5MP digi camera recommendations please

**Greg** · 31-01-2005, 6:02 PM

Hi

Need a new Digi camera and particularly interested in the Sony DSC-W12, which I can get for about £210. What favours me to this one is the very large screen (compared to other cameras) and previously owned a Sony camera so am happy with the quality.

But before I take the plunge, just wanted to know if I should be looking at other makes.

Any 5MP cameras in the same price bracket that are better than the Sony?
Not interested in too many specialist camera/photo options as I wouldn't know what to do with them. Just want 5MP, good optical and digital zoom, large screen, high quality (for a digi camera anyway!) video and audio recording.

Thanks
Greg

simon100 · 31-01-2005, 7:46 PM

Try list link for a list of 5 mb cameras.
http://www.cameras2u.com/products/in...53158&node=236

Some links to good review sites:
http://www.dpreview.com/
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraList.php
http://www.imaging-resource.com/

The new Konica Minolta Dimage Z5 might fit the bill and/or KodaK DX7590.

seany · 31-01-2005, 9:25 PM

The w12 is a nice cam Greg, dont worry about digital zoom its all about the opitcal. It's good enough for you for what you want to use it for. All this can be pretty subjective its not the best (if you can say best) 5mp camera out there, but it's a very good one and you'll be more then happy with it

**Greg** · 31-01-2005, 9:33 PM

Thanks for the replies. Simon100 those two you mention are above my price bracket, especially the Z5. Have looked at the links you gave, but think I was waiting for a good reply on the W12, which thanks to Seany, I have. Guess my mind was set on the Sony anyway. Credit card will take a bashing tomorrow me thinks!

seany · 31-01-2005, 10:03 PM

My pal has one Greg and he really loves it. It does take pretty good photos

http://www4.pbase.com/cameras/sony/dsc_w1 the W12 is just a black W1 seem to recall, so there is a data base of photos taken with the with the same cam you're after so you can see what it can do

**Greg** · 31-01-2005, 10:19 PM

Cheers for the link!

bowenjones · 01-02-2005, 3:46 PM

I have one of those, Greg. It's a cracking little camera and takes excellent photos. There are more than your average features on this camera and the battery life is pretty good too. The lcd screen is excellent - really clear unless it's used in bright sunshine. There's a 3:2 setting on the camera which is usefull for taking photos that you want to print as it won't mean cropping the top and bottom off the pic. The macro setting is very good on this cam too. I haven't had the time to post any photos but will when I get the chance. Word of warning though. The memory stick provided hasn't got a large enough capacity so I'd recommend that you get a bigger one. Do a search for memory sticks and you'll find that you can get some really good deals on them, especially the clones.

huwg · 01-02-2005, 4:42 PM

I've just bought a W12, very pleased with it.

You'll need a steady hand to avoid blurred shots on the auto mode, but the shutter speed can be changed in manual modes.

Memory stick wise, they are more than SD cards, but you can get 64Mb memory stick pros (rather small but more useful than the supplied 32Mb stick) from Asda for 9.99.

The Sony has a good digital zoom feature - when used in 3Mp or below, it will switch to 5Mp when using digital zoom to keep up the picture quality. when in 5mp mode, the digital zoom will not function (unless you specify otherwise in the setup).

I bought it because of the build, the design - (classic shape, it's not too small) and the very fast response. With red eye off and focus set, there is practically zero shutter lag - certainly faster than any other camera I tried.

I'm no expert but am pleased with the results so far (took a photo of my CD's and when you zoom right into the picture, you can read the spines).

The W1 is cheaper but only comes with 1 set of batteries and the black W12 looks way cooler.

can provide sample pics if you want

**Greg** · 01-02-2005, 7:08 PM

Thanks for the other replies. Have ordered one today so should get it in a couple of days hopefully.

I already have a Sony Digi Camera (an old DSC-S75) with a 128mb card so for the time being I will use that card in the new camera. The cards are getting cheaper and cheaper so hprobably get a 512mb or even 1GB in the next month or two.

seany · 01-02-2005, 8:20 PM

Digital zoom is actually pointless, its just what any softwear can do, its basically more like blowing a photo up then real zoom. Only opitcal is important so i'd avoid using it

huwg · 02-02-2005, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seany

Digital zoom is actually pointless, its just what any softwear can do, its basically more like blowing a photo up then real zoom. Only opitcal is important so i'd avoid using it

I agree, but my point about the Sony zoom was that if you are taking pictures in 3MP mode (or 1MP), when you go into digital zoom, it switches to 5MP, meaning it can zoom in with less pixellation than if it stayed in 3MP.

As Seany says, may as well just take the photo in 5MP mode with optical zoom and blow up the image on the PC - less chance of camera shake. I suppose the Sony method could keep the image filesize down, haven't done a comparison

Having said that, I still don't use digi zoom myself

I'm new to to this lark, maybe all cameras do the same.

seany · 02-02-2005, 1:43 PM

It's always better to use a larger mp size for cropping (whish is not blowing up a portion of the photo like digital zoom) Digital zoom is pretty much know as little more then a gimmick, its not as i say zoom at all. A 5mp photo taken with optical zoom is much better then one used with digital zoom.

Just some of the quotes you will find on the web about digital zoom

" Your salesperson will probably spend a huge amount of time explaining shooting modes, most of which you won't ever use. They're pretty standard across makes and models - the night mode, slow sync mode, action mode, self timer - but you'll probably throw it on auto, fire away and never change it. Like the digital zoom, modes are just a mostly arbitrary gimmick and shouldn't be a deciding factor in your purchase."

"It is generally not recommended to shoot with 1.6X digital zoom ON and output it as a 5 megapixel image because you are combining the disadvantages of 1. (more card space) and 2. (lose cropping flexibility) without major benefits*. You are saving 2 megapixel of information (crop C) into a 5 megapixel upsampled image (D). Upsampling cannot create detail that was not captured by the lens. Image B (optical zoom) has more detail than image D (digital zoom)."

**Greg** · 04-02-2005, 9:10 PM

Camera arrived today. Very pleased with it. Just need to scrape a bit of extra cash together for a decent memory stick pro card.

Any idea what my Sony DSC-S75 is worth? (complete with box, instructions, accessories, 32mb card, mint condition etc etc)

Thanks for all the replies and good words in helping me with my camera decision.

Greg