Picture Looks Brighter for $200 Digital Cameras
Spending $200 for a digital camera used to buy you a toy, or to put it more generously, a novelty.
For that price, you did get the convenience and cool aspects of digital photography--the ability to view a picture and download it to a computer to send in an e-mail--all without visiting a photo processing store.
Picture quality at that price, however, was not exactly something Richard Avedon would admire. Cameras generally turned out images rated at 1 megapixel or less.
That sounds like a lot, but a 1-megapixel picture--meaning the image consists of a million color dots--lacks depth and becomes a bit fuzzy and washed-out-looking when blown up to anything much more than wallet size.
Also, cameras at that price came equipped with undistinguished lenses that had difficulty capturing moving objects, such as people acting naturally.
But that was then. Three big names in digital imaging--Fuji, Hewlett-Packard and Kodak--now have 2-megapixel cameras on the market that sell for about $200 or less.
That’s still not professional level, and most film cameras at the $200 level can turn out images of superior technical quality when compared with their digital cousins.
At 2 megapixels, however, the images are certainly respectable. In a picture I took at a local dog park, even the whiskers on an adorable mutt, who stood still as long as I held a treat in my hand, are distinct and sharp. The colors are vibrant and you can easily see the anticipation in his eyes, even on a print made on a home inkjet printer.
Furthermore, these lightweight point-and-shoot digital cameras are fun.
They each have auto focus, automatic built-in flash, macro mode for close-up work and a viewing screen that allows you to frame a shot before clicking the shutter. (When bright or low-light conditions make using the screen difficult, a built-in optical viewfinder can be used.)
After taking a shot, you can review it on the screen and decide whether it’s worth saving.
Each of these cameras come with software and cables to transfer pictures to a computer via a Universal Serial Bus port (almost all home computers of fairly recent vintage have USB ports).
Once in the computer, pictures can be edited, printed, e-mailed or posted on Web pages.
So much for the good news. The lenses on these $200 digitals are still not very flexible. Pictures taken at fairly close range look best--the only zoom capability is digital and of limited use. Worst of all, the subjects have to be almost entirely still for the pictures to be sharp.
And because there is a delay between engaging the shutter and capturing the image, a moving object can be well out of the frame by the time the picture is taken.
When the cameras are set for optimal quality, some can hold only seven pictures with their standard memory.
And the cameras are battery hogs, especially when downloading--you will want to buy the optional AC adapters available for two of the three cameras tested.
But even with these drawbacks--the most serious of which is the difficulty in capturing a decent picture of moving subjects--$200 can now buy a lot of digital camera.
And the progress that has been made bodes well for the future.
Kodak DX3500
Of the three cameras tested, this one was the winner based on image quality, versatility and out-of-the-box ease of use. To turn on the camera, you simply flip a lever on the lens: One click for regular photography and two for close-ups (9 to 12 inches away from the subject).
The first time you fire up the camera, the screen will take you through a sequence to set the date and time (you can choose to have your pictures time/date stamped).
You also can decide in which resolution you want to shoot: The “good” setting produces half-megapixel images and “best” produces 2.2-megapixel images.
On the “good” setting, the camera’s internal memory can hold about 50 pictures; on “best” it can hold about 12.
Use of an optional 16 megabyte CompactFlash memory card raises the total capacity to 150 and 36, respectively.
The only quibble with the image-quality choices is that it would be nice to have an in-between selection.
It’s easy to tell what quality mode you are in--one star appears on the viewing screen for “good” and two stars for “best.” Other indicators on the screen tell you how many pictures you have left and battery status.
A nice feature of the DX3500 is that you can lock a picture in the memory to prevent its accidental erasure (a particularly handy feature when you are just getting used to the camera and likely--if you are like me--to erase an image you meant to keep).
The software is easy to install on both the Windows and Macintosh operating systems and downloading is accomplished by plugging in the cable and making a few mouse clicks.
Kodak sells an optional docking system that is supposed to make the transfer easier, but it doesn’t seem necessary even for a klutz like me.
Unfortunately, the DX3500 does not have an AC adapter, although the optional dock doubles as a battery recharger.
Fuji FinePix A201
This camera is not quite as user friendly--it takes a bit longer to get used to the controls. But photographers who enjoy fiddling with quality settings will like the options. The A201 takes pictures at resolutions of 0.3, 1.2 and 2 megapixels.
Coupled with the choices for image compression (high compression allows for more storage but can adversely affect quality), a total of nine quality settings are available.
The A201 can hold 20 to 122 pictures (depending on the quality setting) with its standard 16-MB SmartMedia memory card.
The A201’s close-up mode is especially good at capturing detailed shots of objects only 3 inches from the camera.
Although use of this camera’s features are not as intuitive as those on the Kodak, the A201 does offer an erase mode that allows you to delete several pictures at once.
It took several tries to load the software into a Windows computer, but it loaded onto a Mac on the first attempt. The software is perhaps a bit more complicated than necessary, but it has one especially welcome feature--it saves the photographs from one session to the next in a handy thumbnail format.
Hewlett-Packard PhotoSmart 318
The PhotoSmart 318 is a comfortable camera--a small strip of rubber helps provide a nifty, confidence-inspiring grip. A control dial makes viewing images and choosing modes easy.
The 318 has three quality settings, allowing for the storage of seven to 113 pictures using just its built-in memory. At its highest-quality setting, it produces 2.3-megapixel images.
A drawback of this camera is its viewing screen, which had an odd problem.
Out of the package, it came with a small promotional HP sticker attached. Removing that sticker damaged part of the coating on the viewer, which didn’t seem to be as well illuminated as those on the other two cameras.
Although the software is supposed to work on both Windows and Macintosh machines, we tried for a couple of hours but could not successfully load it onto an iMac that met the printed requirements of the program. It worked well in Windows, however.
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The Skinny
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Fuji FinePix A201
Street price: about $200
Maximum resolution: 2 megapixels
Memory: 16 MB SmartMedia memory card
Capacity with standard memory: 20 to 122 pictures depending on resolution
Platforms: PC and Mac
The good: Versatile image quality controls
The bad: Controls not entirely intuitive
Bottom line: A fine camera for the price, especially for those who don’t mind tinkering a bit
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Hewlett-Packard PhotoSmart 318
Street price: about $200
Maximum resolution: 2.3 megapixels
Memory: 8 MB internal memory, expandable with optional CompactFlash memory card
Capacity with standard memory: 7 to 113 pictures depending on resolution
Platforms: PC and Mac
The good: Ergonomically friendly
The bad: Not as good a viewing screen as the others. Processing delays between pictures are long
Bottom line: Easy to use but came in third overall
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Kodak DX3500
Street price: about $200
Maximum resolution: 2.2 megapixels
Memory: 8 MB internal memory, expandable with optional CompactFlash memory card
Capacity with standard memory: 12 to 50 pictures depending on resolution
Platforms: PC and Mac
The good: Solid performer, produced best-quality pictures, easy to use
The bad: No AC adapter option
Bottom line: A winner!
