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What digital camera do you recommend?

14 years ago

I want to get a camera, but need some recommendations. We bought my daughter one from walmart last yr that turned out to be junk. I think we payed about $125 on sale. I know very little about the different brands. Is it possible to get a good camera for under $200?

Tammy

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Comments (17)

austinnhanasmom
14 years ago
Canon, but Nikon is good too.

I bought a Canon Powershot for my brother. The shutter lag is as short as my Rebel Xt - takes really fast shots in good light. Although he can't switch lenses, it takes really nice pictures. He can fit it in a pocket and I'm lugging a camera bag.

When I bought it, Dell had them on sale and Best Buy matched the price. With a nice bag and fast memory card, I paid $200. Best Buy had to match prices on the accessories as well, but it was a great price for what I got.

Canon seems to make new models every year and then the older models are priced better.
cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
14 years ago
I just bought a Nikon Coolpix S60 because it was less expensive than the Canon. So far, I like it.
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I am using a Canon SX50 HS. Its a good camera with a lot of features, however, it does have an automatic mode that does fairly well. It zooms 50 to 1. The wide angle may not be wide enough for group shots under 10 feet away. I would be happy if they sacrificed some if the long zoom in favor of a bit wider wide angle. However the lens is very good and its aperture is ok. It zooms from 4.3 mm to 215 mm starting with aperture f/3.4 ending with f/6.5 at the long end of the zoom range. These are respectable numbers. A little wider opening would be nice, but this is a credible accomplishment considering the trade-offs in a compact lens. It is a fast booting camera, about 1 second or less. The auto-focus function is fast compared to competition. It does slow down as the light dims, but as the light dims at some point, a green laser light turns on to help the lens to focus. The user has to keep aware of where this light is on the camera body and not block it with a finger for it to work. Images can be downloaded directly out of the camera, or by removing the SD card and using a card reader. The USB cable is supplied with the camera. The camera's battery should have enough charge to last long enough to transfer a batch of images. In my experience and the number of images I transfer at one time, I find that the battery does not have to be fully charged, although it would be best if it were. Nikon also makes a comparable camera and its sensor may produce a little more pleasing saturation of colors. However, my Canon does an acceptable job on this score. The camera out of the box defaults to its lowest 'film' speed, about ASA 80. During your setup of the camera, this speed can be raised to ASA 100 to 200 without much loss of quality. I recommend using at least ASA 100 to get faster shutter speeds. The lens has 3 modes of focus: off, active only when the release button is pressed half way down, and active all the time. Active 100% of the time increases drain of the battery. I recommend 'active when i press the shutter button half way down. The shutter button has a very light detent at the halfway point. For some users, this may be a problem if your fingers are not steady. To take a picture using the part time mode, press the shutter to the first detent and wait for the lens to focus and then press all the way down. Focusing in good light is rapid. As with any camera, you can not hand hold at extreme zoom and expect to get sharp results. In good light and reasonable shutter speed, you can hand hold up to about 3x zoom. If you are very steady or support your hand with a stationary object, you can hand hold to 4x zoom. A tripod should be used for higher zooms. I like this camera for auto trips because it can be used as a point and shoot camera, or switch to its wide range of features. The zoom lens is like having a bag full of lenses without the bulk. To get better results, one would have to move up to a full frame camera which do not have as much zoom range per lens.
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terrene
14 years ago
I just bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ3 at Amazon - $315. Point and shoot. Compact so that it fits in your pocket with a 3 inch LCD, 12x optical zoom and image stabalization (mostly for pictures of birds). It also takes decent movies.

I've used an assortment of inexpensive point and shoots (Canon, Olympus, Nikon) which mostly work okay, but this is the first camera I picked out more carefully and spent a little more. I absolutely LOVE this camera. Despite some minor flaws, I was hooked from Day 1 because the picture quality is amazing (supposedly it's the Leica lens).

They have an assortment of Lumix models, and some of them are probably closer to your price range.

Taking good pictues with this camera is easy peasy. Just point and shoot (for the most part). Here's some pics I've taken in the last couple weeks to give you an idea. These are cropped and sized down, so they aren't even as clear as the high resolution image the camera takes.

Color on some Sugar maples in town -
{{gwi:275413}}

Sunset over a nearby pond -
{{gwi:275414}}
patlovesdirt
14 years ago
Tammy - As a resource, might I suggest looking at Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Camera-Photo-Film-Canon-Sony/b/ref=sa_menu_p5?ie=UTF8&node=502394

