Ditgital cameras

I know nothing about D cameras.
What's the cheapest?
Can you take a picture and then put the pic onto the computer?
Do they have a disk in them, or do you plug the camera via a USB cable into computer and press a button to download said pics?
All info on these cadgets appreciated.

 

Fonzie, there is plenty of help here, as Woo says but remember you get what you pay for The more pixels(i.e megapixels) a camera has the sharper the picture will be which is important if you want to have enlargements printed. The mp size is increasing all the time and you can get a good baisc camera now with 6/7mp for around �£60/80 pounds maybe cheaper. Optical zoom is a fancy way of saying telephoto this usually starts at 3x. Nearly all cameras around this price have a zoom of some sort and have a USB lead to plug straight in to your PC. I tend to use windows scanner and camera wizard on the pc rather than the camera's own software. Some cheaper cameras have a cd manual and some, rarely, have a booklet. An extra memory card will be essential as the internal one in the camera will probably be full with just a few pics. Most small compacts are now made with just a LCD screen and no viewfinder( cutting production costs presumably).
there is a lot of choice now but I would suggest looking at one first before you buy.

 

Thanks all for the info. �£60-80 pounds is not bad, I'll have to have a look round.
I only want a basic type, as I'm only taking the odd picture or two. I just want to be able to put it on the computer instead of what I do now by getting pictures developed and then placing them in scanner and loading from there.

 

Amazon is a good place to look (not necessarily to buy) mainly as there are usually reviews of the cameras which might help, some are coupled with a memory card as a special offer. Good hunting.

 

Fonzie, I'm sure you will be bitten by the bug once you start.
Its a bit like buying a small greenhouse and then wishing you'd bought a bigger one.
Having said that, its a good idea not to spend too much on your first digi camera. That way you get an idea as to what to look for should you deciede to move up a bit.
Some of the cheaper ones do produce some good clear pics these days.
I use a card reader, already on my PC, that stops you having to use the camera manufacurers software to see your pics, USB etc. its much simpler, and I need simple :D

 

this camera is available for �£25 plus P&P. It is a basic point and shoot and only has a digital zoom but as an introduction to digital photography it may be worth looking at.

this link is to show what the camera is and its price at amazon.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Photosmart-Digital-Camera-Megapixel-memory/dp/B000EHQIW8

this link is where you can buy it for �£25. It does mean signing upto paypal offers though.

https://www.paypal-offers.co.uk/banner.do?bannerId=14841&type=-1&subtype=-1#terms0

I have no personal experience of the camera, i just received details of the offer!!!!

 

Fonzie - that camera posted by glenw looks like a real snip. Three years ago you'd have had to pay around �£100 for one of similar specification. My only reservation is that zoom is digital rather than optical.On the whole a camera with optical zoom will give sharper zoomed pictures. However for only �£25 it compares pretty well with the cost of about a half dozen "disposable" film cameras.

Digital cameras use memory cards (tiny things about half as thick as a credit card and about the size of a postage stamp).
You can in some cases take the card from the camera (as Pete does) and put it in a card reader if you have one, or else attach the camera to a USB port on the PC and 'drag and drop' or use software from a CD that comes with the camera, or software already provided with 'Windows' or a photo editing program to get the pics onto your PC. It's quite easy whatever way.

 

Hi folks, just thought I`d interject. Picture quality isn`t JUST about M/P count. The thing that seems to get overlooked is the processor used in any given camera. You can have all the M/P`s in the world, but if the processor is of poor quality, then the pics will be poor quality. Another factor is, of course, the lens. Cheers...freddy.

 

Thanks all.

 

I agree but I would still recommend a minimum of 5MP just to have some cropping space and still have a decent size file to print.

 

Absolutely !

 

Also depends on screen reolution, and if you are going to print it, how mnay dpi your printer can do.

speaking of printing get good quality photo paper for best results

 

Hi watergarden. I think you missed my point and the general line of this thread. My comments were solely aimed at cameras. The point I was trying to make is that it`s far better to get a `balanced` package as opposed to just going for m/p count. Of course, it takes alot of time and effort to establish a good `mix`, just depends how seriously you want to go into it. Rightly or wrongly...that`s my view. Cheers...freddy.