Choosing digital cameras for Highschool Yearbook

Hello,

I am a yearbook advisor and I need some advise. We are buying

digital cameras. I would like two of them so they have to be under

$300 each. The software that we are going to be using requires images

to be 300dpi(color) or 250dpi(B&W)in TIFF format. I am looking at the

Olympus D-510. Would anyone have opions on this? I am NOT a photo

person so I really don't know what I need. II want them all to be the

same kind so that the smartmedia (or whatever) is usable in all of the

camers.

Thank you for your time, J Urbik

You might check out some refurbished units from online sellers like www.refurbdepot.com. They carry recent models of digital cameras at

your price point, including some Nikon models.

Thanks for the great link! I just went there and that does expand the choice that I have. I am relaxing the standard that it HAS to be under 300. Maybe one nice higher end and one that is a farily simple point and click. I have been looking at a bunch of camera reviews and I am still stymied about WHICH camera to buy. I really want TOP quality picures, but I will be lending out the cameras to HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, so:

1: My first problem with the high end cameras is that "I" have NO idea how to/why to adjust any of the fancy controls...I can learn, but I personally perfer a point and shoot and I do need to be able to explain how to use the darn thing to students.

2: Students do something use equiptment somewhat roughly, so it does need to be able to stand up to some abuse.

If ANYONE has any imput on specifc cameras to look at, I would love that imput.

Thanks.

You say 250/300 dpi but you don't specify a size - that is _rather_ important! At 1600x1200 (2MP) you'll get about a 4x5 size, which is probably find for many cases. At 2048x15xx (3MP) you can get about a 5x8 out of it. Do you need images larger than that? I suspect that you would be best off to "rez-up" (interpolate) to a larger size if you need it. I just had images from my Canon Pro 90 IS printed 8x10 - the originals are 18XXx13XX, so the resolution is closer to 200DPI, but they sure look great.

What about zoom? What kind of distances are you going to be from the people you are taking pictures of?

What about flash? I would expect that most of your images are going to be beyond the distance you can take with the built-in flash. Built-in flash is only good for a distance of 7-10 feet typically, and a school is the worst environment for flash (because it's large/open rooms so no bounce-back at all). You are almost going to have to get a camera with external flash.

Which probably puts the whole concept out of range. If you can find a Canon Pro 90, which has 10X zoom, it'll blow your budget all by itself. And adding a flash is another $200. The same is true if you look down the Nikon path, with a 990/995/4500 series machine. A 5700, with the longer zoom would be great, but it's >$1K.

Be sure to consider the type of pictures you want. I think, from my memory of years ago printing images from 2-1/4" negatives, that you need flash range and zoom range to do it right.

The yearbook is 9" by 12" so i need No picture to be larger then that realisticly. I would be fun to be able to do double page spreads, but we do not NEED them at all. Typically, the biggest we will need is 8"x6". I know, that is not a standard size, but if we want to do a 1/2 page spread that will be about the size of it.

I would like some zoom, but I know I will not be able to afford a reall neat zoom.

In response to Gary Berg's comments about how the good quality cameras are out of out leage. If we were to buy 35mm cameras, we would just be getting typical point and clicks. I do not know enough about photography to teach my highschoolers how to use fancy stuff. I hope to learn, but I will not be doing that THIS year.

I would assume at least that film cameras that do what Mr. Berg describes would be out of my leage in both money and ability also. If I I wrong, please correct me Mr. Berg. The thought of the camera that you described I must admitt, does ...intimadate me.

thanks, J

Well, you're asking the question ahead of when it will truly affect you since something new will be for sale when you get aroudn to doing it next year.

Check with your publisher for what resolution is necessary. If you are sending them prints, find out what printer you're going to use and the resolution you need for it. If you're sending them digital files, find out what the resolution they demand is. The software itself won't specify, but the publisher has requirements. From my own personal experience, the quality of the images in yearbooks is such that you'd be fine with a lower resolution camera and then interpolating the files to be larger for the print. The quality should be pretty much the same, even for a double page spread.

I wouldn't suggest less than 3 megapixels though, and I would recommend an optical zoom. It would help if you'd tell us what types of shots you plan to get with the camera. There aren't really any new (but maybe some refubed models) that have enough zoom to let you stand back, or shoot sports. So be sure to consider the fact that you may want something with a long zoom range. A current example of this is the Olympus 720, with an 8x zoom and 3megapixels. Unfortunately it costs about $700 new (if I remember correctly). Digital isn't cheap to begin with, but if you consider what film and developing costs, it's much cheaper for large volume shooting.