digital camera

[cellio]

My ancient and venerable digital camera has been somewhat unreliable in a way that's not worth repairing, given that it's ancient and venerable. (I often tend to hang on to hardware past the point when I really should just upgrade anyway. Exhibit A: my HP LaserJet 5L, which has mostly served me well for more than a decade.) But hey, digital-camera technology has certainly gotten better, and low-end photographers like me don't need all the expensive bells and whistles. So today I set out to improve my photographic situation before Pennsic.

Oh, Cannon PowerShot A530, I think we are going to have a long and pleasant relationship. I don't know what half your advanced functions even mean yet, but I will enjoy finding out. The camera is a good size for my hand, has controls that are tight enough not to be mushy without being difficult, and seems to take good pictures. (The real test of that involves a different operator, I suspect.)

It comes with software that I'm ignoring for now; my computer has a built-in card reader and that works just fine.

Conversation with the sales guy while discussing features I wanted:
Me: I wouldn't object to re-using my current memory cards.
Him: What do you have?
Me: Compact flash.
Him: Almost no one uses that any more.
Me: Bummer.
Him: A gig of SD (what everyone uses now) costs $25; do you care?

I'm pretty sure my current 128MB card cost rather more than that. :-) (And on the other hand, given how cheap memory is, you'd think that as a gesture of goodwill, the camera would come with more than a 16MB card. I didn't bother to peel off its plastic.)

Comments

[goljerp]

Some friends got Joy and me a A530 recently when they found out I was planning on using disposable cameras and my ancient Pentax ME Super to take pictures of JD. So far I've loved it. I installed the software on my mac; I'm not terribly impressed with it, but it hasn't been horrible either.

I think the camera companies sell cameras with the 16 meg cards for the same reason computer companies sell computers without monitors, keyboards, or mice: it makes the prices seem lower, and, well, some people already have good replacements...

[cellio]

The two main reasons I want a digital camera are being generous with shots (can always prune later) and knowing immediately whether the shot I took is probbably good. (I can't judge focus on the little LCD, but I can at least judge brightness, color balance, and framing.) If I don't like the shot I can try again, rather than getting the pictures back from the lab a week later and then finding out it wasn't a good shot. (There's also the whole "not having to deal with film and the lab" thing. :-) )

I think the camera companies sell cameras with the 16 meg cards for the same reason computer companies sell computers without monitors, keyboards, or mice: it makes the prices seem lower, and, well, some people already have good replacements...

That certainly makes sense for higher-end equipment; I have the impression that the tier from which I bought my camera is considered entry-level, so it surprised me a little. But yeah, so long as it's hard to leave the store without ensuring that you have a real card, the model works.