New digital cam...$500. (1 Viewer)

[Jack Gilvey]

Hi all,

I have a $500 gift card to blow at Best Buy and wanted input on what digital camera to get...I know nothing. I'm not too interested in incredibly high resolution, as these won't be blown up to print and such...just good overall image quality and easy interface to upload to the PC and to the web. I can go over the gift card budget if it's worth the jump. Here's BB's camera page if you'd take a look:


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....&type=category


Thanks!

 

[Elinor]

Even if you aren't a photo nut I would stick to the "good" names: Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Fuji, Sony, and mayyybbbeee Minolta. I personally would avoid HP, Casio, Panasonic ... they make good products but I have an old photographer's prejudice bec. they are not optical camera makers.

4 megapixels is a good resolution: files will not be too big, but will be good quality and you can always save at lower res. to fit more on a memory card.

Those that come with a docking station make it very easy to upload files, but it really isn't hard to plug in a USB cable to the computer and upload. You could go for a printer/camera combo where they communicate directly too.

EDIT: I would add Pentax to that "maybe" list ... they used to make awesome optical cameras, but seemed to drop the ball on digital til just recently.

 

[Jeremy Stockwell]

Jack,

Consider the Canon S1 IS. It's closer to $400 (or less) at retail, but has some nice features for a beginner.

Namely, the quick 10X optical zoom and image stabilization.

One of the complaints about this camera is that it's only capable of a 3.2 Megapixel image, but since ultra-resolution isn't a need for you...

The other main complaint is it's auto-focus problems in low light. The problem is mainly an issue on the long end of the zoom lens. There are ways around the problem, some suggested by our own resident camera guru, Man-Fai Wong. See his (and others') comments in THIS THREAD about the Canon S1 IS (specifically here and here).

JKS

 

[Chris McGyver]

You've probably already made your purchase, but anyone else that searches this post, here's a link to the best source for digital camera info:
dpreview (dot) com

It's what this site is to HT....
Invaluable!

(I'm a member there, but connected in no way)

They have forums for every manufacturer, and many model specific forums.

BTW
"Elinor" earlier made an uneducated statement regarding the Panasonic line of cameras.
Wrong....do some 'current' reading Elinor...
(this is the main reason I posted..misinformation upsets me)
Panasonic uses Leica lenses. (top of the line)
That's about the only thing that film and digital photography has in common.
The metering and techniques are of course similar, but what name is on the front of it shouldn't be a bias.

Do your research there, and make your own decision.

I've got several older (non AF) Nikon, Mamiya, Olympus 35mm cameras, but went for the Panasonic FZ-20.
It fit what I wanted, at the price I wanted to spend.
I think 5MP is what I'd shoot for, if I was you..

A SLR type digital camera is better, but way more expensive.

J.M.(educated)H.O.