OT- Camera died- What kind do you have/recommend?

16 years ago

Poop!

My trusty Kodak- has finally bit the dust (I think). I am getting green lines through all my photos, and have tried everything- recharging batteries, changing memory card, to no avail. I've had this dinosaur for many years (you don't want to know what I paid for 3 MG pixel camera).

I'm assuming it's not worth it to fix, as the new cameras are so reasonably priced now.

But, as I have a whole house to renovate, it's not like I have another unplanned for $1000 to spend on a camera purchase. I was planning to upgrade this camera eventually, but don't have the resources of time or money to get the SLR/digital one I would really like. My kids (who live across the country so I have no access to borrow theirs) have little 6MG pixel cameras that I'm not too impressed with the quality, so I know I'd like something around 8-10MG pixels, that would give lots of detail in the photos. As we're trying to document/save for posterity the progress of our renos, and I sell plants/seeds so I take lots of plant/garden photos, and need to take good quality close-ups.

So, does anyone have a camera that they can recommend? That they're happy with, and doesn't cost more than $200-$300? I was at Costco yesterday, should have looked at what they have...

I also like an easy to use/intuitive menu that is simple enough to see/follow without reading glasses (hopefully)

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Comments (19)

mnhockeymom
16 years ago
Hi raehelen - I had to answer your post because after ours got dropped in the ocean I was in your same boat and didn't have the time or resources to research and buy a digital SLR (although I'm dying for a good one w/ a great lens $$$) SO I researched the heck out of the point-and-shoot digitals and, not surprisingly, came back to the same brand that we'd had but upgraded the features. We have enjoyed outstanding quality with Canon's PowerShot cameras and right now the SD850 IS is our favorite. Here's what CNET says about it:

The bottom line : The Canon PowerShot SD 850 IS has just about everything you'd want in a point-and-shoot.

