Your turn to help me –
Help me pick out a new digital camera! While Pixelle’s been okay, she takes really crappy pictures unless it’s really sunny and bright and outdoors. Also, she takes AA batteries — and those things run out fast in a digicam. I’m tired of recharging batteries all the time –
My requirements:
* Something basic. I’m not a photographer; I’m just a blogger who takes photos. I want something that’ll produce relatively decent photos without requiring me to do much beyond pointing and shooting.
* Runs on something other than AA batteries.
* Not too expensive. I don’t need anything top of the line –
Got a recommendation? What do you use, and do you like it?
We’ve had an HP and a couple of Kodaks, and have been happy with both those lines.
Comment by Kate — December 25, 2007 @ 8:48 am
The Sony Cyber-shot 6 mega pixels is cheap, $130, and easy to use.
Comment by David Rice — December 25, 2007 @ 1:08 pm
maybe this is too much…but the Canon Rebel is the lower line of the commercial grade cameras…but we saved up for a year to buy it when it was 1200 for my husband, now it’s $450!
it has great auto settings…but also manual if you want to branch out…good for printing pics.
If you’re interested:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Digital-Rebel-XT-f3-5-5-6/dp/B0007QKN22/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1198640448&sr=8-2
Comment by Megan — December 25, 2007 @ 8:59 pm
Try any type of Cannon you can afford, their picture quality rocks and they last a really long time… I had a cheap one, that i used recharge-able batteries with :)
Good Luck !
Comment by Les — December 26, 2007 @ 5:57 am
I work with cameras a lot and I think the best point-and-shoot is the Canon Powershot SD800.
There are no manual controls, so it’s a pretty basic camera. The video is surprisingly good for a digital still. The camera is small and lightweight with a very good screen size in proportion with the body of the camera. It does get some digital noise in extremely dark places, but if you use a flash it should be just fine. And it’s been out on the market for a while, so the price shouldn’t be too expensive.
Good luck with whatever you find!
Comment by Gavin — December 26, 2007 @ 4:23 pm
Instead of a standalone digital camera, the alternative is to get a cell phone with a decent camera. I’ve been using a 3 year old Nokia N70 with a built-in 2 megapixel camera. The picture quality is not the best, but are decent.
The advantages are that the camera is always with me and all my pictures are automatically uploaded to my flickr account using a free software from shozu.com (extra montly data plan with your phone privider is needed for this feature though). No need to transfer pictures to your computer anymore and upload to a web site.
I have a much better digital camera, but hardly use it anymore because I never have it with me when I need to take pictures. I’m also too lazy to copy pictures to my computer and upload to my web site.
A cell phone with a good camera (2MP or better) will cost around $300 to $400 without a contract and as low as $50 if the cost is subsidized by the cell phone contract.
If you want to see if the 2MP pictures are decent enough, you can see my pictures at http://www.lifamily.org/photos
Comment by Jason — December 27, 2007 @ 1:34 am
Full disclosure: I’m a Canon hound. But I recently needed a digital camera on short notice and was limited by price. I got a Nikon Coolpix S200 and have been really happy with it. It runs on a litium battery, is super easy to use, and has a ton of functions that don’t get in your way if you don’t know how to use them. I paid about $200. And… it’s red! So cute, it makes me want to take pics all the time.
Comment by Lauren — December 27, 2007 @ 10:32 am
Wow! Thanks for all the suggestions! Maybe I shoulda mentioned Pixelle is a Canon too — PowerShot A510. So I’m not willing to just try any Canon again, b/c the Canon I first selected didn’t work out so well….
But I’m not ruling Canons out altogether! The Canon Rebel is a bit out of my price range, considering the minimal amt of work I’m gonna put into using all its functions (but will keep that in mind in case I ever decide to take photography up as a serious hobby).
Jason — I like the cell-camera idea, but since I’m unhappy with the quality of the pics on a camera with 3.2 MP, I have a feeling that the option won’t work for me….
Which leaves the Canon Powershot SD800, Canon SD1000 series (recommended via email) and Nikon Coolpix S200. Unfortunately, I really can’t tell the diff between them — I can’t even tell what they run on! Lithium-ion batteries? If so, do I need to buy that separately? The prices for these 3 range from like $150 - $250, but I really can’t tell if the higher cost of a camera’s actually tied to its being a better camera. Anyone have an idea?
Cameras are confusing –
Comment by Siel — December 27, 2007 @ 11:07 am
There are so many cameras to choose from - I’d aim for minimum 4MP, but mainly I wanted to say that running on AA batteries is fine if you get rechargeable batteries and a charger. Save you lots of money!
Comment by hippie — December 29, 2007 @ 12:38 pm
Just noticed you’re already recharging… you can get different types of rechargeable batteries, some of which have more power than others - could be worth a look anyway.
Comment by hippie — December 29, 2007 @ 12:39 pm
Sorry to respond to this post late. I was just checking in to see what camera you ended up buying. If you haven’t picked out a camera yet, maybe this comment can help.
The Canon SD1000 should be not much different from the SD800 and if it was recommended by others, then I would go for it. I just haven’t used the SD1000.
I am not a big fan of the Nikon Coolpix Series. I don’t particularly like their lens quality. And for me, without a good lens, the pictures will not be as good.
I, personally, would go for the Canon or Panasonic cameras. I own a Leica point-and-shoot (as well as a Canon Rebel). The Pansonics use Leica lenses and the Leica cameras uses Panasonic bodies, so they are virtually the same. I like my Leica a lot, but I suggested the Canon SD to you, because I find it simpler and the features much easier to navigate. And since you already had a Canon, I figured it wouldn’t be too hard to familiarize yourself with it.
Comment by Gavin — January 2, 2008 @ 2:07 am
Hey hippie — I’m throwing in the towel on AA batteries for now. Aside from running out all the time, I have to wait forever for the flash to charge up after a picture –
Ok. So the Canon SD800 or SD1000 it is. I shall show off my new camera soon — and name it –
Comment by Siel — January 2, 2008 @ 6:45 pm