--- You wrote: You can also find some surprises with some cheap "PC only" no name brands. I bought a Kobian 2MP Mercury 3 in 1 camera for $150CDN. --- end of quote --- It's true that no-name might be a price advantage, but you might have a problem with repairs. One of the problems I had with the Minolta 315 (one of many) required an under-guarantee repair by Minolta. They were quick and gracious. (Didn't help all the other problems though.)
Also, when shopping on the internet, beware of 'grey market' imports from the really low price guys. These 'parallel import' cameras, while usually identical to manufacturer's imports, can not be repaired by the manufacturer. You know which creek you are up if something goes wrong. Also a word on digital zoom. I used to pooh-pooh digital zoom as a game manufacturers play to make a camera seem more capable. It's exactly like cropping the image in Photoshop, so why use it? It's essentially turning a 3 megapixel camera into a two or one mpx camera. But a friend pointed out that digital zoom is very handy to allow you to see what you are getting as you shoot if you need to grab a far off image. Essentially, it's a clever viewfinder, and you won't have to crop as much on the computer. This turns out to be very true and handy and I've started using it where necessary. Optical zoom is true telephoto and does not degrade the pixel count. If you think you'll need it for nature or sports, go for a camera with more than 3x optical. But if that's not possible, digital zoom will at least get you an accurately framed image. (I'd prefer wider angle, myself, but few cameras offer it. By the way, digital zoom on video cameras is a real and very handy feature, since it is difficult to crop video, except in Final Cut or other high end editors. Rich -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
