Pick my Digital Camera <= $500

[RED_RAIN]

I want a digital camera.

I'm looking to spend around $500 or less.

I like the viewfinder option for sure.

It would be cool if it could do video too but it's mostly for pictures.

A ton of pictures will be going on the web or through e-mail so I need to be able to transfer easily.

I don't want something that is huge in size or is too heavy to bring anywhere. I also don't want something that will fall apart easily.

Point and shoot without having to set 5000 options is also something I'm looking for.

Okay photo pros, have at it.

Links with pictures/deals/reviews would be great.

[wacki]

Canon A95 - review (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_a95.asp) They are badass cameras. I've seen deals at $300-$400. They use CF media so it's cheap and you can insert the microdrive for multigigabyte storage. All you have to do to transfer is plug a cord from USB to camera.... no software needed.

Check em out, and check out the reviews!

[Tron]

Sony T1... No doubt... It's absolutely incredible.

Official Sony Description (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=DSCT1&amp;Dept=dcc_DIDigitalCameras&amp;C ategoryName=dcc_DIDigitalCameras&amp;INT=sstyle-dcc_DIDigitalCameras-feat_01-DSCT1)

[Senor Choppy]

I have the T1 and it's decent. The viewfinder is huge and the design is beautiful, but the flash is lacking and leads to blurry pictures due presumably to longer exposures.

[Tron]

Hmm, that sort of... Sucks. I've been dreaming about one of those for a while now. In other news... Hey! 1000 posts!

[wacki]

Ya, Sony isn't always what they are cracked up to be. If you are going to get a camera, go with a camera company.

[citanul]

I just picked up the W1.

It's quite nice.

If you like something in that class, which is the 5mp, pocket sized, the main competition there is the canon s500. Also in the exact same area is the Nikon Coolpix 5200.

Then again, it sounds like you quite possibly don't need/want the 5mp ability, so it's very possible you could get away with something smaller, possibly older, and definitely cheaper. All of those 3 cameras sell between 290 or so to 330 or so.

Check out dcresource.com and other similar sites before buying.

Happy hunting,

citanul

[sfer]

Get one that fits in your pocket. I bought a small Canon last year and my usage is much more than my other, non-digital camera just because of its size.

[Popinjay]

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10 (http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/fz10.html)

that is a really incredible camera for the price

[Fianchetto]

Get a Canon Powershot.

There are a couple of models: SD110, SD410, SD500 depending on how many megapixels you need, and price.

I got the SD110 (about $250), and a 512mb memory card ($150), and its pretty sweet. Lightweight and small, it can also take up to 3 minute videos with sound.

Its very easy to transfer photos to a PC, initially you have to load the software, but then you can just plug the camera in with a USB cable and click "transfer". Thats it. It downloads the pics to your PC creating folders for each date you took pictures.

You can do some more advanced settings with it, but so far I haven't messed with those much. Although it does have a cool panoramic feature I used where you can take a couple pictures of a landscape and "stich" them together.

Check out www.cnet.com (http://www.cnet.com) for reviews and prices.

[astroglide]

http://www.powershot.com/ most notably the S* (e.g. S60) subcompacts.

for reviews see dpreview.com

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.powershot.com/ most notably the S* (e.g. S60) subcompacts.

for reviews see dpreview.com

[/ QUOTE ]

Ya, I switch my vote to the powershot S series as well. When I bought my powershot A80 the resolution wasn't as good as I wanted it to be on the powershots S*. Now that the powershot S* are 4+ megapixels their compact size would make it a better choice. Having a camera that fits in your pocket is soooooooo nice.

Damn you astroglide! You always have the right answers!

[derick]

RED RAIN,

Thanks for helping me with my poker.
I know more about photography than I do about poker.

I have a Canon Powershot G5. It's my constant companion. It takes fabulous pictures has a flip out viewfinder and does video's as well. You can easily transfer pictures out through a USB connector or CF card reader. I take a couple thousand pictures a month. Highly recommended. You can use it as a point and shoot or have full manual control. It's a bit big and slightly more than $500 so it might be more camera than you want but this is a good thing if your interest in photography grows. The G5 has been recently replaced by the G6. The G6 is about $700.

You can pick up a used G6 for $489 here:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productList&amp;A=buyUsed&amp;Q=347912


A good site for learning about photography is http://www.photo.net

A place that won't scam you when you buy mailorder is http://www.bhphoto.com

derick

[mmbt0ne]

My mom just got this (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009VS6P/qid=1099427816/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1_etk-photo/102-9622981-1092925?v=glance&amp;s=photo&amp;n=502394) camera. It's $519 though, and I know that's technically out of your range, but if size isn't a huge factor for you, I love this one. Plus, it has some pretty nifty features like how it can take 5 pics in 1 sec just by holding down the button. And, if you turn the resolution down to 1, 2 or 3 MP you can capture 40 frames in a second. I don't know how much use this will be to you, but it was awesome to take paintball action-shots with.

[RED_RAIN]

I've seen this S series and have watched this for awhile. I do like them. Anyone have actual apperance? Does this fit in a pocket?

I looked at some of the super compacts but they just all seem to have reviews that aren't that great and/or the features.

Looking at:

S60: $368.89
S70: $433.89

I also gotta figure in batteries, case, memory, etc. How much and what do I need to get that doesn't come with it? I'd like to figure this into my overall price.

[derick]

Get a big CF card for memory.

If you're buying a 5 Mega pixel camera like a G5.
Buy a 1 Gig Sandisk Ultra.
The G5's rechargeable litium ion batteries are good for about 300 shots.
A 1 Gig CF card will hold about 300 shots.

This will let you shoot all day and not worry about batteries or memory.

You can pick up aftermarket batteries for the G5 on Ebay for $20.

