A techie tells it all (whats and hows)
Feb 13 '02
The Bottom Line 1. Refurbished = Good!
2. Research = Good!
3. Good Return policy = GOOD!
There are three things to remember when buying a digital camera as I have just learned after buying a fuji finepix 2800.
I have most gadgets and am a sucker for them admittedly. However I have never paid too much for an item... except maybe my Canon 35mm SLR that I dropped $300 on 2 years ago. I inherited my fathers passion for bargains... these are a combination of a techie's approach to getting a deal.
1. Always find out if the camera you are looking at is interpolates data or not. Some cameras advertise 3 mega pixels and then based on captured information assumes data based on surrounding area... ie if the surrounding pixels are green, the middle pixels must be green too... Make sure on the box there is no weird small print that compares actual capture size in pixels to another similar number...?! in other words look up the model you want specifically and check to see if it interpolates data. Also the bigger the lens the better. General camera rule of thumb.
2. Always look for returned or open item merchandise. Case in point my Fuji was a returned item that in addition to having a full warranty, receiving the free 128mg media card, and being about 15% cheaper, had all of its parts as well as some nifty action shots from the previous user...
3. Make sure that your store has a return policy that doesn't have that 15% restocking fee nonsense. At least 7 days too to make sure it works with your software in addition to making sure that it works.And make sure that rule applies to discounted merchandise as well.
*BONUS!
I'm using mine predominantely for online images so 2 mg pixels is super fine for me but for people who live off of prints I'd aim higher UNLESS you plan to do most of your printing from your office printer (ie Epson 870Photo) in that case the higher resolution WILL look better but your image will suffer the printer's faults. Iphoto automatically receives prints form Kodak and if that's your game it IS worth the money for a higher quality image 4+ even for one reason in particular--
Larger sized prints are CHEAP from digital source. Especially through iphoto. If you are lucky enough to be a mac user I wholeheartedly recommend that. For the price of some good software and comperable processing, I'd recommend getting an old imac for $600 and iphoto (free) man it is EASY... check that review in a day or two. For PCs I'd recommend Photoshop Elements or Photoshop LE for editing. It will suffice... just remember prints of your images will be brighter than they appear on your PC monitors... so red eye reduction aside, color correction is almost a waste of time... Mac monitors are truer to print color (ever wonder why they're the standard print shop computer?)
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Running www.chicagofoodies.com working on my French cooking, wine pairing and Kung Fu movies...
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