[DigiCam] advice? 4-5 megapixel choices

[Fred Keene]

At 2:45 PM -0800 2/12/04, rjn wrote:


>I am looking to buy a 4 or 5 Megapixel camera and have narrowed it 
>down (i think) to the Nikon Coolpix 5700. the Sony DSC-f707, Minolta 
>7i for 5 Megapixels and the Minolta s414 for the 4 megapixel 
>category.

I suggest you visit the following review sites.  If you spend 
sufficient time you can find the right camera to fit your needs and 
pocketbook.  Lots of great information here.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/
and
http://www.steves-digicams.com

I was having problems choosing between a Nikon Coolpix 5700 and the 
Minolta DiMage 7Hi.  Both of these are "prosumer" 5 megapixel cameras 
and both have 7 or 8X zooms.  After studying the reviews, I chose the 
Minolta.

The newer Minolta Dimage A1 has similar features plus image 
stabilization and other improvements.  The A1 and the 7Hi are 
compared at: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/minoltadimagea1/

Here is why I chose the  Minolta DiMage 7Hi over the Nikon Coolpix 
5700.  This would also apply to choosing the A1 over the 5700

1. The Minolta zooms from 28-200 mm (by 35mm standards).  The Nikon 
zooms a bit higher, but needs an expensive add on lens to get down to 
a wide angle 28mm.  The Minolta zoom is the same as that on my 
Minolta 35mm, but is done without the heavy extra zoom lens that I 
have on the 35. 

2. The Minolta can autofocus in very low light, whereas the Nikon 
cannot focus even in moderately low light.  This was a big negative 
for the Nikon as it is for my 950.

3. The Minolta can take filters (like for protecting the lens), but 
the Nikon cannot accommodate a filter.

4. Both have electronic viewfinders giving a non-parallax view 
similar to a SLR camera, but only the Minolta viewer can see in low 
light.  The reviews stated that the Minolta viewfinder could view 
items in almost total darkness, items that even the eye could not 
distinguish.  This was a big plus for the Minolta.

The only significant negative of the Minolta is that the reviews 
mention that some types of pictures show more "noise" than the Nikon, 
but only at high ISO settings  But, I looked at a lot of pictures 
taken with both, and it was hard to perceive much difference in what 
they call "noise". If necessary, I expect this can be corrected with 
Photoshop.

-- 
....Fred
On Smith Mt. Lake in S.W. Virginia-USA
Working with OS 10.3.2 on a 933 MHz Quicksilver G4 Mac with 
Superdrive; 1.24 GB SDRAM