[astroglide]

i use a pentax optio s because i wouldn't carry anything else. it fits in an altoids tin and takes fine pics for web/mail/slideshows. not as good as the s50 was when i bought it, but certainly better than the picture in my head because i didn't have a camera. i know i'm a big stickler about it though so i wouldn't recommend it over the sXX canons unless somebody hated carrying things.

it's like a small brick size. it can be pocketed but you wouldn't want to walk around with it unless you were headed somewhere to take pictures. batteries and case are pretty much up to you, and those take CF which isn't that expensive at all.

[RED_RAIN]

Between the:

S60: $368.89
S70: $433.89

Is the S70 worth the extra money? Is it just overkill on features that I won't really use when I'm not going to be really into printing muchless do I have an awesome printer (Epson Stylus Photo 820)?

[astroglide]

http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/37330 - that's cheap

[Popinjay]

eh good deal on a not so good camera. i wouldn't get the ELPH series, they are small but not nearly that small anymore (compared to the Pentax Optios of the world) and dont have any advantage in image quality over their smaller brethren. If you want small, go real small. If you want quality, get the Panasonic I listed above.

[Popinjay]

[ QUOTE ]
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10 (http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/fz10.html)

that is a really incredible camera for the price

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe the FZ20 is out, I change my recommendation to that.

[astroglide]

my error. i thought that was the s50, not the s500.

[RED_RAIN]

Anyone know a store that sells the S60? Best Buy?

[astroglide]

shopper.com to check for prices, but ONLY BUY FROM MAJOR STORES. if you buy elsewhere you can often get asian versions of the camera with no effective warranty and other bad things. buy.com, amazon.com, newegg, dell, insight, cdw, pcnation should all be ok.

[shant]

[ QUOTE ]
Sony T1... No doubt... It's absolutely incredible.

Official Sony Description (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=DSCT1&amp;Dept=dcc_DIDigitalCameras&amp;C ategoryName=dcc_DIDigitalCameras&amp;INT=sstyle-dcc_DIDigitalCameras-feat_01-DSCT1)

[/ QUOTE ]

I have to second this one. My friend has it, awesome camera.

[johnnycakes]

I just went through the camera buying process.

Go Here. (http://www.steves-digicams.com/best_cameras.html)

Scroll down to "5-7 Megapixel Consumer"
This is the list you need to consider.
I ended up getting the Sony P150. It gave me the most bang (megapixels) for the buck and size. Size is very important. If you can't put it in your pocket, you're going to leave it at home.

My second choice was the Casio Exilim EX-Z55. It's LCD is huge (2.5").

[dogsballs]

Canon Powershots are nice but have terrible lag beteween depressing the button and image capture - almost a second.

I was sold on them previously but that really pissed me off - you never get a good even semi-action shot.

I'm now going for a Sony DSC-W1, cos it has nice fast response.review here (http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/w1.html) ...the black version looks cool too. Note the carl zeiss lens too.

[dogsballs]

you should compile a list of candidates according to the criteria you're after. Then maybe compare sample images from teh review sites.

dpreview.com and steve's site (in some links here) are the best places for reviews.

[mikeyvegas]

S70 is the bomb. I have an A95 and I like, but if I had to do it again I'd get the S70. Also the S500 is alright if you like smaller cameras.

If you go to dell.com and use the code:



Q4K3ZF?BS2FJ0R

You can get it for...

$379.15 shipped + tax if you state forces it.


Other camera deals can be found on the front page of Gotapex.com.

[BusterStacks]

the W1 walks all over the T1. I used to sell these cameras and about the only thing cool about the T1 is the looks. Inadequate zoom and crappy battery life quickly negated that for me.

[hoyaboy1]

I'm a student looking to pick up a very compact camera before I go to Spain for a semester. I'm not a particularly good photographer, so 99% of viewing will be on my computer. I also plan to ask for the camera as a gift, so I can't go for anything above $300 or so.

I was looking at the Sony W1, but that might be overkill for me. How is the Canon SD200?

[dogsballs]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm a student looking to pick up a very compact camera before I go to Spain for a semester. I'm not a particularly good photographer, so 99% of viewing will be on my computer. I also plan to ask for the camera as a gift, so I can't go for anything above $300 or so.

I was looking at the Sony W1, but that might be overkill for me. How is the Canon SD200?

[/ QUOTE ]


All the canons are solid, as far as I know. The previous two I had were great - except for the really annoying pause (for most of a second) between button pressing and taking of the picture. That's inherent with canon; their major flaw. That just got to me after missing so many action shots (trying to get windsurfers etc in maui) and candid, fleeting moment type shots that are sometimes so good.

Definitely go to dpreview.com and http://www.steves-digicams.com/

Your answer should be within those two review sites.

There are so many options for digital cameras; almost all will do a reasonable job as long as you're not a pro or specifically want something super special, so you can almost just pin the donkey if you really can't decide.

I chose the sony W1 cos I wanted good response time and all the other features were there that I wanted (most have more features than the average joe like me could want). (and it got great reviews).

If you want to get fancy, make sure to get one with manual setting possibilities, but I doubt it from your description.

[RED_RAIN]

I have decided to go with Canon Powershot S70 (http://www.electrodiscounts.com/digital/discr25159.htm?Chksource=cnet) for $414.94 shipped. (Anyone shop here before?)

I now need to get a compact flash card (any suggestions, looking for a 512 MB). I also will probably want an extra set of rechargeable batteries, lens brush, and a carrying bag. Missing anything? Anyone have preferences on above?

[astroglide]

no i haven't shopped there and i wouldn't buy a digital camera from anywhere that isn't HUGE because of the high likelihood of gray market/rebadged other models/unwaranteed asian cameras. 1gb of cf is cheap too. lexar is a good brand for that.