feature, user interface, etc.? If we know what the issue is, we can provide better suggestions.

HTH,

[ddmarsh]

I am primarily disappointed in the picture quality itself and I am using it on the highest setting. The shutter lag is much greater than that of the Olympus I used previously and that adds somewhat to the quality issue since it is harder to capture a good shot.

Tracey those are wonderful pictures. How does the G5 differ from the A70 and the others in that series in terms of price and features?

I would love to see the pictures from the Sony, you can email me at dd marsh @ zoom internet. net

Thanks for all of the help -

[LucyG]

We have a Sony Cybershot P92, which is similar to the Sony Powershot 10. It is not as fancy, but we decided that it had all the features we needed, and it is also 5.0 mp. I obsessed over the digital camera choice for a long time, but we are very pleased with our choice. The Canon A80 was also highly recommended, but in the end, we went with the Sony and have not regretted it. We print a lot of pictures, and most turn out with excellent quality. I use a basic editing program (Shutterfly Express - it's free), to enhance pictures. I can tell that they are digital rather than film when we print them, but that difference is very minimal. We still take some film pictures, too. PM me if you would like for me to email you some pictures taken with the P92!

[egoldber]

Well, nothing is really going to help shutter lag (much anyway) on your current camera. I'd eBay it and get a new one.

We always buy Nikon cameras since DH is a Nikon fanatic. Our old "small" digital was a Nikon Coolpix 990 and we were very happy with it, but it was a bit big for a point and shoot type camera. (We also have a Nikon D1, which is a digital SLR, for more serious shots, like holiday photos, etc).

So DH surprised me with a Nikon 3200 for Chanukah, which is pretty similar to the Canon A70 in terms of feature set. I gotta admit, I'm not as in love with it as I thought I would be. I definitely think the 990 took better pictures, even though it has the same megapixels. Its not all about megapixels. The 990 takes much sharper images.

One thing you can do is take your own memory card to a camera shop and do some test shots. They should let you do this. Try to find a high end camera shop, not an electronics store (even if you don't end up buying the camera there) to talk to you about cameras. Tell them what you don't like about the A70 and have them suggest something for you.

IMO, the price range for cameras like the A70 doesn't give you terrific quality photos. If you are able to jump up to the next price range, I think you may be quite a bit happier.

HTH,

[ddmarsh]

Thanks for the suggestions Beth - particularly the one about trying a few out at a shop which I think I will.

I really debated between going with this and the 4.0 MP when I purchased and alot of feedback I got said there really wouldn't be alot of noticeable difference and so I went with the 3.0. I'm wondering if at this point I should go ahead and jump up to a 5.0 MP as long as I'm going to sell and move up. What do you think?

I definately agree about the MP not being everything because the Olympus was also a 3.0 but had infinitely better quality.

[egoldber]

We have blown photos taken with the 3 MP 990 up to 16x20 with excellent results. I can defintiely tell a huge difference in image quality. Hope you find something you like!

[Tracey]

The A-series cameras are 3 megapixel cameras and are considered entry-level digital cameras. You will need to go with a 5 megapixel or higher camera in order to get the quality you are used to in an SLR. In other words, you need 5 megapixels for you not to be able to tell the difference between digital and film. This is where your problem is coming in. You are never going to get that kind of resolution on any 3 megapixel camera. The pictures will be good, but not great. It depends on what you are used to and what you find acceptable.

I read some of the other posts where people were raving over their cameras. The were mostly 5 megapixel models. The Canon G5 has 5 megapixels with macro capabilities. This means that (with a tripod) you could get a good picture of a mosquito. Here is a blurb about the camera:

“Canon Powershot G5 could be the poster boy for hot pro-sumer digital cameras. The stylish little G5 is aimed at demanding advanced amateur photographers who want a full slate of pro features, loads of creative input, compact size, lots of accessories, SLR like performance, excellent ergonomics and usability, and five megapixel resolution. The snazzy little G5 delivers across the board.”


The only downside…it’s not cheap. Unfortunately, you really get what you pay for in digital cameras. The A- series is great for what it is, but you will not get shots that look like your “regular” pictures with 3 megapixels.

[Imperia]

It's okay if you delete the bad ones right away and/or have mor ethan one memory card. WE have the memory card that came with the camera and 2 other 256 MB cards. It's plenty.

Imperia

[newbelly2002]

Along these lines, Debbi, I have the Canon G4 and have been really really happy with it. Like you, I'm taking these photos for the album, not to email. I was adamant about wanting photos that can be blown up without any trouble.

I have struggled a bit with some of the settings to get the effect that I want (white balance to make the sky blue, not cloud cover; focusing on the person not the background, etc.) but that is more a question of user, not product, error (or, er, laziness on my part). The other thing I love about this camera is that it takes an external flash which really makes a world of difference in quality (though not in convenience).

The G4 while not quite as good as the G5 is still an excellent camera and I imagine since there is a newer model available that it can be found for a good price.

Good luck!
Paula
Mama to Dante, 8/02

[egoldber]

The ability to take an external flash makes a HUGE difference in terms of both shutter larg and lighting. Our 990 is able to do this, but as you say then you REALLY sacrifice convenience.