Need advice on budget camera

[bb1955]

Hello!!! I would like advice on getting a new digital camera. I'd like to keep it under $200. I see many advertised in ads but would like "tried and true" recommendations. Thank you.

 

[Bren's Mom]

There are lots of choices...what are you looking for? Simple & pocket sized, more like an SLR with lots of bells and whistles?

I can tell you that I've bought 2 cameras in the past year.

One for me; it's a DSLR, Fuji Finepix S700. 7mp. 10x optical zoom. LOVE it! I hate tiny cameras, this one is fast, light, lots of fun things to play with or my dh can just use it on Auto and that works too. I paid $169.

One for mom; Kodak M753, also 7mp. Teeny, tiny. Fits in her purse. Has a BIG screen. Take videos with sound and on-screen editing. Also very fast. She's NOT at all tech-savvy and has no problems working this one. I paid $149 but then there was a price drop to $129 iirc within 2 weeks and Kodak gave me a refund for the difference.

 

[bb1955]

Thank you for the reply......I prolly want something more like your Fuji...a tad more than basic but I don't want to pay $500 for a camera.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I have always had great luck with Koday EasyShares. I have had two, I can't remember what my first one was, but the second one was an EasyShare One. It was great, user friendly and took great pictures. I paid right around $200 for that one, but that was also 2 years ago.

 

[trivial]

Check out Steve's Digicams: http://www.steves-digicams.com/best_cameras.html

On his recommendation, I bought a Canon Powershot A560 a few months ago and love it. There are a few Canon Powershots on his current Best Cameras list; I would spring for the A590 IS, which you can buy for $150.

As an aside, I've used a Kodak camera before, and thought it sucked.

 

[bb1955]

Thank you to everyone! I'll keep looking at all that have been suggested and check the ads this Sunday.

 

[cndij]

I bought 3 Kodak easy share (DX 6340) cameras on Ebay last summer for my neices before we went on vacation to Hawaii (am points and miles junkie and got 7 frequent flyer tickets). They were very easy to use and took decent video as well. I got them all for around $50 + shipping each. The thing I like about the easy share, is that Kodak has it's own rechargeable battery that replaces the AA's. Saved us tons of money charging the batteries every couple of days on vacation, instead of buying new batteries. Of course you can always get regular rechargeables, but I thought this was convenient. They are very versatile cameras, with easy settings for landscape, portraits, easy zoom and wide angle. Only 3.1 MP, but unless you want to print out posters, that is plenty of resolution.

I also bought my father in law an HP E427 digital camera (his first) for about $80 from Circuit City, that was so easy to operate, my husband asked for one too.
Remember if you buy something from Circuit City (or Best Buy) not only can you get MyPoints points for the purchase if you go through their website, but you can usually pick it up at the local store within an hour and not have shipping expense.

Cindi

 

[Bren's Mom]

Also to keep in mind on the other side re: Circuit City and Best Buy is that if you don't like it there IS a restocking fee. Or at least there was last time I checked. If the camera you want is at Costco or BJ's those are great places to buy...as is Staples. None will charge you a restock fee, Staples will price match if you ask, and if you don't like it you won't have difficulty returning. Just something to consider.

 

[melcan]

I have a Nikon Coolpix s550. Love it. The pics a crisp and clear. 5x Optical

zoom. As I said on another board, the camera is "idiot proof" and I need

that. all for 199.00

and I got it in purple

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

just my personal opinion I have a Kodak that I purchased to replace a stolen Canon. I now have an new Canon SX100 which I payed $150.00 for w/ some store freebies included (case, tripod, cleaning kit).... The Kodak cost me $199.00 over a year ago. Kodak's CS is terrible and I would gladly toss the camera but DD and DS use it, and they know if they break it or lost it, I would not complain...

 

[cndij]

I have never returned anything to BestBuy, but I have to Circuit City and there wasn't a restocking charge, at least not the last time I did it about a month ago. Now that was picking it up and returning it to the store, maybe be different if you have it shipped.

Also to keep in mind on the other side re: Circuit City and Best Buy is that if you don't like it there IS a restocking fee. Or at least there was last time I checked. If the camera you want is at Costco or BJ's those are great places to buy...as is Staples. None will charge you a restock fee, Staples will price match if you ask, and if you don't like it you won't have difficulty returning. Just something to consider.

 

[trivial]

I should add that I've also seen HP's cameras, and thought the picture quality was terrible. HP and Kodak are two brands I would never, ever buy, unless you have an extremely tight budget. Your $200 budget gives you access to some excellent cameras, so you have no need to waste your money on an HP or Kodak.

The site I mentioned earlier, Steve's Digicams, also has sample full-size pictures and video taken with each camera; it's the best camera review site there is, in my opinion.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Just purchased this for my wife, http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerSh...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1211571542&sr=1-1

The features, quality and price, ALL excellent.

 

[trivial]

Just purchased this for my wife, http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerSh...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1211571542&sr=1-1

The features, quality and price, ALL excellent.

for another Canon Powershot A590 IS recommendation.

Review: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2008_reviews/canon_a590is.html
Picture samples: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2008_reviews/canon_a590is_samples.html