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  #1  
Old 02-04-2004, 10:58 AM
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Question Shopping for digital camera - recommendations, anyone?

I'm looking to buy a digital camera, and thought I'd ask here for any recommendations/advice.

I'd like to keep the price around $200-$300, preferably on the low end, but I'm particular about certain features.

Here are my "must-have" features:

1. Minimum 2.0 MP
2. Manual as well as Auto-Focus (I have "focus-lock" on my 35mm, but I want more control than that)
3. Manual Aperture and/or Shutter Priority Settings (to control depth of field) as well as automatic
4. Minimum 3X zoom, preferably optical rather than digital

Not concerned about video features; I'm only planning on taking still photos.

Also, does anyone have any opinions on what type of removable memory/storage is preferred/available/less expensive?

Any suggestions/opinions would be welcomed (unless people start calling each other names....)
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  #2  
Old 02-04-2004, 11:12 AM
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i've got a canon powershot s45 and have had a good experience with it. it's a 4.0MP model which was a bit more expensive than your range, but i'd recommend the brand. image quality is great, the focus system works well (haven't used the manual focus much but it's there). it's got a full range of manual and automatic features. in my experience (not extraordinarily extensive and YMMV), canon and nikon are the best digital cameras out there.

compact flash memory is and has been the biggest standard, though secure digital is making a foray. i try to stay away from proprietary formats (sony memory stick) just so the memory cards can be used for other devices as well. also some of the memory cards are flimsy and fragile. compact flash cards to me are very rugged and hard to damage.

hope that helps!

dan
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  #3  
Old 02-04-2004, 04:33 PM
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I have a Canon Powershot A70 and I love it. I'm not an expert when it comes to this sort of thing, but I did my research and found it to be the best buys for my needs. Consumer Reports also recommends it. I didn't want to spend over $300 for one either. You can find them cheaper than that on the net or on Ebay I'm sure. I bought mine in August so they could be cheaper by now. They had excellent reviews everywhere I checked. A friend of mine has the previous model the Powershot A40 (discontinued) and loved it. I saw the pictures that hers took and that was all I needed.

It has 3.2 megapixels and auto and manual focus. It also has a movie mode(a feature that I use quite regularly) and various other settings that I hardly use. I can't say enough about the picture quality of this camera. It uses compact flash cards and I got a 256 MB one off of ebay for less than $50. As an example a 128 MB compact flash card was $80 in Circuit City. You can use regular or rechargeable batteries in it as well. It's not one of those tiny things that are awkward to hold and it has a good weight and feel.

I should be on comission for these things as I've recommended it so many times. Here's a picture that I took at the Philly auto show this past weekend. I don't even have it set on it's highest resolution(those pictures are amazing....but huge)

Hope this helps!!
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  #4  
Old 02-04-2004, 07:43 PM
marlettpat marlettpat is offline
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i have the powershot A70 also. i love it!!!!


Bobby, is that the philly car show?? i think im goin this sunday but im not sure
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Old 02-04-2004, 07:44 PM
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stupid stupid stupid me. i never read the whole post. i read the first line or two then check for attachments.... well how was the show??
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Old 02-04-2004, 08:07 PM
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and plus i work at cvs in the photo lab
the print quality from this camera is wonderful!!
i have seen other good cameras, but please dont go with anything from kodak easyshare. i dont like these at allllll!! nikon, canon, and possibly olympus are the best altho olympus if very expensive usually. also not printable from all kodak based photo labs
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  #7  
Old 02-04-2004, 08:44 PM
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canon is the way to go

I have a canon rebel 35mm camera, and i love it. i have used several digital cameras and i always enjoy the final product of the canon cameras.

We have several of the digital rebels at work, an incredible camera!!

You should really look for a camera with at least 3.2MP. If you ever want to enlarge the picture, the more MP's the better.

