FYI - The Nikon 880 and 885 have the same lens as the 990/995 series and is
a couple hundred dollars cheaper.  Got mine for $300 (used) It's an awesome
camera, and until I can afford a digital that takes f-stop lenses,  I won't
need anything else.  Both the 880/885 and the 990/995 are a 3.3 megapixel
lens which is a great resolution for 8x10's and it's a Nikon lens, so the
color's a given.  Oh - and they make other lenses (fisheye, telephoto, etc.)
that can snap onto it too.

-eric

----------------------
'85 GL Camper (Moby)
San Francisco, CA

On 8/27/02 2:30 PM, "Clive Smith" <clive.harman-smith@NTLWORLD.COM> wrote:

>> Rechargable is nice, but they won't last as long as Lithium batteries
> (available in Eveready AAs).
>
> My rechargeables last longer than any non-rechargeables I can find - they're
> 4 AA 1600 mAH in a Nikon 990 CoolPix, which I feel, in contradistinction,
> has superb ergonomics, everything comes to hand beatifully and it feels
> solid, robust and eminetnly handleable. I also like the fact that I can
> change the lenses and use the viewfinder rather than those abhorent LCD's.
> Some standrad batteries won't even zoom the thing immediately after putting
> them in from new.
>
> The Fuji's are though, very good cameras (they have those honeycomb CCD's)
> and their Zeiss cousins too.
>
> My Nikon takes Compact Flash, thank goodness, as they're SOooooo much
> cheaper than the other memory chips - I've now a collection of 256Mb, 128Mb,
> 63, 32,16, 8 and 4 - going in for Binary algebra - good old Mr Bool!
>
> Nikon 990's and 995's can be got quite cheap now too.
>
>
> Clive
> '88 Syncro Transporter
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kim Brennan" <KimBrennan@AOL.COM>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2002 6:23 AM
> Subject: Re:       Digital Cameras
>
>
>> In a message dated 8/26/02 10:53:03 PM, JOE65@AOL.COM writes:
>>
>>
>>> Anybody who knows care to make a few comments about the world of digital
>>> cameras?
>>>
>> Digital cameras (I have a bunch) come in a wide arrange of sizes and
>> features. If you go cutting edge, you'll pay the (extra) price. However,
> last
>> years models can be had at bargain prices. www.dcresource is a good place
> for
>> reviews (they have links to other review places). Their focus >IS< towards
>> more professional use, but they'll also get you an education as to what
> the
>> options are (and what will matter to you.)
>>
>> With all that said...some of the best quality of images for a reasonable
>> price are from some of the older Fuji cameras. Don't go top of the line
> with
>> them though. I've heard good things about the image quality on Nikons, but
>> the ergonomics of their cameras turned me off. Try a bunch at a local
> super
>> store (Best Buy, Microcenter, or equivalent.) Figure out what YOU like.
>>
>> Storage media. There are 4 types. The common ones are Smartmedia, and
>> CompactFlash. Sony has their memory stick and a new variant has appeared
>> recently. If you choose a camera with CompactFlash, check to see if the
> IBM
>> microdrive will work with it. I love being able to have 1 gig of storage
> for
>> pictures (making my batteries the feature that is most likely to run out.)
>>
>> Batteries. Some cameras have propietary ones. Others use AAs or AAAs.
>> Rechargable is nice, but they won't last as long as Lithium batteries
>> (available in Eveready AAs).
>>
>> Finally transferring the images to your desktop computer. Some folks are
>> happy with the serial/usb/firewire cables supplied with the camera. I
> prefer
>> to use an adapter that is (semi) permanently attached to my desktop. Added
>> cost, but I find it more convienent.
>>
>> And now to return to Vanagon content. Gotta put up some pictures of my
>> beasties one of these days.