Digital camera suggestion

I

itsup2f8

Geek Trainee
I am looking at purchasing a digital camera (used if I can get a good one at a good price). I've looked at a few different ones, but I'm not sure which way to go. I'm wanting 5.0 megapixels or better with at least a 3x digital zoom. Can anyone tell me what the best brand name is? Becuase I'm getting a used one, I can't be too picky about the model, I just want to know what's more durable (against dropping and such) - Sanyo, Canon, or Kodak?

Thanks for your help.
 
When it comes to digital cameras id only go for Canon or Nikon. You can get other brands but im guessing you dont want to spend £4k.

Ignore digital zoom. Optical zoom is whats important. But bigger the zoom range, a lower quality image will be achieved. Thats why people spend £££s on fixed focal length lenses. You can achieve any magnification digital zoom on your pc.

To a certain extent ignore megapixels too. It only tells you how big the image is... not the quality of the image.
Ive got a 17" monitor displaying at 1280x1024 resolution. Thats 1.3megapixels. So any photo taken above 1.3megapixels will be reduced down to 1.3megapixels. I had might as well take a 1.3megapixel image instead of a 5megapixel image. I couldnt say for certain but I would put money on a 1.3megapixel camera giving a better image than a 5megapixel camera when displayed on a 17" screen. The 1.3megapixel image is at its native resolution whereas a 5megapixel image is turned into an average wherby just under 5 pixels need to be turned into 1.

What a 5megapixel camera offers over a 1.3megapixel camera is the ability to crop and zoom in without loosing quality.

Im not saying get a 1.3megapixel camera but if you are torn between two camera with the exact same lens and features but one is 5megapixel and £100 and the other 10megapixel and £200 id probably buy the £100 camera because I dont usually crop my pictures. tbh , ill argue til the cows come home that for general throwaway snapshots people only need 2 megapixels.

Ive never owned any Nikon but have been very impressed by Nikons owned by friends. Ive used many Canon cameras (of every type) and will probably stick to Canon in the future.

The quality of a camera is governed by its lens. In the old days Zeiss and Nikkor (german and jap, respectively) were the ones to go for and although the lens market has changed a lot in the last 40-50 years if it has Nikkor or Zeiss on the end of your camera it kinda means you have a half decent glass lens. Nowadays these two lenses are all over the place and have lost their marque of distinction but you could do alot worse than buying a camera with one of these names on the front. (you get sony camera with zeiss lenses!! even phones! It aint zeiss)

So, Canon or Nikon with moderate optical zoom and dont waste money on extra megapixels.
 
Thank you, that's very good to know. I did notice when I use Digital zoom it seems like I can't hold the camera still enough to get a non-blurry picture.

And you're right, I do crop most pics after they're on the computer. So that totally makes sense.

Thanks for the advice.
 
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