Topic: Want to buy a digital camra

[PyroMenace]

and I know nothing about it. Help me.

[Ace_O_Spades]

me too

[JacksRag(e)]

I have a soft spot for the Panasonic Lumix brand.  They've all got this image stabilizer that's pretty cool and works pretty well, too.  Otherwise, you could go with the Canon Powershot A620.  I like that it uses AA batteries, which helps cause someone like me forgets to recharge batteries all the time.  And there's plenty more...it just depends on what you want to do with it.

If you want something simple and basic, that's cheap, too...I'd say go with the A620.

[Quemaqua]

Nikon is never bad.  I've had one of their cheap little Coolpix things for forever and it's served me well.

[PyroMenace]

Yea, I dont want something over the top fancy. Something cheap mainly.

[idolminds]

Like jack, I like that my camera uses AA batteries. Many times they've gone dead and I just drop in another set and kept on shooting.

Watch what they say about zoom. The one you want is optical zoom, not digital zoom. Digital zoom just crops an area of a regular shot and blows it up so it looks like ass. Optical zoom is real zoom keeping things sharp. My camera has 3x optical and 3.6x digital zooms, so combined they advertise 11x zoom, when in reality only the 3x optical is worth anything.

One tip I read is to go with a camera made by film camera companies, not electronics companies. Film camera companies have more experience with lenses and making cameras in general. Your cameras lenses and optics are more important than how many megapixels it has.

[Cobra951]

Which is why my Kodak 6340 has worked out so well.  While the megapixels are low by today's standards, it has a fancy lens which brings in plenty of light, and can do 4X (optical) zoom.  I get good pix from it, but there's a sizeable parallax error in the viewfinder. So I always use the LCD screen to frame the shots.  It takes AA batteries too, although I always use (rechargeable) NiMHs.  It shold be really cheap now, if you can find it.  (I don't know what the Kodak lineup looks like now.)

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, my Nikon uses CRV3 batteries, and those are expensive as fuck.  If you can find one you like that uses AAs, go that route.

[Ghandi]

Nikon is never bad.  I've had one of their cheap little Coolpix things for forever and it's served me well.

I definitely agree with this. I have a Coolpix and it does everything that I'd want out of a digital camera. Of course, I don't really do anything fancy.

[JacksRag(e)]

I'd recommend the Canon Powershot A620.  You should be able to find it in the mid-200 range.  Not bad for a 7 megapixel.

[Cools]

Figure out what you want to use it for and then visit stores that let you test them out. For small point and shoot cameras what you pay for is what you get, so don't expect to get "amazing" pictures. In particular, look for good optics over "features" and in particular low light performance. Small cameras tend to choke in low light settings (expected) which is what you'll most often use them for so look for something that focuses really fast and doesn't create blurry pictures in regular lighting.

Unless you really want to dabble in photography, I'd ignore all the manual settings and focus on how good the camera is in auto because chances are that's what you'll leave it in.

[beo]

i work in a camera shop, so if you let me know what you're looking for, i can probably recommend a few.

AA batteries or rechargeable unit?
standard 3x zoom, or a bit more?
compact size, or not so bothered?
would you like a case or our extended three year warranty?

oh yeah, and the panasonic lumix range are excellent (leica lenses kick ass) - but at the higher ISO settings (anything above 200) the image breaks up *really* badly. this means that in low light conditions, they're essentially crap.

[scottws]

I think if I were to look for a digital camera, I would look for one that takes quick shots.  Out of all the digital cameras I've used (admittedly not very many), they all were really slow to take and then save a picture.

I was trying to use Jennie's Olympus to take action shots at one of her son's soccer games and it was basically impossible because the picture takes at least a full second after you press the button, and it also then pauses while it saves the picture.  Hers is by far the slowest I've used, but other models I've used from Canon, Kodak, and Sony weren't much faster.

[Quemaqua]

My cousin's girlfriend is a hardcore photographer, and she has an Olympus.  He says it's the worst camera he's ever seen.  I guess they don't like it much.

[poomcgoo]

I'd recommend the Canon Powershot A620.  You should be able to find it in the mid-200 range.  Not bad for a 7 megapixel.

Ditto.  I have one of these and I got it for $200 flat.  It was a huge sale, but I'm sure you can find them pretty close to that range regardless.  Awesome camera.  Quality is great, huge, huge number of options, takes AA batteries, and the video quality is excellent.

[Quemaqua]

I think he's looking for... a lot cheaper.  Like... under $100.  Probably 2MP.

[Jedi]

I've zoomed past everything else to say this:
The Canon S3 IS - 6mp, 12x optical zoom and a boat load of features, but its very easy to use - pont and shoot. Needless to say I love it!

[PyroMenace]

So this is what I got. Its got 3x optical zoom with 4mp. The pics look great when I transfer them onto the computer, the only issue I have with it is the auto-zoom. I'm pretty much using it to take pics of the warhammer figurines I painted but its proving to be difficult as I keep getting fuzzy pics. Its got a close up mode but it still has trouble focusing. Does anyone have tips for making it easier? I found that using a white backing of sorts helps a little.

[Cools]

the only issue I have with it is the auto-zoom

You probably mean auto-focus. Don't get too close, step back a bit then zoom in. Keep the subject very well lit (use a desk lap or something) and avoid busy backgrounds. Make sure it's not set on low light and the shutter speed is high enough. Stabilize yourself as much as possible (or put the camera on something solid) If your camera has image quality settings, try "sharper", etc.

[sirean_syan]

Also make sure to turn on the up close setting if it has it. Usually the button's near the flash options and is symbolized by an iconic flower.

You might want to hit up a local store and buy a mini-tripod. I got mine exactly for Warhammer stuff and for like $10 it's a steal. Otherwise, a book or two will do, but you can get more angles with a tripod.