Good digital camera

[SagaLore]

I'm looking to buy a nice digital camera. I want something that will last, has a flash, has zoom, and an lcd display. I would prefer to stay around $300, but looking at some of these fliers it seems that only okay cameras are in that range. So I'll pay as much as 600 for a better one.

 

[SagaLore]

A really delayed bump.

Besides what kind of camera I should get - where should I get it? I'm cashing in some award money I have at my company, which requires I pick what store I want to buy from (gift certificate). I looked at Circuit City and that stuff was junk.

 

[PurdueRy]

Canon Powershot IS S2

/Thread

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
Canon Powershot IS S2

/Thread

 

[laurenlex]

I would spend closer to $300, or make the bump up to near $1000 for a DSLR.

In your price range, This Panasonic Lumix looks real nice.

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
Canon Powershot IS S2

/Thread

Jeez, all the Canon fanboys on this forum. For the price range, you have tons of competitors, all with their strongpoints. The Sony H1, the Panasonic FZ5 (FZ20, FZ30 if you want bigger size with more capabilities), the Fuji S5600 (and S900 if you wanna push your limit), the Kodak P850, the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6 and Z5, Nikon 8700, the Olympus SP-500 UZ (and if he really wants to push his limit, he can get a dslr, the Pentax, or Olympus E-300, that has a pretty good zoomy lens for cheap).

Everything depends on what he thinks he'll be needing and a lot of times personal opinions on the "feel" of a camera.

EDIT: All of you guys who make these blanket statements just show how much you don't really know about cameras, digital or film.

 

[tfinch2]

Olympus Evolt E300 - 599 @ Circuit City

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: tfinch2
Olympus Evolt E300 - 599 @ Circuit City

That would be kick ass if it came with the two lens kit.
But agree.. too many canon fanboys on this forum, or in general. :rolll;

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: laurenlex
I would spend closer to $300, or make the bump up to near $1000 for a DSLR.

In your price range, This Panasonic Lumix looks real nice.

Yea I want something like that, with a big lense. Are you just finding me something in that price range, or do you actually recommend this model?

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Kelvrick

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
Canon Powershot IS S2

/Thread

Jeez, all the Canon fanboys on this forum. For the price range, you have tons of competitors, all with their strongpoints. The Sony H1, the Panasonic FZ5 (FZ20, FZ30 if you want bigger size with more capabilities), the Fuji S5600 (and S900 if you wanna push your limit), the Kodak P850, the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6 and Z5, Nikon 8700, the Olympus SP-500 UZ (and if he really wants to push his limit, he can get a dslr, the Pentax, or Olympus E-300, that has a pretty good zoomy lens for cheap).

Everything depends on what he thinks he'll be needing and a lot of times personal opinions on the "feel" of a camera.

EDIT: All of you guys who make these blanket statements just show how much you don't really know about cameras, digital or film.

I don't even own a canon, I just have read the reviews and if I had to go for one this is what I would buy

 

[keeleysam]

Canon Powershot Pro1

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: Kelvrick

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
Canon Powershot IS S2

/Thread

Jeez, all the Canon fanboys on this forum. For the price range, you have tons of competitors, all with their strongpoints. The Sony H1, the Panasonic FZ5 (FZ20, FZ30 if you want bigger size with more capabilities), the Fuji S5600 (and S900 if you wanna push your limit), the Kodak P850, the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6 and Z5, Nikon 8700, the Olympus SP-500 UZ (and if he really wants to push his limit, he can get a dslr, the Pentax, or Olympus E-300, that has a pretty good zoomy lens for cheap).

Everything depends on what he thinks he'll be needing and a lot of times personal opinions on the "feel" of a camera.

EDIT: All of you guys who make these blanket statements just show how much you don't really know about cameras, digital or film.

I don't even own a canon, I just have read the reviews and if I had to go for one this is what I would buy

So basically, you're saying the thread can end with no further discussion based on a conclusion you came to by reading reviews? Thats like all those magazine racers shouting specs on how "their" car can beat someone else's.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: Kelvrick

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
Canon Powershot IS S2

/Thread

Jeez, all the Canon fanboys on this forum. For the price range, you have tons of competitors, all with their strongpoints. The Sony H1, the Panasonic FZ5 (FZ20, FZ30 if you want bigger size with more capabilities), the Fuji S5600 (and S900 if you wanna push your limit), the Kodak P850, the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6 and Z5, Nikon 8700, the Olympus SP-500 UZ (and if he really wants to push his limit, he can get a dslr, the Pentax, or Olympus E-300, that has a pretty good zoomy lens for cheap).

