Digital Camera Advice

Phil Elmore

Phil Elmore

Joined
Feb 28, 2002
Messages
7,636
All,

I want to upgrade my digital camera but I'd like to do so within a very specific budget. Can anyone suggest a good camera under $200 (perhaps even closer to $150) with a high megapixel count? It has to be at least three.
 
I bought a Canon A75 for 179.00 on sale, and so far it's been great. 3.2 megapixel, 3X optical 10X digital zoom, macro, and controls that range from full auto to full manual with the typical Canon control layout.

Consumer reports rated it # 3 in their big digital issue, and it cost 100 bucks less than the # 1 item (an Olympus) and had much better battery life than the #2 (another Canon)

Hint: buy a set of rechargable NIMH batteries; all digital cameras are real juice-hogs. I picked up a 256 meg memory card for next to nothing at an Xmas sale.
 
This is Gadgets & Gear fodder so off it goes. ;)
 
I recommend the Canon A75 too. Although I recently bought a Canon SD300, I did so because I needed an ultra compact model and it was also a business expense in my case. Had I been buying a personal digital camara, I would have quickly jumped on the Canon A75. It's universally regarded as a clear smart purchase with great capabilities and bang-for-the-buck.
 
I'd recomend one of the Kodak Easyshare models, specifically the CX7330. Walmart sells them for around $150. It's 3.1MP with 3x optical zoom and 10x digital zoom. There isn't really any manual controls however, just a bunch of different picture taking modes (auto, sport, night etc.). I have the Kodak CX6330 myself that has identical specs to the CX7330 and have been very happy with it. It's been a great camera for me with great picture quality. I'd reccomend checking out the forums on dpreview.com for info on just about any camera you can think of.

hope this helps

Jamie
 
One of Canon's models (like A75). High pixel count doesn't mean anything with lousy optics. Canon's optics is good (very good for the price). Unless length of movie clips is an issue for you (those low-cost cameras are intentionally limited to short length clips, such as 10 secnds, regardless of media size) those cameras are by far the best bang for your buck.
 
After a lot of research I decided on the Canon A75 as a Christmas present for my wife. After finding them sold out everywhere, someone sold me the A85 at a discount and I've been very impressed. 4 megapixels and similar to the A75 but with more features. Simple to use as a point and shoot, but allows for some manipulation of settings for the more sophisticated user. Picture quality is very good and it seems like a great choice so far.

Jack
 
Ebay- minolta g500, one of steve's digicams top picks, under $200 in completed auyctions. MOst were right around $160, this is a hell of a deal for a great camera. Most reviews actually rate this better than its replacement, the g600.
 
I gave my wife a Canon A95 for Christmas. It's a 5.1 megapixel and uses Compact Flash memory. It's PictBridge compatible so you can use a USB cord to connect directly to a printer. It may be a little "too much camera" for the likes of us who are almost laughably inept photographers but there is an all-auto setting that lets you just point and shoot so we've been able to get some great shots. It uses AA batteries and tears through them like Marlon Brando tearing through a bag of Big Macs.

I did a lot of research and reports on the whole Canon PowerShot line are all very favorable.
 
mycroftt said:
I gave my wife a Canon A95 for Christmas. ... It uses AA batteries and tears through them like Marlon Brando tearing through a bag of Big Macs.

I did a lot of research and reports on the whole Canon PowerShot line are all very favorable.
Click to expand...

Ditto the above.
Two words. AA Rechargeables.
 
Another quote for the canon range here!

I have one of the low end models from a few years ago, I think its a powershot A300 but you will probably have different model numbers over there. For the price its a great camera

Its important to make sure you get a good balance of lens quality and megapixel count. You can go for pure megapixel you may still end up with low quality pics if the lens isnt up to it

Canon lenses are usually somewhere between good and amazing!
 
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