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Best bang for $ digitals, just asking

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  • Best bang for $ digitals, just asking

    If you were going out tomorrow shopping for a lap top computer, camera/cam corder, and/or a good hand held recording device, what would your Xmas list include, and where would you be spending your $?

    And why are Mac's so much more than other brands of computers?
    https://www.facebook.com/Bobby-Ingan...5875444640256/

  • #2
    Re: Best bang for $ digitals, just asking

    Apple doesn't sell but a handful of computers compared to all the IBM's. This link says Apple has about 6% of the US market. http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...t_quarter.html So there's a ton of competition among IBMs and boatloads of interchangeable parts and software programs while Mac is the only Mac. Some would say it's better designed, causes fewer problems and crashes, etc.

    Good digital cameras are becoming so inexpensive and the technology is changing so fast that a person needs to be pretty into photography to justify the cost of a good DSLR. Look at how great LikaNui's pics are and how much zoom he has and what a great price he paid.

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    • #3
      Re: Best bang for $ digitals, just asking

      Depth of field seems to be the big pro for the dsnl's over p&s. I might give a rip if I started getting photo happy.
      https://www.facebook.com/Bobby-Ingan...5875444640256/

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      • #4
        Re: Best bang for $ digitals, just asking

        personally I am SHOCKED at how low the prices for HD tv's are compared to about a year (and give a few months) they were. now you can find 22" ers under $200. Geez, I rememeber pricing them dec 07/jan 08 and remember considering up to $400 and up for 22" and higher.

        I am soon to buy a new laptop myself, but "best bang for $" doesn't really compute into my purchase. I am highly considering a Sony Vaio FW 16.5" in chocolate brown. Many times for me, style and beauty figure into my price. Right now, that is what I am dreaming about, but a few months ago, it was a stunning bronze HP 17" laptop, who knows what it'll be in a month when i can actually get it. Right now, in the interim, a friend sold me her ASUS 10" EEE which I absolutely LOVE, but it's not feasible to do graphics, plus it's a bit too dainty for a 6'3" guy like me with big hands.

        I need a camera too.....
        n'importe

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        • #5
          I can dig it...

          If I didn't have about 10 G worth of toy's in waiting to pay for I'd go for the sexy one too. But I'll reserve that attitude for my guitar selections!

          The constant drop in prices is another factor to keep me from rushing any purchases, but then, I've been waiting forever already.
          https://www.facebook.com/Bobby-Ingan...5875444640256/

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          • #6
            Re: Best bang for $ digitals, just asking

            Originally posted by Ron Whitfield View Post
            If you were going out tomorrow shopping for a lap top computer
            It depends on what you are planning to do with that laptop. If you are planning to keep that laptop at home all the time (takes up less desk space than a desktop), the weight of the unit doesn't factor much into the decision, but rather available disk space, size of the RAM, DVD burner, number and types of external connections would factor into the decision.

            If you plan on moving around a lot, where you want to be light as possible and already have access to a computer that has more resources you might want to consider a netbook, prices for them have been dropping.

            Also for the Windows based computer a new operating system will be out in October.

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            • #7
              Re: Best bang for $ digitals, just asking

              Originally posted by helen View Post
              Also for the Windows based computer a new operating system will be out in October.
              Which is what I'm waiting for. I want to hear if Windows 7 OS is way better than Vista.

              As for a dream PC-based laptop (i.e,. not netbook), it has to have backlit keyboard, Centrino 2, long battery life without the heat, wi-fi without the heat, hard drive without the heat, with full-version music/video editing software, and karaoke software. It also have to be very portable (15.0-inch or less display, weigh less than 5.0 pounds).
              Beijing 8-08-08 to 8-24-08

              Tiananmen Square 4-15-89 to 6-04-89

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              • #8
                Re: Best bang for $ digitals, just asking

                Ron Whitfield: "And why are Mac's so much more than other brands of computers?"

                You're basically paying for sex. Well a sexy looking computer and operating system, that is. Part of the cost is exotic materials, such as a slim magnesium body instead of a chunky plastic one. Another part goes to paying the salary of industrial and user interface designers who make gadgets like the iPod a pleasure to look at and easy to use. I imagine a big chunk goes into branding, so that Apple products are perceived as status symbols and luxury items, instead of commodity goods.

