Digital Cameras

Corkie Monster · 12-05-2002, 05:11 PM

I'm in the market for a digital camera. Somewhere in the $250 to $300 price range. I noticed alot of you have them, and was wondering what would be a good camera for this price and where the good places to buy them in the Portland area........Thankyou

The Fishing Geek · 12-05-2002, 06:07 PM

Canon A40 can be had for between $250 and $300. Highly rated, great camera for the money.

blacktail · 12-05-2002, 06:23 PM

I just bough one in that price range. After a lot of research, I had it narrowed down to the Canon A40, Fuji 2650 and Nikon Coolpix 2500.

I almost bought the A40, but ended up with the Nikon for a couple reasons:

Smaller size - (fits in vest easier)
Comes with rechargeable battery and charger

I paid $279 for it at Kit's Cameras in the Clackamas Promenade, but also immediatlely upgraded to a bigger card for an extra $50.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the three I listed.

Good luck,
Mike

WaterDog · 12-05-2002, 08:00 PM

For what its worth, I just bought a fuji 2650 (2.0 Megepixel) at compusa. $199 plus I got a free 64Meg xd card to go with it. It comes with a 16meg card so now I can about 125 pics at the highest resolution. So far the camera seems to work well and my test pics look great. :smile:

sinker · 12-06-2002, 02:49 AM

The best ones to get are the ones made my camera companies. Such as the above mentioned Nikon, Canon, Fuji, don't forget Olympus, they take really nice pics too.

Here's the best site out there. They have a ton of sample pics. Hate to pay their server costs. [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img]
http://www.dpreview.com/

Born to Fish · 12-06-2002, 04:17 AM

test

TheRogue · 12-06-2002, 05:11 AM

I have a Sony DSC-P51. Great camera, paid $249 for it at CameraWorld. Uses Sony proprietary memory, so that is an issue, although it is available everywhere.

The majority of us don't need anything more than 2.0 megapixels. That will do a 5x7 photo with no problem, and little pixelation up to 8x10, although you can see it.

Optical zoom is much more important than digital zoom. Optical bring your view closer, digital simply zooms in upon the view (did that make sense??)

Make sure you get at least a 32MB card....64 would be better, and 128 is best. You can take LOTS of pictures that way, and just leave your camera on the highest resolution setting. You can resize later on your PC.

Also important is lots of batteries, I use recharge-ables.

TR

Chukrchaser · 12-06-2002, 07:12 AM

Do look at Olympus -- some times more for the money -- they have come a long way since they were the "bargain basement 110" -- watch the sales -- and like Rogue said -- ALWAYS bring extra batteries -- the video clip feature sucks power big time. Generally the sales give a free card (and sometimes a free case) instead of lower price -- they are pretty much all sold at "minimum retails" that are "suggested " by the manufacturer. Watch Office MAX and Office Depot for sales as well as the ususal -- they are very competitive--

As for the Megapixels -- anything over 2.0 is plenty for a standard 4X6 type print. And the Optical vs. Digital debate -- Optical enlarges the picture -- Digital enlarges the dots that make the picture. So, if the digital zoom is too great and the print is too large then you get more pixelation -- grainy - looking photos.

By the way HP has a 2.0 for $149 now that may be worth looking at---- it's the 320. The Olympus 3020 is another great camera -- but not real compact.

Corkie Monster · 12-06-2002, 08:33 AM

Hey Peoples, another ?? for ya. Do most of these cameras you guys are talking about come with everything you need to hook up to your computer. Do you have to buy alot of extra stuff to actually use it? :shocked:

The Fishing Geek · 12-06-2002, 08:38 AM

They all come with what you need to take pictures and hook up your camera (USB cable and software) to get those pictures into your WinPC/Mac.

Corkie Monster · 12-06-2002, 08:58 AM

HP Photo SMART -C 20 & CABLES FOR PC & VCR - 20MB chip & pc program - works great $150.00 or trade

How does this deal sound?

Hey thanks for all the help sofar guy's. Really appreciate it. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

The Fishing Geek · 12-06-2002, 09:23 AM

Most of the reviews that I have read for the HP cameras haven't been all that great. I would echo the suggestion to stay with cameras that come from companies that make cameras as a business, like Nikon, Fuji, Canon, Olympus, etc.

