Need new camera and cant decide- help!

[StephC1217]

I currently have a Pentax Optio, which is waterproof. We bought it almost 5 years ago so I think it is outdated and needs to be replaced. Reasons that I loved that camera were:
1. it was waterproof so i could take photos of my son in the pool, at a water park, in the rain, and i never once worried about it getting wet or not working.
2. the rechargable battery- as long as i charged it every nite of my vacation- it would last the whole day

Here are the reasons that it needs to be replaced:
1. the battery no longer holds the charge as good as it used to
2. it is soooooo slow taking photos- i dont remember it being so slow when i first got it- i think it has gotten slower over time!! My son smiles and by the time the photo is taken, he is across the room! i feel like i am missing those "picture perfect moments" waiting for my camera to take the pic
3. the zoom is terrible. i am not sure what the zoom is since the camera is older- but it doesnt zoom very well and take blurry photos. there must be better quality out there now

I have researched for weeks now and cannot make a decision. We are going away in a week and i want to have a new camera by then. I have read review after review. I thought about getting Canon d10 but i am afraid of the odd shape, since i often put my camera in my pocket (guess i couild change my ways!) I have also thought about getting 2 cameras- both a waterproof and regular but i am afraid that carrying 2 cameras would be too chaotic. So now i thought i would just ask the pros!!

Can anybody recommend a good camera for an amateur? My main wants are that it takes nice clear and crisp photos, and that it takes photos quickly. I would like a camera with a good zoom feature- and ideally i LOVE my waterproof (but a non-waterproof camera is not a deal-breaker). Originally, i wanted a camera that would take good nightime photos of when we went to Disney for fireworks- but i have a feeling i am not going to find a camera with everything! I really dont want to spend more than $400 and dont want to have to carry a bulky camera around. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[SplashMo]

You dont need to spend this much money. However this meets your requirments and is excellent:

Canon Powershot S95

 

[mom2rtk]

You need to post this over in the Photography forum. There's a very friendly group over there who would be happy to help!

 

[scott2997]

I concur with the Canon recommendation. I've tried other brands and there always seems to be a delay in the shutter on most of them except the Canon. My wife has had a Canon Elph model for years and it's taken many awesome pictures for us. It's super small and has a lithium ion rechargeable battery as well.

I believe this one would be the equivalent of what my wife has in today's Canon line-up:

At Best Buy

Sorry not waterproof

 

[Havok]

I'd also agree on the Canon recomendation. We're on our 5 model in the Canon Elph series and my wife loves them. Our current camera the SD980 has been a great work horse for us, It will be going on its 3rd WDW trip here in a few weeks.

We did stray from the Canon world a few years ago and purchased a Panasonic digital camera right before we left for WDW. The pictures looked great, up until the point we tried to zoom in and photo shop the pictures, the look horrible the noise in the pictures was terrible. My wife was devistated over 1000 picutres from our trip were ruined. Fortunatly we'd had the photopass pictures to fall back on. Now I'm sure there are other great cameras out there, but we've had suck great luck with Canon we don't dare stray again.

 

[mollybeasley]

I currently have a Pentax Optio, which is waterproof. We bought it almost 5 years ago so I think it is outdated and needs to be replaced. Reasons that I loved that camera were:
1. it was waterproof so i could take photos of my son in the pool, at a water park, in the rain, and i never once worried about it getting wet or not working.
2. the rechargable battery- as long as i charged it every nite of my vacation- it would last the whole day

Here are the reasons that it needs to be replaced:
1. the battery no longer holds the charge as good as it used to
2. it is soooooo slow taking photos- i dont remember it being so slow when i first got it- i think it has gotten slower over time!! My son smiles and by the time the photo is taken, he is across the room! i feel like i am missing those "picture perfect moments" waiting for my camera to take the pic
3. the zoom is terrible. i am not sure what the zoom is since the camera is older- but it doesnt zoom very well and take blurry photos. there must be better quality out there now

I have researched for weeks now and cannot make a decision. We are going away in a week and i want to have a new camera by then. I have read review after review. I thought about getting Canon d10 but i am afraid of the odd shape, since i often put my camera in my pocket (guess i couild change my ways!) I have also thought about getting 2 cameras- both a waterproof and regular but i am afraid that carrying 2 cameras would be too chaotic. So now i thought i would just ask the pros!!

Can anybody recommend a good camera for an amateur? My main wants are that it takes nice clear and crisp photos, and that it takes photos quickly. I would like a camera with a good zoom feature- and ideally i LOVE my waterproof (but a non-waterproof camera is not a deal-breaker). Originally, i wanted a camera that would take good nightime photos of when we went to Disney for fireworks- but i have a feeling i am not going to find a camera with everything! I really dont want to spend more than $400 and dont want to have to carry a bulky camera around. Anyone have any suggestions?

