OT -- digital cameras

[Greg J]

My wife wants a nice digital camera, and I would like to get her one. I have been doing a pretty fair acting job on this, and she thinks that I don't think she needs one and don't want her to have one. Anyway, what should I look for in a digital camera... I know nothing about what to look for. What kind of cash are we talking about for a pretty decent one? I don't want to get a piece of junk. I guess I'm looking for the best bang for the buck.

Thanks.

[AncientPC]

I'm assuming you're talking about a beginner point and click type of digicam.

Your best bet is to follow the FatWallet hot deals forums.

I'm more partial to the Canon Powershot series since they're about the size of a credit card and an inch thick. I don't like the Nikon's as much because of their weird shape (it doesn't fit well into a jean's front pocket).

You want a decent megapixel size, but it really depends if you plan on printing out any pictures or not. If not, then a 2 - 3 megapixel will do just fine.

Also consider memory cards. I usually stay away from Sony products because I hate their memory stick, and prefer cameras that support CF cards since they're interchangeable with my laptop. Plus CF cards are pretty darn cheap, I got a 512MB for $20 after rebates about a month ago.

Megapixel isn't the only thing you should judge a camera by. Some of those cheapo cameras may have 4 - 5 megapixels, but with inferior lens you still have poor picture quality.

I wish I could help you more, but I'm not really a digicam / photographer enthusiast.

[CrazyN8]

I got a nice Kodak easy cam. from WallyWorld (Wal-Mart) around christmas time...nice cam./nice price!

fatwallet is a good start though!

[Greg J]

CF Card? Sorry I'm a total newb on this. 512 MB I guess it's a memory card of some sort that stores the pics.

[AncientPC]

Compact Flash.

[Greg J]

Some of you guys mentioned Fatwallet -- looked and found this. (http://fatwallet.pricegrabber.com/search_techspecs_full.php/masterid=3761050#description) Think this is decent, or is it a POS? IT's a better price than I expected... is it too good of a price? Thoughts?

Thanks much.

[AncientPC]

Here's a direct [url=http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/categories.php?catid=18]FW[/url, I hope the mods don't mind.

That doesn't seem too bad a price for the camera, the past few deals have listed the A95 at $245 - $260.

The A95 is a pretty good camera if size isn't an issue. Rhe fact that it uses 4xAA batteries will make it slightly on the bigger size but battery compatibility is definately a plus.

I personally would probably go for a Canon S500 for smaller size.

The Nikon Coolpix 5900 is a pretty good camera too.

[Eder]

After years of digital cameras screwing up after warranty period is over (Canons and Fugis) I finally bought a nice Motorola cell phone...I added additional memory to it...use it for pics/voice memos/contact manager/and of course communication...(it takes video as well but found that feature useless). It easily interfaces with my laptop, but ability to email my pics immediately is priceless...I use it for buisness mostly and find the fact that the ability to take pics anytime (its always in my pocket) outweighs a bit higher resolution that most printers dont support anyway.

Now if the damn thing stays reliable for a few years it will be perfect.

[PDX_David]

After a lot of shopping and getting and returning a couple of cameras. Here is what I suggest you look for in a camera:

3 to 4 magapixel will be good for printing or sending away to have prints at 8x10. You really don't need the 6 megapixel camera to take good pics. If you have a Costco in your area you can send them the pics via the internet and have them printed up by the next day. .18/pic 4x6. You cannot print them yourself for less than that. Well, I can't.

The next most important thing to look for is the optical zoom. The more of this you get the better. This is the zoom the lens does. The digital zoom is just that, digital. It is nice to have more but the pic can get pixelated and not look real good. The optical zoom is more important.

I got the Fujifilm Finepix 3100S. It has 6x optical and 3x digital. It is 4.1Megapixel and I got it around Xmas for 159. Really good find. It is not one that will fit in a pocket though.

Thats all I got... gl

[beernutz]

[ QUOTE ]
My wife wants a nice digital camera, and I would like to get her one. I have been doing a pretty fair acting job on this, and she thinks that I don't think she needs one and don't want her to have one. Anyway, what should I look for in a digital camera... I know nothing about what to look for. What kind of cash are we talking about for a pretty decent one? I don't want to get a piece of junk. I guess I'm looking for the best bang for the buck.

Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have a Panasonic FZ-20 ZLR (12x stabilized optical with f2.8 throughout) which is 5mp. I love the camera but it is really not a point-and-shooter. It all depends on what you want to spend and what you want to use the camera for. My next camera is going to be a DSLR, probably a Nikon D70 or the new Canon Digital Rebel XT, or a 20D and the sky is really the limit as far as cost when you start adding various lenses.

There is a pretty good review of a number of digital cameras as well as some basic post-processing techniques using Photoshop in this month's PC Magazine. Also check out the dpreview website and forums for some good camera info.