Zoom Term

Hi

Im no photographer - just into computer programming and web-development.
Im thinking of getting a camera - not a very hi-fi one - ordinary digital one that I just need to insert into my site.

Im looking at 2 now (exact price here) and trying to compare but I dont understand most of the terms.

What does the Zoom factor here mean ?

HP Photosmart M22 Digital Camera (L1891A): 6x (1x optical, 6x digital)
HP Photosmart m307 digital camera (L1854A): 15x (3x optical, 5x digital)

Thanks

Welcome to the forum Anjanesh! The differance between optical zoom, and digital zoom is very differant. Optical zoom is a "true" zoom. Meaning that your lens is actually zooming in on your subject, and showing you exactly what you will be capturing once you press the shutter release. The first camera you have listed is a fixed focal length camera with no optical zoom. The 2nd camera you have listed has a zoom range that is equivalent of going from 40mm to 111mm, if you were using a 35mm camera. That would give you a pretty decent focal length range.

When it comes to digital zoom, I ignore it. What the digital zoom does, is cropps your image. It would be the same as taking a photo, and cutting out the part that you want, and then increasing that part, to the size of the original photo. By doing this, your image quality is going to suffer.

After taking a very quick look at these two cameras, I would say that for the same price, your best choice would be the M307.

I hope this makes sence.

Thanks for your reply and info mjs.
I'll look into M307 more - since you say thats better - no use me judging as all I could understand from the pages were memory, usb, s/w requirements etc.

One more q - are there cameras where - on clicking the image is sent directly to my server and not stored in the camera memory ? This way I can just keep clicking and not worry abt storage devices, space etc.

Thanks

It depends on how much you pay for the camera !

For cameras like the Nikon and Canon Digital SLRs (thousands of dollars) there are network interfaces available, they send the image via 801.11 straight to a computer.

For mid-range cameras like the Minolta A1, A2 and so on, they have capture programs that will drive the camera from the computer and store the image on the copmuter

I don't know of anything that does exactly what you want for a point and shoot style of camera.
As you're into programming, perhaps you can get on the manufacturer's software development program (Konica Minolta have one) and write one?

Hi

Oh...thousands of dollars ! - Im no photographer at all ! - Just for the sake of using it - but digitally and networked - The 2 HP models that I've listed above are < $200 - my budget wont cross $250 I guess.

Im new to mobile prgogramming as Im learning it - but I know that using a Symbian phone (camera enabled) its not that difficult to code to send the the image to a server.
Similarly - is it possible to program for a camera device just like the way people program for moile devices (Symbian OS C++, J2ME, embedded VC++ for Win CE etc) - are there cameras where i can upoad code ?
I've never heard of it till now because an OS has to be present - and till date I've never heard of a camera having such features.

Rather than getting so expensive to go straight to the computer, what you could do is get two CF cards and a card reader.

Since you're nearby your computer anyway (or would be if you had a straight-to-computer system), just hook up the card reader to your computer. When you've finished up one card, pop it out, stick it in the card reader, start the download, and insert the second card into your camera. (about a minute's worth of downtime, if that.) Then, by the time you're done shooting up your second card, the first will be finished. Eject that card and replace with the new card into the card reader, download. Insert the first card into your camera and format (erase) it, then keep shooting. Again, about a minute's downtime.

It's not quite as convenient as the thousand-dollar system, but considering how much you'd be saving, it's not too bad.

ps. Love your avatar. It reminds me of my first internet community back in the 90s: Apple's eWorld.