Best digital camera: Kodak DC240, Fuji 2400 Zoom, Olympus D-490, others? Need many opinions

[duragezic]

I think my dad wants to buy a digital camera so he asked me to do some research. He's looking to spend up to about $400. From the topic, I've somewhat narrowed it down to those three through reviews. I believe they run around $350-$375. Now important factors are: Image quality, Ease of use (dude my dad MAY be able to turn on comp and that's it), and storage. My brother has a NOMAD with a removable 32mb memory card but I can't remember if it is CompactFlash or SmartMedia so if I got a camera using the same media as that then that would be nice to have the extra storage space.

So I would like AS MANY opinions as possible on these cameras and other ones in the same range. There is several models however that are very similar like the DC-240 and DC-280 so I don't know how to decide between those.

Bring on the input please!

 

[NicColt]

while doing my own research on which one to buy I found out that you eventually get what you pay for, you just have to narrow it down to the options/quality/price you want. I have a DC280 and I'm quite happy with it. If I were to do it again I would probably get the 240 it has more than enough rez do to the job. I hardly take pics at full rez with my 280. Some cams are better outdoors and some indoors, I found that the 280 is an excellent indoor cam. but for the bang for the buck you can't go wrong, there are cheaper and more expensive ones but like I said it option/quality/price and bang for the buck that you have to choose from. Good luck.

 

[GTaudiophile]

The best digicams come from Canon and Nikon, IMO.

I personally have a Canon PowerShot S10. I was lucky to get mine from Office-Max for $250.

Pluses
Small, portable, metal design
2.1mpx CCD
2x Optical zoom
4x Digital zoom
USB/Serial/Video-Out
Support for CompactFlash Type-II media (IBM Microdrive)
Built-in memory for fast shooting at 1 fps
Flash Modes: Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye
Shooting Modes: Fast shutter, Slow shutter, Night scene, Landscape, and B&W
Stitch-Assist for panoramic shots
Gain settings equal to ISO 50, 100, and 200
1.8" color LCD

Negatives
2x Optical zoom is not as good as 3x (Olympus D-490z / Fuji FP2400)
PowerShot S10 pretty much requires you buy the DK-110 battery kit for $75-$100


Be sure to check out DPreview at http://www.dpreview.com

You can also see sample photos from my S10 at my web site.

 

[Atom Ant]

If you can go a little higher, the Olympus 3000 zoom is $586 at a place on pricewatch, some place like photosound.com or something. The one is a 3.3 megapixel with 3x optical zoom and 2x digital. I just ordered one the other day. This is a $800 camera so you can't beat the price. I'll have to re-log in to the web to find out the exact place, and I'll post it then. Or do a search on pricewatch.

 

[Cknyc]

Im looking at the Cannon S10 or S100 elf.

GTaudiophile
Is the S10 small. Would it fit in a jacket pocket while in a small protective case? Im looking for a small camera to carry around but I would rather have good pic quality. I read the S100 has ok pic quality..

 

[duragezic]

Cool thanks for all the replies I'll look into the Canon one after school today.

atom ant: Wow looks nice. I'm not sure if I could spend that much but I'll have to see. Thanks for the info.

Any other opinions?

 

[GTaudiophile]

Cknyc,

The S100 is smaller and more expensive than the S10. Both are 2.1mpx cameras, but the S10 has more manual features and has arguably better image quality (there have been many S10 vs. S100 debates in the DPreview Canon Forum). I bought the Canon S10 deluxe leather case for my camera and it fits easily into my winter coat pocket and even into my pants pocket, though it's not too comfortable there. The S100 was designed to fit in like a shirt pocket. The S10's dimensions (WxHxD) are 4.1" x 2.7" x 1.3". The dimensions of the S100 are 3.4" x 2.2" x 1.1".

Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Fuji, and Kodak are the top five digicam makers, but I still think Nikon and Canon are the best. Nikon for pure, expensive quality. Canon for the best mix of performance, features, and price.

 

[Chuffmaster2k]

I have the DC240. Pick up this camera and you will not be disappointed. We oringially bought it because my wife was doing a lot of flea-bay stuff and the picture quality is awesome. There are a lot of settings to play with. The batteries have a pretty long life. I was very impressed with it. Good Luck.

 

[Cknyc]

Im buying hte S100. I really like the small size. I want to carry it just about everywhere..

 

[duragezic]

I think I got it narrowed down to the Fuji 2400Z and Kodak DC240 (the olympus 3000 is too much). Any ideas which one between the two?

 

[dcdomain]

I'm pretty sure the Fuji uses smart media and the Kodak uses compact flash. Since your brother has the Nomad, which uses smart media, go with the Fuji. I personally have a Kodak DC265 and love it. Smart media is generally cheaper, but flimsier than compact flash. Double check though...