Best digital Camera in the $450 range?

aimn

Banned
Feb 14, 2001
683
0
0
I want something that takes great photos. I want a decent zoom. 3 megapixel or higher. Outdoor, indoor, drag racing, dogs, hunting, fishing and portrait pics will be taken. Sorry to ask this again but there are always new products out there. I did do a search and read what I could. Any help would be appreciated.
 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
57,547
20,261
146
I wanted the same things you list, but I needed it to be as small as possible. I always leave big cameras behind because I hate being burdened with anything while I'm out and about.

The one camera that fit the bill was the Canon S30. It has all the features of the Canon G2, but it's almost as small as the little Canon elphs. Plus, the S30 and S40 get rave reviews at every digital camera review site I've seen. I've had it for a couple of months now and love it.

See the S30 (3.2mp) and S40 (exactly the same, but 4.0mp) here

 

aimn

Banned
Feb 14, 2001
683
0
0
Thanks AmusedOne but I like the bigger camera's. I have big hands and those small ones are hard for me to use. I will check it out though.
 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
57,547
20,261
146


<< Thanks AmusedOne but I like the bigger camera's. I have big hands and those small ones are hard for me to use. I will check it out though. >>



I've got fairly large hands too. However, lugging around a big camera just sucks.
 

Draco

Golden Member
Oct 10, 1999
1,899
0
76
Canon S30 - $435 - Love this camera. If you want larger camera, then I'd check out what Olympus has in that price range. Most of the larger cameras are generally more money though.
 

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
2,162
126
Check out the Olympus 4040. Awesome camera, compact, 4MP, 3x optical, excellent photo quality.
 

err

Platinum Member
Oct 11, 1999
2,121
0
76
I just bought canon S30 and love it so far... Great camera for the price... it was $410 when I got it from buy.com a few weeks ago.

anyway, S30 is not that small. I used to have canon s300 and love it because of the size. S30 is a little bigger, but still small enough to pocket.

If you want bigger camera that excels, look at canon G2 and nikon coolpix 5000. Don't think it will fit your budget but they are one of the leader out there.

Other recommendation are Nikon 995 and Olympus C-3040.

head on to dpreview.com and read the reviews.

Just a reminder, you might want to think about your budgeting. You have to purchase extra CF card which can cost you $50 (128MB). You might also want to purchase protective cover for your camera / lenses. Extra battery are also recommended. What I am saying is think well on your budget :)

Hope this helps. Good luck and have fun.

eRr
 

Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,022
17
81
Refurbished should be fine as long as warranty is still valid.

I want one, but they're still to steep for me. If there's a better unit out there, for this price or lower, I'd sure like to know what it is!
 

hoihtah

Diamond Member
Jan 12, 2001
5,183
0
76
the only problem with sony's dcams is that it uses memory stix.
not smartmedia or compactdisk.
memory stick tends to be much more costlier...
and the storage amount is limited / stick.

but otherwise...
that ds75 is very nice.

if i had to choose one...
at that price range, i'd go with canon g2

go to dpreview.com and read some reviews.
i think for 4mpx camera... until X3 tech comes out, G2 will be the best camera out there.
so if you can grab one for 450, that'd be your best bet!
 

Doggiedog

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
12,780
5
81
Anything wrong with purchasing a refurbished digital camera?

It could have dead pixels. That wouldn't be very good.
 

Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,022
17
81
Refurbished simply means repackaged IMO. If it means repaired, I wouldn't buy it. Ask the retailer what their refurbished products really are.

The small difference in media price between memory stix and smartmedia would not deter me from buying which ever unit is best. Speaking of best, I'd be buying a G2 myself, if it could get anywhere NEAR $450.00!
 

John

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
33,944
5
81
sysadmin, I own the 4900Z and it takes marvelous pictures, and it relatively easy to use. It has a ton of features and setting, so it is imperative that you RTFM. I recently picked up the wide angle lens, extended tube adapter, and a 128MB smart media card to add more functionality.
 

GooberPHX420

Banned
Jan 13, 2002
1,567
0
0


<< What do you think of this Fuji? <a class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.fujifilm.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/Products.jsp?nav=0&parent=PRODUCT_CATEGORY_235355&product=43860745" target=blank>Here</A> >>



This one definately gets my vote. I was going to purchase it finally after a month of debating, but then I had to get my brakes on my truck completely redone, now I cant afford it. it is a really awesome camera! it is a "true" 2.4mpixel camera I think, but fuji has some cool technology that blends the image to supposedly make it a 4.3 mpixel equivalent. Definately a great cam. This sucks man I already bought the bag for it and even a 128mb smart media card and reader..now I gotta return it all :(
 

abaez

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2000
7,155
1
81
New Nikon 2500 goes for about 350$ and is pretty small and has a new design. (The twist body type thing with the 995)
 

ed21x

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2001
5,412
8
81
Minolta e403 and Dimage X are two of my favorites. Check out www.minolta.com . also, anyhint by canon, fujifilm, olympus, and sony are all top of the line.
 

LikeLinus

Lifer
Jul 25, 2001
11,518
670
126
You can get the Olympus 3020 in that low $400 price range. I compaired this to Canons, Sony, and Nikons that had 3.xmp. The Olympus had the best lens you can buy for the price (making your optical zoom and pictures much better) and the pictures are awesome. Does movies also, and A/S/M pictures. It's not a huge camera, but feels like a real camera (i hate those small little things like the S20, doesnt feel like a camera). It fits great in your hands though.

The nice thing is it can also run of AA batteries if you are out and about and your recharg ones run out. But the best thing is the pictures! they are awesome

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/c3020.html

This model replaced the 3030


2048 x 1536 TIFF, JPEG
1600 x 1200 TIFF, JPEG(x2)
1280 x 960 TIFF, JPEG(x2)
1024 x 768 TIFF, JPEG(x2)
640 x 480 TIFF, JPEG(x2)
320 x 240 @15fps QuickTime Motion JPEG (38 sec.)
160 x 120 @15fps QuickTime Motion JPEG (168 sec.)
 

The Wildcard

Platinum Member
Oct 31, 1999
2,743
0
0
Yes, the S30 would be a nice camera. I personally bought the Canon S300 and am sorta regretting it. Although it's very compact and durable, it lacks the manual functions that the Canon S30/S40 and G2 have. It's night quality is also pretty bad, compared to other cameras.
 

Valhalla1

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
8,678
0
76
my dad recently purchased the Toshiba pdr-m81 for our spring break trip to Europe... overall its nice but hardly any of our night pictures came out, they were all blurry as hell.. but I am very sure it has to do with us not having it on the right settings, we didnt have time to learn how to use it correctly since we bought it the day we flew to europe


also I am very disappointed in the smart media cards, we only got a 8 meg so we had to buy a 128 card, and the cards are extremely thin and flimsy, and the toshiba manual says they die eventually and u lose everything on them