8/3/99 (CARRBORO, NC)
Updated 9/13/99
Just like most computer oriented stuff, the prices of all things digital keep
going down, enabling more and more folks to connect with the rest of the world,
via the Internet, and send e-mail and pictures to anyone online, anytime,
anywhere in the world. All you need to send pictures (in addition to your PC
and an Internet connection) is a digital camera.
We've been looking at these cameras for years, but couldn't justify spending that
kind of money on a camera. Instead, we purchased a much less expensive "GrabIt"
several years ago, which enabled us to take pictures off of videotape. This was
a new thing at the time. We already had one of those big, lunky
RCA full sized
video cameras, that we had gotten right before our youngest daughter was born
(now 11). It worked fine, but at one Christmas Parade, my arm felt like it was
going to fall off after taping for two hours, the dern thing was so heavy. Ron
at Tar Heel TV on E. Weaver St. fixed it for us super-fast that time, in time for
the Parade. By the way, go see him if you're looking for a used TV. He has great
buys and is extremely honest in his estimates for repairs. I digress...Even so,
many local events were chronicled with that old thing.
We still longed for a digital camera. In the meantime, we got one of the smaller
JVC camcorders. It records good pictures without breaking your arm, and was only
about $350. We continued to use the "GrabIt" and the old RCA and new JVC
to capture images from videotape.
Finally, this year the prices of digital cameras have started to decline.
We read numerous reviews about nearly every digital camera on
the market. We researched this purchase long and hard. We were still determined
not to spend $600 or more for a digital camera, no matter how great
it seemed to be.
One of the things I read while trying to find the best deal, was that in the
not too distant future, printer companies like Canon and Hewlett Packard will literally be
giving you a digital camera with the purchase of a printer system. Then,
this will be also be included in "The Big Package." The "Everything I need for the
Millennium and Beyond" package, which is not that far off. This made us even more
certain we didn't want to throw our money away paying too much for a digital camera.
In the end, we found the rock bottom price at
OnSale.com,
with free shipping as part of the deal. It's an
Olympus D-340R. For a less than $300
this little camera is great! It includes an 8 mg Smart Media
card, which can take 122 great images per card at 1.3 megapixels. It's also capable of saving .tif files,
which most cameras in this price range and even higher, are not. This is important if
you need a higher resolution picture. It does a terrific job. I guess that's why it
took a month to get here.
The only disadvantages to this camera (which we had already read about), is the few
second pause between pictures, and the lack of a zoom lens. It does, however, have many other extremely useful
features, and is a great buy for the money. Also, it would be wise to purchase the ac adapter, for use in
downloading the pictures to the computer. Batteries (it takes 4 AA) run down quickly
with downloading.
If you want to see the camera, go to OnSale.com and search for
D-340R DIGTLCAM. The least expensive place we've found for
Smart Media cards, ac adapters, and all kinds of other stuff is
Beyond.com. They carry a vast array of computer related products at the best prices we've seen.
This week anyhow.
UPDATE:
6/11/00
We've stayed with Olympus and have upgraded to the D-450 and now the D-460, which has a zoom,
but is $100 or more extra. We also purchased a floppy disk adaptor to save time
downloading the pictures. It cost $100, but was well worth it.
Meanwhile, the price of the D-340, if you can find one, continues to fall.
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