Digital camera

[Wingnut]

I am looking at getting a new digital camera within the next couple of weeks. The one I have is only 1.3 megapixel, is tiny, takes really crappy pics, and my sister tends to steal it every other day. I'm thinking that I get myself an early b-day present, and she gets the old one.

 

But I digress...

 

Can anyone recommend a good digital camera? (from experience only please.)

 

I am looking:

1. 3 to 5 magapixels.

2. Decent flash.

3. Good features.

4. Decent software bundle.

5. I would rather have a larger camera. I am not an elf, and don't like hitting tiny buttons that are close together.

 

Price isn't a huge factor, but I don't need the really high end stuff.

 

I can read stats and features all day long on the internet, but I would rather take the word of someone who has used a product.

 

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

-Nut

[bowtie_pasta]

I like my Sony DSC-P31.  It's only 2.1 MP, but it's all the digital camera I need right now.  I love the features and it's really easy to use.  Not too big, not too small.  Check it out.

[elboberino]

I highly reccommend Nikon and Fuji.  Since fuji makes some of the best film cameras out there, it's no wonder that there digital cameras take some of the best pictures.  Also look at the Canons.  They have some of the best lenses on their cameras.  Stick with this rule, if they make an extremely good 35mm camera, then they make a good digital camera.

[k1500chevy97]

I have a hp c-200 and a hp315

They are both good cameras so I would suggest going the HP route

[Shaners]

Most people that have the Sony cameras are very pleased with them.  I don't think you can go wrong with the features they offer.

 

I have an old Epson camera.  I've had it for years and years.  It's been abused and misused and has worked perfectly.  The new Epsons are very nice cameras, and when it comes time to replace mine (it's been time for awhile now), I'll have to look at the Epson again.

[Black02Silverado]

Go to Amazon.com and look at all the reviews on digital camera's. I did a lot of research, the DSC-S85 is really nice camera and I know of a few that love it.  I am looking at the Olympius C3030, it is of normal size like a regular 35mm. I also like the reviews. I for one don't like it when you push the button to take a pic and it takes a few seconds to snap the shutter. That seems to be a problem with a lot of camera's.

The reviews on Amazon are nice to look over, there is a ton of good as well as bad.

 

[carguru]

I have the Sony DSC-S85.  It has been a great camera.  Size is not too small not too large.  The only gripe I have with it is that you have to have the adapter ring for filters and lenses.  This gives the camera a bit of a long snout.  You can find the Sony for well under $500.  We just picked up an Olympus C-5050 at work.  It is a pretty good 5 MP camera about the size of my Sony.  I love it because you are able to take pictures up to 5 or 6 inches from the lens (for real closeups) and being able to use different types of flash cards.  This camera can be bought for under $600.  Check Pricescan :thumb:

[chevy4x4trucks]

I've got the Olympus 3020 which is a 3.2 megapixel camera and couldn't be happier with it.  You can take some really great pictures with it.  Over half the pictures on my site were shot with it.

 

They have the new model out with is the 4000 and runs 345 bucks on mpsuperstore.com

 

http://www.mpsuperstore.com/digital/discr18821.htm

 

[lauriet1]

A coworker of mine who's a semi-pro photographer just bought a Panasonic DMC LC20-S Lumix Digital Still Camera.  He's also an engineer so he does meticulious research before purchasing anything.  This Model is only 2.1 MP but takes really nice pictures and has some great features.  I'm buying one this weekend!  Office Max has them on sale right now for $199.00, regular price is $259.00.  Good price, nice camera with most of the features you're looking for.  Here's a link to info on this model.

Panasonic DMC LC20-S

[cowboy02]

I love my HP720 Camera.......  It takes great pictures is 3.3mp has 16MB of internal memory and it takes the secure digital cards.  Runs around 300 bucks has the ability to change ISO/Speed settings, light settings and it also has the ever  popular automatic setting....  Another great feature is that you get about 10megs of space on hpphoto.com to store  pictures to send to all your buddies....  If you look at my signature I took the pic of the truck with the 720 camera.

