Need Digital Camera Advice

[FFactory0x]

My B-Day is coming up on Nov. 30 and Christmas is right around the corner. Im looking into buying a Digial Camera . What are some good models of each out there that really arent super expensive. Ive seen some nice ones but dont know whats good or not.

I remember getting my mom the Oplympus c4000 but thats the extent of my digital camra field.

I mean i want something that will last, has good quality, has video.

I want to take lots of pictures, not for art but for myself friends and family just to have for when i get older.

I mean what should i be looking to spend

 

[HappyPuppy]

PM Rossman, he probably has anything you would want in his front closet. :roll:

 

[Ornery]

ROFL, but that's probably a damn good idea!

 

[FFactory0x]

up

 

[Mr N8]

Totally irrelevant after the edit....

 

[Doggiedog]

I recently got the Canon Optura 500 and Canon S60. They both use the same battery which makes things very convenient.

 

[vegetation]

I'm on a tight budget but have narrowed it down to the Canon S1 IS. I wanted something to take decent pics, good zoom, and be able to do movie mode at 640x480 30fps. I had a minidv cam before but rarely used it, only for trips and such, so I just want a combo unit now. The Canon takes pretty darn good movies and saves them on compact flash.

 

[FFactory0x]

up

 

[FFactory0x]

up

 

[Uppsala9496]

The Canon A75 is a good camera for the price.

 

[FFactory0x]

Hmmm i can get the A75 for about $135 shipped to me with an assecory kit. Is that a good deal

 

[Deadtrees]

You need to give us more details. No one can suggest you THE RIGHT camera as there're many things that you need to consider when buying a digital camera. A perfect camera for me can be a worst camera for you as we have different things in mind.

How much do you care about zoom lens?
How small do you want it to be? Something you can carry in your pocket all the time?
Price range?
Colors? (Canon's vivid color? Nikon's midtone color? Olympus's clear skin tone color...etc)
Size of CCD?
Resolution of the picture?
Battery time?
Manual functions?
...etc.

In my case, I went through 4 digital cameras. After using different cameras after cameras, I realized that I don't need zoom lens, wanted it to be as small as possbile while having good quality pictures, liked Canon's vivid colors, didn't really care about resolution, wanted decent battery time as well as more than basic manual functions. Thus, I got Canon SD-10 and I'm more happy with it than I was with a DSLR camera.

 

[FFactory0x]

I care a lot about the zoom lenses. At least a 3x optical.
Size i could care less about. As long as its not as big as my 36": tv
Price Range from $125-$250
Color. I could care less about
CCD???
Resolution. Higher than 3.0 mp. Photo's printed as 5x8's
Battery time doesnt matter

Does that help

 

[iamtrout]

An Olympus C-770 is a great snapshooter but still gives you room to grow if you ever get hit with that "holy sh!t photography is cool" feeling and decide that you want to get a bit more serious with your shooting. Or get the larger, older version, the C-750 for cheaper and gain the use of regular AA batteries. Both have a whopping 10X optical zoom and are 4MP. Olympus cameras suck though because they use xD cards and do not have an AF Illuminator, which is basically a little light that turns on to illuminate a subject in dim light for proper focusing.

The A75 is also a great camera. 3MP, CF card, AA batteries. The only downside is the standard 3X zoom, which I find worthless but that's because I take wildlife shots. In the end it depends on what type of shooting you will do. If you know for certain that you will have absolutely no interest in photography besides snapping photos of your friends, you might just want to look at an ultra compact camera that you can take with you all the time.

 

[Deadtrees]

What company do you have in mind?
Canon's vivid color? Nikon's good midtone? Olympus's clear skin tone?

In my case, I can't really use anything beside Canons as I'm hooked on their vivid color. However, a friend of mine who takes lots portrait pictures can't use anything beside Olympus.

 

[Passions]

Canon 20D or Nikon D70 is okay too.

 

[FFactory0x]

is the a75 which is 3.2 mp a good deal if i can get it from staples for $130-140 shipped to me along with an assesory kit

 

[iamtrout]

Originally posted by: FFactory0x
I care a lot about the zoom lenses. At least a 3x optical.
Size i could care less about. As long as its not as big as my 36": tv
Price Range from $125-$250
Color. I could care less about
CCD???
Resolution. Higher than 3.0 mp. Photo's printed as 5x8's
Battery time doesnt matter

Does that help

Looks like a Canon A75 fits your bill. It has a bayonet system that allows attaching of an additional extender lens if you ever decide you want more zoom, so it'll probably bring your total zoom up to about 6X or 7X. Photo quality will degrade a little bit using this though.

 

[Uppsala9496]

Originally posted by: FFactory0x
Hmmm i can get the A75 for about $135 shipped to me with an assecory kit. Is that a good deal

Where have you found it that cheap? My fiance try to force a CF card in my A70 and busted a pin. Of course we are heading over to Ireland in 2.5 weeks, so I don't think I can get it fixed in time. I'm looking to pick up another camera in the mean time, and will then get the A70 fixed, and give it to my parents for Xmas (they don't have a digital camera).

 

[Deadtrees]

Well, you should do some serious researches. Buying a right digital camera is the hardest thing in the world! (Well, not really though). Good overall camera for a newbie would be Canon Axx(A70, 75...) but I personally don't like it as it 'feels' bulky and too big and all those manual functions are just worthless on a compact camera.

 

[FFactory0x]

yea. See im in the dark with all this stuff with what is good and what is bad. I looked at the a75 and people seem to like it. Plus I can get it cheap. I can step up to the a85 and get it around $175-$185.
Not sure what to do though. If i got the 75 i could buy another memstick. Im not even sue i want the canon though. Do you think i should go get an older model camera such as the c-4000 i bought my rents. Its prolly pretty cheap now

 

[iamtrout]

If you ever choose to print an 8 x 10 of a special moment or something a 3.2 MP camera is really pushing it... at least for me.

 

[FFactory0x]

how about a 4mp

 

[Uppsala9496]

Anyone have any experience with the Minolta DiMage x31? I really like the small size, but have no idea what the pictures look like.

 

[iamtrout]

My C-750 is a 4MP, and it can make beautiful 8x10's. If I post process it with some interpolating software like Genuine Fractals I can probably push the print size higher.