Re: help! my wife wants a digital camera
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2. Leica glass, great display, uncomplicated interface, good size. You can get her the Leica D-Lux 3 (same thing) if you think she'd appreciate the Leica branding more. Even I wouldn't mind getting one of those under the tree.
--A
Re: help! my wife wants a digital camera
Yeah, that is the one. Those stupid Lumix naming conventions are confusing.
Actually all the digicam naming conventions are confusing. Why can't they come up with cool names like Wollensak, Zeiss, and Schneider did back in the day?
Re: help! my wife wants a digital camera
Yup, get the Lumix LX-2. It even has a RAW mode. I have used a Lumix FX-7 as a snappycam since 2.5 years, and it was a nice toy for what it is made for.
Re: help! my wife wants a digital camera
There isn't much of a "photography" industry left any more. Cameras, lenses, etc. are now a sub-set of "home entertainment" or "consumer electronics." But just to help what little is left of it, I've bought digital stuff from companies that at least used to be in the photography business such as Nikon, Canon, et al rather than Sony, Hitachi, etc.
Within a given price range you'll find little difference among the various brands. They're all ridiculously complicated with massive owners' manuals, tiny buttons that are too small to use without hitting two others simultaneously, and weird little symbols stuck all over the camera. FWIW, I've bought three digital cameras for my wife, one Olympus and two Canons, all in the $300 - $400 price range. They've all worked fine but that's partly because my wife just puts everything on "auto" and doesn't use any of the features.
The only thing I'd try to check out if you're comparing models (other than the obvious things like size of the viewing screen, # of mps, etc.) is shutter lag. That's gotten better on the consumer digital cameras but it still can be an aggravation with some of them. It's also a good idea to buy shortly after a new model of the camera you're considering hits the market. If you buy the previous version you'll get a better price and still have basically the same camera as the current version.
Re: help! my wife wants a digital camera
I have a DMC-LX1 and it has three problems: (1) Noise at anything above iso 100 and (2), body thickness--the ring around the lens protrudes, adding to overall body thickness more than most. Still pocketable, but not really shirt-pocketable; (3) significant barrel distortion at wide angle. But it will shoot RAW. Working within these limitations, it does an excellent job and perhaps the new model has fixed these things...
Re: help! my wife wants a digital camera
Why don't you go for a dSLR, some, Nikon D50, are under $500 with lens:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation
They are more bulky but much more versatile and better high ISO noise.
Re: help! my wife wants a digital camera
I occasionally borrow a family digital. One is a slim, 2 yr old Cybershot, the other a 1 yr old boxy-ish Canon 5-pixel with extending tele, to-the-forhead rangefinder and turnable screen. It is killer. Much steadier in hand than the oversized-pack-of-playing-cards Sony whose heralded flatness accents every vibration of your hand and body and brain (mine a loose one). Thus, the Canon images (can be blown up on screen and go-no-go'd for sharpness on site) are on average much, much sharper.
The slight bulk of 'Canon-size' is well worth losing Cybersnapper pocketability - unless your digi must go in a small handbag.
Re: help! my wife wants a digital camera
How about a Olympus Stylus Epic. $80, 2.8 lens, 35mm Film so you will never lose your images to a hard disk crash.
Take them to Costco and get a cd with processing.
Re: help! my wife wants a digital camera
got her one of them robert about 5 years ago, i'm not gonna get out of this one, she wants a digital...
Re: help! my wife wants a digital camera
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Arne Croell
Yup, get the Lumix LX-2. It even has a RAW mode.
I'm about to buy one of these for myself. For those times when LF isn't handy. Fits in a pocket, Leica glass, shoots RAW, not horribly expensive.....a lot to love.
Tom