advice on a camera upgrade?

[cmorse]

Another idea for you. Check around for refurbished deals on outdated cameras. You can get one of these http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusepl2/16 for about $200. http://www.cameta.com/Olympus-Pen-E-PL2-Micro-4-3-Digital-Camera-14-42mm-II-Lens-Red-Factory-Demo-64010.cfm

[CashWiley]

No digital zoom (option is turned completely off), ISO is manually set (I forget if it's 100 or 200 though). It's got a 3x optical zoom and though I've been trying new things, my traditional shooting distance I've been zooming in all 3x. Cropped but not resized would result in an image maybe 500px. I tend to resize WIPs down a lot more but Show-Offs aren't resized down much. If I didn't zoom in, the model might be 200px? Image quality is set to largest size in the camera.

 

TT, I meant the camera is 4MP. Your camera is 16MP (and is 7 years newer technology, mine is pre image stabilization). I know (and my point was) megapixel don't matter (much), but if my current cropped image is 500px, with TT's camera it would be 2MP. Less zooming needed, better info for downsampling. Not to mention 7 years of technological improvement on cheap cameras :)

 

Doug, I'm getting decent images for the most part with my setup, largely thanks to you! But that doesn't mean I don't think my camera is old and I'd be happier with a more modern one :)

[CashWiley]

Also sorry for the derailthulhu.

[ttuckerman]

The problem is probably image stabilization not MPs. When I used a 2MP camera without image stabilization I had to use a tripod. Without this the pictures would have been too shakey. With the tripod they did not have grainieness. The other problem might be low light levels. Pics can get grainy then as others have mentioned. The newer lowlight cameras help with that.

[CashWiley]

It's on a tripod (with a 2s timer, even). The subject is lit by 2 or 3 lamps inches away.

[cmorse]

If its set at 200 iso that's your problem. With an older point and shoot you want the lowest possible iso number. Back when I had a 4mp canon (a G3 from 2002) I was using 50 iso on it with good results up to 5x7" glossy and ok up to 8x10".

[CashWiley]

Oh, I think it is 50. Like I said, I don't remember (posting from work). I've blown up seascapes (from Monhegan ferry) to 16x20 and it was grainy, but 8x10 looked great.

[Doug Sundseth]

Doug, I'm getting decent images for the most part with my setup, largely thanks to you! But that doesn't mean I don't think my camera is old and I'd be happier with a more modern one :)

 

Yeah, I want a Nikon D800E. If I had that, I'd want a D4, and a 70-200 f/2.8. And if I had that, I'd want a 400 F/2.8.

 

There's really no end to it; photography is as bad as miniatures.

 

[pocketcthulhu]

Also sorry for the derailthulhu.

derail away, Im just hoping I can learn something.

[pocketcthulhu]

doing a little research this morning, I was planning on going over to BB after work tonight and playing with some cameras.

 

so far Im interested in -

zs-10 http://point-and-shoot-camera-review.toptenreviews.com/panasonic-lumix-zs10-review.html

 

f800exr http://point-and-shoot-camera-review.toptenreviews.com/fujifilm-finepix-f800exr-review.html

 

I am So excited at the prospect of getting a camera which doesn't use double aa's, my current nikon chews them up and spits them out so fast Ist Unverschamtheit....

[CashWiley]

The ultimate lithium energizers are pretty decent for cameras (and mice, though I still use alkaline in my keyboard). Get a little battery tester, worth their weight in batteries.

[pocketcthulhu]

I switched over to rechargeable battery's a couple of years ago when I was using a lot of them with the xbox/wii, Main issue i have is my current camera can run through a fresh charge on new battery's fast enough that I have killed drained them before I can get photos off the camera a couple of times.

[Aaron_W]

The battery issue is probably specific to your camera. Some of the older cameras were battery hogs, that doesn't seem to be an issue with newer cameras. I had an old (2003 ish) Panasonic that gobbled AAs, that camera was probably only good for 30 photos on a set (2). I bought a Canon S3IS in 2007 that used 4 AAs and it would go on and on, a set of batteries easily taking hundreds of photos. I've got a Canon T1i DSLR that uses rechargables and it lasts so long I occasionally forget I need to worry about batteries (and sometimes misplace the charger).

 

Rechargables are nice, but the ability to just pick up a pack of batteries anywhere instead of recharging is a very nice option.

[Flow]

A quick thumbs up for the Canon Powershot A4000 IS - 98 bucks at Best Buy currently. Has a great macro mode which is perfect for minis, and it's hard to beat that price!

 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Canon---PowerShot-A4000-IS-16.0-Megapixel-Digital-Camera---Blue/4858272.p?id=1218554265199&skuId=4858272

[Sergeant_Crunch]

I had a Panasonic for about seven or eight years and was very happy with the optics. It died last year and I tried to replace it with a cheap (less than $100) point an shoot and was very unhappy with it. (read as: I wanted to leave it on a busy street on record it getting run over.) I ended up getting a Canon Powershot SX160IS and have loved it, even beyond miniature photography.