need digital camera purchasing advice

ghost_user_name · April 10, 2003 2:21AM

I'm looking at getting a consumer-level digital camera very soon. I don't own any digital camera at the moment; so, I'm just looking for something nice that will last me a while that isn't too expensive.

What are your recommendations for one around or under US$300?

What kind of memory storage do you recommend?

Oh, and I don't really care about the whole "record video and sound" on the digital cameras. I'll leave that to my video camera.

Thanks in advance.

formerlurker · April 10, 2003 2:35AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Brad

I'm looking at getting a consumer-level digital camera very soon. I don't own any digital camera at the moment; so, I'm just looking for something nice that will last me a while that isn't too expensive.

What are your recommendations for one around or under US$300?

What kind of memory storage do you recommend?

Oh, and I don't really care about the whole "record video and sound" on the digital cameras. I'll leave that to my video camera.

Thanks in advance.

Great timing, Brad. I just finished some extensive research looking for MY next camera (which will be my 7th digital camera).

The Canon PowerShot A70 is by far the frontrunner right now. Takes 4 AA batteries (an essential in my book). Best bevvy of manual settings in its price range by far. Can be found from discounters right at that magic $300 price point.

ghost_user_name · April 10, 2003 3:09AM

Thanks FormerLurker.

I've also heard good things about the Canon Digital Elph S200.

Anyone with thoughts on this or the one FL mentioned?

low-fi · April 10, 2003 3:55AM

I have got a DSC-P71, and have been mildly impressed with it - though not outstanding. This is probably due to the fact I am used to a Nikon SLR, where every thing is responsive. On the P71, it is all a bit slow - this may be a problem with all consumer level digital cameras, I'm not sure.

I'd rate this camera as "OK" in my books for use and handling, but excellent in picture quality.

low-fi

eugene · April 10, 2003 5:59AM

My sister, who is by no means a photo-hobbyist, took these pics with a Canon Digital Elph S330:

San Francisco

Hills

Any of the current 2+ megapixel Canons with optical zoom should be great.

gobble gobble · April 10, 2003 6:19AM

Brad,

Let me second what Eugene says - the Canon Elph line is spectacular. I also own the S330. With 3x optical zoom and 2 megapixels - it kicks butt. Best yet, it's small enough that you can slide it into your pocket. It's also very rugged and I've lugged mine all over India. I'll buy an S400 as soon as I can get Dell to take my credit card (no, I don't have bad credit - Dell is screwing up).

In terms of memory I found with my S330 that a 128Mb CF Type I card can take 120-140 photos at maximum resolution and minimal compression. Depending on how trigger happy you are, that's about two days of touring for me. From the one response I got to my thread yesterday in the Digital Hub section (come on people!), I understand that you'll also want to look for a card that writes relatively quickly in order to minimize downtime between shots, but that's a lesser factor for a 2-megapixel camera I think.

You'll also want to consider a second battery.

Check out Steve's Digicams for a comprehensive review of anything you decide to buy.

Best of luck and let us know what you go with.

GG

p.s. for once I get to help Brad out! Yeah!

trick fall · April 10, 2003 7:30AM

I also enjoy the Sony P71. One thing I've noticed compared to other cameras I've owned is that the Sony has a very strong flash with three level settings. Of course I haven't tried a digital camera yet that beats my Yashica T4 Super.

der kopf · April 10, 2003 7:48AM

My piece of advice: I have a HP Photosmart 630 or something, and I wouldn't recommend it. I get 2.1 MP and 3 times optical zoom (and some digital, which I never use). It uses 4 AA batteries. It cost me about 300 euro, so it should be close to half of that in the US.

First off: it's a bit too big for what it is. It does weigh something in your pocket, if you get it in there. If you're going for a compact digital camera, realize that size DOES matter. I seriously covet an elph-sized camera.

Then, the image quality is not superb. It is good though, I'm sure you can take plenty of nice pictures with it, and I have, but I'm not 100% satisfied. I did expect it to be a bit better. I think my main beef is graininess in less than perfectly sunny conditions. The darker you go, the grainier, as with all digital cameras, probably, but this is a bit too much to my liking.

The options are fairly limited, which probably is no surprise. You can choose between 2 flash modes (well, off - on - autosensing - redeye), which is rather good. But other than that... you can rotate your pictures in the camera, which... well, for computer-savvy hipsters like ourselves, this is utterly redundant.