From their site, you can familiarize yourself with what's out there, from high-end to low-end, details about each, read up on customer reviews (and those were really helpful and honest evaluations) and get some pricing ideas. You can search from lowest price to highest. I used them when I first started looking for a digital camera for myself and all that information was really helpful. Better to be armed with information before walking into a store and trying to pick one. They also have "deals" that are pretty good.
yardenman
14 years ago
On a more specific question, what is the best digital camera for taking close-up pictures? I want butterflies and bees on flowers and cat close-ups...
mmqchdygg
14 years ago
Just for reference, if anyone is looking for cameras, I've found that looking at pictures that are of the quality you want (like over at photobucket or flickr or webshots)...if you see a pic that you really love, click into it. The details will be there regarding the type of camera that was used to take the pic, settings, etc. Really helps to narrow down what you're looking for and short-list some good ones in your price range.
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
14 years ago
I have a early model digital from Nikon that was very expensive at the time. I am strictly a point and shoot man and am not looking for speed as my plants are not fast moving. What I was looking for and got,was a wonderful lens with a long focal length. Macro photos are very good without a macro lens or special settings. I recently looked at digital cameras and was shocked that I could not find one for under $350 with a view finder. Watching people taking pictures with the camera held at arms length is it any wonder the compositions are so bad. Al
austinnhanasmom
14 years ago
For close-ups, you need a macro feature - zooms in and blurs the background.
flower_addict88
14 years ago
I have a camera that was under $200 on sale, and between 200-250 off sale. It has a viewfinder.
terrene
14 years ago
Calistoga - the lack of viewfinder is one of those "minor flaws" I was talking about! Although this isn't such a minor flaw, I would have really preferred to have one and looked at many many cameras on Amazon to try to find one that met my other specs and included a viewfinder (no such luck).

As best I can figure, camera manufacturers have sacrificed the viewfinder to add other features and keep the camera compact. Personally I would have preferred the camera be a little bigger, and include the viewfinder!

Trying to compose a photo without a viewfinder is awkward, and near impossible when the sun is behind you and the glare is making the LCD unviewable. What on earth are these people thinking? Oh well, I crop and resize almost all the photos I take anyway.
tammyinwv
Original Author
14 years ago
floweraddict, what kind of camera is it?
TAmmy
flower_addict88
14 years ago
I have a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W170. It has 10.1 megapixels, 2.7" Clear Photo LCD display, Carl Zeiss wide 5x (28mm) Optical Zoom lens, Smile Shutter technology, Face Detection, Intelligent Scene Recognition, Super SteadyShot, HD output and HD slideshow.

I took photo below with my camera. I have had it since Feb. I love to take pictures, but I am not an expert. I don't really play with the camera too much in terms of technical options prior to shooting. I don't play with much besides flash, and zoom levels. I am happy with the camera, and have taken some nice photos I think.

Type the model into google and find some reviews online.

{{gwi:275415}}
daylilyluver
14 years ago
Here is a link a was given a while back when I asked the same question.

I have a Kodak point/shoot easy share. It takes ok pictures but I haven't figured out what I want to upgrade to as of yet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Steve's Digi Cams
tammyinwv
Original Author
14 years ago
Great shot floweraddict. Thats what I need, something simple. Now to check the prices.
Tammy
tammyinwv
Original Author
14 years ago
I am looking up these links and cameras as I can. terrene, those are very nice pics, but that camera is a little more than I want to pay. I would like to keep it in the $200 area. My daughter also wants one that can take video as well. I am not concerned about video for myself.
Tammy
terrene
14 years ago
Tammy, there is a Panasonic Lumix model that is about $150. It has the nice Leica lens, but with a less powerful zoom and a slightly smaller LCD.

It probably sounds like I have an agenda recommending this camera, but not so, just very happy with the photo quality. We'll see how well made it is and if it holds up over time, since I treat it a bit roughly because carrying it with me gardening, hiking, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15
flower_addict88
14 years ago
The camera I mentioned takes video as well. A lot of video too. I take videos of my daughter all the time, and upload them onto private youtube for her great grandma to see.

It has a ton of settings on this dial you turn.
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/W170/W170A.HTM#

That link should show the photo of the back view of the camera where the dial is. My camera is red. They have an option for automatic shooting where you dont play with any settings besides zoom/flash. Then they have a setting one one up where you can change a few more settings. Then a more advanced setting where a lot of settings can be changed.

The link says its $300, but it isnt. I bought mine through Wal Mart on sale in Feb. I dont see them there anymore though. You can buy them online though.

The camera has a child or adult face detection mode, smile shutter (neat where it will automatically take photos everytime someone smiles). The smile shutter can also be adjusted for the level of smile needed to snap the shot.

It also has Backlight, Backlight Portrait, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, and Twilight using a Tripod. Those are more of the settings on the camera. Either the twilight or the backlight option can make a photo taken in pure darkness, light like taken in the day.

Standard Scene modes include Beach, High Sensitivity, Landscape, Snow, Soft Snap, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Fireworks, Smile Shutter, and Underwater. The Sony W170 Menu system gives you access to Twilight, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, and Underwater. The others are on the Mode dial.

I laughed so hard using the creative effects to photos after you shoot using any of 10 editing functions, including: Trimming, Red-Eye adjustment, Soft Focus filter, Unsharp Mask, Cross filter, Partial Color filter, Fish-eye filter, Retro, Radial Blur and Happy Face (really funny). The Happy Face effect uses photo retouching to put a smile on faces, with smile levels adjustable from 1 to 5.

Danielle

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