Digital camera

[jackknifeh]

Hello all,

I have a grandson now who is 8 months old. I would like a better camera than on a cell phone. I don't want to spend a fortune but I definately don't want a cheap one. I bought a cheap on once because that's all I could afford. I think it was about $90. I might as well have set that money on fire.

Does anyone have suggestions based on what they own or have used quite a bit? Please note any special features you like about your camera.

Don't spend a lot of time on this but any quick notes would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jack

[ozspyder]

Hi Jack,

I have a few cameras I stuff around with but mainly shoot with my Nikon DSLR's. They aren't the cheapest but they will last forever.

However as you are budget constrained I also highly recommend my go to camera for when I need to travel light and or just need a good easy to use P&S camera that does excellent macro shots (think closeups of knives - errrr... and also of little babies :p ). I like it because it was affordable, small, easy to use etc... It is a PINK (easy to find - nobody wants to steal it either) Canon IXUS. It surprises me on many occasions with what it can do on its AUTO settings compared to what I have to fiddle with on my Nikon setup which costs thousands !!!

[jackknifeh]

Thanks ozspyder,

I think the auto setting feature that produces good results will be important. It's harder to get a baby to hold a pose than it is a knife. I have a Nikon camera that I've had for years (uses film) and it has a great auto setting. It has a pretty nice zoom lens and a macro setting for really close up shots. I used it before computers were common in the home. Now, of course I'll need to put the pictures on the computer and send them to my Dad and others. I also think I can send the pictures to have them developed to have regular pictures for framing, wallets, etc.

[LDB]

I've got a Nikon S560. It's a small camera that will fit in a shirt pocket. It has a very good zoom range, several different automatic settings for portraits, landscapes, etc. and was $250 when it was a new model. I'm not sure if it's still in their line but if not there will be the upgrade model for probably the same or maybe less money. If I were looking for a new camera I'd definitely include Nikon in the suspects list.

[vampyrewolf]

Call me cheap... but I'm using a refurbed Kodak EasyShare C190. 12 meg and I think I spent just over $100 with the 2year replacement warranty.

We use Fuji dslr's at work, but they take some trial and error after getting used to the nikon's we had before them.

[vito72]

I think at this moment the best compact camera on the market its panasonic Lumix LX5 not cheap but its a real compact pro camera. I like very much sony NEX5 too if you wish something were you could change lenses.

[Brad S.]

I think your best bet in that price range is gonna be to try to find one used. I be you could find a 10mp canon or Nikon P&S for that price on craigslist.

Good cameras at low prices are hard to find with good optics.

I just got a canon G11... incredible camera... but quite expensive.

[npueppke]

I have a Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS. Not sure if they still make it... I think it was around $140 and I couldn't be happier. The best thing about it is the digital macro mode, which works amazing:



I've heard that Canon make the best point and shoot cameras, and in my experience this is absolutely true.

[The Deacon]

Truth is, digital camera technology and sales volume have reached the point where you can get an very decent camera in the under $200 range, especially if you keep an eye out for sales. Few folks today every make prints at all, they share photos over the internet. Unless you're the exception, and plan on making 8X10 or large prints, the only real advantage of anything over 8 megapixels is that it allows you to crop the image more and still have it larger than full screen. The "good news" is, you'd be hard pressed to find any under that for sale anymore, unless it comes with a Happy Meal. The one suggestion I would make is to get a camera that uses a rechargeable lithium battery, likethis Nikon. Considerably more shots per change than nicads, and single use batteries will cost you more than the camera unless you only use it on rare occasions.

[Donut]

I trust Canon for point and shoots. My latest small camera is a Canon SD780 IS. It's about the size of a credit card and around a half inch thick.

It takes good pictures, it is a 12 megapixel camera, but I don't think the sensor is a very good 12 megapixel sensor. The pictures don't look so great at 12 megapixel. I set mine to the Medium image size, which is 8 megapixel and it takes some nice pictures.

One nice thing about this camera is that it can take High Def 720p video.

You should be able to get one for around $200, and can probably get one for about that price at Walmart if you don't like getting things online.

[jabba359]

Another thing to look out for is the "more megapixels is better" marketing that the camera manufactures keep pushing down the consumers' throat. It's like saying that six $5 knockoff china knives are better than two Spydercos. Yeah, it's more knives, but...you get the idea. On the small point and shoots, a 10MP camera will typically give you a better image indoors than a 12MP. The cameras that give you a lower MP/cm² should give you cleaner images in low light. A good site to check out camera reviews (and also shows pixel density) is dpreview.

You also want to look for one with a larger optical zoom (3-10x is pretty normal these days). Digital zoom is crap, so don't pay attention to the digital zoom marketing. Image stabilization is a nice feature that is found in many mid-end models these days and really helps out on telephoto and low light photography, so get one that has that if possible.

