What point and shoot should I buy?

[littlejohn]

Originally Posted by mtclimber

littlejohn-

if you are on a PC, as opposed to a Mac, you have a greater selection to choose from. My suggestion is to download Picasa from www.google.com, it is free, and it is a good place to begin your experimentation with post processing.

If you want to go beyond that either Paint Shop Pro from Corel or ACDSee would be good choices. they are both around $(US)40.00.

Sarah Joyce

Thank you...I'll try that.

Sarah here is a PM I sent you in response to your comment..


Hi there littlejohn-

Well we just got home after some 8 hours of driving. But it is good to be home. Here is another idea for you. Why not look at an upgraded Sony Alpa, such as the A-700 which has come down a lot in price as it is near the time for it to be replaced.


LOL..actually it crossed my mind to buy a little higher than the 230. As it (I think) will provide the 'room' to grow...

I've read the reviews of the A500/550..but I haven't considered the 700 as the price here is still up there...

My trial with the a230 is coming to a close soon, and I was going to try the D5000

Wadda yer thoughts..????

[littlejohn]

Originally Posted by JimC

Press the Fn button to select a Creative Style. For each Creative Style, you can see and change it's settings for Saturation, Contrast and Sharpness.

See the Image Processing Section of this A230 manual starting on page 86 for a description of Dynamic Range Optimization choices, Create Style choices and Settings for Sharpness, Contrast and Saturation.

www.sony.jp/dslr/manual_english/A230_manual.pdf

Thanks Jim,, I was wondering if I had to do it for each style, or if there was a 'global command" Appreciate yer help...

[mtclimber]

littlejohn-

Now here is another photo of Bradley taken with contrast-1, sharpness +2, and saturation +2. You can easily see the difference that those Creative Setting changes made.

Sarah Joyce

[mtclimber]

Thanks littlejohn-

...for helping me catch up with things again. The first couple of days at home are usually pretty hectic, with shopping, getting everything working again and the like. But enough of that. Let's get to your question.

As to camera choices, I think that the A-500, although more expensive, provides a lot of upgraded features, including Auto HDR, and Live View. I think that I possibly made a mistake by jumping to the A-700 model. I am rethinking my strategy and am seriously considering the A-500 as an A-700 replacement.

So I find a lot of logic in your consideration of the A-500, or are you speaking of the Nikon D-5000 DSLR camera. Please clarify that for me. Thanks!

Sarah Joyce

[mtclimber]

Well littlejohn-

On this photo I experimented with two things. (1) I again used the used the recommended Creative Settings, and (2) I used the Sony 55-200mm lens to take a macro or close-up photo.

Once again the Creative Settings worked well. That is good to know. Any yes, the Sony 55-200mm lens, which is fast becoming my favorite lens, proved that it can do many things quite well.

Sarah Joyce

[mtclimber]

Hi there littlejohn-

Just for comparison, I reshot the same photo with the Sony A-230.

Sarah Joyce

[littlejohn]

Originally Posted by mtclimber

Thanks littlejohn-

...for helping me catch up with things again. The first couple of days at home are usually pretty hectic, with shopping, getting everything working again and the like. But enough of that. Let's get to your question.

As to camera choices, I think that the A-500, although more expensive, provides a lot of upgraded features, including Auto HDR, and Live View. I think that I possibly made a mistake by jumping to the A-700 model. I am rethinking my strategy and am seriously considering the A-500 as an A-700 replacement.

So I find a lot of logic in your consideration of the A-500, or are you speaking of the Nikon D-5000 DSLR camera. Please clarify that for me. Thanks!

Sarah Joyce

I was talking about the Nikon D5000.as it available here. The Sony A500 isn't yet.

My reasoning is that the D5000 has been out for a while and the price is probably lower then when it was first introduced.

I suspect the A500 or A550 will start at the inflated price as well....(am I wrong with this thought??

[littlejohn]

The second photo of the mellon was with the A230...what was the first one shot with?

Which one was closer to the real colors (my guess is the first one..)

I like the 55-200 lens over the 18-55 too.

[mtclimber]

littlejohn-

The first photo was taken with the new Sony A-200. The second was taken with the A-230 camera.

I also ordered the Nikon D-5000 based on the specifications. However, it image quality was substantially less than I expected. and I did not want to bump up to the Nikon D-90 camera.

Sarah Joyce

[littlejohn]

Originally Posted by mtclimber

littlejohn-

The first photo was taken with the new Sony A-200. The second was taken with the A-230 camera.

Sarah Joyce

That's interesting. Maybe I am missing something here...you did the 'recommended creative settings' is that the cameras settings? Or the 'custom settings discussed earlier.

Did you use the same in the A230???

If so, how do you explain the color difference?

Sorry to be a pest....I just have an inquiring mind

FYI, I will be attending my first meeting of the local camera club. The theme for the night will be critiquing photos members bring in.....should be very informative to me..