Digital-camera review spots offer in-depth evals

The last time I bought an expensive camera, a Konica 35mm SLR, was in 1978, and I chose the camera because my friend Scott had a Konica and he liked his a lot.

Recommendations from friends still matter to me now, as I'm planning to buy a camera in the $500 range -- this time a digital one -- but not nearly as much as they did nearly 25 years ago. That's not because I don't trust my friends (I do), or they don't own cameras similar to the type I want to buy (they do), but because I find online reviews, from photo enthusiasts from around the world, a better way to help me decide what's right for me.

Reviews of just about any product can be found on the Web, from books to vacation destinations, often gathered conveniently at spots like Amazon.com and Epinions.com. These reviews come in handy, no doubt, but the reviews of digital cameras, gathered at a number of specialty sites, are detailed beyond what you'll find for other products.

That's not just because tech-savvy digital camera owners are likely to rely on the Web for product information -- and be willing to share their views -- but because the products themselves, offering endless options and features, are extremely complex, especially when you're looking at models costing more than a few hundred dollars.

For several years, I've been thinking about buying a high-quality digital camera. (I already own an inexpensive model.) Now, with prices dropping on feature-laden cameras with quality lenses and lots of megapixels -- a measure of how detailed the photos will be -- I decided it was time to get serious about deciding what model to buy.

Soon enough, I was at Steve's Digicams, a popular spot for digital camera news and reviews, reading about the Canon PowerShot S30 -- one of my top contenders, based on preliminary research. Steve writes comprehensive, no-nonsense reviews of scores of cameras, allowing you to decide whether a camera meets your needs. What's more, you're able to view sample pictures, an ideal way to assess the product. For the S30, I got to see images of ocean kayaks, yachts, and Nestle candy bars in bright wrapping.

Next stop was a similar site, the Digital Camera Resource Page, where I was treated to another exhaustive review of the camera. Like the review at Steve's, this one not only examined every feature in detail, it provided up-close images of the camera and its controls. I wouldn't buy a camera without holding it, but these sites allow you to ponder each element of the camera for as long as you'd like, without any sales pressure.

Other sites, such as Digital Photography Review and PCPhotoREVIEW.com, allow camera users to provide their own opinions and recommendations for cameras. If I had the time or the inclination, I could read 252 reviews of the S30 at Digital Photography Review. Twenty or thirty should suffice.

I've been perusing these sites for weeks, and while I'm leaning toward the S30, I'm still undecided. At least I know all about the Web's camera review sites. I'm just hoping my obsession with selecting the right model will carry over to an obsession with digital photography itself.

By Allan Hoffman
Last updated: Monday, Sept. 23, 2002, 3:05 pm