digital camera?

[dhaines]

Any recommendations for a digital camera, let's say under $500? What are you guys using? May pick one up after the holidays.

[Z-man]

You can get a good 2.1 megapixel camera for under $300.00.

I have a three year old Fujifilm 1.3 megapix and it still works great!

If you're just going to post pictures on the 'net, then even a 1.3 megapix camera is fine. Just make sure you can make adjustments in resolution, like 640x480 to 1280x960.

Click on my car below: my pelican photo gallery has pics from my 1.3 digi camera, to give you an idea. The pictures are 640x480.

Also: I recommend staying away from the Sony cameras: they use their own proprietary 'memory stick.' Other manufacturers that use the Smart Media card (and other media types) are little more flexible in that more companies product them. (Read: competition brings the price down!)

-Zoltan.
Click for more:

[wckrause]

Olympus 2040 Zoom 2.1 MP You can probably find for $350 -$400.

Very bright lens works great in low light. USB port with built in Windows 2000 driver.

[Kahuna]

2 mp is all you really need for 99% of the time some good choices;

• Nikon 775
• Nikon 885
• Canon S110
• Canon G1

With digicams small is beautiful as is Li batteries, compact fash cards are preferred over memory stick, 3 optical zoom min.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

I have a Nikon Coolpix 900-something, and though it's more expensive than what you're looking for, it does suggest something to consider when you shop: the Coolpix has a small monitor screen that is _very_ hard to read in sunlight. In really bright light, you have no idea what you're looking at. (It's supposed to function both as a viewfinder and as a display of what you've just shot.)

Stephan

[APKhaos]

Optical zoom is clean, digital zoom tends to reduce sharpness. I'm wondering just how much optical zoom is needed for decent track shots - Jack O probably knows?
The other question is how many Megapixels you really need. Most things I've read suggest 2Mp with print OK at 4*6, but you need 4Mp to print 8*10. Less than 2Mp is all you need for on-screen resolution.

[Reg]

My Kodak takes great 2.1 pictures, and is so simple I have not even looked at the instructions.

[82SC]

i ordered a Canon S300 for 270.00
check cnet for reviews of cameras

seach archives...I posted a trick to save 50% on dig cameras this holiday season...I think the title was "christmas shopping advise"

[patalive]

Digital Photography Review site offers some the best independent reviews of Digicams - See
http://www.dpreview.com/
-
The buyers guide is quite good.
-
In your shoes, I would go for the Nikon 775. It's very small but good reviews. Some of the newer Olympus models have the equivalent of a f1.8 lens - very fast for a digital camera. Your indoor flash will go faster with this lens.
-
Note, that although you save money buying a camera with less megapixels, the more data you pack into each picture, the more flexability you have for cropping and enlarging. So if you plan to do any photo editing at all, bite the bullet and get more megapixels than you were planning. (I have some shots of my car on the Summit Point track, that I purchased from a pro - each shot is over 7 megs! With the computer, I can zoom in to see my instructor's eyes are closed! (hopefully just blinking ).
-
Chuck

[don911]

I just bought the minolta S304 for my sister and brother in law. Great camera for the money. 3MP's, 16meg card, usb, etc....
$399 at Camera world in oregon. Cheaper at other internet camera sites.

[scedmonds]

I had my own photo business for a number of years (small but pro, none-the-less!). I went with an Olympus 500-DL about five years ago for my first digital (800KB image). It took GREAT pics that made terrific 5x7 prints on a decent HP DeskJet.

You can find a refurb'ed 500- or 600-DL for less than $300.

I upgraded to an Olympus 3040 about 3 months ago (3MB image; $700 is what I paid), and it's amazing. Image quality is stunning, and it, like the 500-DL, is comfortable for an old hand 35mm SLR photog.

My brother-in-law just bought a refurbed 3040 on eBay (with warranty) for $400 (!).

I'm a big Olympus fan because of the image quality and ease of getting pix onto the PC (USB connection rocks!).

Cheers!

C.

[gr8fl4porsche]

I also use the Olympus 3040, paid $ 800.00 last year - now on ebay for around $600.00 I believe. 3.34 megapixels.

Go for the most mp for the buck.
Get the most memory you can afford, 128mb is good.

The clarity on the high mp cameras is outstanding,
sometimes I think my digi takes better pics than my SLR
depending on the light and object.

