Time to zoom in on bargains but NZ prices still too high

By CHRIS BARTON

My main interest in the Kodak CX4300 digital camera was the price - $599 - for a 3 megapixel camera. In April, 2 megapixel cameras were going for $1000 to $1300 so it seemed like a good deal.

I've made myself quite unpopular with some for saying we pay far too much in New Zealand for consumer electronics gear like this. Mostly we still do. Check out Google's new product and price comparison search engine - www.froogle.com - if you don't believe me.

But it is good to see prices falling. A 2 megapixel camera such as the Panasonic DMC F7 is also down to $599. However, that's partly due to a cleanout of old stock in preparation for the introduction of new models. Still, for the savvy buyer, such moments are always a good time to pick up bargains.

Prices are also coming down thanks to parallel importers such as Mobile Phone Traders in Albany (sadly no website) or eTown (whose website really could do with some work).

Both give fantastic savings - especially for the more highly specified 4 megapixel and upwards models.

Which brings me back to the Kodak CX4300. Yes, 3 megapixels is better than 2, but everything else about the CX4300 is so bare bones that I'd probably prefer a 2 megapixel model with more features.

My buying checklist for digital cameras begins, like most, with the number of megapixels (the resolution of the picture) and the more the better. If you need quality as good as a film camera, don't look at anything under 2 megapixels. Next look at zoom - 3X (times) optical is my starting point. I largely ignore digital zoom, which just magnifies the image. Lately I'm thinking 6X or even 12X zoom would be highly desirable - especially when you're going whale-watching in Kaikoura.

The viewing screen is another key feature - the bigger the better, but also check clarity, especially in bright sunlight. Then look at the flash. It's often the weakest aspect of low-cost cameras, so try it before you buy, because with digital you can instantly see the effects on the viewing screen.

Lens quality is probably the most important aspect of a camera, but unless you know about such things, you'll have to rely on the salesperson's advice. He or she will usually bang on for ages about the pros and cons of one manufacturer's lens versus another's. For a less biased view, camera reviews help a lot. And digitalcameras.co.nz has some good links to review sites.

You also want to consider other features such as portability, battery power and whether the camera has a power supply for recharging. I also like a burst mode - great for getting action shots of the resident snowboarder "sessioning the rail" at Turoa. Even better is the ability to take video clips.

The Kodak CX4300 scored low in my book on most of these counts. To meet my minimum requirements, I'd have to opt for the CX4330 with zoom, which is $999. But if you're the sort of camera user who just wants to point and shoot, the CX4300 is very idiot-proof - even if that does mean no optical zoom and rudimentary features. Ease of use is also behind Kodak's EasyShare dock, which adds $199 to the cost. The dock isn't essential because you can always just hook up directly to your computer with a universal serial bus (USB) cable, but it does make transferring photos to your computer a breeze. The EasyShare software - for sending emails and tweaking images - is also very easy to use.

A nice aspect of the CX4300 is its inbuilt 16MB of memory so you can take images right out of the box. But you'll also want to add at least one more storage card. The Kodak uses the CompactFlash format. To save messing around swapping out cards, go for the largest you can afford - a 64MB CompactFlash card, for example, costs $130.

Then there's the added cost of getting a photo-quality printer to print your photos at home. Keep an eye out for printer/camera bundles this Christmas - there are some good deals out there. I've just tried HP's cute mini-loaf sized Photosmart 160 ($380) - a three-colour ink-jet printer which makes good-quality postcard-size prints. It also has direct plug-in of CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard and Memory Stick media, which means you can print without connecting to a PC.

Just plug in your digital film card, print out an index of thumbnails to see what you've got, and then make your selection.

Direct printing like this, or even better by simply hooking up your camera to the printer, is a growing consumer demand. This month, six manufacturers - Canon, Fuji, HP, Seiko Epson, Sony and Olympus - proposed a standard to enable direct-wired printing between a range of cameras and printers.

Let's hope they get it sorted out soon, because printing it yourself is really the only option when you look at the prices at online printing services in New Zealand. Such sites all charge about $1 per postcard-sized print. At that price, when printing at home is so convenient, I can't see how these services have much of a future.

* Email Chris Barton

Froogle

eTown

digitalcameras.co.nz

The Camera Store

Frogprints

Camera & Camera