You can make 30 second movies in pretty low resolution without sound. It's a nice feature to have, but not a dealmaker/breaker. I guess it can come in handy on occasions, when you don't have a vidcam present.

The power management is complete crap. I pop in fresh batteries and it indicates about 50%. Then it just quits on me. Other times, I can go on for days with 10% indicated. Definately a big minus for this camera.

My main beef: the memory used is SD-card, which is easily the most expensive out there, and apparently most breakable too. I've had two cards act up on me, and I've had this camera for 4 months or something. Definitely steer clear of SD-card. Even if CF-cards break on you as fast, then still they're plenty cheaper.

Ah well. I do get nice and lots of pictures out of this camera, and I have keep Photoshop around to phase out any issues my camera or may skills may have caused.

This info... it might contain some points you hadn't considered before.

trick fall · April 10, 2003 7:52AM

I forgot to mention that the battery life in the Sony seems really good and you can use regular old AA in a pinch. They don't last long, but they do come in handy.

thegelding · April 10, 2003 10:24AM

i like a camera that feels like a camera (no pocket sized, postage stamp sized things for me)...the canon looks good...i like the sony body size of the dsc-75 and dsc-85 (i have the 85, but out of B's price range...and they are being discontinued i think for a new model)....

see here if you trust ebay:

one

two

g

bioflavonoid · April 10, 2003 7:32PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Brad

Thanks FormerLurker.

I've also heard good things about the Canon Digital Elph S200.

Anyone with thoughts on this or the one FL mentioned?

I have the PowerShot S230 Digital Elph.... pretty sweet camera.

I'm very satisfied with it. I'm sure the S200 is good as well.

eugene · April 10, 2003 11:40PM

der Kopf, what kind of AA batteries are you using? Alkalines and digital cameras don't mix for example. They don't maintain constant voltage throughout the life of the battery.

formerlurker · April 10, 2003 11:53PM

I really like the Elph size and form-factor but the new PowerShot A70 won out for 3 big reasons:

1. An order of magnitude more manual settings available than anything else in its class.

2. Uses 4 AA batteries. I currently have 10 NiMH rechargable AAs and a charger, and I like being able to get another hour or so in a pinch with off-the-shelf Energizers.

3. Has a lens adaptor system. For another $129 or so, you can add an additional 2.5x optical zoom. I currenly have a Fuji with 6x optical zoom and I'm hooked 8)

ghost_user_name · April 11, 2003 1:10AM

Thanks for the advice, guys.

I settled on the S200 and splurged and got a 256 MB CF card.

Whoo!

shawnpatrickjoyce · April 11, 2003 1:14AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Brad

Thanks for the advice, guys.

I settled on the S200 and splurged and got a 256 MB CF card.

Whoo!

It's a great camera.

and I dropped it.

and it still works!

paul · April 11, 2003 2:04AM

can you post battery life?

I have an S100 (2 years old, but still works) and I dropped it as well

battery life with LCD is like 10 pics or so with flash (plus standby time etc... so like 30-40 min) with the lcd it lasts 10 minutes and that is being generous... however I am very pleased with the shots it has taken... although the zoom doesn't want to work as it should after I dropped it over the summer... Canon said I should buy a new battery... not a bad investment esp if my upgrade will be an Elph as well (which I think it will be)... Just want to gauge what I should be aiming for in terms of battery life if I got a new one... thanks!

der kopf · April 11, 2003 4:58AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Eugene

der Kopf, what kind of AA batteries are you using? Alkalines and digital cameras don't mix for example. They don't maintain constant voltage throughout the life of the battery.

I'm using standard flavour nickel-cadmium rechargables. Someone has pointed out to me that I should go for some more powerful than the 500 mA type I have. So that might account for something.

eugene · April 11, 2003 6:54AM

Quote:

Originally posted by der Kopf

I'm using standard flavour nickel-cadmium rechargables. Someone has pointed out to me that I should go for some more powerful than the 500 mA type I have. So that might account for something.

Okay...

Use NiMH AA batteries. 2000 mAh cells should be easy to find most places. Sanyo just came out with 2100 mAh AAs as well.

need digital camera purchasing advice

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