POINT & SHOOT, YOUR BEST CHOICE OF CAMERA ?

[MEC407]

They replaced it with the N55 and the N75, and neither of those are available in all black -- just silver.

I stand corrected! While the N55 is indeed only available in silver, it turns out that the N75 is available in a black version.

N75 Black (body only), $170 after rebate

N75 Black, kit with 28-100 zoom lens, $280 after rebate

[GOLDEN-ARM]

Well, I went with the N75, with that 28-100 lens. As I suspected, there was a "big push", to get filters, extra lenses, extended warranty, etc., etc. Seems like a sweet deal, so I do appreciate the input. Do like the looks, of that all black camera. Stay tuned for pix, in appropriate forums. Big thanks to MEC407. (my regular ride was the 404/407 combo, for several months, while working the Keag mainline) Regards

[GOLDEN-ARM]

Hey MEC, got my camera today (1 day shipping, paid for 2nd day ). The good news. Looks great, feels like a "real" camera, and seems easy to operate. The bad news. Although this was a package deal, they "forgot" to pack the batteries, Nikon 2" logo strap, DK-10 eyecup, and the rebate forms. The fitted camera case is not a Nikon (knew that when I ordered it) but it should be called a camera "purse", not a case. Will have to find one somewhere else. Looks great, and will burn-off a roll tomorrow, to see how it does. Thanks again for the input.Just what I was looking for. Regards

[MEC407]

Hey there, glad to hear that you got it and like it so far. Sorry to hear that they forgot to include some of the stuff in the kit. Usually they're pretty good about that sort of thing, but mistakes happen. Their customer service department isn't particularly friendly -- which is typical of most New York City camera stores -- but generally they'll do the right thing, with a little prodding.

[MEC407]

Speaking of the 404 and 407, both are still in Montreal, rusting away and slowly being canibalized. Sad. They were in decent running condition when Guilford sold them... would have been fine for a shortline like SRNJ or even M&E. SRNJ actually tried to acquire them from RTEX (the current owner) but RTEX wouldn't return calls or e-mails. Not sure what their problem is. Whenever asked about the U18Bs, they clam up. Must be a conspiracy!

[GOLDEN-ARM]

Hey Fuggedabowdit ! Typical NYC stuff. The camera is sweet, andd shipped fast. Already got batteries, and some 400 Max Versatility, so will give her a shot, on tomorrows train. An eyecup would be nice, but I can probably get one from the malls' camera shop, here in E. Hartford. Thanks again, and will have pix to share soon. Regards

[GOLDEN-ARM]

Kinda off topic, but hey ! Yeah, for "little" engines, they wern't too bad. Regularly ran 80-100 car trains, with the pair. Ran 1 train, with 166 cars, from Enfield, to Keag, and spent half a day, trying to put it away. Probably would have been easier, had there not been 100+ cars, waiting to be picked up. 404 was quite a "flamethrower" as well, when you "horsed" the throttle up and down Thanks again.

[MEC407]

Thanks for the reminiscences about the U18Bs. I wish I had paid more attention to them when they were working on Guilford. The 407 always put on a spectacular fireworks display whenever I saw it on the B&M main down here in the Wells-Kennebunk-Biddeford area, but I never had a camera or camcorder with me when it happened.

One last suggestion about the camera: next time you're shopping for film, try a roll of Kodak Ultra Color 400UC. It is a bit more expensive than the Max Versatility 400, but the difference is like night and day. Much finer grain, more accurate colors, and excellent sharpness. Probably one of the best color print films Kodak has ever made.

[GOLDEN-ARM]

Already had purchased a 4 pack, of the versatility 400. Pix were super, even better than I had hoped for. Will add a new Avatar, when I get back to Fla., as I don't have a scanner with me. ( can't buy a spare one now, between the laptop, and the Nikon, and the 14 LV ALCO PA's I just picked up (with DCC) in the last 2 weeks, the wife will have my ass) Will try the UC 400, when I burn the other 3 rolls, I already have. Thanks again.....

[RCH022]

I use a nikon coolpix 3200 (3.2 mp, 3x optical zoom) it works out pretty nice. check out my links in my signature to look at some samples. -Ryan

[emd_SD_60]

What is everyone's opinion on the Kodak EasyShare C300? Is it just as good? Can you put photos on railpictures.net without any trouble?

[MEC407]

What is everyone's opinion on the Kodak EasyShare C300? Is it just as good? Can you put photos on railpictures.net without any trouble?

I went to Kodak's web site and took a look at it. The main thing you would need to beware with that camera is that it doesn't have an optical zoom; it only has a digital zoom, which means the camera basically crops/magnifies the image digitally to give the "effect" of zooming in closer to the subject. The result is mediocre at best, and most likely the image would not be accepted by railpictures.net, nor would it be good enough to print.

This camera would probably be fine if you only want to take pictures of, say, museum locomotives -- where you're able to get up close without fear of trespassing -- but if you want to take train pictures out in the real world, you really need a camera with an optical zoom (preferably at least 4x).

I assume you're looking at the C300 because of its price (it's selling for around $100-$110 right now). Unfortunately you're not going to find a digital camera with a decent optical zoom in that price range; however, if you can move up into the $150-$200 range, there are plenty of excellent cameras with optical zoom to choose from. The ones I would recommend, in order of preference, are:

1. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2 - $200-$210
5 megapixels
6x optical zoom with image stabilization

2. Canon PowerShot A520 - $170-$180
4 megapixels
4x optical zoom

3. Kodak EasyShare Z700 Zoom - $170-$180
4 megapixels
5x optical zoom

4. Fujifilm FinePix A345 - $150-$160
4 megapixels
3x optical zoom

5. Canon PowerShot A410 - $130-$140
3.2 megapixels
3x optical zoom

[emd_SD_60]

I finally agreed on the EasyShare Z760, with 6.1 megapixels. Received it for Christmas.

http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier. ... cale=en_US