Digital Camera Shopping...Help Please!

Uncle Timbo

Uncle Timbo

Joined
Nov 23, 2005
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I am in the market for a $200. - $400. digital camera. Naturally I want the most I can get for my money.
I've researched until I think I've gone full circle.
I'm thinking 7-8 megs and from what I understand, opticle zoom is whats important.
It would be mainly for family shots, an occasional deer in the back lot and maybe some action shots of kids and cats. Oh a maybe a knife or two! (so macro)
What do you all think? I'm not stuck on any one brand but I do have a slight hangup with buying from a company that is more known for film or something else.
Could you help a poor, dizzy hillbilly out?
 
I'm on my third Canon (1 for work, 1 for home and lost one!) and I've been pretty happy with them all.
 
I've been pretty happy with my Nikon D40, but I'm no professional photographer. Macro mode works pretty well for close-ups, Autofocus works well, which is good since I'm too nearsighted to manually focus it. It will also accept other Nikon autofocus lenses, so if I should ever develop enough talent to need one, I can get better lenses than it came with.

My general experience has been that the optics are more important than the electronics for taking good pictures.
 
My wife is the perfect test subject for digital cameras. She sucks at photography, is unwilling to learn anything about them, unwilling to take care of them, unwilling to learn how to operate the thing correctly, and unable to remember where she put it.

That said, she loves the Canon elph type cameras. She has had 3. It's not a good idea to drop them on concrete or into water.... Since she sucks at photography, she takes tens of thousands of pictures to make up for it, and I have to say that the little Canons are excellent at everything except fast motion and extremely low light - which are problems with every tiny camera ever made. They are also super easy to get pictures off onto your computer without having to install stupid software, etc...

I would prefer one like the G9 mentioned above, but since my wife uses a camera as if it were a splitting maul or something, I don't want to lose that much money on one. I have had several others that were far more trouble. Have had an olympus that was pretty good though. If I were going to buy one for myself, I would go over budget for one of the larger canons to get better low light performance and because I have large hands, but the elph is sufficient for 98% of our casual photography needs.
 
If you want something the size of a pack of playing cards that takes great pics, look into the Canon Elph series like this one. Under $200, and disappears in your belt holster.
 
I love my Panasonic FZ-18. It has a superb lens capable of macro, tele-macro, 28mm wide angle, 18X optical zoom (504mm at 8MP and over 800mm at 3MP), image stabilization, affordable and lighweight.
 
Win's right, I'd pick and did buy the Canon G9, very nice camera
if you can find a G7 available at a good price, I'd also suggest that
as I owned it before moving up to the G9, a little heavier than most
of the P&S cameras, but that's a plus to me as it provides some heft
while shooting.
G2
 
It's all about the optics. The higher quality and larger the lens, the "better" your photos will be. If you're looking for something for snapshots that won't be edited or enlarged much, 7-8 MP is more than adequate (A 7mp shot provides the necessary resolution for a commercial 8x10 print). Look at battery life, battery type (AA or proprietary), refresh speed and shot speed (how long it takes to get the picture after you hit the button).

Cannon has always been a top contender, they have good lenses and very reliable hardware. My most recent is a GE A730 purchased purely on features and price and it's a great little camera.

J-
 
For about $ 330 you can get a tremendous value the Canon S5 IS. You can use it as a point and shoot or do a lot more with it !
 
I know what you mean about researching until you think you've gone full circle. I just went through that process myself as our old camera took a dip in the ocean in March. I ended up getting the Canon Elph SD750 and couldn't be happier with it. Not that the other suggestions aren't as good or even better, just letting you know my experience.

One thing that shocked me was how much more camera you can get for a lot less money than 4 years ago when I bought our first one.
 
Hillbilly.223 said:
It would be mainly for family shots, an occasional deer in the back lot and maybe some action shots of kids and cats. Oh a maybe a knife or two! (so macro)
Click to expand...

OK the suggested Canon G9 is a very fine camera -
BUT at $440 - it is approaching dSLR prices.

Might want to look at the Canon A720IS - closer to $200 shipped.
It has full auto mode for quick/grab shots, as well as full manual modes for more considered/controlled shots.

Its lens extends to 210mm (equiv) for those longer range shots - along with "IS" Image Stabilization allows for those more distant shots (like your deers)

Reviews -

PowerShot A720 IS @ DCRP

Review at Imaging-Resource

Canon PowerShot A720 IS @ dpReview

Hope that helps,

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If you're going to spend the dough for a Canon G9, definitely look at SLR. SLRs have better autofocus systems, and much larger sensors. They're better for action, and better image quality, especially when you turn up the ISO. Unless the compact size is overriding importance, SLRs are better cameras.

If I were buying a new compact digital camera today, I'd also give the Canon A650 a close look. It falls in between the A720 and the G9 in features & price.
 
just use your cell phone....lol

most p&s cameras wont let you get a tack sharp image of a bird in flight or something that is challenging to the electronics...any camera can do the snap shots.

your 2mp cell phone can get you an 8x10 if you need it :)

only reason I mention this is due to my sister inlaw wanting to upgrade from her cell phone....so she bought a $400 canon...and here pics are no better than her cell phone...


depends on what you are shooting, thats my point

even in dslr's there are no 1 shot answers, only hundreds of lenses to pick from :)
 
=Voodoo= said:
just use your cell phone....lol
only reason I mention this is due to my sister inlaw wanting to upgrade from her cell phone....so she bought a $400 canon...and here pics are no better than her cell phone...
Click to expand...

This is actually a VERY good point -
most digital cameras are so good these days that almost any will do for snapshots - and mostly the photos will be sharp and nicely exposed......

2Mp will produce really sterling 6x4, and good enough 10x8.
A step up to 3Mp will give marginally better 10x8 if this size is going to be the majority.

I wrote about this over 5 years ago some general Digital Camera advice - where 2-3Mp is good enough for most people's snapshot needs.

So 7-8Mp is more than capable of producing exhibition quality prints at 10x8 and even 16x12.
The current 10-14 Mp is mostly GROSS overkill for most people......
to a point more $$$ does not necessarily = better photos.

So with today's quality (and automation) there is really no need to spend mega$$$ to get good quality -
as pointed out it's not down to the camera - but the person behind it ;):D

--
Vincent
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I have been very happy with my 7 Meg Olympus. I think it is the 770SW IIRC. Can be submerged to 10 meters, dropped from 5 ft. I have not tested the limits but I have taken mine snorkeling to maybe 10-15 ft depths without issues both in salt and fresh water and also dropped it a few times from maybe 3 feet. It takes great pictures, sometimes on par with my Canon dSLR. Movie mode works well and is simple to get to. I find the macro to be very good. Flash is ok but the Available light mode is preferable to flash IMO.

Downsides are the short battery life on proprietary batteries, Olympus memory card (though I rarely exceed the 2GB card I have). I carry a spare battery if I am traveling but a fully charged battery is hard to use up in a day unless you look at pics on the screen a lot. Also, the tele is only to 3x optical, so it is limited there. No optical view finder but the screen is bright enough for most circumstances.

All in a package about the size of a deck of cards.

I think the newer 990SW is a 10 MB camera and under $400.
 
I can't thank you all enough. I am still debating and contemplating. SLR or point and shoot. Point and shoot or SLR. Are the SLR's of the world really that much better as far as a beginner goes? Will it "make" me a better photographer?
 
If you get an SLR, you still need a point and shoot for portability. Also, an SLR can get expensive quickly. You will spend point and shoot camera prices for each lens and flash you buy.
 
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