Digital Cameras, which ones are the best?

[Jazmine8]

I have seen so many great pics posted on the threads and wanted to know which cameras whether digital or not are the best quality. I seem to have an inability to take really really good looking pictures. :sad2: I can never figure out how to successfully use all of those settings on the little turndial of a digital camera even with the accompanying manual.:confused3

1.)I plan on purchasing a new digital camera before my June 08 trip and I really don't want to spend over $250 for a good camera. Any suggestions anyone?

2.) Also, can you tell me which cameras you use or prefer? AND any good tips on taking pictures while at WDW. Thanks!:goodvibes

[Diznut84]

I'm sure we all have our biases. My most important features are:

1) Pocketable: if I don't have the camera on me, I can't take a great picture.
2) Optical Zoom: 3x is a minimum
3) Image Stablization: It reduces the blurry pictures due to accidental hand movement.
4) Brand Name: I prefer Canon and Sony
5) Price: I try to keep it under $300 or close
6) Memory Type

You might consider going to Steve's Digicams and reading the reviews:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/default.htm

Today, I might buy the Canon Powershot SD850.

Good luck!
Greg

[roselark]

take a look at CNET.com. They have ratings as well as top 10 in many categories.

[Disney Wanderer]

The Canon Power Shot cameras Are the BEST . I dont take great pictures at All Ususally , and Mine came out Beatuiful Even Night pics .and i recommend a 1Gig memory card the # of pics you can get is worth it :goodvibes

You May want to ak this On the Photography Board they may be able to help you out better than here :)

[dburg30]

May also want to ask this question in the Photography area of these forums. It's in the community area :). Heck.. here's the link to that area :) http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=97

[Disney Wanderer]

yea what he said ... i didnt know the link anyways LOL!!

[Jazmine8]

I'm sure we all have our biases. My most important features are:

1) Pocketable: if I don't have the camera on me, I can't take a great picture.
2) Optical Zoom: 3x is a minimum
3) Image Stablization: It reduces the blurry pictures due to accidental hand movement.
4) Brand Name: I prefer Canon and Sony
5) Price: I try to keep it under $300 or close
6) Memory Type

That sounds like a plan

You might consider going to Steve's Digicams and reading the reviews:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/default.htm

Today, I might buy the Canon Powershot SD850.

Good luck!
Greg

I was thinking of getting a canon

take a look at CNET.com. They have ratings as well as top 10 in many categories.

I'll look into this, thanks!

The Canon Power Shot cameras Are the BEST . I dont take great pictures at All Ususally , and Mine came out Beatuiful Even Night pics .and i recommend a 1Gig memory card the # of pics you can get is worth it :goodvibes

You May want to ak this On the Photography Board they may be able to help you out better than here :)

Thank you too!

May also want to ask this question in the Photography area of these forums. It's in the community area :). Heck.. here's the link to that area :) http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=97

Thanks I'll try this one I wasn't sure where to ask this exactly. My search function was runnign slow.:goodvibes

[JustSomeGuyTN]

Just to throw my two cents in, I would suggest not getting a Sony. Some of their models have had a problem with the glue that holds the CCD in place behind the lens. Also some of the things Sony has done as a company have been outright criminal. Their music division put a root kit on all their CDs that would allow Sony to take over your computer whenever they want. They got caught and the only thing the courts made them do was pay 150 bucks to people that paid to have it removed from thier computers. I have personally bought many Sony products in the past but I will no longer give them any of my money. Incidentally I just ordered a Canon Powershot G9 yesterday.

[Jazmine8]

I'm sure we all have our biases. My most important features are:

1) Pocketable: if I don't have the camera on me, I can't take a great picture.
2) Optical Zoom: 3x is a minimum
3) Image Stablization: It reduces the blurry pictures due to accidental hand movement.
4) Brand Name: I prefer Canon and Sony
5) Price: I try to keep it under $300 or close
6) Memory Type

That sounds like a plan

You might consider going to Steve's Digicams and reading the reviews:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/default.htm

Today, I might buy the Canon Powershot SD850.

Good luck!
Greg

I was thinking of getting a canon

take a look at CNET.com. They have ratings as well as top 10 in many categories.

I'll look into this, thanks!

The Canon Power Shot cameras Are the BEST . I dont take great pictures at All Ususally , and Mine came out Beatuiful Even Night pics .and i recommend a 1Gig memory card the # of pics you can get is worth it :goodvibes

You May want to ak this On the Photography Board they may be able to help you out better than here :)

Thank you too!

May also want to ask this question in the Photography area of these forums. It's in the community area :). Heck.. here's the link to that area :) http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=97

Thanks I'll try this one I wasn't sure where to ask this exactly. My search function was runnign slow.:goodvibes

[Jillpie]

just because I recently learned how to post pictures, I wanted to show you what I got from my Canon powershot...
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff214/Jillzo/IMG_0285.jpg

I couldn't be happier! Its so easy to use too.

