So whats the Best Value for a Digital Camera?

[M.D. Holloway]

I know it is a played out thread but technology has changed so much in the past few days. What would be the best digital camera for a guy that takes pics for work and family stuff, that wants to have the ability to capture many shots (above 250) with high resolution - like if I want to print something off in 8x10 and have it really crisp, has to be small, pocket size and have some zoom to it, mabe 3X to 8X. be able to download easily to my laptop. Doesn't go through batteries. Any ideas?

Oh ya, price range under $500.

[slodave]

I like my Canon PowerShot S550. It has 7.1 pixel resolution, fits in the pocket and has 3x Optical Zoom, 4x Digital Zoom. The Canon software works just fine for getting the images to a laptop.

Dave

[Moses]

Casio EX-Z750

7.2 Megapixels. Insanely friendly operating software. Even does decent video. I've used most of the others and this is my favorite. Smaller than a deck of cards, HUGE screen in back.

You can get it at Costco for $299

[M.D. Holloway]

Dave, $? pic #'s?

Moses - I likey...

[einreb]

very happy with my Lumix. This is the latest version of the model I have...

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz7/

I prefer a higher quality 12x lens over more 'megapixels'.

[Moses]

More Casio EX-Z750; Truly amazing software in this camera. I love mine.

[slodave]

Here is a link to the Canon website for the S550. Seems like they also have a few newer ones now as well. It is under $500. Mine was a gift. Don't know what the price was, but it seems to have come down a bit from 4 months ago.

Dave

[M.D. Holloway]

And there in lays the problem - the longer I wait to replace my 2.5pix Sony the better the technology and the lower the price but it also means the longer not having one. At some point a decision has to be made! So much performance compared to 1 year ago. You have to wonder what they will be like next year?

[FrayAdjacent911]

Do you want a little pocket size point and shoot, or a bigger, SLR like unit with a nice optical zoom lens and such?

[Jims5543]

Casio rocks. Trust me I am on my 3rd and not because the camera breaks. I broke 2 of them. First one I sat on (do not put them in your back pocket) and cracked the screen. The second my dad dropped in the mountains near Palm Springs and it stopped working. I now have a 3rd one. I purchased it from Sharper Image in the mall and for $50 more I got a no questions asked replacement policy. I think it came out to $350 with the policy.

I had a sony cybershot similar to the Exilim and it flat out sucked. Get the Casio and never look back.

http://exilim.casio.com/

[jorian]

I think that megapixels should take a back seat to optical zoom. 5 MP pictures are plenty big and sometimes difficult to email. I don't think you need more than that for most applications. There have been many times how ever, that I would have liked more zoom capability. My next camera will have at least 10X optical or lens interchangability.

Lube - technology/price just seems improve faster and faster. The only gtee you have is that whatever you buy will be yesterdays news in 90 days.

[RickM]

Casio just came out with a 10MP camera similar to the one Moses has. The reason for the high pix count is for 640x480 video. I'm sure it'll look very good.

After owning a few digitals one feature I found lacking on past point and shoot types is good close-up capabilities.

Also, I find that lag between pics is frustrating. This can many times be helped by a high speed card but the camaera must be designed to truly do a good job (Many times with an internal memory buffer) The most used format is SD ad they can be had for low $$$.

IMO, the larger the viewfinder LCD the better.

[Moses]

Originally posted by RickM
Casio just came out with a 10MP camera similar to the one Moses has. The reason for the high pix count is for 640x480 video. I'm sure it'll look very good.

The Ex-Z750 shoots 640 x 480 video. It looks pretty darn good, particularly outdoor video.

[RickM]

Originally posted by Moses
The Ex-Z750 shoots 640 x 480 video. It looks pretty darn good, particularly outdoor video.

No doubt. The higher pix continues to close the gap between dig cameras and tape camcorders. I'm all for it. Here again speed and storage capacity are particularly important.

I find I use my Dig camera more and more for video clips and leave my Sony TVR-900 (mini-DV camcorder) behind more and more.

[M.D. Holloway]

Up close pics would be important for work. Taking pics of busted parts is important in order for my failure mode data bank.

[RoninLB]

Consumer Reports

July '05
Nov '05
Jan '06
May '06

[WolfeMacleod]

Stick with a camera made by a CAMERA company, such as Olympus, Canon, etc. Except for Kodak. Yuk!
My Olympus C5500 Zoom takes great pictures with awesome macro abilities. My mother recently got a Canon 6mp model that's fantastic, expect the flash likes to shadow the macro shots when the ad-on macro lens is used.

[Moses]

Originally posted by LubeMaster77
Up close pics would be important for work. Taking pics of busted parts is important in order for my failure mode data bank.

How much macro do you need?

[austin552]

I got an Olympus last Xmas. Makes a great paper weight.

[nine_one_4]

I just bought a Canon SD450 because it's small and can make movies at 30 or 60 fps.