Best digital camera under $600?

[snidy1]

Anyone have any opinions? I want pretty good zoom, but more importantly, great picture quality.

 

[oldfart]

Well, best for one is not best for another. I looked for a long time and decided on the Minolta A1. You can get it for ~ $600. It has some very nice features like:

28 - 200mm GT lens with (YAY!) mechanical zoom ring
"Anti Shake" image stabilization (BIG PLUS)
Very nice ergonomics. Lots of buttons and wheels. Easy to change settings instead of endless LCD menus
Live histogram
Fast AF including continuous subject tracking AF
Burst capture @ 2.8fps up to five 2560 x 1920 RAW frames
RAW and Tiff mode
Shutter speeds 1/16000 - 30 sec
Grip sensor and eye sensor to automatically switch between EVF and LCD
More settings than you could imagine (caution this is NOT a point and shoot)
hot shoe and pop up flash
Uses CF memory
Great battery life
etc
etc

For ~$600, nothing else compares IMHO.

Minolta A1 review

 

[snidy1]

Thank's, I haven't looked at that one yet.

 

[ponyo]

I recently purchased Sony F717 from CC for $474 plus tax. It's a great camera. I'll be using this for couple of years until Digital Rebel becomes better and more affordable.

Sony F717 review

 

[snidy1]

Does anyone have the Canon G5?

 

[oldfart]

The G5 was one of the ones I was looking at. As always, Canon makes a great camera (I also have a Canon S400, A50 and ZR40 DV cam.). The G5 is a different class of camera than the A1 with a smaller focal range of 35 - 140mm, smaller CCD, slower AF, slower shutter speeds. no IS, live histogram etc. On the positive side, it is smaller, has a bright f2.0 lens, fully articulated LCD, costs less.

It depends on what you want. There are a ton of different cameras with different features and price points to suit each persons needs. To me. the extra ~ $100 for the A1 over the G5 was a no brainer. Two different classes of cameras.

What are important features for you?
Focal length (wide)
Focal length (tele)
low light
sports/action
macro
size/weight
cost
AF speed
flash internal/external hot shoe
cost
Handling (it has to feel right in your hands and be comfortable to use)
Easy point and shoot auto
lots of manual control
etc.......

 

[LED]

Originally posted by: snidy1
Does anyone have the Canon G5?

No but I almost bought the Minolta A1 that oldfart refered to but decided on waiting for
The Canon Powershot S1 IS which retails@ $500 and just became available. That's my choice because I already have CF Cards and rechargeable AA Batteries for it.

 

[WalkingDead]

Fuji S7000

6.3 million actual pixel
great 6x zoom Fujion lense
30 f/s movie mod w/ no time limit
dual memory slots. CF & XD
USB2 connection
it uses 4 regular AA batteries

 

[oldfart]

Originally posted by: LED

Originally posted by: snidy1
Does anyone have the Canon G5?

No but I almost bought the Minolta A1 that oldfart refered to but decided on waiting for
The Canon Powershot S1 IS which retails@ $500 and just became available. That's my choice because I already have CF Cards and rechargeable AA Batteries for it.

S1 looks like a very cool "super zoom" camera! The only thing for me is no hot shoe kills it. I have two little girls with beautiful blue eyes. The younger one has THE WORST red eye prob I have ever seen! I have to use an external flash with a bounce or it is red eye city. Indoor flash photography is so much better in general with a TTL dedicated flash compared to any built in unit anyway.

I would not let the battery type sway you one way or the other. I have had both 4 x AA NiMH and Li-Ion setups. they are both fine. I actually prefer Li-Ion. They dont lose a charge while sitting like NiMH does, they are lighter and are very powerful.

Edit....hey, we are giving Steve's Digicams plenty of referral links tonight!

 

[Hyperfocal]

The Canon G5 is a very popular camera among photojournalists.

The f2.0 lens and excelent image quality make it a great camera to carry when the EOS1D is a little too big.

 

[snidy1]

What are important features for you?
Focal length (wide)
Focal length (tele)
low light
sports/action
macro
size/weight
cost
AF speed
flash internal/external hot shoe
cost
Handling (it has to feel right in your hands and be comfortable to use)
Easy point and shoot auto
lots of manual control
etc.......

low light
sports/action
AF speed
Focal length (wide)
And the most zoom without compramising picture quality

 

[snidy1]

I was checking out the Olympus Camedia C-750 Ultra Zoom, anyone have any comments on it?
Also, I decided that I could go up to $800

 

[oldfart]

To me, a camera with a long tele without image stabilization is of questionable value. Again, when I was looking, I looked at EVERYTHING. The Oly 750 is a nice little camera, but there are a few things that didn't cut it for me. With a 38 -380 lens, it is a super zoom. Only 38mm @ the wide end is not very good though. 380mm at the tele end is nice as long as you have a tripod. I prefer a camera with image stabilization. You also only get a 1.5" LCD that can not be moved. Camera settings are done via button mashing your way through endless menus in the LCD instead of buttons and dials. I'm not at all a fan of the xD memory that Oly and Fuji came out with. On the positive side, it is a very small camera for a super zoom and it does have a hot shoe. Watch out for the prices on Oly fla$h units though.

I'm still recommending the A1. There is nothing out there that compares in this price range. The next thing above an A1 are the new crop of 8 MP cameras. These are the Minolta A2, Canon Pro1, Oly 8080, Nikon 8700, Sony 828. These are all more than $800. After that, you go to DSLR which is ~ $1000 to get started, a lot more once you add some decent glass. You are also then using a much larger, heavier camera. Image quality will be better with a DSLR due to the much larger sensor size.

Minolta A2 "Hitting One Over the Fence" This is a good review from someone who actually uses the camera. A lot of what he says about the A2 applies to the A1.

 

[LED]

I still stand by my suggestion and tend to agree with oldfart for the the $'s more then the A1...I'm current using a 3.1MP Camera and that's enough MegaP's for me plus I like the Accessories for the Powershot S1. I also looked at Panasonic's IS in the DMZ F-10Panasonic's IS and it looked good but at the time but my Hearts in a Cannon

What I like is the Camera's Digi ala DV and Still are coming together as my Movie Camera is small but takes crappy Still's and now moving action in Still Cameras becoming are available in Quality.

 

[snidy1]

I think I'll get the Canon S1, is it available anywhere yet?

 

[oldfart]

FYI for anyone reading. DigitalFotoClub which is a great reseller now has the Minolta A1 for $575. That is a smokin price for a camera of this caliber!

 

[snidy1]

Is the Nikon Coolpix Model: 5400 any good?

 

[JavaMomma]

I just got the Canon S1

So far i really like it, but my experience with digital cameras is limited.

The Zoom on it is awesome, the pictures for the most part are very sharp & clear.
The only thing I do not like about the camera is its size. It is big compared to my sisters SD100 which is small enough to fit in your pocket.