Everything depends on what he thinks he'll be needing and a lot of times personal opinions on the "feel" of a camera.

EDIT: All of you guys who make these blanket statements just show how much you don't really know about cameras, digital or film.

:roll:

Yes, let's recommend a DSLR to a guy who has a optimal price of ~$300, max of $600. That should be enough to get a DSLR and lenses, right? Wrong (and if I'm wrong, just link the deal).

Panasonic FZ30 is garbage. Noise levels are WAY above average because they went with a 8MP sensor. FZ20 would be the only Panasonic I would consider, but only if you never expect to take video with your camera. Most newer cameras record good quality VGA video at 30FPS, something Panasonic missed the bandwagon on. Image quality is on par with its competitors; no noticeable advantage.

Kodak P850? You mean the camera that has no autofocus assist lamp? Please continue to recommend garbage cameras.

You should not consider a Fuji if you're looking at a megazoom camera because it has no optical image stabilization. Fuji's boost the image ISO to keep the picture sharp, but you'll be limited to 4x6 prints unless you want to see a lot of image noise.

Which leaves us with the Sony DSC-H1 and Canon S2 IS. It's a toss up image quality wise, but the Canon has the advantage of: tilt/swivel screen, ability to use optical zoom while recording videos, stereo microphone, and double the battery life (because it holds 4AA vs. 2AA).

And both can be had under $350 every couple weeks @ Dell Home.

Why do we make blanket statements? Maybe its because we already researched the market and came to a fairly certain conclusion. If the OP wanted to do research, he/she wouldn't be asking a forum which camera to buy.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Kelvrick

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: Kelvrick

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
Canon Powershot IS S2

/Thread

Jeez, all the Canon fanboys on this forum. For the price range, you have tons of competitors, all with their strongpoints. The Sony H1, the Panasonic FZ5 (FZ20, FZ30 if you want bigger size with more capabilities), the Fuji S5600 (and S900 if you wanna push your limit), the Kodak P850, the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6 and Z5, Nikon 8700, the Olympus SP-500 UZ (and if he really wants to push his limit, he can get a dslr, the Pentax, or Olympus E-300, that has a pretty good zoomy lens for cheap).

Everything depends on what he thinks he'll be needing and a lot of times personal opinions on the "feel" of a camera.

EDIT: All of you guys who make these blanket statements just show how much you don't really know about cameras, digital or film.

I don't even own a canon, I just have read the reviews and if I had to go for one this is what I would buy

So basically, you're saying the thread can end with no further discussion based on a conclusion you came to by reading reviews? Thats like all those magazine racers shouting specs on how "their" car can beat someone else's.

I don't think anyone actually follows the "/thread." I meant it as more of a hands down in my opinion sort of way. Feel free to continue to discuss

 

[freakflag]

I bought myself a Canon SD500 just before I went to Vegas because I wanted a true point and shoot camera in a compact size that took great pictures with minimal F-ing around. That's exactly what I got. It takes fantastic pictures in low light as well as broad daylight and takes great video. I captured the fountains at Bellagio, at night, and it came out sweet. The thing I like most about it is how fast you can turn it on and be ready to take a picture. It's literally like 2 seconds from the time you push the power button. Shutter response is faster than any of the other cameras I used, too. With my old Nikon 4500 I would push the button and it took a second or two to take the picture. You have no idea how many pictures I took of my cats ass while he was running away. So, at the risk of sounding like a "Canon fanboy", it's an excellent camera.

 

[vi edit]

If you can put up with something a little bulky, the S2 IS really is an amazing camera for the $$.

If I didn't own a DSLR right now, that would be my camera of choice.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Why do we make blanket statements? Maybe its because we already researched the market and came to a fairly certain conclusion. If the OP wanted to do research, he/she wouldn't be asking a forum which camera to buy.

Thanks for the info. I don't have any experience with digital cameras and don't feel like buying a dud - there are just so many to choose from. So I leave it to the experts to give me suggestions.

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
:roll:

Yes, let's recommend a DSLR to a guy who has a optimal price of ~$300, max of $600. That should be enough to get a DSLR and lenses, right? Wrong (and if I'm wrong, just link the deal).

