99.9 % of my camera use is inside photography involving posting photos on WWW - forums, eBay, homepage,etc.
I really want a larger frame DC
What I would like:
tripod lug
larger body
manual controls are not a necessity
lens threads to add lenses / filters OR the ability to change complete lens to a macro lens
tripod
under US$400
Nice to have:
firewire connection
large LCD screen - 2" minimum
non proprietary battery
ease of use - point and shoot - manual adjustments are not a necessity.
cheap memory cards
DC that Look good so far:
1. Sony DSC-H5
2. Sony DSC-H9
3. Kodak Z612
4. Canon S3
The purchase has been made and the WINNER is
I got ALL the items in this new camera ( $299 - open box at an Internet dealer ) that I was looking for including cheap memory, Sony Memory Sticks sure have dropped in price since I had my last one several years ago and it's the only added memory I have to add to a device, so I can overlook that for now. Additional features that came on this camera are: metal body, 3.0" LCD color display with 230,000 pixels, lens hood and a hood adapter, ISO sensitivity from ISO 80 to 1,000, a choice of both aperture- and shutter-priority plus a fully manual mode, 32MB of internal memory and long battery life from rechargeable AA batteries, 4 included with the camera and an external Sony battery charger. Plus a carrying case and I bought an additional used Sony close up / macro lens for $49 off Amazon.
I look forward to getting the camera in a couple days.
Well 6 weeks after I received my Sony H5, today I placed it on the desk and watched as a 1.5" crack developed from the top left corner across the LCD screen. I called the dealer ( WWW electronics dealer) who I expected to say" Send it to Sony for reapairs" and instead here is a RMA send it back to us. She went on to say the model I had is no longer available, sold out so they would credit my credit card the full price and email me a UPS label to send the camera back at no charge.
Needless to say I was blown away, I had purchased 3 or 4 DC's from Crutchfield before and recommended others but never expected this great treatment as a customer. To make it nicer she emailed some $20 off coupons for me to give to friends, so if you want the # just PM me.
NOW, I am off looking at another P+S digital camera, and in the 5 or 6 weeks that have gone by a new slew of DC's have hit the streets. Well it's off to the WWW in search of info again, will post my top 3 choices before I make a decision.