Best camera: brightness/color?

[chracatoa]

I'm going to buy a new digital camera in the following months and I wonder which one (under $500) is the best regarding illumination and colors.

When I compare my analog with my digital pictures, the light on the analog always seem much better. Darks are too dark on the digital's, and it's a pain to fix them using photoshop or whatever software.

I always try to use flash if the background is to bright, which helps a little. Even though, the analog (also with flash) looks much better. Do you know those shadows below the eyes and nose when the sun is high? That looks really ugly on my digital pictures.

I have tried the new Sony cybershots, with no avail. I've had in the past a Kodak DC240 and also an AGFA. The colors of the old Kodak were actually better than the washed-out colors of the new, higher resolution, sony. Still, the brightness of all of them sucked...

 

[Howard]

i'd go for the Sony S series which has carl zeiss f2.0 lens or certain Olympus C series which has F1.8 lens. I have a C2040 which is not available anymore. If you want compact, check out Canon S series. www.dcresource.com www.dpreview.com those two are the best sites for digicam research.

 

[bw37]

chracatoa,

I suggest you also check out
<A HREF="http/www.imaging-resource.com/" target="_new">http/www.imaging-resource.com/</A>

along with
<A HREF="http/www.dcresource.com/" target="_new">http/www.dcresource.com/</A>
and
<A HREF="http/www.dpreview.com/" target="_new">http/www.dpreview.com/</A>

I like the comparison feature at imaging resource that lets you compare similar images from different cameras. You'll need a fast link to make reasonable use of it.

I don't know if any digital camera yet has the dynamic range of film (let alone your eyes!!). That might be part of the difference you are seeing. The other thing I'd suggest is that the built in flashes on most consumer cameras just aren't very powerful and don't reach very far to "fill-in" in strongly backlit scenes.

The combination of lower dynamic range and weak fill-in flash would cause what you're describing. A more powerful flash is one good fix, so if that's really important to you, that should be high on your list of qualifiers when looking for a new camera. A camera and add-on flash will still outperform any built in unit.

The other thing you might find when comparing images from different cameras is that they do handle colors differently (just like different films). You may like one brand or camera's "view" of the world better than another's. When I looked last year, I liked the Canon's for color with the Sony's next. This is a very personal choice so go with what you like.

Also, heres another possibly useful site. I haven't spent enough time there, and my photos show it!!
<A HREF="http/www.shortcourses.com/using/index.htm" target="_new">http/www.shortcourses.com/using/index.htm</A>

Good hunting,

BW

 

[chracatoa]

BW,

About imaging-resource: where can I find the comparison of similar images between two cameras? I only could find the side by side specification comparison...

Thanks!

 

[bw37]

They've redone the site and this feature a bit, but it's still there. They now call it the "Comparometer":

<A HREF="http/www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM" target="_new">http/www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM</A>

Enjoy,

BW