Any good deals on digital cameras?

[Ohanamom]

Morning all! I am looking into buying a digital camera and was wondering if anyone has found any good deals lately anywhere. I want to get one that takes good pictures but does not cost an arm and a leg. Is this even possible? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[safetymom]

The thing to keep in mind is what size will you be wanting to print your images at. If all you want to do is print at 4x6 a 3 megapixel camera will be your best best. If you want to print at 11x14 then look at a 5-6 megapixel.

No need to overbuy. I have a Nikon Coolpix 5000 that is 5+ megapixel and I love it. But then I also print many of my photos large.

 

[chell]

What price range are you thinking about?

 

[Michelemouse]

I just bought a Minolta Dimage S414 from Amazon.com for about $335.00. It is a 4MP with 4x Optical Zoom, 2.2 x Digital Zoom and the capablility to take 60 second videos. I absoultely love this camera!

It has a list price of $499 and Best Buy sells it for $399 so the amazon deal was great.

Good luck in your hunt.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

I have a Nikon Coolpix 950 which is excellent and I have enlarged my shots to 10x14 and they are really nice. Check ebay or www.refurbdepot.com for this camera. They have dropped in price a lot since I purchased mine. I also have a Coolpix 5000 and as soon as I figure out how to use it I am sure I will love it ( I can use it for basic stuff), but, it is on the pricy side.

 

[marciaj]

Don't know much about digital cameras buy you might want to check out the prices on overstocks.com. I've seen alot of them on there and know the prices for reg. 35 mil. cameras is very good.

 

[wdwcj]

My dad bought an HP 2.1MP at Office Max for about $100, then another $32 for a 64M SD card. Takes a pretty good picture, and has a so-so display.

Go to http://conrads-corner.com/jerry/ and take a look at some he just posted of a friend's party.

Good Luck!
CJ

or just look at me and my cuz Stacey

 

[YesDear]

I also own a Coolpix 950 and we are looking at the 5000. We love the 950.

I agree, as always, with Gail and Safetymom that you need to figure out what you want to spend and what you want it to do.

My only suggestion is that I think you will be dissappointed over time with anything less that a 3mp camera. The picture quality is just not there!

Safetymoms DD just got accepted as a campus rep for the College Program!!!! CONGRATS!!!!

Make sure whatever camera you get you get a larger memory card for it. Most cameras only will give you a 8-16mg card with the camera. We have two 128 mg cards for our 950. At the finest quality, we can get about 45 pics per card. We also take a laptop so as to have a place to download them to.

Good hunting

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by YesDear
I also own a Coolpix 950 and we are looking at the 5000. We love the 950.

I agree, as always, with Gail and Safetymom that you need to figure out what you want to spend and what you want it to do.

My only suggestion is that I think you will be dissappointed over time with anything less that a 3mp camera. The picture quality is just not there!

Safetymoms DD just got accepted as a campus rep for the College Program!!!! CONGRATS!!!!

Make sure whatever camera you get you get a larger memory card for it. Most cameras only will give you a 8-16mg card with the camera. We have two 128 mg cards for our 950. At the finest quality, we can get about 45 pics per card. We also take a laptop so as to have a place to download them to.

Opps sorry, the 950 with it's 2.11 mp is excellent. I have done 10x14 with it and the quality is there, big time. In fact, there is only subtle differences between the 950 and the 5000. Wish I had seen that earlier, I never would have purchased the 5000.
BTW, I did process this stuff for years, as a profession. Not a lot of difference.
Good hunting

 

[janette]

Zurg's camera tips are very helpful you can find them here: DIGITAL CAMERA TIPS:

He has links to some very detailed review sites. This one Digital Resource has a price compare that will show you the cheapest you can buy the cameras at several sites.

Good luck, I have a camera I'd love to have but the worst thing is that as soon as you buy one there are a few more even better

 

[safetymom]

Thank you YesDear.

 

[YesDear]

My coolpix is a 995 not a 950. I think the 995 is far superior to the 950 because it has rechargable batteries that last longer than 30 mins! LOL. The 950 is a good camera just a battery hog. It is also 3mp.

 

[chell]

We have the Kodak DX4330. I love it! Take a look at Suite Disney's website and her pictures. She uses a similar camera.

You can check out ecost and buy.com for some good deals on memory cards.

My sisters took my camera on vacation to Scotland and the pictures are amazing. Actually a local restaurant has decided to blow some of them up to hang in their dining room.

 

[Ronda93]

As noted by others, you'll want 3-4 mp to get good prints. It also gives you a little room to crop if necessary.

I also recommend buydig.com if you are an internet buyer. I have the Nikon D100 and recently decided to get a smaller, point and shoot camera to take biking and hiking. Settled on the Nikon Coolpix 3100. Saw it going for about $350 at most sites (I use B&H photo as a benchmark).

At buydig I was able to get the CP4300 (4 mp v. 3 in the 3100) for $344. Free shipping. It was a deal. US/Canada warranty - important to watch for if you're really digging for bargains.

Check places like pricegrabber.com before you buy.

good luck,
Ronda

 

[Ohanamom]

Thanks for all the great info! Knew I posted my question at the right place.

To answer a few questions, I was looking to spend around $200-$250. I recently became a Notary and in the state of Florida we are allowed to perform wedding ceremonies. Now that both kids are in school I was looking to get a home based buisness started by performing simple wedding ceremonies. The digital camera will be used to take pictures at the wedding.

I was reading some reviews about the Canon Powershot A60 on Pricegrabber.com and Office Depot has it advertised for $229 this week with free 64MB Card. It says it has a direct print mode-No computer needed. The reviews I read said that this was a pretty good camera. Any thoughts???

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by YesDear
My coolpix is a 995 not a 950. I think the 995 is far superior to the 950 because it has rechargable batteries that last longer than 30 mins! LOL. The 950 is a good camera just a battery hog. It is also 3mp.

My rechargeables last almost all day. They do, indeed tend to go fast if you use the LCD screen. Both the 950 and 995 are fantastic cameras. I like the pop up flash that the 995 has.

 

[safetymom]

I wouldn't consider just printing directly from the card to a printer. Most times there will be things that need to be corrected in the image and you would need to take it into the computer for that. What type of flash does it have.

If you are taking pictures of someones wedding I would get a better camera. What if they want a larger image?

For that type of use I would go with a prosumer model that allows different settings.

 

[HoosierFantasia]

www.CNET.com is a wonderful site with lots of review adn recommendations on all types of electronics. They also will tell you who has the best price online.
Bill

 

[Keke]

Ohanamom, the Canon A60 is a great camera. I have done extensive research into digital cameras and have selected the Canon A70 as my choice. It is just like the A60 but w/3 mp. If you are only printing off 4 by 6 and don't plan on cropping any of your photos, the 2 mp camera will do. However if you think you might want an 8 by 10 of a photo or to crop some of the photo, you'll need to pay more for the A70.

The A70 is a steal for what you get and in all the reviews I saw on the internet, it got stellar ratings. I have several professional photographers in my family and they all say stick w/either Nikon or Canon. If you went with the 60 or 70, I am sure you would be pleased. I am in the process of ordering mine from a price club my brother is a member of.

 

[Ohanamom]

Thanks again everyone for all of the help and information. It is all greatly appreciated.