Digital Camera Suggestions - $500 Budget (1 Viewer)

The Canon PowerShot S400 Digital ELPH is looking good, and if I decide on getting that, I'm probably going to wait for the S410 upgrade that comes out in late April. $500 also has to cover memory, and I'm aiming towards either 256MB or 512MB. My parents may help out with the memory, so $600 would probably be max, but I'm going for $500 to be safe. Any suggestions?

The Nikon Coolpix 5700 now has a $150 rebate. It is a 5 megapixel camera with a 8x zoom. Very nice camera. We just ordered one for work. You can get it for $664 at Buydig.com with no tax or shipping.
After rebate that's $514. A great price for a great camera.

I just got the S400 new from Amazon for

Just picked up a Sony DSC-T1 for < $450. Memory will put you just north of your budget (damn Sony's prices) but you can't beat the performance of such a small camera.

I just picked up the Canon A80 from Amazon for 324.00 (see the "Deals" section of HTF). Add 256MB for ~50.00 and you are way under budget for a great camera.

Check DPReview.Com

Got my wife the Nikon Coolpix 4300 and a 128 Mb CF card for right at $350 after rebates. It is a sweet 4MP camera.

What is important to you other than cost?

I just picked up a Panasonic FZ10 which MSRPs for $600, so you should be able to find it cheaper. The keypoints for this camera is:

4.0 Megapixel
12X Optical Zoom
Image Stablization
Full manual settings
SD Memory
Proprietary Rechargeable Li-ion battery
Larger than most models
No RAW picture quality mode
Strengths are towards outdoor photogrphy

The main thing for high zoom cameras is if you don't have image stabilization, a lot of pictures will end up blurry due to camera shake. Not a whole lot of cameras right now have image stablization. Canon just came out with a 3.0 MP one, but it's gotten some bad reviews for image quality. Minolta makes one that is more expensive, and maybe some older models have it.

There's also the older Panasonic FZ1 or FZ2, which is a 2.0 MP version with the same lens. The FZ2 is actually just a firmware upgraded version of the FZ1 to add manual controls and some other stuff. Some guys have the firmware online that you can use to upgrade the FZ1.

Anyways, you really need to give more information on what you want the camera for, size requirements, MPixel requirements, zoom requirements, etc.

I'm looking for a pocket-sized point-and-shoot with at least 3X zoom, and I think 4MP is good enough for me. This will be used indoors and outdoors. Image stabilization would be nice, but not necessary.

I 2nd the 5700 nikon

The Olympus 5060 will stomp all of the cameras recommended so far.

Steve's Digicams gave it a rave review, and who knows, I may be able to stretch my budget a bit further. How much did you get it for, Drew?

I got my wife a Canon Digital Elph 2 megapixel last year and we love it. The most important things on any camera, digital or film, are the optics, and Canon does a good job with that. Plus the small size is perfect for my wife who can slip the camrea in her purse. For more critical photography I pull out my old AE-1 Program SLR.

I just got the Canon S410 last week. It is an awesome camera. The images are outstanding, and you won't find a better mini digital camera. Canon makes great lenses so you won't go wrong with any canon. The question is, do you want something you can stick in your pocket or do you not care? I wanted something I could take with me anywhere I went, with 3x zoom and rechargeable batteries.

However, there is no advantage to getting the s410 over the s400 as the only real difference is the direct print feature which allows you to hook the camera up to select canon printers directly. No use to me. Get the s400 online and save $100.

Then why don't you return it and get the S400 and save $100 yourself? Amazon has the S410 going for $399 and the S400 for $349, did you find a reliable place that has it for cheaper?

I've almost come to a decision, and now I need your help again. I can't decide between the Canon A80 and the S410. Can anyone steer me in either direction?

Thomas,

I could be wrong, but I think the A80 offers more manual modes over the S410. I am not familiar with the S410 at all, but my brother owns the A80 and absolutley loves it. It takes great shots, has almost unlimited functionallity, and is fairly light despite being larger in dimensions than the S410. For the record, I own a Canon 2MP camera (the A40) from a couple of years ago. I find the A80 to be quite a good jump in quality over my older A40.

Hope this all helps.

I own the S400 and I chose it over the A80 for the size. I am more of a point and shoot type guy, but the S400 does provide quite a bit of manual adjustments if you want more control. In the end, I felt the A80 slightly edged the S400 in picture quality, but with Automatic point and shoot I couldn't really see a difference, so I went with the S400 mainly because it was more portable. I honestly don't think you could go wrong with either. I am a big fan of Canon's optics.