One of the sales reps I talked to yesterday said that picture quality often suffers when you add waterproofing, shock proofing etc. We're looking at all the black Friday sales flyers now, and there are a lot of choices. At least there are a lot of choices in the papers. When we get to the store it might be different. I may go online for this since I still have 2 weeks before his birthday.

 

[mollybeasley]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I didn't see a photography board. I'll check it out.

 

[matheke]

Having worked with electronics most of my life, I can tell you that a new battery can do wonders. As you said it is not holding a charge so it is probally not providing the enough voltage and/or amperage needed to operate the camera. Batteries get old and do not maintain their performance characteristics thus causing many problems. I would start by replacing the battery and seeing if that helps.

Besides if you decide to buy a new camera, you can always use the older one as a back up.

 

[SplashMo]

The Canon is1300 and is1400 are both very nice and in the 130-160 range all year long...

 

[StephC1217]

You need to post this over in the Photography forum. There's a very friendly group over there who would be happy to help!

I did post it over twice ane no one answered....it also got moved both times into someone elses thread so that may be why no one answered

 

[StephC1217]

Thanks everyone for your replies! Maybe I will get a non-waterproof camera since i too heard that waterproofing can affect picture quality- and then try changing the battery on my waterproof one to keep for those waterpark/pool days.... or maybe i will try the canon d10- i have heard nothing but good things about canons so far!!!

 

[larryz]

I currently have a Pentax Optio, which is waterproof. We bought it almost 5 years ago so I think it is outdated and needs to be replaced. Reasons that I loved that camera were:
1. it was waterproof so i could take photos of my son in the pool, at a water park, in the rain, and i never once worried about it getting wet or not working.
2. the rechargable battery- as long as i charged it every nite of my vacation- it would last the whole day

Here are the reasons that it needs to be replaced:
1. the battery no longer holds the charge as good as it used to
2. it is soooooo slow taking photos- i dont remember it being so slow when i first got it- i think it has gotten slower over time!! My son smiles and by the time the photo is taken, he is across the room! i feel like i am missing those "picture perfect moments" waiting for my camera to take the pic
3. the zoom is terrible. i am not sure what the zoom is since the camera is older- but it doesnt zoom very well and take blurry photos. there must be better quality out there now

I have researched for weeks now and cannot make a decision. We are going away in a week and i want to have a new camera by then. I have read review after review. I thought about getting Canon d10 but i am afraid of the odd shape, since i often put my camera in my pocket (guess i couild change my ways!) I have also thought about getting 2 cameras- both a waterproof and regular but i am afraid that carrying 2 cameras would be too chaotic. So now i thought i would just ask the pros!!

Can anybody recommend a good camera for an amateur? My main wants are that it takes nice clear and crisp photos, and that it takes photos quickly. I would like a camera with a good zoom feature- and ideally i LOVE my waterproof (but a non-waterproof camera is not a deal-breaker). Originally, i wanted a camera that would take good nightime photos of when we went to Disney for fireworks- but i have a feeling i am not going to find a camera with everything! I really dont want to spend more than $400 and dont want to have to carry a bulky camera around. Anyone have any suggestions?

Tiger Direct has the Optio on Pink Friday sale -- zip on over to their website and check out the price.

 

[SplashMo]

Can we post links to camera review sites?

 

[linzbear]

I did post it over twice ane no one answered....it also got moved both times into someone elses thread so that may be why no one answered

Yeah, it looks like the Photography board mod doesn't quite understand how a discussion board works... he's trying to merge everything into everything!

I hope you got some good info here though, OP

 

[Poohbear5]

Panasonic Lumix, we have the TZ4 and TZ5, not sure what the newest model is called but it is up around 14mp. Love the models we have though, very sharp.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I did post it over twice ane no one answered....it also got moved both times into someone elses thread so that may be why no one answered

Yeah, it looks like the Photography board mod doesn't quite understand how a discussion board works... he's trying to merge everything into everything!

I hope you got some good info here though, OP

Now THAT is weird. I have not stopped by that board for a time now, and seeing the breadth of the moving there is stunning. You could wind up with about a 10 thread forum like that. I recall years back when a couple of them started doing that on the community board, many, many posters left, for good, in disgust.

And yes, review links are permitted.

Just an FYI....depending on who comes across this thread, it too, might wind up getting moved over there, and then I guess subject to further move and that consolidation process. And yes, hope you get your answers here, Steph, quickly.