Also, it runs between $250 and $300 depending on where you find it. Hope that helps!!
coffeehaus
16 years ago
Another vote for anything by Canon. I shot photos with a 35 mm Canon Eos for years in the pre-digital age. My first digital camera was a gift, a Sony. And while it functioned adequately, I thought that the software was awkward. Then, a couple of years ago, I got a Canon digital. Love it, and the software was easy for me to use, even without reading the tutorial! Canon digitals consistently get positive reviews from Consumer Reports, too. Mine has rechargeable AA batteries...a nice feature, and in a pinch, you can use disposable AA rather than having to search for a special model battery.
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What kind of camera do you use?
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Comments (18)
Marylu, I don't know much about the Sony H5-- it came out after I'd already moved on to my Canon camera. But! There's a really active and helpful Sony forum over at DPReview.com. There are lots of "personalities" over there, but more often than not you'll get some great help. Even if you didn't want to get involved in another forum, it would be well worth reading through posts. Every conceivable question gets asked and answered. Thanks wigardenerwannabe. I mostly take photos for my own pleasure, but have used them for my work (graphic design) quite a bit, too. I've sold a few images, but it's not something I actively promote. I'd like to do that someday, but have to get to the point where my portfolio is a lot stronger than it is now. The good news is that I am finally almost to the point where I am pretty consistent at being able to grab the shots I want, but I still have so much more to learn. As far as knowing when things are in focus, it's likely just going to take some practice. I know nothing about Panasonic cameras, but check your manual to see if there is an option to turn on a beep when it's focused. Or some cameras have a blinking "shakey hand" icon which shows up when not in focus. It took me forever to realize that a sort of moire pattern would show up when my Sony was focused. Lisa's settings will likely help you the most. It's cool that it's got a macro/flower setting. One other thing to consider is that camera lenses generally need something contrasty to focus on-- light/dark or hard edges usually work. For a kind of decent tripod at a next-to-nothing price, check out Walmart. I used one of these for a couple of years before moving on up and it did just what I needed it to do. Anne, something you'll need to get used to is that Canon images are generally not sharp right out of the camera. They've done this on purpose, because in the long run it will give you a great deal of flexibility. Do you have Photoshop or some other image editing program? Are you after trying to zoom in for macro shots or are you wanting to zoom into things that are further away? If you are like me you probably want to do both, but I am going to guess that you are wanting to zoom closer to things further away. Heh... you can always do what I was told to do after a friend got tired of my whining-- zoom with your feet. ;-) In all honesty, the best image quality comes from lenses designed for each specific job. Most of us would give a lot to own one lens that does it all (macro, landscape, zoom zoom). There are a few lenses that come close, but they all sacrifice quality. A DSLR owner eventually has to wrap their brains around the idea of switching lens. A lot. I still hate it, but I've finally accepted the notion.... though I still look for and dream about *the* lens. Disclaimer: Lens selection is an extremely personal thing. There are so many choices and so many individual needs. You can read up on these lenses (highly recommended!), but for every pro recommendation, you'll read a con. Photographers are very opinionated and aren't shy about saying what they think... and what they think is often based on limited experience with a particular lens. I guess I am no exception. No matter what I tell you, you still need to make the decision for yourself and you need to know that you won't make me feel bad if you end up doing what you want to do and not what I think you should do. (lol) So here I go, telling you what I think you should do. The Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM is a lens that I actually have on my Maybe Someday list. I've researched it like crazy, because it has a super duper range on it -- great for a walk-around lens. The IS is really attractive for sure. The problem is that it's only F4, which means it's a slower lens-- you can't stop it down any further to let more light in. The IS compensates, which is great.... but you're not going to get the great creamy backgrounds that you'd get with an F2.8 lens. The other thing that concerned me is that I've looked at hundreds and hundreds of images from that lens and have seen only a small handful that I really loved. The color isn't even as good as the kit lens, which strikes me as odd for a Canon brand lens. A couple of lenses you might think about: Canon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM The 24-70mm is an "L" quality lens, which is about the best quality you can get in a Canon lens. It's just so hard to put into words the differences between L-quality and the rest. Incredible sharpeness, incredible bokeh (background magic), color, brightness, etc. This lens doesn't have the IS, but it's an F2.8 lens, which will let you shoot some really low light shots. The older version of this lens (28-70mm) is my current walk-around and portrait lens and I wouldn't trade it for any amount of money. The biggest drawback is the weight (loads of glass inside there!), but I found I got used to it fairly fast. Having waxed on about the 24-70mm, the lens I would really recommend to you is the Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. Oh man, this has everything, including a great price! Great reach on the long end, plus you can focus this thing at a distance of only 5ft., meaning that you can actually get some decent macro shots. What I am trying to say here is that you won't often miss the 24mm on the wide end.... unless you want wide angle (landscape) shots, but then you'd probably switch to the 18-55mm kit lens. The color is really nice on this lens and it has a decent brightness to it. Even though it's only an F4 lens, you can get good creamy backgrounds by zooming into subjects. On this lens, the IS really does count toward getting those lower-light shots. The really good news is that if it turns out that you don't like your lens, you can sell it without much loss. There's a real market for these lenses-- a great place to sell them is on FredMiranda.com. As for that 18-55mm lens being sharp, hang in there, because for such a cheapy lens, it really is a workhorse. Check out the link at the bottom, then read the EXIF info below the photo. This image was taken at a super low speed at ISO1600, no flash. Just imagine how sharp it might have been with decent light. Nancy Here is a link that might be useful: Miss Em
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I use a Panasonic DMC-257. It can do pics and movies, has GPS you can turn on and off, records audio, mulitple settings, etc. My Dad commented to me yesterday how great the pics were that I took of the birds at his feeder about 20 feet or so away -- tremendous close-ups that he can get with his bigger Canon something or other. This is a terrific camera! Here is a link that might be useful: review
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rhome410
16 years ago
We had a Nikon that we LOVED...The older style they had that twisted, so you could take photos at an angle and still see the screen. It took fantastic closeups, imho. We replaced it with a Canon PowerShot A540. Pretty good and user friendly, sharp photos and good zoom. Not as good at closeups, but not terrible either...But the flash can be too bright, especially on faces, and it's not great at judging light and giving a good result all the time. I probably could do better if I knew anything about the technical aspects of adjusting it, but I depend too much on the auto settings.

I think it was about $199.
PRO
Avanti Tile & Stone / Stonetech
16 years ago
The Casio Exilim is a great series. I use the 2750 model and love it for a couple of hundred bucks.
divamum
16 years ago
The Canon SD1000 or SD750 are both great super-tiny cameras (the Elph series) and run under $200.
antiquesilver
16 years ago
I just bought a Panasonic Lumix FZ8 from fotoconnection.com for under $300. It was recommended to me by another GW member since I needed one that could take close ups of silver detail. It works great. Now if I could only figure out what 90% of the options are ...........
effiemyrtle
16 years ago
I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4K. Very easy to use and has a 10x zoom and a wider angle lens than most point and shoots. Should be able to find it for under $300.

