Righty...

SWMBO wants a camera for xmas (she aint gettin one off me ) but shes unsure what to go for... APS, 35mm or Digital

Shes against digital as she thinks it costs alot, and dont print very well. altho i think its silly NOT going for a digital camera in this day and age

So... what im after are suggestions for a reasonable digi camera (

RE digital:

Index are doing a 4mp with 3x optical zoom for

Printing.

Epson Stylus Photo R200 without a shadow of a doubt.

I got mine for

Digi camera? I'm considering a Nikon 5200,

I have used a range of digital cameras and can say that even my first camera, and Olympus 1.3Mega pixel camera produced photos that print at 6x4 or 7x5 that are just as good as my previous Olympus 35mm camera. MAke sure you get a real optical zoom and try and get one made by a camera company rather than an electronics company. The later are often cheaper for a given resolution with loads of 'features' but they seldom match Olympus for quality of colour reproduction, which is really important. I would buy a 2 or 3 megapixel Olympus before a 5 megapixel camera of any other make.

As for printers avoid epson like the plaque. They are slow, noisey, tiny ink cartridges just plain tosh. I would pick HP for quality of build or Lexmark for print quality and brilliant user interface.

As for printers avoid epson like the plaque. They are slow' date=' noisey, tiny ink cartridges just plain tosh. .[/quote']

That, to be totally frank, is the biggest pile of crap i have ever heard.

The issue with HP printers is the carts cost a farkin bomb.. ie a business inkjet 1100 we use at work, and best-price carts are

That, to be totally frank, is the biggest pile of crap i have ever heard.

No you should hear the Epson C42plus that came free with my PC compared with the silence and spped of the

Also avoid Lexmark..

Excellent printers if you choose the right one, but horrendous OEM cartridge costs, and dubious quality amongst the aftermarket cartridges makers....or so i found :grumpy:

No you should hear the Epson C42plus that came free with my PC compared with the silence and spped of the

The Epson cartridges only seem cheap because they are so bloody small! The C42 indicator used to drop by about a third after printing a couple of 7x5 photos. The Lexmark, despite being so cheap offers photo prints better even that the 9600 dpi HP DJ 970Cxi I use in work (best resolution you can buy is 4800 now I think). Also I have had no problems getting Lexmark cartridges made by cheaper companies that still produce print better than the Epson with OEM cartridges.

I used to work with digicams Testing the bo***cks off them and it was at the cheaper end of the market. Avoid Vivitar as they are made usualy by premier (a taiwan company who do bugger all for their money). Avoid kodak if you want a warranty because they are pulling out of digi cams. Avoid cheaper canons because they are not canons, avoid fuji because their memory is a rip off, and the same with sony, however the pic quality on a sony redeems it. So really you have either got a Sony (but more cost to memory) or a Nikon, or if you can a Ricoh.

I would strongly advise going somewhere like jessops and actually using it too because some can be a right **** to use and you have to use the thing well to get decent shots out of it.

And why do you think it was free?

Because it's cheap & nasty. It's effectively a throwaway printer' date=' just as the "cheap" Lexmark was that i used to have.

I stand by my recommendation for the Epson R200 Photo. An A4 Hi-Res print in around a minute, with first-class quality is good enough for just about anyone other than Lord Lichfield & David Bailey.[/quote']

The C42Plus if bought alone cost more than my Lexmark. Also one of those photographers (can't remember which, endorses Lexmark).

They'll endorse anything they get paid to endorse....

Hardly an indication of quality IMHO.

The C42 is a budget entry level printer. The results are good, but it's crude.

You can't really compare it with the R200, which is about as good as it gets for colour inkjet printing.

And you can reasonably priced aftermarket Epson cartridges which are better than OEM ones...

Rob.

Just been into the "Office"...

20 A4 & 4 6x4 Hi Res pics printed and still plenty of ink left....

Rob, got a link for those aftermarket carts? I have a feeling i'll be doing a lot of printing soon

Rob, got a link for those aftermarket carts? I have a feeling i'll be doing a lot of printing soon

They're from a company called Jettec...there's quite a few places online that sell them, and I believe Wilkinson also have them too...

The R200 ones should be about

Another vote against lexmark.. fine if buying on a budget (and I mean

Rob,

Ta muchly

Another vote against lexmark.. fine if buying on a budget (and I mean

The C42 is a budget entry level printer. The results are good' date=' but it's crude.

You can't really compare it with the R200, which is about as good as it gets for colour inkjet printing.

And you can reasonably priced aftermarket Epson cartridges which are better than OEM ones...

Rob.[/quote']

How much are replacement carts?

they seem to be

Well the Lexmark Z series I have (forget the number) does the sharpest, most band free photo prints with out any of the banding etc I see on the Epson. So certainly is fully photo quality. It is also rather better put together than the Epson. The Lexmark cansense what type of paper is loaded etc and has more separate colours than the Epson. It is quieter in operation, and while slow is still faster than the Epson. Both are cheap entry level printers. I am sure this would reflect in a comparison of high level printers as well. That is my home use experience. In work we are not allowed to buy anything other than HP due to much better mechanical reliability.

Personally, after using numerous printers over the years, I wouldnt buy another Epson, the one im using at the moment is the Cannon i865, and to say the prints are superb is understating it, and its FAST, also compatable carts can be had for about 1.50 each (there are 5)

my biggest gripe with Epson is the cleaning regime they use, every bloody time you want to print anything, it cleans, wasting ink, also I found the Jettec carts clogged up the print nozzle on the Epson, especially the black.

Lexmark printers are good, IF you buy them as a throwaway printer (when carts need changing, buy another printer)

HP Printers, good but expensive for carts

To go back to the Cannon, yesterday I printed over 100 pictures off on it (6x4) at highest quality on photo paper, didnt need to change any carts throughout,although a couple are now well down an due for changing, and the colours are superb

Oh and it also prints CD's, direct from memory card, and edge to edge printing

My recommendation is the Cannon i865

How much are replacement carts?

they seem to be

Canon are recommended by Which over the other makes. My first couple of injects were Canon, and I guess they put me off the make, as although supposedly 360dpi they produced inferior text print than the HP DJ510 that I next bought which was only 300dpi. Photo printing in them days was not an issue .