[Donut]

The one suggestion I would make is to get a camera that uses a rechargeable lithium battery, likethis Nikon. Considerably more shots per change than nicads, and single use batteries will cost you more than the camera unless you only use it on rare occasions.

I used alkalines in my last camera one time and only got like 10 pictures out of it before the batteries died. The rest of the time I used NiMH, which are practically miracle batteries in a digital camera. I still have one AA camera, and I can take more than 100 pictures (probably closer to 200-300) with one charge on NiMH batteries.

Problem with AA in a camera is, the camera companies don't like to make them anymore. I waited for approximately a year for Canon to make a point and shoot that ran off of AA batteries AND took high def video. They never made it! I gave up and got one with a Lithium battery. The reason I wanted to stay away from Lithium is that if I ran into a case where I needed to put in new batteries without waiting to charge, it would cost me approximately $50 for a spare battery. I haven't run into that problem yet, the charger they make is really compact, it can fit in your luggage, the battery lasts a reasonably long amount of time (haven't had it run out yet), and I've looked around, an extra battery can be had for less than $30, so it isn't the end of the world like I thought it would be.

[Switchback]

Well, I was going to recommend a Canon A590IS since that is what I use and it came with a carrying case and a 2GB memory card. The whole kit cost me $125 plus shipping in April 2009.

I just did some research and I can't find any new ones for under $270. I don't know what happened with the price but I'm glad I bought mine when I did.

[djinnzfree]

For sure pratice is a good thing to remember. Try different set-up and read the user manuel!
I use an "old" Canon PowerShotA530 5 mega pixels with 4X Optical Zoom.

[Zendemic]

I would head down to you're local camera shop and handle the cameras. Just stay away from the Kodak, HP, and other budget cameras as they have very shoddy construction. Also a good place to look up good cameras is www.cnet.com. Once you narrow it down to a few models, i suggest going to your local camera or electronics store and handling the different models to see which one works best for you.

[Joe Internet]

dpreview has very good reviews, as well as sample pics from the cameras reviewed. Price-wise, B&H Photo is very good.

Also, my local Walmart has some cameras on clerance to make way for new models; I would guess it's the same at all Walmarts right about now.

[jackknifeh]

Thanks for the replies guys. Been very helpful especially since I don't know much about digital cameras.


Thanks again,
Jack

[vampyrewolf]

Problem with AA in a camera is, the camera companies don't like to make them anymore. I waited for approximately a year for Canon to make a point and shoot that ran off of AA batteries AND took high def video. They never made it!

My kodak runs off AA's :p

The DX3500 I bought way back in '02 was great. 2.2meg and had threads for standard lenses so I could put a decent zoom lens on it. But it ran on $20 batteries (or $50 rechargeable) if you wanted anything better than the ~20 that AA's gave.

I get 40-50 pics off alkaline with this one, and have 4 rechargeable AA's that came with it.

[Pneumothorax]

dpreview has very good reviews, as well as sample pics from the cameras reviewed. Price-wise, B&H Photo is very good.

+1 on DPreviews.com. It gets a bit technical at times, but they take pictures of the same stuff with every camera, so you can see the differences in clarity and color.

Also, when you decide what camera to buy, one option is to go to http://www.pricegrabber.com. This site searches for the best overall price camera + tax + shipping. Some internet sites put a low price, but gouge you on the shipping. It also rates the seller, so if they dont have 4-5 stars, I dont buy from them. Ive purchases 5 digital cameras from Pricegrabber from various vendors over the past 10 years and have had no problems - just the best prices I could possibly get!

Good luck.

[Kev-Man]

I would head down to you're local camera shop and handle the cameras.

+1 on this. Handling the actual camera helps alot. Camera shop, Walmart, etc.

Price-wise, B&H Photo is very good.

+1 on B&H Photo. Knew what I wanted to order from them but I've heard good things about thier Customer Service and knowledge.

I got a Canon XSI I usually use but I sometimes carry around a Nikon Coolpix S610. I went with a Nikon P&S because my Nikon Cool Pix 3100 never gave me problems and worked good.

Unless you are like me where I don't charge the battery till it dies I doubt you would need a second battery but it is nice to have. Lithium Ions are great since they have no memory and don't discharge too fast. After market solution to batteries is Opteka, their batterys pretty much out perform OEM.

Digital zoom is crap, so don't pay attention to the digital zoom marketing.

+1 on this

Memory card type should be another factor. SD cards are pretty common and I would suggest sticking to that format.

Image stabilizing and Waterproof might help narrow it down alittle more.

Kev.