cameras?

[{CLR}geneSW]

Ok, i'm looking to get a digital camera around Christmas time and was wondering what I need to look for in one? How do I know if it'll be good at taking pictures both indoor and outdoor? Seeing as how eventually i'll be going to different bases i'd like to have really good, quality, photos of the places i'll be visiting. Lets say that my price range is around $250 tops. What features should I be looking for, and what should I be avoiding?

[FieryDragon]

Hey buddy. I got a quick url for you to check out.

Price range of 200-300. These are all un-biased reviews. I'd take a look into them. Try to find one with lots of settings. You know how we, boys like our toys! haha

Anyway, Zooming is always good. Needs to have great zoom for those pics that you can't get up-close enough for. Also, try look for a motion camera. So you can get those pics of things in motion b/c you don't want that blurry crap. OH YEAH....big news, has to have an AWESOME flash!

[juneau]

I've just been looking around for reviews too. I'm finally getting one for Xmas.

Settled on this.



Canon IXUS 85IS.

I was very tempted to ask for the Powershot A590, but for a little more money, this camera apparently really delivers.

Reviews
Canon IXUS 85 IS Review | Canon Digital Camera | Digital Camera Comparison
Canon Digital IXUS 85 IS Review - Digital Camera Reviews - TrustedReviews

Cheapest i've found this for was ?150.

[Trooper110]

My mom has a semi-older Canon Powershot (think about 2 years old), around 5MP, that she absolutely loves. It has decent zoom, options are kinda scanty, but it does all the basics and some more. It does take great pictures, and she prints them on her printer, they look great too. Size is nice, it has a regular view finder as well as the lcd panel on the back. And if it's survived 2 years with my mom, you know it can take a bit of a beating

[{CLR}geneSW]

Hey buddy. I got a quick url for you to check out.

Price range of 200-300. These are all un-biased reviews. I'd take a look into them. Try to find one with lots of settings. You know how we, boys like our toys! haha

Anyway, Zooming is always good. Needs to have great zoom for those pics that you can't get up-close enough for. Also, try look for a motion camera. So you can get those pics of things in motion b/c you don't want that blurry crap. OH YEAH....big news, has to have an AWESOME flash!

Where's that URL?

Yo, Juneau. I'd love that camera... if it had 10x zoom.... I was thinking about one of these...

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Powersho...2720851&sr=1-6

http://www.amazon.com/review/product...owViewpoints=1

[Trooper110]

Personally I'd go with the Canon gene. I have a Kodak at home, older camera, and it takes decent pictures, but the options and setup aren't as detailed as any other "good" camera manufacturer that I've run in to. They work, but I like to have the detailed information and settings when I get my cameras all set up. Guess they could have changed things, I think my camera is about 5, maybe 6 years old now. I know at the time my mom bought her camera that all the camera guys at Circuit City were recommending the Canons. Well, the people who knew what they were talking about were...I worked there at the time and made sure she talked to the right people

[FieryDragon]

Where's that URL?

Yo, Juneau. I'd love that camera... if it had 10x zoom.... I was thinking about one of these...

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Powersho...2720851&sr=1-6

http://www.amazon.com/review/product...owViewpoints=1

My bad, I guess I got carried away talking bout other ish...lol

Here ya go:

http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/digi...e_ratings.html

[{CLR}geneSW]

Just got back from best buy and looking at a few cameras.... Gotta say that I cannot find another camera that does what the cannon does for the price. I tried it out in motion shots while indoors (moving the camera around while having it set in multiframe mode) and it took a picture about ever .5 seconds or so. Fairly quick and for what i'm using it for perfect. I can adjust the apature and shutter speeds all the way down to 1/2500 of a second! lightning fast for when I want to take pictures of the A-10's doing fly-by's!

[JohnyRico]

Optical zoom is far more important than digital zoom so don't be fooled by anything saying somthing like "20x digital zoom". All that means is blowing up the picture. You can do that with software after the fact. Optical zoom is actually changing your focal point and far more important as it actually changes the final image.

Facial and smile recognition is very cool as some cameras will actually change the focus point if they can recognize a face or a smile in the frame.

Some cameras will take the picture twice for you, one with flash and one without. Then you have an option as to which one looks better.

Picture stabilization is good because it helps minimize blur caused by the camera moving around when you take the shot.

I think sD cards are prefered because they are higher density and can hold more. They are also smaller. I don't recommend actually inserting it into your computer though. Use a usb jack or adapter instead as my card tends to crash/lock my pc's (both of them) for some reason when I insert it.