If you can, spend that extra money and get yourself in the $250 range like that aforementioned Canon. You won't be disappointed.

sinker · 12-06-2002, 01:30 PM

I made the mistake of buying an HP. Outside it takes nice pics for what it is. Inside forget it. The flash is too dark. Takes forever to focus and actually take the pic after you push the shutter button. Not to mention it eats batteries like it's going out of style. I was getting 4 or 5 shots with alkaline batteries. Switched to the Nihm's and got some more. My brother has the Olympus 2050 and has taken over 200 pics on the same batteries it came with.

I have the 1.3megapixel.

Corkie Monster · 12-06-2002, 01:55 PM

Well, I bought one. I got the Nikon Cool Pix 2500 2.0 MP with optical zoom. Rechargable battery pack and USB card reader with 4 year protection plan. Grand total $355.97. Seemed like a good deal (I hope). I drilled the guy at Best Buy pretty good on questions. Now I have to figure out how to use it. Thanks again for the help.

The Fishing Geek · 12-06-2002, 03:53 PM

Somewhat related...I found a company that has a good price on Duracell NiMH 1800mAh AA's. If you buy 10 or more then are 84 cents each. The company is here. Just do a search for item number 58-7740. Great price for 1800 mAh NiMH batteries.

If you need a set with charger go to Big Lots. Last time I was there you could get 6 AA's, 2 AAA's, a couple C adaptors, a couple D adaptors, and a 4 hour charger for $12.99. I picked up two last time, but now I'm just going to buy the batteries. They're more expensive to start out with than the alkalines but in the long run they are MUCH better.

Play'n Snooky · 12-06-2002, 07:29 PM

Really all depends on what picture quality you are looking for. We bought the Canon S30, takes amazing pictures of our 5 month old son that are printable to 8x10 or even 11x13. It's a 3.2 MP with 3X optical. We paid $500 now they are out there for $450. Comes with all cords and 16MB card. Hooks upto the TV (with provided cable), plays a slide show of pics, hooks up to the VCR and your slide show can be recored on VHS. Again, all depends on what your looking to get out of the camera, everyday pics or memories! Good luck!

Pete · 12-06-2002, 08:13 PM

If you are price conscious, you might take a look at E-Bay ... most of the New York camera houses sell nice packages at great prices if you are willing to buy a factory refurbished camera with a factory warrantee. For example, I picked up an Olympus UC700 2.1 MP with 10X Optical zoom and TTL viewfinder with 4 rechargable batteries, a fast recharger, a 64 MB smart card, a card reader and a case for $316. Retail on the camera alone at CompUSA at the time was $499, with the extras retail would have been over $600.

My point? Don't buy before you shop ALL sources!

STGRule · 12-06-2002, 09:14 PM

I think you will be happy with it. :grin: I also have that model and don't have any real complaints yet. I have used it a bunch and have been real happy with the thing.

sinker · 12-06-2002, 11:06 PM

Can someone e-mail me some pics that the Nikon 2500 takes? Maybe an outdoor one and one close up? How does it do on people?

Thanks.

STGRule · 12-07-2002, 08:20 AM

Sinker: you have mail!

Jsail · 12-07-2002, 10:17 AM

Thanks for all the info. There are a lot of great buys out there. Try this site to review all the cameras Steves digicam

Corkie Monster · 12-07-2002, 11:56 PM

Played with the camera a little today. put some pics on the pc and printed some. Looks good sofar. Just need to work with the settings more. After I figure out the Camera, I need to figure out how to send pics to Ifish.

Drachir · 12-08-2002, 10:06 AM

Buy he Canon S-40, you will love this Camera!!

TH · 12-08-2002, 11:39 PM

I am another huge fan of the Canon S40

I actually bought a Sony FD-97 late last spring to replace a sony that I dropped in the river (don't do this!)
Anyway.. I struggled with the size..
I eventually sold it on ebay.. and spent three months researchingthe best dirgital camera for under $500

it was hands down the Canon S40
check out

www.dbuys.com

they have some great deals.. just dont buy the access. from them!