You are probably going to spend at least $300, maybe a little more. It will be worth it.
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  #8  
Old 02-05-2004, 03:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by marlettpat
stupid stupid stupid me. i never read the whole post. i read the first line or two then check for attachments.... well how was the show??
The car show was fun. There wasn't an over abundance of concept models (which I like the best anyway), but good nonetheless. My favorite had to be the Cadillac sixteen. It had a 16 cylinder engine with over 1000 hp. The thing was awsome!!

there was too large of a crowd for me to get a good picture of it, so if you go, take a good front and side shot for me!!
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  #9  
Old 02-05-2004, 04:17 PM
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I'm on my second digital camera- the family bought me a Canon S230 Elph for last Christmas- Love It! It's so small that I can slip it into a pocket without a second thought (about the size of a pack of cig's with a stainless steel housing). About the only thing it doesn't have on your list (and something I wanted as well, but we all have to establish our priorities), was the 3X optical zoom (it's got a 2X). It's got more 'zoom' if you use the 'digital' mode, but that's one advantage of having more 'pixels'.

This camera has a slick and easy movie mode (.AVI's) and I find myself using it a lot for quick impromptu videos instead of dragging out the DV camcorder (even though that is a small Sharp VL-Z3).

Digital is the only way to go if you've got a computer, too.

-Mark

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  #10  
Old 02-05-2004, 05:10 PM
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Thanks for the input

I appreciate the input. I'm considering both the Canon Powershot A60 and A70. They're the same except for the A60 is 2.0MP and the A70 is 3.2MP -- I just have to decide if it's worth the extra $100 or so to upgrade, since I really don't take a lot of pictures. Of course, I might start to once I have a decent camera.... I had an AE1 (35mm) and I really liked it, but it was too bulky and took too long to focus every shot, so I got one of those pocket-sized auto-focus jobs just for the sake of convenience.

I'm also looking at the Konica Minolta DiMage S414 -- it's 4.1MP and runs around the same price as the A70 and also uses CompactFlash. A friend of mine had a Minolta years ago and I was really impressed with it.

I'm still looking, not quite ready to buy yet.
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  #11  
Old 02-05-2004, 05:24 PM
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A70 is pretty much considered the best camera for that price range, according to everybody I talk to. I have a Sony DSC-S75 (3.3 megapxels) and I love it, but its an older model and it cost $600 new.. My next camera is going to be a digital SLR, possibly a Canon Digital Rebel.
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  #12  
Old 02-05-2004, 06:37 PM
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I have an A70 too, and I love it! I think the common denominator is Canon 3-4 megapixels.
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  #13  
Old 02-05-2004, 07:07 PM
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I've got a Casio

Exilim S-3. Tiny little thing with a stainless steel case. Doesn't have many manual features, but it's great point and shoot. It's about the size of a credit card and about 1/4" thick. 3 megapixels, movie function, and stores on SD or MMC which I can also use in my JVC digital video camera and my new Treo 600 phone.

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Old 02-09-2004, 01:29 AM
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DONT get a Canon ZR70mc with mini DV 440x digi zom xga high res with SD memory support unless you want blurry photos and very small digital video clips.
i can attest to its suckiness.

ok i read the whole post now. still, dont get it. sony is really good for stills. anything with those memory sticks.
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  #15  
Old 02-09-2004, 08:38 PM
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I actually work at circuit city selling cameras and camcorders, so if you have any other specific questions, send me a pm, or instant message me on AIM ( futbol86 ) and now on to some info
Canons are great, and also easy to use. They are great units and offer a fairly complete line. Sonys are even easier to use, and far more intuitive in the buttons and menu options. the actually memory card doesn't matter unless you already have one type of media, and would like to stick with it. memory sticks actually work in more things (all sony obviously) than most others, including compact flash. They work in everything from cliés to their TVs. I must warn you to stay away from HP cameras though. I've had quite a few returned, and they offer bland styling, and not too much bang for the buck. I'm personally a fan of the Olympus cameras, as they give you great quality cameras for decent prices. I've owned 2, including the 5050zoom, which is an amazing camera. They seem to be a little harder to use at first, with more pictures than words on the actual camera, but after you get used to it, its a breeze. I'd suggest going to circuit city and actually taking pictures with the cameras and printing them out. I know our store has a photo-printer that will allow you take the same picture on different model cameras to compare them. If you plan on making high quality prints on photo paper, i would DEFINATELY recomend 3 megapixel minimum... 2 is good for email and such, but if you want to make 35 mm quality prints, 3 and up is a must, especially if you plan on enlarging them. Again, if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them for you.
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Last edited by drivemusicnow; 02-09-2004 at 08:42 PM.
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