Digital cameras: recommendations?

Off topic chat and stuff that doesn't fit elsewhere.
Post Reply
User avatar
His Royal Majesty King V
Veteran K6'er
Posts: 444
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2001 4:06 pm
Location: New Jersey

Digital cameras: recommendations?

Post by His Royal Majesty King V »

Ok, at this point, I think I'm actually, finally going to take the plunge and get one.

Of course, there's LOTS of them, covering a WIDE variety of price ranges, quality, etc.

I even wondered whether you'd be able to get actual photo prints processed from the images in the camera memory card. Kodak's commercials that have started airing recently have answered that as a definite yes.

Anyway, I'm looking to get a good, easy to use digital camera, that I'd like to keep in the sub-$300 price range.

Thoughts or recommendations?
FIC PA-2103 E-O036, K6-2+ 450 2.0V @ 500 1.9V
FIC PA-2013 E-O036, K6-III 450 2.2V @ 500
Acer quasi-proprietary Mid-tower, P-II 266
User avatar
Nohr
Nohrmal
Posts: 739
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2001 8:26 pm
Contact:

Post by Nohr »

Now I only have a really old .3 mega-pixel camera myself. I don't know much about newer digital cameras firsthand; however, I hang out enough at another computer forum to have seen a few cameras get constantly recommended.

Good inexpensive digicam:
Fuji FinePix A205 - $98.44 at Walmart.com
2 MP
1600x1200
3x Optical Zoom, 2.5x Digital Zoom
16MB xD-Picture Card (you'd probably want to buy a larger one)
Review at Steves Digicams

Good deal on a more robust digicam:
Canon PowerShot A75 - $213.94 at Buy.com - $15 coupon for new customers
3.2 MP
2048x1536
3x Optical Zoom, 3.2x Digital Zoom
32MB CompactFlash card
Review at Digital Camera Resource Page
Review at Steves Digicams

If neither of those suit you let me know and I'll see what else is good.
User avatar
His Royal Majesty King V
Veteran K6'er
Posts: 444
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2001 4:06 pm
Location: New Jersey

Post by His Royal Majesty King V »

Thanks for the info thus far . . . the Canon sounds like a decent one.

I was poking around a little at pcworld.com sa well, and found a neat sort of guide as to what to look for.

Also I think an Olympus or two was mentioned. If you hear/see anything about them positive, negative, or otherwise, please pass the info along.

Anything on those forums recommended in terms of 4-megapixel that won't bust my budget? I don't know if they've fallen into my price range yet or not though.

Thanks again!
FIC PA-2103 E-O036, K6-2+ 450 2.0V @ 500 1.9V
FIC PA-2013 E-O036, K6-III 450 2.2V @ 500
Acer quasi-proprietary Mid-tower, P-II 266
User avatar
Nohr
Nohrmal
Posts: 739
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2001 8:26 pm
Contact:

Post by Nohr »

This is a highly recommended one:
Canon PowerShot A80 - $292.60 at OneCall.com - Join PASS and save 1%
4 MP
2272x1704
3x Optical Zoom, 3.6x Digital Zoom
32MB CompactFlash card
Review at Steves Digicams
Review at Tom's Hardware

People seem to be really pleased with Canon, Fuji, and Olympus cameras in general. They're the ones I hear the most good things about anyway. However most everyone says to definately stay away from Kodak digicams, the older models at the very least.

I haven't seen many specific model recommendations for Olympus cameras, just that they make good cameras. I did notice that they do have two or three 4 MP cameras that are under $300, certainly worth a look.

Keep in mind that you'll almost certainly want to buy a larger memory card for any camera you get. 16/32MB isn't much room for high-res images, so you may want to factor a 128MB or 256MB card in to the costs. Possibly extra rechargeable batteries (and a charger if necessary) as well if you plan on taking it with you on long trips and such.
DasMan2

Post by DasMan2 »

I have used a Fine-Pix camera before and found it simple and straight forward in its operation,I would say though should you plan to use a digital type camera for a while you may want to beware of some things besides having a larger MB card in there.

Should you get the chance to look into a USB 2.0 camera that has also USB 2.0 level cable connection - that might be the camera of choice, as when you download your picture off the camera unto your hard drive you will have done in a much faster time period.

Of course having a USB 2.0 level M.B. or add in card is important. Some have found just taking out the MB card from the camera and letting a card reader transfer the pics unto the hard drive is simple and fast too.
fireburns
Junior K6'er
Posts: 45
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2001 7:57 am

Fuji...

Post by fireburns »

I don't have a whole lot to add on newer tech., but I can give you some general experiences...

I own a Fuji 2600, and have purchased an A205 for my grandparents. The two are extremely similar in operation and spec.

The flash is weak (like most inexpensive cameras), so an indoor shot really needs to be taken at 4ft. or closer to really come out.

Forget about any shot involving motion. I haven't had any luck at all in that department.

Outdoor pictures are superb, and color quality is excellent as well.

The interface is straightforward, but you won't have a whole lot of tweaking options. Overall I'm happy, once I figured out my limitations.

So, if I were buying again my points would be:

-Quality of flash/low-light capability
-Shutter Speed- 10x optical zoom isn't quite as usefull when you need a tripod and can only photograph inanimate objects.

I haven't done the research to determine how that translates in spec, but you can bet I will be for my next camera purchase.

On a side note, I found the waterproof case Canon offers for the PowerShot line to be a neat option, but a pricey one.

Beyond that, I have to second everything Nohr said.
Guest

Post by Guest »

I'd suggest http://www.steves-digicams.com and/or http://www.dpreview.com as great places to get in depth reviews of almost all the current cameras, along with pricing. I found their sites extremely helpful when I was chosing a camera earlier this year. I'd give you my recommendation, but I was looking for camera's in the $400-500 range, so I don't know what's best in the under $300 category, but with the way the prices keep dropping, I'm sure you'll do quite well.
Post Reply