Most digital cameras now come with a ton of special filters and whatnot but you will most likely rarely use many of them.

Don't spend alot of money on they x-ray option as even though the people in the picture will appear naked it is usually a let down.

Unless you are shelling out for an SLR don't expect to be able to just quickly snap an action shot. Digital cameras try to think too much and you will usually miss an action shot and end up tempted to throw the camera in the nearest lake/garbage/toilet.

If I think of anything else I'll post more.

[{CLR}geneSW]

Awesome information. It was 10x optical zoom, not digital, so im good there, and it was a 9 mega pixel. I found it on aafes (a slightly older model but same features, 8 mega pixel instead of 9 though) for $245 and with 2 2gb sd cards for about $8.00 each, total comes out to $260 before shipping and what not. It's very tempting to buy right now!

Optical zoom is far more important than digital zoom so don't be fooled by anything saying somthing like "20x digital zoom". All that means is blowing up the picture. You can do that with software after the fact. Optical zoom is actually changing your focal point and far more important as it actually changes the final image.

Facial and smile recognition is very cool as some cameras will actually change the focus point if they can recognize a face or a smile in the frame.

Some cameras will take the picture twice for you, one with flash and one without. Then you have an option as to which one looks better.

Picture stabilization is good because it helps minimize blur caused by the camera moving around when you take the shot.

I think sD cards are prefered because they are higher density and can hold more. They are also smaller. I don't recommend actually inserting it into your computer though. Use a usb jack or adapter instead as my card tends to crash/lock my pc's (both of them) for some reason when I insert it.

Most digital cameras now come with a ton of special filters and whatnot but you will most likely rarely use many of them.

Don't spend alot of money on they x-ray option as even though the people in the picture will appear naked it is usually a let down.

Unless you are shelling out for an SLR don't expect to be able to just quickly snap an action shot. Digital cameras try to think too much and you will usually miss an action shot and end up tempted to throw the camera in the nearest lake/garbage/toilet.

If I think of anything else I'll post more.

[DougBob]

Ok, here's my latest experience. I recently got my daughter a Olympus FE-340 for her birthday. It has 5x optical zoom and the usually stuff, but the one item I noticed that I like so much is the video feature allows the zoom to work while recording.

I'm not one much to go for all the pretty looks and such, so reading the review it may not be the smoothest and prettiest, but it works great and it's a good prices around 180 bucks.


http://www.trustedreviews.com/digita...mpus-FE-340/p1

[jeffro74]

i have 1 i think is pretty good all around.its a fuji fine pix.the 2 main things i wanted were good battery life and 3inch screen and i really like the camera.they are in that price range.just look carefully there are different versions of alot of cameras out there.that camera was highly recomended on photography forums.also takes good video and quality pics.

[BigTwinky]

One of THE best online review / resource sites for camera reviews is http://www.dpreview.com/

Canon is king, in both DSLR and point and shoot. I have a Nikon point and shoot and while it takes great outdoor pics, it sucks indoors (as do most point and shoots under $250).

The Canon Powershot SD1000 is a great camera. If you can pick one up with an Image Stabilizer that is great. But not a post picture noise reduction thing, an actual image stabilizer on the camera, it will make a world of difference when taking movement shots AND when taking night shots.

[MR_MADHATTER]

I have a Cannon. I love it. It was exspensive when I bought it, but prices have fallen sharply. You can get an 8 Megapixal for your price range easy.
My recomendation: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1205538350014
or for more zoom(if you can find it on sale): http://www.fotoconnection.com/p71683...black-10x.html
The only thing I have a concern about is the battery. Today you can find cameras that use ordinary AA or AAA bateries and not have to worry about a recharge or replacing an exspensive special one of a kind battery.

P.S. You can almost always find better deals online.

[{CLR}geneSW]

I have a Cannon. I love it. It was exspensive when I bought it, but prices have fallen sharply. You can get an 8 Megapixal for your price range easy.
My recomendation: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1205538350014
or for more zoom(if you can find it on sale): http://www.fotoconnection.com/p71683...black-10x.html
The only thing I have a concern about is the battery. Today you can find cameras that use ordinary AA or AAA bateries and not have to worry about a recharge or replacing an exspensive special one of a kind battery.

P.S. You can almost always find better deals online.

that SX100 is sooo worth it... I'm going to have to convince the wife!