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Siobhan, There is quite a large range of digital cameras that can be classified as "hand-held" from small consumer compacts priced under 200GBP to professional cameras produced by Nikon, Canon, Kodak etc with a price tag in excess of 10,000GBP. I am afraid that the deliverable quality spans an equally large range. This makes it hard to give any kind of useful advice without knowing a little more of what you want to do with the camera and how you intend to use the images . If the images are for your Web site, and will only be delivered at a size that fits within the standard recommended browser dimensions (800pix x 600pix) then many of the cheaper consumer compacts will provide enough quality (although maybe not the versatility) for the job. However you also say that you hope there will be sufficient resolution to allow visitors to read texts.......My experience is that unless the size of original is small (say under A5-A6) then there will not be enough information recorded within a 800x600 pixel image to give useful and practical reading. This need not be a problem, but does mean that you will need to deliver images that are larger than the browser can show on one screen without panning image. There are also issues with delivering images of these sizes over the internet. Even after compression they can be still be slow to load over a modem connection. Of course if you can restrict yourself to a smaller colour palette this can help. I am afraid none of this has helped you with your choice of camera! And as you say the market is full of cameras with very similar specifications that make it hard to make a choice. Some of these aspects might help you: The main detractor to image quality is the amount of JPEG compression that is put onto image within the camera. If you want good quality then choose a camera that can provide the ability to save with low, very low, or no compression. Be aware that this can be very slow (45-60 s refresh time between each shot). JPEG compression can be particularly noticeable with images with large amounts of similar tone (Paper background for instance) and fine detail (type for instance) All the hand-held digital cameras use a capture technology that is based upon a CCD using a colour matrix. These work very well with normal and general picture types but again they are stretched by sharp edges of high contrast (black print on white background) leaving small erroneously coloured artifacts. The most annoying problem with many of these cameras is the lag between pushing the shutter button and the camera taking the shot. All these cameras are very power hungry......buy a camera that takes normal AA type cells rather than expensive dedicated batteries. Even better if it will allow an external power-source. If you are using camera within a structured set up (stand, backdrop, controlled lighting etc) and I hope you are.....then you need to choose a camera which allows you to work in as manual a way as possible. All automatic functions are very clever......but they will inevitably lead to differences in camera settings and differing visual appearances. Nothing looks less professional than having a range of images all of which appear to be shot with different lighting and background etc. A 1000GBP hand-held camera will easily be outperformed by a 200GBP flatbed when scanning an A4 flat artwork. However the camera should give you an increased flexibility and of course enable you to capture 3D and delicate works with ease. It should also hopefully give you a faster workflow. My Experience is that a 10,000GBP digital camera, when properly set up, will provide quality equal to the 10,000 scanner with much increased flexibility and productivity. Possible choices of Camera? At under 1000GBP (Consumer digi-compacts) Nikon 995 is a popular choice, we use one at TASI Olympus 3020, 3030, 3040 are all useful and I have seen the 3040 successfully used for a similar use to yours There is a new Minolta range of cameras which are arriving shortly, which sound like they will be very useful Over 1000GBP (Semi-Pro hand-helds) Olympus E10 - receiving very good feedback Nikon D1 - becoming the digital workhorse for the lower end Pro-Photog Fuji S1 - bit cheaper that D1 still a useful bit of kit Canon D30 - uses CMOS tech I hope these thoughts are of some help to you and others on the Archives-NRA list. If you would like any more advice, please do not hesitate to call TASI at: [log in to unmask] cheers eib On Thu, 5 Jul 2001 17:05:19 +0100 Siobhan Convery <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > We are investigating purchasing a hand held digital camera, > principally to capture images for our web site. We are hoping they > will be of sufficient resolution to allow visitors to read texts and not > just look at the document as an illustration. > > I have just managed to get my head round the jargon involved and > drawn up a specification but there appear to be so many cameras > offering the same functions. Before taking the financial plunge, I > would welcome hearing from offices that have had good and bad > experiences with digicams and image capturing, or that feel they > would strongly recommend a particular brand/model. > > Apologies if this question has done the rounds before, however, I > am a relatively new list member. > > Thanks in advance, > > Siobhan Convery > > _______________________________ > Siobhan Convery > Archivist > > Aberdeen City Archives > Legal & Corporate Services Department > Aberdeen City Council > Town House > Broad Street > Aberdeen AB10 1AQ > > tel 01224 522513 > fax 01224 638556 > > Visit Aberdeen City Council's Web-site at http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk > > This message is not intended to have contractual effect. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed I Bremner, TASI Senior Technical Research Officer TASI - Technical Advisory Service for Images Free help, advice and guidance for the Further and Higher Education sector http://www.tasi.ac.uk/ A JISC Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------