Digital cameras forum: Buying checklist needed

thank you snapshot.

the last link will give me the phd that i'm looking for (smile).

the items that i listed are the ones that i see the most in reviews. after reading what you wrote, some features seem more like hype then something that a beginner would use, but it's nice to know what i'll be spending all this money on (smile).

most specs have iso from 100 to 400, which i'm sure will be fine

ok, so the smaller the f number, the better. i definately have to read more on this.

now i know which memory cards to stay away from.

i can see now that at least for a while, i won't have a need for tif and raw files, i was more curious why the review make such a big deal about cameras that don't have this type of file support.

$300-400 for a flash, explains why i haven't seen many people using their hot shoe.
it seems that the flash the comes on many cameras pops up. are they really built for a lot of this type of movement? i suspect, based on the video that i take. that the majority of pictures i would be taking would be indoors, which means that i would need to use the flash on a somewhat regular basis.

i now feel like i am at the masters level in understanding the terminology (smile) - that you so much.
indera

Memory card formats are a little more complicated than what the last person explained. For example...

CF cards tend to be faster than many other formats -- but they also tend to use more power, so they can drain your battery faster. The CF spec allows a lot of variation, however, so two cards with the same memory from different manufacturers can perform at different speeds and draw different amounts of power (both in use and at rest).

SD, MemoryStick, and SmartMedia are all more strict in their requirements (I'm not 100% certain, but I think XD fits this category as well), so a card from one manufacturer is usually very close in speed/drain to one from another manufacturer. SmartMedia is the most battery efficient, but it's SLOOOOOW. XD is dying, since only two manufacturers support it (MemStick doesn't have the same issue -- sure, only Sony supports it, but Sony is HUGE and supports it in a lot of product lines, not just cameras). SD and MemStick are very similar in most respects, and have perhaps the best balance. Don't worry too much about MemStick -- compare prices online, and you'll see the gap between SD and MemStick prices has been virtually eliminated, particularly if you buy a non-Sony MemStick.

AA batteries are nicer than proprietary, I think, because they're so cheap to buy just anywhere. Get a proprietary battery, and some day it might be cheaper to buy a new camera than a replacement battery.

A note on taking video with your camera -- check to see whether or not it supports sound, whether or not you can zoom before and/or during the video recording, and what resolutions are available in video mode. All video is not created equal -- regardless of the format it's recorded in!

Speaking of zoom, if it is important to you remember to look only at optical zoom numbers, and ignore digital zoom numbers. High zoom (anything above 3x) benefits quite a bit from some sort of stabalization technology that is becoming common in many such cameras.