It isn't often that a topic comes up on/. that pertains to my area of expertise so I feel compelled to reply. The digital photography market is incredibly exciting lately. Digital cameras outsold SLRs in 1999, which many people thought wouldn't happen for a while. New models come out every couple of months and the image quality in some models has already surpassed most peoples expectations. Here are a few guidelines that I suggest to people buying their first digital camera. The most important question... Are you planning on printing the images? If so, I don't suggest any camera below 2 megapixels. Most 2MP cameras can print up to 8x10 inches at photographic quality. These are the ones that can replace your point and shoot camera. If you aren't planning on printing the images, a 1.3MP camera will fit your needs and will look awesome on your 72dpi monitor. What brand should you purchase? I really don't like the Sony cameras because they take Sony's proprietary technology, the memory stick. (remember consumer level betamax?) The true standards for digital camera memory are the Compactflash card and the Smartmedia card. Smartmedia is the same memory type that most of the new portable MP3 players use. Olympus has some of the most advanced cameras available. The C2500L is an SLR (single lens reflex) which means that you are actually looking through the lens. Point and shoot style cameras can't compare since they use focusing zones rather than a continuous focus range. The C2500L also has some of the best glass ever used in it's lens. The lens on the C2500L has 100 lines of resolution even on the edges (Read as EXTREMELY SHARP). The Photographic Marketing Association voted the C2500L as digital camera of the year for 1999. Olympus also has point and shoot style cameras ranging from about $300 on up. Their C3030 is the current hot item with 3.3MP chip and video with sound capability. If you just want to e-mail some images to your family or post on auction sites, the D360L is probably a good choice for you. Nikon just came out with their Coolpix 990 which has 3.3MP and uses the Nikon Matrix Metering system (probably the most advanced metering system in the world) Since the 990 came out, you can pick up their 2.1MP Coolpix 950 for around $700. Both of these Nikon models work with their professional flash system so if you want to control your lighting, these are good choices. Canon's cameras, the S10 and S20, both take the IBM microdrives so they can have up to 340MB of memory. This is great if you plan on travelling with your camera and don't want to upload your images at the end of each day.
So my answer to, "what is the best digital camera?" is... There is no best digital camera. Only what is best for your needs and budget. I personally own the Olympus C2500L. My reasoning is that I want it to be my primary camera and it's probably the best thing available for under $4000.
There are so many more issues to discuss, but I think this is a good start.
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It isn't often that a topic comes up on /. that pertains to my area of expertise so I feel compelled to reply. The digital photography market is incredibly exciting lately. Digital cameras outsold SLRs in 1999, which many people thought wouldn't happen for a while. New models come out every couple of months and the image quality in some models has already surpassed most peoples expectations. Here are a few guidelines that I suggest to people buying their first digital camera.
The most important question...
Are you planning on printing the images?
If so, I don't suggest any camera below 2 megapixels. Most 2MP cameras can print up to 8x10 inches at photographic quality. These are the ones that can replace your point and shoot camera. If you aren't planning on printing the images, a 1.3MP camera will fit your needs and will look awesome on your 72dpi monitor.
What brand should you purchase?
I really don't like the Sony cameras because they take Sony's proprietary technology, the memory stick. (remember consumer level betamax?) The true standards for digital camera memory are the Compactflash card and the Smartmedia card. Smartmedia is the same memory type that most of the new portable MP3 players use. Olympus has some of the most advanced cameras available. The C2500L is an SLR (single lens reflex) which means that you are actually looking through the lens. Point and shoot style cameras can't compare since they use focusing zones rather than a continuous focus range. The C2500L also has some of the best glass ever used in it's lens. The lens on the C2500L has 100 lines of resolution even on the edges (Read as EXTREMELY SHARP). The Photographic Marketing Association voted the C2500L as digital camera of the year for 1999. Olympus also has point and shoot style cameras ranging from about $300 on up. Their C3030 is the current hot item with 3.3MP chip and video with sound capability. If you just want to e-mail some images to your family or post on auction sites, the D360L is probably a good choice for you. Nikon just came out with their Coolpix 990 which has 3.3MP and uses the Nikon Matrix Metering system (probably the most advanced metering system in the world) Since the 990 came out, you can pick up their 2.1MP Coolpix 950 for around $700. Both of these Nikon models work with their professional flash system so if you want to control your lighting, these are good choices. Canon's cameras, the S10 and S20, both take the IBM microdrives so they can have up to 340MB of memory. This is great if you plan on travelling with your camera and don't want to upload your images at the end of each day.
So my answer to, "what is the best digital camera?" is... There is no best digital camera. Only what is best for your needs and budget. I personally own the Olympus C2500L. My reasoning is that I want it to be my primary camera and it's probably the best thing available for under $4000.
There are so many more issues to discuss, but I think this is a good start.
Hope this has been helpful!