[SATLUG] Digital Cameras

[Brad Knowles]

on 12/11/08 10:41 PM, Alan Lesmerises said:

> Thanks for reminding me to check what kind of battery they use -- I HATE 
> having devices (like electronics) with peculiar components that will 
> wear out or otherwise need replacement every few years, and you're 
> forced to back to the factory or a specialty supplier to get a new one.  
> And then, after a couple of years, you can't get the replacement part 
> any more and have to replace the entire device just because you can't 
> get a new battery or something!

Canon has actually been pretty good in this regard.  In their compact 
line of cameras, they've been using the exact same battery for many 
years.  This is one of the things that sold my co-worker on upgrading 
his camera to the latest model from Canon, because he'd be able to 
re-use all his old batteries and chargers.

But the simple fact of using a non-standard battery means that you can't 
walk into most any store on the planet and have a reasonable expectation 
that you can buy batteries on the spot.  And even if you can buy 
replacement batteries, they won't be fully charged out of the package.

I like rechargeables and I use them everywhere I can, but I also like 
the freedom of being able to buy AA batteries from just about anywhere 
and pop them in.

>                                         Now, it's a question of what to 
> get my wife that will take good pictures, won't be too complicated to 
> use, and won't sour her on actually using the technology before she has 
> a chance to become at least mildly proficient at it.

If you're looking for something that is simple to use, traditionally the 
best cameras in that space are from Kodak.  They've really focused over 
the years on making cameras dead-simple to use, and still produce at 
least decent pictures.  Some of their cameras are crap, some are at 
least decent, and the dpreview.com website should help you be able to 
tell which is which.

So, you need to ask yourself how much you need to get something simple 
enough for your wife (and maybe aim for a good Kodak), or if you can 
instead go for a better overall camera that might be from another 
company (like Nikon or Canon).

I would definitely start with the buyers guides that dpreview.com has.

-- 
Brad Knowles <brad at shub-internet.org>
LinkedIn Profile: <http://tinyurl.com/y8kpxu>