Do any of you have digital cameras that don't have viewfinders? If so--do you find that it's really annoying, or that you don't miss your viewfinder at all?
My camera has a viewfinder but I never, ever, use it.
Correction, I've used it MAYBE once or twice when I was out at night in total darkness and couldn't tell if the tiny star in the sky was showing up in the frame or not. So I looked through the viewfinder to get it centered before taking my shot, but that's been it! I avoid the viewfinder like the plague otherwise, because I've found that using it to compose the subjects in a picture isn't a really effective way of getting exactly what you want. The LCD screen shows you almost exactly what you're going to get when you look at that picture on your computer.
The camera in question is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2 5MP Digital Camera with 6x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom. The Image Stabilizing feature is REALLY attractive to me, as is the 6x optical zoom. And check out the user pictures--they're amazing! The two big downsides are lack of a viewfinder and no manual controls (but according to reviews the no-viewfinder thing doesn't bother most people and the pre-set controls are quite sufficient). There's also a 4MP version (DMC-LZ1) that's basically the same but cheaper, which I may opt for since I don't really plan on printing out too many pictures.
The other main one I'm eyeing is the Canon Powershot A520 4MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (or the A510, its 3.2MP predecessor). Canon's one of the best in the biz, and this has basically everything I want, except no image stabilizing feature and only the standard 3x optical zoom. The upsides this has over the Panasonic are a viewfinder, pre-set setting plus manual control, and the ability to add lenses and stuff (which I doubt I
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6x optical zoom and Image Stabilization is very cool! I've never had a camera with those features, but I'm not sure how much I'd use them...tough call.
I think what struck me first with both cameras was that they use 2 AA batteries, and I wonder how long you can go on that before needing to recharge them. The two cameras I've had experience with used 4 AAs, and with the right rechargeables, I could go out taking pictures and looking at them repeatedly on the LCD screen all day long. I'm just wondering what kind of results half the battery power would give.
I'm such a fan of my Canon, but I also believe in buying the product that's right for the user, and not getting the biggest, baddest, most featurey-ist if you're not ever going to use 90% of those features. So, I still can't give you a definite answer, but I think returning to Circuit City to play around with them more will help. I bet one of them is just going to fit you better, and gradually you'll find yourself leaning more towards one than another.
Oh and I would highly recommend investing in rechargeable Nickel metal hydride batteries. They will pay for themselves in the long run if you use your camera with any frequency. I had a total of 8: one set stayed in the camera, and the other stayed in the charger. Well, before my charger toasted one set and blew up, that is. heh. But PLEASE don't take that experience as a warning against these batteries
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my viewfinder seems to only come in handy when i've forgotten to charge the batteries, and it sucks up too much power to use the LCD screen. once the battery starts to die out, i can get 10-15 more pictures by only using the viewfinder. other than that, i dont ever use it.
You make a good point. I only use my viewfinder in that situation and in very high- and very low-light settings. Battery usage is definitely something to consider, though...
even if you don't use the viewfinder often, it is very nice to have imo, and i personally wouldn't buy a camera without one. but i come from the old school view of photography as well
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correct, but getting a steady image isn't as big of problem when you're zoomed all the way out most of the time, that's all. the further out you are zoomed, the more an image's sharpness is affected by movement.
and that sounds about what mine averages on one charge of 2300mAh NiMH batteries, between 300-400
if you always carry 2 sets (one in the cam and a spare), you'll be good to go always.
also, my above was supposed to say "it's not so great in low light", but you prolly figured that out ;)
P.S. The Panasonic's reviews said I would get a little more than 300 pictures on a set of NiMH batteries. I can't imagine a situation in which I, personally, would take more than that before I'd be able to get to a charger or another set of batteries...
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Correction, I've used it MAYBE once or twice when I was out at night in total darkness and couldn't tell if the tiny star in the sky was showing up in the frame or not. So I looked through the viewfinder to get it centered before taking my shot, but that's been it! I avoid the viewfinder like the plague otherwise, because I've found that using it to compose the subjects in a picture isn't a really effective way of getting exactly what you want. The LCD screen shows you almost exactly what you're going to get when you look at that picture on your computer.
What cameras are you considering now?
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The other main one I'm eyeing is the Canon Powershot A520 4MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (or the A510, its 3.2MP predecessor). Canon's one of the best in the biz, and this has basically everything I want, except no image stabilizing feature and only the standard 3x optical zoom. The upsides this has over the Panasonic are a viewfinder, pre-set setting plus manual control, and the ability to add lenses and stuff (which I doubt I ( ... )
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I think what struck me first with both cameras was that they use 2 AA batteries, and I wonder how long you can go on that before needing to recharge them. The two cameras I've had experience with used 4 AAs, and with the right rechargeables, I could go out taking pictures and looking at them repeatedly on the LCD screen all day long. I'm just wondering what kind of results half the battery power would give.
I'm such a fan of my Canon, but I also believe in buying the product that's right for the user, and not getting the biggest, baddest, most featurey-ist if you're not ever going to use 90% of those features. So, I still can't give you a definite answer, but I think returning to Circuit City to play around with them more will help. I bet one of them is just going to fit you better, and gradually you'll find yourself leaning more towards one than another.
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and that sounds about what mine averages on one charge of 2300mAh NiMH batteries, between 300-400
if you always carry 2 sets (one in the cam and a spare), you'll be good to go always.
also, my above was supposed to say "it's not so great in low light", but you prolly figured that out ;)
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I've added you back, but I'm warning you--you're in for a lame ride!
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