                Perhaps you don't care for a sexy computer, but everyone goes nuts over something. It may be a gas-guzzling luxury car, an 2x speed limit sports bike, a match grade pistol that shoots the balls off a fly, a "tactical" folding knife used by Navy SEALs, a pure bred dog with expensive medical conditions, or high heel shoes made from the skin of fairies. Owning special things makes us feel special, and that's what we're paying for.

                Oh BTW, it is possible to run Mac OS X on PC hardware. Google "hackintosh". People have gotten it installed on netbooks (cheap, stripped down laptops).



                Jim75: "Good digital cameras are becoming so inexpensive and the technology is changing so fast that a person needs to be pretty into photography to justify the cost of a good DSLR. Look at how great LikaNui's pics are and how much zoom he has and what a great price he paid."

                Totally agree with you. Canon's G-series keeps getting better; the G11 is looking real appealing. I also like the progress made with the Micro 4/3's format, with the Olympus E-P1 and Panasonic GF1. Canon's waterproof D10 looks like a lot of fun, especially for the kids.

                Of course none of the cameras I mentioned are cheap, but their features will quickly trickle down to consumer priced products. It's a great time for photography.



                Ron Whitfield: "Depth of field seems to be the big pro for the dsnl's over p&s."

                Yeah, a shallow depth of field is one of the benefits of a DSLR; really great for portraits. On the other had, a P&S's deep depth of field is really handy for macro photography, where it's difficult to get all of an ant's body into focus, for instance.



                Three big benefits of DSLRs are:

                1) large sensor
                2) interchangeable lenses
                3) more responsive



                Large Sensor

                The sensor is the digital equivalent of a piece of film. On P&S's, the sensor is small, about the size of your fingernail, on your little pinkie. On DSLRs, they are up to the size of two postage stamps, side by side. What a larger sensor gets you is better low light performance. If you try to use your P&S indoors or at night, without the flash, odds are your pictures will turn out very blurry or noisy (like static on a TV). A DSLR, with the right lens, can shoot pictures at night, without a flash, and make it seem like day time.

                Keep in mind indoor pictures, even during the day, are considered "low light" (unless you have huge windows). The human eye (plus our brain) is amazingly adaptive, and what seems "bright" to us can be rather "dark" to a camera. Conversely, what seems normal to us can be too bright for a camera. Part of the trick to photography is seeing the world like a camera, instead of a human.

                With larger sensors you get a shallower depth of field, as Ron mentioned. Great for portraits, but not so great for macro photography and landscape, where you want everything to be in focus.

                Larger sensors also give you better resolution. The 12 MP (megapixels) in your P&S will be "lower quality" than the 12 MP in your DSLR. Because the P&S's sensor is small, it has to squeeze all those 12MPs into a smaller space. The pixels in a P&S are smaller than in a DSLR. Small pixels are more..."delicate". What I mean by that is they are less forgiving about defects in your camera lens. Since the lenses in P&Ses are relatively cheap, you'll have poorer resolution.

                Of course that's not to say the pictures coming out of your P&S won't appear sharp. There are many tricks a camera can do to your picture to make it appear sharper than it really is, which is fine for the majority of people.



                Interchangeable Lenses


                One of the advantages, and weaknesses, of a DSLR is the variety of high quality, special purpose lenses you can use. Lens quality is just as, if not more, important than your camera body / sensor. With DSLRs, you can use lenses optimized for wide angle, telephoto, macro, portrait, or landscape photography. P&S lenses on the other hand are Jacks of all trades, masters of none.

                The price you pay for this quality is back pain (heavy lenses) and going into debt (yay for reverse mortgages!). Check out this $120,000, 36 pound lens from Canon.

                And this bazooka from Sigma:


                If you're happy with "good enough" images, then a P&S's all-in-one solution is very convenient. You can have the equivalent of a macro, wide angle, and zoom lens all in your pocket (well, big pockets I suppose).



                More Responsive


                I'm sure you've all had this frustration. Your kids are doing something cute, you whip out the P&S, you wait for the perfect moment, you press the button and...PAUSE. Your P&S takes its sweet arse time doing who knows what, before it finally decides to take the picture. Of course by then your child has run off, doing something else. This is called "shutter lag"; the time from when you press the button to when the picture is taken. DSLRs respond quicker than P&Ses.

