Another Digicam thread...$400 budget, what to buy?

[J3anyus]

Alright, I'm in the market for a digicam, and I have a budget of about $400 for everything. I can spend a little more if need be, but would prefer not to unless there's some excellent deal on some great camera.

This is something I'd be getting within the next month or two, and I'd like to be able to use it for at least 4 years or so, if that's feasible. I'll be starting college in August, and I'd like to have a reliable camera all the way through college, and hopefully past that time.

I was looking at the Canon A70 that OfficeMax had on sale recently, but unfortunately, OfficeMax's deals generally aren't valid up here in Alaska, so I can't get in on those. I saw that I could get an A70 with 256MB of CompactFlash and a Rechargable Battery kit for about $380 from Amazon, but wasn't sure how great of a deal that was. I checked Dell, and it looks as though they no longer carry the A70.

From searching through the forums, I see a lot of people praising the Canon G2, but that's $599 at Dell and $500 at Newegg, so it's a bit out of my budget unless I can stack Dell coupons to get 30% off or so (which does happen sometimes).

I'd prefer to buy from Dell because I get obscene amounts of coupons from them, but Newegg, Amazon, or any other reputable retailer is fine, just as long as the price is good.

So yeah, digital camera gurus, let me know what you think I should buy and where I should buy it from

Thanks,
Jacob

 

[HiTek21]

Canon S230

 

[dafatha00]

oops, G3 is more expensive than I thought.

Realistically going with the A70 is the probably the best option and saving the extra money.

 

[imported_Mike]

Go through dell...wait for good deal. They dont have the a70 b/c they are backordered the rest of the summer

there are some other things to think about too, but based on what you have said so far:

without a deal:
kodak ls443 << only decent kodak
olympus stylus 300
canon s230

with a deal
canon s400
s45
olm c-740
olm c-4000

obviously with a kickass deal you could get a $600 camera for $400, but i wouldnt wait that long It is very reasonable to get a $500(retail) camera for $400. Though you also should consider getting a different camera, like the a70, and then loading up on accessories...

 

[J3anyus]

ttt

 

[HappyCracker]

did you check B&H? I think I looked there for the G2 and they had it for cheaper, but I don't remember anymore. Might help though

 

[randomlinh]

if you want ultra compact, hit the s230, or the stylus. problem w/ the s230 is only a 2x optical. if you don't care about the size too much, i'd say go for the a70. the G series is pretty big, and overkill unless you're really into photography.

 

[NuclearFusi0n]

s45 if you can bump the budget a little

 

[kermalou]

s200

 

[Jmmsbnd007]

A70. Spend the extra on good rechargable batteries and a bigger compact flash card. It'll equal just about $400 with shipping for all of the goodies.

 

[J3anyus]

Cool, I'm taking a look at the S45 right now, just have to wait for another Dell deal to come around so I can get it for a good price with some accessories. Looks like a nice camera from the reviews I'm reading.

 

[Anubis]

olympus C-720

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: J3anyus
Cool, I'm taking a look at the S45 right now, just have to wait for another Dell deal to come around so I can get it for a good price with some accessories. Looks like a nice camera from the reviews I'm reading.

IMO the s45 is a nice camera, but do you need 4mp?

 

[J3anyus]

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: J3anyus
Cool, I'm taking a look at the S45 right now, just have to wait for another Dell deal to come around so I can get it for a good price with some accessories. Looks like a nice camera from the reviews I'm reading.

IMO the s45 is a nice camera, but do you need 4mp?

Honestly, I doubt it. I was originally looking at 3MP cams, and that was what I was planning to buy. If I get 4MP, I'll probably get an S45, if I get 3MP, probably an A70. It's just a matter of finding a good deal on them, and finding a good deal on an A70 right now isn't easy since Dell stopped stocking them.

Edit: Just to clarify...If I can stack Dell coupons to get 25% off (something that happens once every couple of weeks), I can get the S45 for about $375. If I were to buy an A70 from Amazon, it'd be about $300. It's worth the extra $75 in my opinion for it, since the S45 is a $500 camera. A USB CF reader and 256MB CF card tacks on another $70 or so, but I'd be buying that no matter what I buy or where I buy it.

 

[imported_Mike]

yea, i would probably go witht eh a70 and then load up on accessories. right now, dell has 10% off digi cams

 

[J3anyus]

Originally posted by: CheapArse
yea, i would probably go witht eh a70 and then load up on accessories. right now, dell has 10% off digi cams

Nice, didn't even notice that sale. I've been watching small biz, not Dell Home, so I didn't see that. I've got a 10% off coupon for Dell Home, so I could tack that on and be pretty much set. Only problem is the S45 is back-ordered for 3+ weeks according to their site.

 

[J3anyus]

One more bump.

 

[richardycc]

look at my sign

 

[slackerinabox]

You know, I'm getting a little bored of all these digital camera posts.. I mean.. I don't know.. Digital cameras are nice and all but how can we keep on posting the same questions with the same answers? "Get a canon a70! Get a canon s45! BLAH BLAH BLAH!" Go to cnet.com.. Go to an electronics store and try them all out and then find the best deal online.. Get off your butts and read consumer reports.. jeesh..sorry.. tired of these digital cam threads.. I know I can just ignore them.. but..but.. shut up!