OT-digital cameras

exalted512

I know this is off-topic, and i will also be posting this thread in the OT forum, but if youre like me, i only look in the car audio part of the forums...
so here we go
im looking into buying a new digi camera
i have a budget of $320(absolute total max...including tax and shipping...not negotiable)
i havent really looked into it yet as i should before i start posting questions about it...but oo well, im lazy, and ill have more questions later if anyone knows anything about them after i research, so hopefully someone can give me some tips?
what exactly do i look for?
i HAVE done a minimal amount of research on directly comparing the basic specs on about 10 diferent cameras
i know that the higher the megapixel, the better the resolution
i know that zoom is good...lol
one of the cameras i am looking at is the Olympus Camedia D-540
its 3.2MP
10x total zoom
(3x optical, 3.3x digital, whats the difference?)
it has quicktime movie mode
i AM looking for a camera that can take short videos that HAVE sound
im not sure if this camera has sound b/c it doesnt directly state it like ive seen on other cameras, and im a noob to this stuff
i dont care how big the little screen is
i want a 10-second self timer
this one has 12, 8 seconds is great though
it has a burst mode of 1.5 fps
im guessing that has something to do with taking X many pictures per 2nd??
auto flash and red eye reduction(must have)
this camera is 200+7 shipping+tax from QVC
im pretty sure i can find a better deal on it elsewhere
so can anyone tell me what else i need to look for in a digi camera?
any brands to look for/stay away from?
websites to buy from?(must be authorized dealers)
heres a list of stuff i know i want on it:
1. AT LEAST 3.2 mega-pixels
2. AT LEAST 10X zoom
3. video WITH sound...doesnt really matter how long, id be happy with 30 seconds, im sure theyre probably closer to a minute+ though
4. autoflash
5. red eye reduction
6. 10(around) second self timer
7. way to hook it up to the computer, im sure all of them at this price come with the USB cables
8. i want to be able to have a memory card, i dont want the memory to be just in the camera(im not sure if thats even offered, but i dont want it if it does...lol)
9. autofocus
10. some type of computer software would be great, but not a necessity
11. ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY no more than $320 shipped to my door
if it does not come with batteries or a memory card, that is fine


what i dont care about:
1. weight
2. size
3. size of screen

thats pretty much it, thanks for any help you guys can cough up
-Cody

exalted512

here is a link to the d-580
it seems pretty good to me
it has all the stuff im looking for and i found it for 240 dollars
-Cody

neomagus00

um... zoom - optical is just like a regular camera, the lens moves around and you zoom at will; digital zoom takes what the camera sees and magnifies a section of that. net result: on a 3 megapixel camera at 3x zoom you still get a 3 megapixel image. on the same camera at 3x digital zoom you get a 1/3 megapixel image. mucho difference; go for optical when u can get it.

movie on digicams generally sux; that 1.5 fps is about average; consider that your tv runs at 24, movies are 30 fps. and the sound's not great, but it's functional. you won't want to get your kid's first steps on it, but other than that it works.

most cameras at this price level will have the features you're looking for. make sure you check what brand of memcard the digicam uses before you go buying more cards. i have a 3.1 MP camera that uses SanDisk cards; a 256 Mb card will hold roughly 300 pics at full resolution, nearly 1000 at minimum resolution.

price goes up exponentially as MPs do

not sure how much i bought it for, somewhere around 300 (this was 2-3 years ago), i have a kodak easyshare dx4330 that has all the feature's your looking for except the auto-timer. today's version of the same camera would cost significantly less, u may wish to check that out.

lastly, pay attention to the small stuff - like the kodak i've got, the lens cap falls off all the time; see how easy the menus are to navigate, how it fits in your hand, if you have to smash the camera against your nose to use the regular viewfinder (a good idea, saves batteries like nobody's business). bestbuy's got a bunch on display, at least they do around here.

AustinKP

Originally posted by neomagus00
movie on digicams generally sux; that 1.5 fps is about average; consider that your tv runs at 24, movies are 30 fps. and the sound's not great, but it's functional. you won't want to get your kid's first steps on it, but other than that it works.

Actually, the 1.5 fps was for the burst mode, which isn't the same as movie mode. Burst mode is how fast the camera can continually take full resolution pictures if you hold down the button. Generally, movie mode will take a lower resolution video (somewhere around 30 fps) but only for 30 seconds or so.

As far as the zoom, Neo was right. The higher optical you can go, the better. Optical zoom is with the lenses, thus, you can zoom farther with no loss in quality. Digital zoom just enlarges the optical picture. It's like Windows XP Preview of pictures. The original picture is like optical zoom - full quality. The digital zoom, is like if you zoom in. The more digital zoom, the lower quality you see.

As far as USB or other connectors, all digital cameras will have one so no worries. For the memory card, just make sure it isn't some proprietary card so the company can jack up the prices. Most will use a standard memory stik or the like.

Good luck. Let me know what you end up getting. After I finish my car stereo, that is next on the list of things to buy.