High-quality, easy-to-use recommendations

<p>I am looking for a point-and-shoot camera digital camera that I could hand to a

monkey and subsequently get print-quality images of the monkey house and any other

interesting parts of the zoo from, once I removed the feces from the outside of the

camera. Said monkey will probably be taking both wide-angle and telephoto-type images,

both indoors and outdoors, in a tremendous range of lighting conditions. Said images will

be submitted for publication in local papers after I recover them from the camera. Got any

ideas, preferably under $600?</p>

 

<p>The reason I'm looking is that I've been tasked with sourcing a camera for my work to

use for publicity shots (hence the need for print-quality, 6MP plus). It will likely be

wielded mostly by inexperienced photographers, both indoors and out, so some control of

exposure and white balance will be necessary (shooting in a RAW format would be a big

plus, I <em>think</em>--I may end up doing all the post-processing, though, so that

may not be such a big plus). I expect a need for manual control of exposure and white

balance because we are a ski resort, and I expect that the camera will be used for at least

some winter shots involving lots of snow; it may also be used for shots of night skiing

operations. It will definitely be used indoors and for portraits of new employees. Long

battery life and quick autofocus are probably important, as both will be diminished by use

outdoors in the winter (rendering them both "ok" and turning "ok" into "crap").</P>

 

<p>I have searched, and I've read some good stuff (along with a lot of gushy reviews that

are not remotely helpful) at a variety of sites about a variety of cameras. Given that I'm

most familiar with Canon gear, the Pro1 seemed like a good option until I started reading

reviews about it; the reviews of the Pro1 suggest that AF is slow and that image quality is

lacking for the price. In particular, the EVF was cited as a source of much consternation.

The Fuji cameras (S20 Pro and S9000) have been suggested in other threads and seem

quite interesting. The Nikon Coolpix high-end stuff seems just slightly lacking, as reviews

cite noise even from ISO 100, low battery life, and a lens being pushed a bit further than it

should be, but those may be necessary compromises. A low-end digital SLR (e.g. EOS

350d) may be just a bit pricy and a bit intimidating, particularly as we need something that

can be handed to a non-photographer and used. I'm trying to focus on the $600-800

range, so a DSLR plus a decent zoom blows the budget to bits, too.</p>

 

<P>As far as "monkey" comments, I'm not trying to imply that my coworkers are a bunch

of monkeys; however, gear sometimes gets treated like it's been through the zoo. This

camera will be dropped, possibly from a moving vehicle or by someone skiing or riding at

25-30 MPH; the ability to fit (and replace) UV filters is a big, big plus. Now that we've

established beyond any doubt that I'm being asked to find a mythical camera that does not

exist, I'd appreciate recommendations for stuff that comes the closest.</p>

I just went through a similar exercise because my wife wanted a camera that she could take on trips, that would take good pictures and be easy to operate by a novice.<P>

 

What we discovered is that you can't have both.<P>

 

Now obviously, maybe you can, depending on how you define "good pictures" and "novice". But after looking at the crop of really small light P&S cameras, e.g., Nikon 7900, and comparing the results to a "serious" camera, e.g., the 20D or D100, it was clear the quality and user-control gap was too big. <P>

 

Currently we're evaluating a Canon G6 which is bigger and more complicated and over twice the weight of what we started looking at. The saving grace is that these cameras have various custom pre-programmed shooting modes, so I can cook up a custom mode for her so she doesn't have to deal with the complication if she doesn't want to. We're going on a hiking vacation next week. We're taking the G6 and an FM2 with a 35mm f/2 lens. If I don't take any pictures with the FM2 it's a sign that the G6 worked out.

At my office, we purchased a few Sony <a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/sony-t1.shtml">DSC-T1</a>s for a somewhat similiar role, although without the need to function in extreme cold. The build quality and "auto-everything" results are quite good, and it's small enough to live in a pocket. Whatever is current in the DSC-T(X) line may be worth a look.

As a Kodak employee, may I suggest some offerings from our line-up?

 

Our new P850 or P880 cameras. Former has a high zoom ratio with image stability, 5 Mp sensor, programmed and manual shooting modes, RAW (and other) output. No guarantees on dropping at 25 mph, though. P880 is 8 Mp, with smaller zoom range (but has a 24 mm equivalent wide angle.... could be very useful for indoor shots and outside scenics), programmed and manual modes, RAW output, zoom control through twisting of ring about lens.

 

Something a bit smaller? Z760 or DX7650: both are 6 Mp cameras with more modest (3-4x) optical zooms, high-speed low light autofocus capability, very novice-friendly but with over-rides for the expert.

 

6 Mp may be overkill if you only need sufficient quality for printing in local papers due to limitations in newspaper print resolution.

 

Hope this helps. The Kodak web-site can give you more information. Good luck, and thanks for considering these.

So Peter, does your wife know you've compared her to a monkey?

<h2>Re: 6MP being overkill for local newspapers</h2>

<P>...I'd agree, but apparently the publications don't. We had a groundbreaking event

recently and some of the publications to which we were submitting the photo were willing to

accept a 5MP photo only after we told them that there were no higher-res photos available.

At least one of the publications in question is a magazine, but I'd still expect them to be able

to use a 5MP photo (just not at a full-page size). It may also be that the publications want

more leeway to crop and to decide how big a photo should run; either way, <em>they</em>

want 6MP or bigger, and we want to make them happy so that they'll run our photos.</p>

Have you looked at the Olympus C-7070? Mine cost $379 (U.S.), 7.1 MP, durable metal body, nice ergonomics, excellent picture quality. And as simple or complex to use as you want it to be. I just bought another one for our internal medicine resident to use in the hospitals-- after placing a skylight filter to keep who-knows-what off of the lens...

Thomas,

 

Thanks for standing up for Ol' Yellow! I was a Kodak employee decades ago

(in the microfilm business) and truly hope you guys find your niche in this

rapidly changing photoworld. I think your partnership with Schneider (for

lenses) is a wise move.

 

EKC has always been a great company. Most people don't know all the great

technology and significant standards that Kodak has driven over the years. Of

course, global markets are fickle and don't necessarily reward those with the

best pedigree. I wish you and your colleagues all the best in the months

ahead.

 

Yes, I will take a look at the Kodak line of digital cameras for serious shooters.

I have not yet purchased my first digital camera but will do so before year's

end.

 

-jb