Digital Cameras

[drfsupercenter]

How much was your camera? (USD)

[nwg]

How much was your camera? (USD)

The Sony S90 was £130 / $225 reduced from £199.99 in a pre-Xmas sale.

In the UK, electrical equipment is often $1 = £1. This is shown here where it is $199.99 from Circuit City.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony-Cyber-shot-DSC-S90-Digital-Camera/sem/rpsm/oid/119888/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do?c=0&BV_SessionID=@@@@1182665874.1135906237@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdiaddgiliekehcfngcfkmdffhdfki.0

For some pics of it look here.

http://news.sel.sony.com/digitalimages/photo?photo_id=174098

[drfsupercenter]

Looks nice! It is the Sony version of the camera I got - mine is 4 megapixels too. Now, since the megapixels are the same, does that mean that Fuji's is as good as the Sony, or should I spend some extra money and get the Sony one?

[IndianPrincess]

@atifsh: you have to remember for newbie camera operators manual in not the best choice for taking family photos. Great if you want the practice.

[atifsh]

@atifsh: you have to remember for newbie camera operators manual in not the best choice for taking family photos. Great if you want the practice.

very true but one who has a camera will eventually get to know his /her camera and then he/she should play with manual controls....... usually people dont do that and just stuck with auto for years.

[nwg]

Looks nice! It is the Sony version of the camera I got - mine is 4 megapixels too. Now, since the megapixels are the same, does that mean that Fuji's is as good as the Sony, or should I spend some extra money and get the Sony one?

It doesn't mean it is the same. Sure it is the same number of pixels, but other factors come into play to determine how good the picture is. The lens is very important. You could have a 8mpixel but a crap lens will produce inferior results. Also, the quality of the CCD would also be a factor.

Another thing to remember is the memory card. It has 32MB of internal memory and can take Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro and Memory Stick Pro Duo (with a adapter). Apart from me being a a Sony nut. My computers also read a Memory Stick Pro card. If yours can't, you will need a new card reader or have to use the supplied USB cable to transfer the files. It works well but the cable is attached on the bottom rather than the side.

If you go for a different make. I like high speed SD cards to record onto.

This is another good and very detailed review.

http://www.megapixel.net/reviews/sony-s90/s90-gen.php

[drfsupercenter]

The one I have uses XD cards. My dad has an extra one that I can use - we don't have any MS cards tho. As for a reader, I have a 7-in-4 USB reader that can read memory sticks. Not sure about Pro.

Nice video mode - 640x480! Mine only does 320x240 Good thing I have a gift reciept! Like I said, sometime I will try them both out at the store and see which one I like best. Does the Sony one fit in most pockets?

--EDIT--
Apparently, the "good quality" video can only be done with MS-Pro. I think you need an adapter on my USB card reader for that. Is there a size difference? And, how big do those tend to be, and how big would my memory card need to be? For example, my dad has a 256 MB card, that stores about 180 pictures at 4 megapixels. However, I have not used video mode on his camera - how big are the videos per minute?

[nwg]

Nice video mode - 640x480! Mine only does 320x240 Good thing I have a gift reciept! Like I said, sometime I will try them both out at the store and see which one I like best. Does the Sony one fit in most pockets?

It can also do a 640 x 480 fine video mode. It needs Memory Stick Pro to record the fast frames per second rate (30fps).

To see what that looks like. Here is some sample pics and a mpeg video clip.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/sony_s90_samples.html

[drfsupercenter]

Ah IC. Now, are memory stick pro cards the same size as memory stick cards? Here is the card reader I have:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0217727

I think it needs an adapter for those. But, can't you plug the camera in thru USB and read the card that way?
According to the description, it looks like my card reader can read MS-Pro cards, but it just has one slot for MS cards. Like I said... are they the same size?

[nwg]

Both memory stick and memoery stick pro are the same size. The pro is just faster at writing the data which is why the fine meg mode is needed.

That card reader will be fine with all memory stick types.

Memory Stick Duo is half the lenght but the same width which is why an adapter is needed when using Duo with the camera (it extends the length to the same as the MS/MSP). As the width is the same, only one slot is needed for all.

There is a memory stick website.

http://www.memorystick.com/en/

The camera has a output socket on the bottom of it which goes to a USB port. A card reader saves having to have the camera switched on to transfer files which use up the batteries.

[drfsupercenter]

Ah, well then my card reader does MS-Pro, just not Duo, which I wouldn't be using anyway. What size should I get if I decide to buy that camera? 256 megs? Or is 512 a better idea?

Like I said, I am not sure what camera I will get until I go to the store and try them both out.

[nwg]

I have always thought less is best but have more cards. A 4mpixel picture can take anywhere from 900k (standard quality) to 1.5MB (fine quality). I would go for at least 256MB. If you need more than get more than one 256MB card. The reason is so that not all the pictures are on one card. If the camera gets stolen or lost. You don't want to lose all your pictures in one go. This applies to any digital camera.

I find 3mpixel to be enough most of the time and considerably more pics can be stored.

However, I just picked up a new 512MB Memory Stick Pro card of ebay for the price of a 256MB one. The extra storage could be useful for making mpegs.

If you get a camera which takes SD cards. Get a high speed card one as the camera will save the pictures quicker.

[drfsupercenter]

Thanks! I will let you know my decision once I go to the camera store(s).

[drfsupercenter]

Well everybody, I decided on the Sony. Now I have to find the cheapest prices (I like using PriceGrabber for that)

[BR7]

Well everybody, I decided on the Sony. Now I have to find the cheapest prices (I like using PriceGrabber for that)

Pricegrabber works ok but it doesn't find the cheapest prices out there I find that google works better if you type in cheap Sony DSC-W7 cameras or Sony DSC-W7 cameras on sale