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Best Digital Camera for $300-$400?

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dpk777

Senior member
I'm looking into purchasing a digital camera sometime in the near future but of course I need to go through the long research process.

Could someone help narrow down my search and suggest the best-bang-for-the-buck digital cameras for $300-$400?

I'm looking for a camera for everyday normal use but also a camera that can handle some nature photography.

I was looking at the Olympus C-770...is that any good?
 
the C770 is a great camera i has a C730 and it was great and the 770 juts improved on it, it also has 1 hell of a zoom which is good for nature

you might want to look into that panasonic with the 12x zoom and image stableization
 
If you want to do nature photography, then you'll need a good zoom.

The C770 is an excellent camera and more compact than the competition. The only problem is that it doesn't carry Image Stabilization (IS), which is essential when focusing waaay out there. Without IS, the pics have a high chance of coming out blurry--no matter how steady your hand is. Of ocurse, you can get around this limitation with a tripod, but that just adds more weight to pack.

You can either wait until January for the next gen of Oly IS zooms or get one of the new digicams with IS from Minolta and Panasonic that have universally received raves.

Panny FZ Series

Minolta Dimage Z Series

Reviews 1
Reviews 2
Reviews 3
Reviews 4
Reviews 5
Reviews 6
Reviews 7
Reviews 8
Reviews 9
Reviews 10
Reviews 11



Again, you can't go wrong with the Oly 770. IS is your friend though and the current crop of of Pannies and Minoltas should serve you well in your price range. They have zoom digicams with IS right iin the $400 mark.

When you're ready to buy something, avoid the NYC shops. Get the lowest price from an authorized dealer and price match it by calling the Onecall Website. They are a class outfit and won't sell you gray market. They are universally known as THE place to buy electronics at great prices. You also will get good service at B&H, though at higher prices--and they don't price match like Onecall.

FWIW, another zoom for your consideration that just came out and has been getting good reviews (without IS though) is the Nikon Coolpix 4800.
 
Hey Dr150, are you familiar with any next generation Canon IS cameras? Their 3.2 mp camera was a little on the low side for me...waiting for their 4mp version.
 
Originally posted by: CheapArse
Hey Dr150, are you familiar with any next generation Canon IS cameras? Their 3.2 mp camera was a little on the low side for me...waiting for their 4mp version.
Click to expand...


canon hasn't announced anything yet, but you can bet your life they'll announce one soon in the coming months. That Canon IS 3mp is a top seller for them--extremely popular for them. I would assume a 4-5 MP in the next 3-4 months for sure.

I'd avoid Canon though, as their video mode has always been subpar (look at the G6 for crissakes!). The purple fringe defects in their digicams also is a turn-off. I've tried the lastest of the S & G lines. If I had to choose a Canon, the ONLY one I'd pick this side of a DSLR is the G6.

 
The FZ30 by Panasonic is great. But if you really can get the F717 for $450 jump on that, its a heck of a good camera for the price.
 
Guys, he wants to do nature photography. Compacts listed above are out of the question.

He needs a zoom, which is why he's correctly looking at such digicams as the Oly 770.
 
Originally posted by: dr150
Guys, he wants to do nature photography. Compacts listed above are out of the question.

He needs a zoom, which is why he's correctly looking at such digicams as the Oly 770.
Click to expand...

the Panasonic FZ20 is better then the C770 and recomended above at least 2 times, 12x zoom and image stabilazation which is supurb for nature also has a fixed min apature of 2.8 Leica Lens for the whole zoom range

Currently is 550$ shipped at BuyDig
 
We have a Canon A40 and think it's not exactly good enough, especially in low light situations. What's a good low light camera ?
 
Originally posted by: Anubis
Originally posted by: dr150
Guys, he wants to do nature photography. Compacts listed above are out of the question.

He needs a zoom, which is why he's correctly looking at such digicams as the Oly 770.
Click to expand...

the Panasonic FZ20 is better then the C770 and recomended above at least 2 times, 12x zoom and image stabilazation which is supurb for nature also has a fixed min apature of 2.8 Leica Lens for the whole zoom range

Currently is 550$ shipped at BuyDig
Click to expand...


No Kidding Merlin, I was the one to recommend the FZ series first to him. The FZ20 is out of his price range though, which is why I recommended a lower model FZ digicam or Minolta Z series.

Read his post thoroughly before recommending. 😉
 
you can get teh Pany FZ 15 which is almost the same as the FZ 20 but is 4mp and not 5 for right around 400$

i recomended it before you did look 🙂
 
I have an Olympus C-765 and It takes some amazing pictures as far as i'm concearned. Here are some from a recent trip to Italy. My apologies that they're enormous, but I didn't have time to resize them.

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/JeffCos/Picture028.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/JeffCos/Picture064.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/JeffCos/Picture092.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/JeffCos/Picture128.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/JeffCos/Picture156.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/JeffCos/Picture276.jpg
 
After reading your posts I think I should definitely get something with IS.

Hopefully this will help narrow down suggestions.
 
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