Panasonic FZ30 is garbage. Noise levels are WAY above average because they went with a 8MP sensor. FZ20 would be the only Panasonic I would consider, but only if you never expect to take video with your camera. Most newer cameras record good quality VGA video at 30FPS, something Panasonic missed the bandwagon on. Image quality is on par with its competitors; no noticeable advantage.

Kodak P850? You mean the camera that has no autofocus assist lamp? Please continue to recommend garbage cameras.

You should not consider a Fuji if you're looking at a megazoom camera because it has no optical image stabilization. Fuji's boost the image ISO to keep the picture sharp, but you'll be limited to 4x6 prints unless you want to see a lot of image noise.

Which leaves us with the Sony DSC-H1 and Canon S2 IS. It's a toss up image quality wise, but the Canon has the advantage of: tilt/swivel screen, ability to use optical zoom while recording videos, stereo microphone, and double the battery life (because it holds 4AA vs. 2AA).

And both can be had under $350 every couple weeks @ Dell Home.

Why do we make blanket statements? Maybe its because we already researched the market and came to a fairly certain conclusion. If the OP wanted to do research, he/she wouldn't be asking a forum which camera to buy.

I said for that price range, there are the following cameras he can consider as competitors since they all have the long zoom, with the exception of the Pentax. I also said that if he wanted to push his limits, there were some more I could think of, such as the pentax, olympus, and others. A month ago, he could have gotten the Pentax for 599 with a 1gb card from Sam's club and here's a deal in september where he could have had the olympus for 650 with the two lenses.

How can you call the FZ30 garbage? It does have higher noise levels then most would like, but for it still takes phenominal pictures. You have to judge a camera from prints, not sitting there staring at pictures on your computer screen. They just don't look the same. Plus, with 5mp, you can get the equiv of more then 500mm. Or, you could always take the picture in 8, do your noise reduction and reduce back to 5, eliminating a lot of softness created. Movie wise, the FZ30 can take 640 movies and zoom while you shoot. You also left the FZ5 out of your response. The FZ5 lacks the manual focus, but is a faster focuser if you're going to rely on the auto.

I hate the brand Kodak as well, but its one I could pull off the top of my head. Again, I never said I recommended any of these cameras. I just listed competitors.

Yes, the Fuji's don't have IS, but they are often cheaper for the fact and they are a lot better at high iso levels.

The OP isn't doing research? What do you call his post? This IS his research.

PurdueRy Point taken.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: freakflag
I bought myself a Canon SD500 just before I went to Vegas because I wanted a true point and shoot camera in a compact size that took great pictures with minimal F-ing around. That's exactly what I got. It takes fantastic pictures in low light as well as broad daylight and takes great video. I captured the fountains at Bellagio, at night, and it came out sweet. The thing I like most about it is how fast you can turn it on and be ready to take a picture. It's literally like 2 seconds from the time you push the power button. Shutter response is faster than any of the other cameras I used, too. With my old Nikon 4500 I would push the button and it took a second or two to take the picture. You have no idea how many pictures I took of my cats ass while he was running away. So, at the risk of sounding like a "Canon fanboy", it's an excellent camera.

I recommended the Canon SD500 to my brother and the camera is AWESOME! Great little point and shoot camera that takes awesome pictures.

And yes, I'd recommend the Canon IS S2, hands down. I've seen it in action, and you'd be hard pressed to find a better camera in that price range. The camera is just great all around.

 

[Epoman]

I've owned the Canon SD400 and currently I own the Canon S2 IS and the S2 R0x0rz my B0x0rs.

 

[randumb]

Panasonic FZ20

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: freakflag
I bought myself a Canon SD500 just before I went to Vegas because I wanted a true point and shoot camera in a compact size that took great pictures with minimal F-ing around. That's exactly what I got. It takes fantastic pictures in low light as well as broad daylight and takes great video. I captured the fountains at Bellagio, at night, and it came out sweet. The thing I like most about it is how fast you can turn it on and be ready to take a picture. It's literally like 2 seconds from the time you push the power button. Shutter response is faster than any of the other cameras I used, too. With my old Nikon 4500 I would push the button and it took a second or two to take the picture. You have no idea how many pictures I took of my cats ass while he was running away. So, at the risk of sounding like a "Canon fanboy", it's an excellent camera.

yea the digic 2 processor is supposed to be faster then its predecessor

@^% amazon super savershipping takes forever else i'd know first hand...