Also you can buy a docking station with the camera for a extra 60 bucks that makes it supper easy to download your pictures.  The only draw back from the camera is that the battery life isn't the best if you don't get the docking station.  If you get the docking station your camera battery's will last about 300+ pictures depending on how much you use the LCD display.  Last down side is it will only take a movie clip for 30seconds at a time.

 

If you want something a little more high end go with the Cannon G2.... Great camera you can buy extra lenses and filters and anything you want.  4MP and runs around 600 bucks on the web.  The software is quite a package.  Probably some of the best software for digital cameras is packaged with the Cannon cameras.  Has a great feature for taking panoramic shots, and is all done with software.  Movie feature will let you take a movie till you run out of space to store it.  Have used the camera frequently for over 10 months and I'm still on the original set of batteries.

 

Overall I would take the HP720 everyday of the week for easy to use, friendly and convient.  If your looking for the "PERFECT PICTURE" might want to go with the cannon..

 

HOpe this helps.......  

[bluelab]

I went through the same process of trying to decide what camera to get.  To me I wanted a long zoom lens and around 4 megapixals.  

 

I just wanted to have a good quality digital camera to back up my 35mm system or to keep in the truck if I saw some good shots while out driving around a high priced high end camera was not what I needed.

 

I looked around and found the best choice for me was a fuji finepix 3800.    This is not a pocket camera but is light and does not take up much room.  I just got it so I am still testing it out.  Overall I am happy with it.  It has a 6x optical zoom, 3.2 megapixals came with a 16mb XD card.  I know you can get optional cards of 128 Mb but I do not know if you can get any larger ones.  Other features I like are: automatic and manual shooting, several flash settings, movie recording and it will record audio.  This is also easy to operate slow learning curve if you have never used a digital camera before.  The flash is also very good provides good fill flash and have not had any issues with red eye yet.

 

I will admit it could give you better software but I use other software if I want to manipulate an image.  The only really negative thing is that its is not very good in low lighting conditions.  The digital viewer does not pick up what you are trying to photograph in very low lighting conditions.

 

If your are in the market a good link to check out is Steve’s digicams. http://www.steves-digicams.com/

 

Cheers!

[99silveradoz71]

I've got a Sony Mavica(forget the exact model) which takes either the floppy or the memory stick.  It's easy to use, takes good pictures, and I enjoy the flexibility in regards to storage.

[miclri]

Kodak has some nice digital cameras. I have an older DC-290 which has served me well.

[timk49]

I bought a Minolta dimage 304 over a year ago and I have taken some great pictures with it. My previous camera was a Sony Mavica and worked ok but was less than a Mega pixel camera.

The Minolta is 3.4 Megapixels and prints 8x10's that look as good as a 35 MM shot.

 

Features that I think are important are:

Viewfinder as well as LED screen (for taking bright light pictures)

 

Easy menu to operate

 

good battery life (AA Dura Cells dont cut it) get rechargeable AA batteries.

 

Fit. Hold the camera in your hands. I dont like small cameras either but the Olympus is too big. It has to feel good to you.

 

The Minolta uses Compact Flash storage media. Like many cameras it comes with a 16 mb card. Figure on buying at least another 64 MB card or go for the 128 MB.

 

In my experience unless you are going to enlarge your pictures to poster size you dont need a 5 megapixel camera. My 3.4 camera gives me great results at less than it's highest resolution.

Instead of buying a 5 megapixel camera get a 3.4 to 4 pixel camera and buy a really good high resolution printer with the money you saved. I use a HP deskjet 5550 ($149.00) It makes awesome prints on Photo paper.

 

Happy shopping.

[Wingnut]

You guys are awesome. I didn't expect that much input.

 

Thanks a million.

 

I got the new camera today, I went with the Fuji Finepix 3800.

 

I liked it a little better than the Olympus 3020 that chevy4x4trucks mentioned, because of the menu system was a little more intuitive.

 

It fits in the hand really well, and the price was right. So I wrote the check.

 

I will try and post some samples in a couple of days.

 

Once again, thanks for all the advice.

 

-Nut