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/shop/Cameras-Camcorders/Digital-Cameras/Lumix-Digital-Cameras/model.DMC-TZ4K_11002_7000000000000005702
mindstorm
16 years ago
I know you said You sound like you're serious about taking decent pictures and seem to know/like photography. If so, don't waste your time or money with a P&S PoS ;-) (sorry to offend anyone). DH has always had P&S and I've always had SLRs (even pre- digital) and even when they weren't the greatest cameras or lenses, they were still miles better than the P&S cameras. My $0.02 is that instead of spending money on two cameras, spend it once on one good one that you really like.
elaine427
16 years ago
I have the Canon AS570 and absolutely love it. Easy in the hand and great quality.

Elaine
pcjs
16 years ago
We have the Nikon D50 and absolutely love it (but that's an SLR).... but we also just got me an Nikon Coolpix S700 and it's very nice too - the picture quality isn't as good as the SLR with the lower resolution but for a smaller camera we are very happy with it (we liked the size).
sekhmet45
16 years ago
As a professional photographer, I'd highly recommend Canon digital cameras for their outstanding optics and color balance as well as their cool, sleek presentation. I had shot with Nikons for many years, but, Nikon digital cameras never were as good as their film cameras. The Canon autofocus system is also much better than Nikon's.

Most of the photo staffs at the best newspapers and magazines use Canon cameras for a reason--they are the best. Canon has several 10MP cameras in the $300 price range. See link. Also note that a free version of the popular Photoshop program, called Photoshop Express, is now available.

Here is a link that might be useful: B&H Photo Video Canon
stretchad
16 years ago
I have a Canon SD700 with Image Stabilization. Works well for me! I'd buy another one in this series if I needed to!
don_chuwish
16 years ago
For more information than you could ever fully digest, I can recommend a great site (linked below). They have many ways to approach the selection process (see links in left frame). But also incredible detail in their individual camera reviews. HTH!

- D

Here is a link that might be useful: Camera Reviews
mindstorm
16 years ago
sekhmet, I know a bunch of National Geographics photographers - Nikon proponents (well, users) most of 'em. The rest use Canon but couldn't find it in themselves to definitively recommend one over the other. I spent two years torn between Canon and NIkon but eventually went with the majority of the big dogs.

So, cut out the trash talk.
neesie
16 years ago
Another vote for the Canon SD series (I have the 400 but it is two years old). Canon has great customer service, I should know! My LCD screen cracked from abuse after 6 months and they STILL offered to repair it free of charge. All I had to do was pay shipping and they sent it back fixed in a weeks time. The SD ELF series is the size of a pack of cigarettes which makes it so handy. They are very user friendly also. Love mine!
jtalb
16 years ago
We have a Canon power shot for a point & shoot camera, as well as a Nikon D100, which is a lot of fun to play with :)
venkatbo
16 years ago
In addition to:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/
can also check out reviews at:
http://www.dpreview.com/
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras

There is enuf info to help decide. In some cases, it
may be worthwhile to look at newer models reviewed
here since there may be fixes to problems in older
models. Worth knowing when you buy a "steal deal" :-)

Also may want to checkout:
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/cameras-accessories
for ongoing deals

/venkat
sekhmet45
16 years ago
Sorry Mindstrong, you don't know what you are talking about---but I do. The majority of the "big dogs" use Canon. LOL!!!! What "big dogs" do you know? Apparently, they are not as big as you think they are. LOL!!

Many National Geographic photographers still shoot with FILM cameras, which are much different than DIGITAL cameras--and they shoot in chrome. And, the ones who shoot digital, shoot with Canon. The archival aspects of the present digital process prevent many photographers from using digital when they don't have astringent deadlines. Sad to say, but, National Geographic photographers are not" cutting edge" by any means. Most are very traditional, which means, NIKON.

No "trash talking" here. When the staffs of The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Boston Globe and every other major newspaper use Canon, you know Canons are the best, otherwise, why would they risk shooting with inferior hardware, like the horrible Nikon system? The difference between Nikons and Canon is well documented in professional circles. Ask any "real" professional and they will tell you that Nikon sold-out to the amateur ranks many years ago, that Canons are the best.

Most magazine photographers are contract photographers or freelancers and 80 percent of them use Canon. I know what I'm talking about: I'm one of them.

Canon digitals are the best in the consumer market too!
mindstorm
16 years ago
Oh god! What a bilious response! I have some information I could contribute but good lord! not going to sully it with your acrimony.

OT- Camera died- What kind do you have/recommend?

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mnhockeymom

coffeehaus

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