[solgent]

I have a Canon, in fact it's my 2nd one.

But I highly highly recommend Nick Kelsh's book How To Photograph Your Life.

Good photography is in the choice of subject, framing, taking lots of shots more than it is in the camera.

[becca-becca]

We bought a Canon Powershot Digital Elph SD 630 before ouir trip last year and lost it. However, after only having it 3 months, my husband accidentally left it at a dance competition. Needless to say, we went back, but it was gone!:sad1: It took really good pictures. I just purchased a replacement this week on Staples.com. They had a sale on the Canon Powershot SD 750 for 199.99 (It is normally 250.00). I ordered it. I think it is basically just a newer model than the 630,which is not available anymore (at least I can't find it). I am not sure if these models have Image Stablization, but if the SD 750 doesn't, there are other Power Shot digital elph that do. Good Luck. It is an overwhelming decision!!! (I also like that Canon uses SD cards, which I think are more widely used than the other types of cards!)

[clombardi]

I just bought a Panasonic Lumix 10x optical zoom after doing tons of research. I love it!

[becca-becca]

Ooops! It wasn't Staples, it was Office Depot that had the Canon Power Shot on sale.

[RoyalCanadian]

While it is all well and good to ask others what cameras they use to get stunning photos -- let us not forget that reading the manual is the best way to get the best results from the camera one may already have.

Let's also not forget that some of the most stunning photos by some of the world's best photographers (e.g. Ansel Adams, Yousuf Karsh) were taken with cameras that were little more than a dark box, light sensitive material in the back and a lens in the front.

The real key to excellent photography has less to do with the brand of camera and more to do with the photographer's own understanding of how light works. I am more than certain that a skilled photographer could get better results using an old Kodak 110 Instamatic than most of us amateurs could ever get using a Hasselblad twin lens reflex camera.

This is all to say -- don't throw out the old camera just yet. Read the manual again and again. Play with the various settings and learn how they work. The best part about the camera that one already has is this -- it's free. I know my Fuji Finepix S5000 can take wonderful photos -- I just need to read the manual to understand how to paint with the light on the CCD.

[Got Quattro?]

Rule #1...just beacuse camera A has 10 mega pixals, does not make it better than camera B with only 6 mega pixals.

Rule #2...see rule #1

Rule #3...Optical zoom is always better than digital zoom, most serious cameras dont even have digital zoom...it only adds noise to your pix

Rule #4.....you have 2 basic types...the compact all in 1 digital....or traditional body with interchangable lebses. called SLR's. It's a size versus performance deal....

Rule #5...what ever you buy....RTFM....read the %$&^$ manual...you cant take good pictures untill you understand the camera

Rule #6....the photographer makes a good picture...not the camera...80% of what makes a good picture is shot composition. Learn the rule of thirds and you will be set.

[Jazmine8]

Thanks everyone. This advice is great. I didn't get much of a response on the photography forum. Just a few from some really knowledgable folks. The canon pic looks really sharp and clear. I guess I'll just have to play around wth any new camera I buy before I leave next June.:goodvibes Well I off for home now.

[Charleyann]

I just purchased the Canon Powershot! It does take wonderful night shots. I took a picture of my son in front of his dolphin wall mural with lights out in the dark and you would swear it was daytime! Lite the picture and dolpins right up!

It is easy and dummy proof...just set it at automatic or you can even set up the speed for action shots!


Charleyann:santa:

[undecided]

can't go wrong with pentax. and I agree that a pocket sized camera is convenient but I just lost mine. :( so that can be a drawback too

[undecided]

Rule #1...just beacuse camera A has 10 mega pixals, does not make it better than camera B with only 6 mega pixals.

Rule #6....the photographer makes a good picture...not the camera...80% of what makes a good picture is shot composition. Learn the rule of thirds and you will be set.

good advice here. my pentax slr happens to have just 6 mp. :) love it. lenses are very important too but I think we're straying from the budget set out in the first post :)

[Got Quattro?]

good advice here. my pentax slr happens to have just 6 mp. :) love it. lenses are very important too but I think we're straying from the budget set out in the first post :)

I have Minolta Maxum 5d, it's about 2 years old and is only 6.1 mega pixals and $700 + just for the body. But i have 5 different lenses, that were from my traditional film Minolta camera. It;s just big to carry around.

My pocket camera is a nikon coolpix...only 2.0 megapixals...but it's still a great camera. perfect for home movie making and internet photos.

