Please help me pick out a camera

[ahappycamper]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for a camera and hopefully I will be able to get some help, since I'm completely at lost with all the choices out there!

My main objective is to get a camera that is able to snapshot a page in a book clear enough so that I can see the words. I would then upload that snapshot into my computer and save it there. I want the picture to be clear enough so that I can actually read the words without squinting. I do not really care about bulkiness of camera or anything like that, clarity is the most important thing here. Like everyone else I want something that is low price, as I really am on a budget. As of now, I am currently looking at the Kodak Easyshare Z1485, which has 14 megapixel, or the Kodak Easyshare Z1285, which has 12 megapixel. These cameras both run for less than $150.00, and seem to have a pretty high megapixel compared to the other cameras around their price. Do you think 12-14 megapixels is enough to capture the words of a book clearly enough for me to read?

[Photo-John]

Welcome to the site!

You don't need a lot of pixels to capture text clearly. You could do it with an 8-megapixel camera just as easily as a 12-megapixel, unless you're talking about a big dictionary or Bible. The text in a normal book isn't that small. Getting clear pictures of text is more a matter of technique than camera resolution. The biggest problem is going to be getting sharp photos. What kind of environment will you be in when you're taking these pictures? If you aren't going to have great light, you should get a camera with image stabilization and you should either use a flash or a tripod.

Tell us more about the books and location you'll be shooting in. The EasyShare Z1485 IS has image stabilization - that's what the "IS" indicates. The other camera doesn't. So I'd definitely choose the Z1485 from those two. But like I said, earlier, I wouldn't worry about the camera resolution. If your only purpose is capturing text, then you'll probably do just fine with a less expensive camera - as long as it has image stabilization.

One thing I'd like to note is that Kodak's camera software is usually pretty poor. It's almost never worked right for me and they always install a lot of "bloatware" on the computer. That is - useless software that just fills up space on your machine and often cause conflicts with other software. You can bypass their software by using your computer OS's built-in photo management software or some other third-party software. That's what I always do. But I would avoid installing the Kodak EasyShare software if at all possible.