Digital camera for websites and internet display

April 8, 2007 2:59 AM

Hi what digital camera would you recommend for taking pictures that will be used on websites or internet display only! I have heard camera pixels don't matter if one is not going to print pictures. please give me brand and model number. thanks
posted by Noodles to computers & internet (7 answers total)

You're right, the megapixels don't matter much for your situation - any modern digital camera would fit the bill nicely.

I'd browse around sites like digital photo review and figure out which one you want based on other factors:

- portability - pocket size? purse size?
- subject matter - the best camera for taking portraits of people wouldn't be the same as the best one for taking landscape shots.
- optical zoom - for landscapes, doesn't matter. For birdwatching, very important.
- price - you're probably looking at $100-$200 for a good one.

Since you don't seem too picky, I'll throw in a recommendation for Panasonic cameras. My wife and I have several. They have an anti-shake feature that works wonders with shaky hands, and a very easy-to-use operating system.

The DMC-LZ1 is a good all-around camera that goes for about $100 now. The DMC-FX7 is a good pocket-sized model. If you want something bigger, the FZ5 is a good choice.

All of those are a year or two old, and thus a bit hard to find, but they'll be cheap.
posted by mmoncur at 3:32 AM on April 8, 2007

Higher pixel count could matter if you end up wanting to take a photo but only wanting to use a small area of that photo for your web image - this could happen, for instance, if you took a photo of your whole family, then decided to extract just the image of baby brother's face; or if you wanted a photo of the feral cat that lives behind your house, but it won't let you get very close, so the cat ends up only filling 1/16 of the image (or less).

Just saying.

I also like photos of insects and small leaves, so this would be an issue for me. My 3 Megapixel camera taunts me.
posted by amtho at 6:11 AM on April 8, 2007

Canon makes the best well-rounded P&S camera. Pick the one that matches your budget, and you should be happy.

Panasonics have great features on paper, but if you ever plan to take pictures in low light (indoors, evenings) you will run into the infamous "venus" image processor on the newer models, or the very high sensor noise on older models and models that can output RAW files.

Note that the very cheapest low-megapixel cameras may have crappy lenses, yielding lower than expected picture quality.

Without knowing more about what you need, I would suggest the inexpensive Canon A550. The older A530 would be fine too, if you can find one. If you want to spend more money, the SD800 is a very nice camera (though it lacks manual controls. The Panasonic LX2 has manual controls, but it also has very bad sensor noise. There is a Ricoh model coming out that should have manual control and low noise, but a very high price).
posted by b1tr0t at 7:25 AM on April 8, 2007

What are you going to be taking pictures of & under what conditions? What are your ambitions for the quality of the photos? Megapixels don't matter for web display, but that doesn't necessarily mean that any old camera will work for you.
posted by Good Brain at 9:53 AM on April 8, 2007

I'm with Good Brain here. Are you going to be taking pictures outdoors, or in a studio setting? Any old camera would probably work, but wouldn't work best.

If its studio work of product shots, say, you might want something with an especially short focal length at the wide end of its zoom and good macro ability. But you probably wouldn't care about portability. If it's on-the-go stuff, you do want portability and perhaps a durable casing.
posted by adamrice at 12:00 PM on April 8, 2007

I'd agree with b1tr0t's recommendations, but mention that the SD700 IS was rated more highly by dpreview than the SD800. I have the former and it's been one of the best point-and-shoot cameras that I've used.

If you just want something inexpensive and usable, I'd check prices at local shops and the selection, then go ahead and run home to read reviews on dpreview.
posted by mikeh at 2:46 PM on April 8, 2007

I really really like my Sony Cybershot DSC-W50. It takes great pictures, and its about the size of a deck of cards so you can slip it in your pocket and not feel like a tourist or a papparattzi.
posted by Mach5 at 3:56 PM on April 8, 2007