On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:10:02 -0700, rw
wrote:

Charlie Choc wrote:
On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:10:17 GMT, "Larry L" wrote:

NOW I just want a 'good camera' to take
digital pictures for hard copy printing at a decent size and high standard )


I've got an Optio Wp I carry in my vest, and it's a handy camera but I'm not
sure the optics are up to the kind of prints you want to make.

Who make prints? :-)

I don't think I've printed more than a half-dozen photos in the past
year, but I'm not as seriously into photography as you are, Charlie.

That's sorta my point - a shirt-pocket type 5ish MP camera really isn't
for anyone seriously into photography. As the technology has
progressed, and "tricks" have been employed to get the claimed MP rating
up, the "end-user" _effective_ quality (consumer-grade stuff) hasn't,
IME, increased all that much because the display options are about the
same as they were 2-4 years ago. IOW, unless you're using high-end
display stuff and/or high-end output stuff for prints, somewhere around
5 MP is enough for anything less than production stuff. Which is why,
IMO, none of the variety of cameras from which we regularly see images
is all that different, again, as far as image and output on "basic"
devices.

To me, prints are things that eventually goes into the trash or into a
cardboard box in a closet. Digital is forever, as long as you back up.

If you haven't seen such, we got digital picture frames for friends as
presents this past Christmas (there were on sale all over for around
$50USD or so), and all have been shickled tickless with them. You
simply slip in the memory card/stick, and it's a slide show.

A 5 megapixel camera with so-so optics is good enough for me. My biggest
problems with the Optio WP are the lack of a viewfinder and the somewhat
unusual battery. Both are mere annoyances compared to the compactness
and waterproofness (is that even a word?) of the Optio WP.

Man, the proprietary battery thing is, IME, a whole lot bigger thing
than a mere annoyance - obviously, YMDV, but I'd offer that if Larry is
planning on taking this thing down south, it might be a deal-breaker for
him - I'd stick with standard battery types (AA, AAA) - again, YMMV.

It's a lot better than my cell-phone camera. :-)

A whiteboard, markers, and a moderately talented 5 year old child are
better than most cellphone cameras...

TC,
R