                There are many reasons for this responsiveness, the most significant being auto-focus speed. DSLRs use the "phase detection" method while P&Ses use "contrast detection". Phase detection is lightning quick, but you can do neat tricks with contrast detection, such as facial recognition.

                DSLRs can also takes pictures faster. The professional Nikon D3 can blaze along at 8 frames per second; great for capturing the perfect moment in sports. P&Ses shoot around 1 or 2 frames per second, just fast enough, barely, to catch kids doing cute things.



                Conclusion

                You can take great photographs with a P&S; photographs which win contests and get used in print advertising. DSLRs just allow you to take great photographs in tougher situations.
                Last edited by MyopicJoe; September 9, 2009, 01:29 PM.
                "By concealing your desires, you may trick people into being cruel about the wrong thing." --Steven Aylett, Fain the Sorcerer
                "You gotta get me to the tall corn." --David Mamet, Spartan
                "
                Amateurs talk technology, professionals talk conditions." --(unknown)

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                • #9
                  Re: Best bang for $ digitals, just asking

                  ^ ^ ^

                  Whoa, that's enough to give someone a serious case of... camera envy, LOL.

                  I've gone from old school rangefinders to film SLRs to digital P&S, now starting to think about my first digital SLR.

                  MJ, thanks for a great tutorial and food for thought!
                  To be, or musubi... What was da question?

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                  • #10
                    Re: Best bang for $ digitals, just asking

                    If I were to buy a laptop tomorrow I'd get a cheapie <$400 laptop (not netbook) from bestbuy, costco, or samsclub.
                    If I were to get a camera I'd get a Canon T1i from Costco.com for $800 (after $300 mail in rebate) that comes with a printer/scanner/copier. I have a very nice 6" aperture 1500mm focal length telescope that I can use as a telephoto lens which is influencing my decision to get a dslr. This particular dslr supposedly has the best video quality of a consumer dslr (20 fps 1080p/30 fps 720p) and is the first consumer Canon dslr to do video at all which is why I'd get it rather than a Canon XS/XSi.
                    What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof. – Christopher Hitchens

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                    • #11
                      Re: Best bang for $ digitals, just asking

                      Originally posted by MyopicJoe View Post
                      1) Everyone goes nuts over something. It may be a gas-guzzling luxury car, an 2x speed limit sports bike, a match grade pistol that shoots the balls off a fly, a "tactical" folding knife used by Navy SEALs, a pure bred dog with expensive medical conditions, or high heel shoes made from the skin of fairies.
                      2)
                      1) Stop, I have enuf things to buy!
                      2) I would prefer the gun that shoots the balls off of flys.

                      Lot's of good tips so far, V cool.

                      Can the military PX be a good place to shop for wide selections and cheaper deals?
                      https://www.facebook.com/Bobby-Ingan...5875444640256/

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                      • #12
                        Here's a possible best banger...

                        How 'bout some HT pros and cons on this - www.computershopper.com/laptops/reviews/hp-compaq-presario-cq60-419wm
                        I'm not into slow speeds for general site cruising. Will this be a deal breaker on this unit?
                        https://www.facebook.com/Bobby-Ingan...5875444640256/

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                        • #13
                          Re: Best bang for $ digitals, just asking

                          Netbooks tend to use the Atom 1.6 GHz processor. The Compaq you referenced runs at 2.1GHz, but using a different processor, plus it has 3 Gbytes of RAM.

                          The Compaq CQ60-419WM sounds like good and inexpensive system to cruise HawaiiThreads, write that NaNoWriMo at any place in your home, play Freecell, store photos and update your iPod. Of course you will need to pay extra for a memory card reader since this system doesn't have one but at $300 it shouldn't break the budget.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Best bang for $ digitals, just asking

                            Look's good, helen, thanx.

                            BTW, what is the 'webcam' feature some are so concerned about?
                            https://www.facebook.com/Bobby-Ingan...5875444640256/

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                            • #15
                              Re: Best bang for $ digitals, just asking

                              Some laptops and netbooks have a built in camera, located above the screen, at the center. With this device you can use your system as a two way communication device. Camera's resolution is not the best but good enough to do chats.
                              Last edited by helen; September 10, 2009, 10:27 AM. Reason: missed a word

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