[eeyoresnr]

Just to throw my two cents in, I would suggest not getting a Sony. Some of their models have had a problem with the glue that holds the CCD in place behind the lens. Also some of the things Sony has done as a company have been outright criminal. Their music division put a root kit on all their CDs that would allow Sony to take over your computer whenever they want. They got caught and the only thing the courts made them do was pay 150 bucks to people that paid to have it removed from thier computers. I have personally bought many Sony products in the past but I will no longer give them any of my money. Incidentally I just ordered a Canon Powershot G9 yesterday.

wow...when did this happen? we have a sony digital camera that we bought in 05 and love it....I wasn't aware of the computer problems? tell me more:confused3

[daisyduck123]

We have the new Olympus Stylus 770 SW...it's waterproof to 35ft. & dropproof from 5ft. :thumbsup2

We have taken it in the wavepool at TL, the lazy rivers at the WDW waterparks. It's great!!

It was $379.00 at Best Buy this past May.

[handicap18]

This questions comes up a lot over on the photography board. You might want to head over there and look at some threads or ask the same question there.

You can find it either by going back to the main forum page and scrolling down the the Just For Fun area (just under the Community Board) or click on the picture link in my signature.

[disneyaggie]

Just to throw my two cents in, I would suggest not getting a Sony. Some of their models have had a problem with the glue that holds the CCD in place behind the lens. Also some of the things Sony has done as a company have been outright criminal. Their music division put a root kit on all their CDs that would allow Sony to take over your computer whenever they want. They got caught and the only thing the courts made them do was pay 150 bucks to people that paid to have it removed from thier computers. I have personally bought many Sony products in the past but I will no longer give them any of my money. Incidentally I just ordered a Canon Powershot G9 yesterday.

YIKES! I did not know this! Thank goodness I don't play CD's on my computer. That is very scary!

I have a Sony Cybershot and like it -- wish I knew this information before because I would have boycotted them! Good to know for my next purchases though! :thumbsup2

[CanadianGuy]

I've moved this over to the Photography board. The experts here will give some great help!

Knox

[boBQuincy]

Just to throw my two cents in, I would suggest not getting a Sony.

I am afraid I would have to agree with those thoughts on Sony. They have done some things that border on illegal and are notorious for dropping products and leaving consumers hanging.

On to the better things: we like Canon cameras, Nikons are good too. We prefer to stay with camera companies instead of electronics companies that recently started making cameras. The camera companies seem to understand photography better.

Read the manual, yep, it's very important. Know your camera's limitations, like ISO and noise levels. And hold the camera up to your eye, it's hard to take a good photograph holding the camera at arms length. Camera doesn't have a viewfinder? Get another model!

[pjacobi]

[QUOTE=Jazmine8;21482849]I can never figure out how to successfully use all of those settings on the little turndial of a digital camera even with the accompanying manual.


Good pictures are not made by the camera, they are made by the photographer. If you don't take the effort to know your equipment, compose the scene with proper lighting, then your pictures will always be limited, reguardless of what camera you use.

If you buy a new camera, take the effort and learn how to use it. Buying the camera is the easy part.


-Paul

[My2Girls66]

I'm usually a Nikon person but last X-mas I bought 1 of my DD's a Canon A540because it has a viewfinder and the similarly priced Nikons didn't. Its a great little p&s camera. I hike with it when I don't feel like carrying my D50. The
A560 is a newer model and is $150 at Best Buy and Circuit City.

[bumbershoot]

We're probably looking at a new digital camera too, as it seems we have lost our Olympus. I can't find my film camera, either, also an Olympus. Dark times, I tell you, dark times.

I have a weird bias towards Olympus, but so many of our friends use Canon (and obviously I see that here too). Can anyone tell me why Canon is better?

I definitely agree, by the way, that the photgrapher is more important. I took some great shots with my 1980s Minolta point and shoot, better than I've taken with my nicer and newer Olympus film camera. Alas the Minolta is almost destroyed (still in existence though) and I've retired it. :)

Nice thing about a new digital camera will be actually HAVING the manual...our digitals have been gifts when FIL grew tired of them and replaced them, and he was not a manual keeper. (yeah yeah I could have gone online but I didn't)

Anyway, thanks in advance if anyone has Canon vs Olympus thoughts!!!

[Jazmine8]

Rule #1...just beacuse camera A has 10 mega pixals, does not make it better than camera B with only 6 mega pixals.

Rule #2...see rule #1

Rule #3...Optical zoom is always better than digital zoom, most serious cameras dont even have digital zoom...it only adds noise to your pix


That is good to know I wasn't sure which was better optical or digital zoom. I did take photography back in what now seems the dinosaur age (only ten years ago, wow am I really getting that old:eek: ) I 'll take in account everyones posts and just play around with the camera I choose and become a beter amatuer photographer:rolleyes1 before I hit the parks.