Comments:

Digital photography has finally hit both mainstream and professional markets. While I have used many different digital cameras through work, this was the first digital camera that I actually owned. It was aimed at the simple point and click market and fits it perfectly.

I think there is room for both film & digital to co-exist for awhile longer. Digital cameras give you no prints, which allows you to be selective but also means you are less likely to get any printed at all.

Biggest pluses of this camera:

- fits in a pocket - its really small, light and smooth too.
- 2.1 mega pixel - now condiered very small, but fine for printing standard 5x7" size prints.
- rechargable Ni-HM AA batteries far outlast normal batteries and can be used in walkmans etc.
- Compact Flash card - with the USB adapter it doubles as a file storage device tranferring any documents and pictures between computers regardless of platform.

Biggest drawbacks of this camera:

- no optical zoom.
- brutal flash at night closeup which can create bad redeye .
- it was replaced in abour 6 months (by the DX3700) and probably 40 times since then!

Biggest pluses of digital photography in general:

- instant gratification - viewing shots straight away on the inbuilt screen and reshooting if necessary.
- instant sharing - email and webpublish straight away - no waiting.

Buying tips for any consumer point and click digital camera:

- check a website like www.dealtime.com for comparative prices as they vary enormously, and new models come out almost weekly.
- buy a BIG storage card you can then take hundreds of shots before downloading.
- definitely get rechargable batteries, they are great now thanks to mobile phone technology.
- don't go below 3 megapixel resolution.
- ensure the camera has a control to turn the flash off/on.
- video out is not necessary, but with it you can view your shots on a TV from the camera.
- have a back up strategy as no negatives means deleting one or zapping your computer your shot/s are gone forever.
- don't wait - get a digital camera.

 

More Information:

www.dpreview.com - Lots to see here. Many camera reviews and heaps of related information.

PhotoAccess.com - if you have a digital camera, sign up to an online print bureau.