[78silversc]

I Just purchased a Canon A20, to capture the building of a new inground pool. It was around $350.00. I am exptremely happy with it, and would recommend it highly. As long as you don't use the LCD screen to compose pictures, and don't use the largest image resolution, you get pretty good battery life too. I have not upgraded the memory card and only have 8MB. But as I said with a smaller resolution it is good for 20 + pics.
When I was researching cameras I used this website
http://www.dpreview.com/
it was very helpful and has professional review as well as owner reviews, sample pics etc.
Good luck

[78silversc]

I Just purchased a Canon A20, to capture the building of a new inground pool. It was around $350.00. I am exptremely happy with it, and would recommend it highly. As long as you don't use the LCD screen to compose pictures, and don't use the largest image resolution, you get pretty good battery life too. I have not upgraded the memory card and only have 8MB. But as I said with a smaller resolution it is good for 20 + pics.
When I was researching cameras I used this website
http://www.dpreview.com/
it was very helpful and has professional review as well as owner reviews, sample pics etc.
Good luck

[Rollins]

Look on Ebay. I'd go for the Sony F707 or the CD200/300. The CD200 uses mini CD's that hold something like 160mb, and they are considerably cheaper than the memory cards. I personally have a Sony Cybershot camera that I am selling. It's got a carrying case, and 4 memory sticks plus the basics. If you're interested then email me at deleted and we can work out a deal. I am selling it for considerably less than the $500 max.
-Tim

[pjv911]

The best camera for the money is the olympus 3000. Aside from 3.34 megapixel it also does video. Its going for under $500.00 Forget about ebay for a camera they are holding value to much. Just get a new one with a warrentee. Go with olympus. I have done days of research on digital camera`s and consistanly found the olympus 3000 to be by far the best for under $700.00. And best part is ist only $475.00 here on long island. Oh and one more thing stay away from the factory refurbished models. If you want a pic sample just send me a email with request but you better have a good modem connection.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/read_opinions.asp?prodkey=oly_c3000z

[osidak]

I would agree about the olympus c3000. I bought mine labor day weekend and love it. great picture quality. Uses smart media which can be had super cheap (64meg card =$20 and will hold 199 photo's at 5x7 size)

Paid $499 for it and got 18 month interest free so it nice and cheap. It comes with a 8mb card (the only down side) and as the previous person stated before does quicktime movies. Oh has many of the functions of a SLR or can be totally point and shoot. You can also purchase lens adapters for the camera to put a telephoto or wide angle lens or even lens filters. This camera has replaced my SLR for all intent and purposes.

I bought mine new but why would you stay away from factory refurbished?

osidak

[Gary J. Spinella]

I own a Sony DSC- S30 which is no longer made. What swayed me to the Sony was it's ability to take great close-up's and the outstanding battery life since it uses a camcorder battery. The battery life/power is a huge benefit when your charger isn't close by. Also, I can't see purchasing a camera with 3.0+ megapixels if your not going to print/enlarge your photo's. Actually around 1.0 megapixel gives great results for most applications, i.e e-mail.etc.

[pjv911]

Factory refurbished is normally onlt 10% cheaper and has been tampered with. I think new is a better deal.

[Don Plumley]

I went digital this past January. Lots of research. Check out:
http://www.steves-digicams.com It is a well-rated independent site. Good camera reviews - very, very detailed, lots of pics and evaluation of features. They also have a list of links to every other site out there:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/digresources.html

I agree that 2mp is reasonable enough for web posting and reprints up to 5x7. 3.3mp let's you do 8x10, but you can dial it down to save space. I like that option.

One important consideration is batteries. These guys eat them, especially when using the LCD to review or frame pics. So a rechargeable is a must. Now here is the rub. Some cameras include them, some don't. There are inexpensive AA recharge kits (again, look at the resource list above to learn more about batteries than you ever wanted to know). Most, if not many of the cameras use a proprietary size/shape rechargeable battery. Often the more expensive models do not - which gives you important flexibility.

For example, I selected the Nikon 880 primarily for the legendary Nikon optics, but also because the Nikon rechargeable battery is the same as a standard 2CR5 camera battery. So if I'm out in the field taking pics, and either run out of juice or forget to recharge, I can drop in a spare regular disposable battery, or walk over to any film counter and buy same.

I also opted for a Lexar brand CF card - mainly because it has a very compact USB reader that allows the card to be treated like a disk drive. This makes grabbing the images off the card very easy. I've never "connected the camera" directly to my PC, which means one less proprietary software package to muck up the works.

Finally, get and learn to use a decent photo editing package (like Paint Shop Pro). Simple adjustments to contrast, color balance and sharpness makes a dramatic difference in image quality. For example, when someone wears a hat, I can slightly digitally enhance the portion of the face under the hat - and you can see their face. Of course, the same technique could be applied to interior shots of your Car

They are certainly a lot of fun and are great for instant gratification. If I were going to get a 2mp for quick snaps, I like the Nikon 775 as well as some of the Olympus models, though I don't like the Smarted memory card in the Olympus. But to each their own.

Have Fun!

Don