Camera advice

[heathers4um]

I am realizing that it is time for me to buy another camera...the one I have has seen better days and I think I purchased it 5 years ago in DTD on clearance because we didnt bring one and didnt want to use a disposable.

Can anyone out there give me advice on a point and shoot, something compact but with high mp's? I am searching ebay and automatically went for the kodak easyshares but was wondering what your thoughts were and what you have had good luck with in disney! Thanks in advance!

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I recently had a fantastic experience with Canon!

My four year old camera (Canon A95) began having a purple streak on both the viewfinder AND on the developed pictures. It was intermittant, but annoying.

Canon fixed the camera for **FREE**. We didn't even have to pay for shipping! The whole thing took about a week and a half.

I was shocked!!

I mean, really...there I was being grumpy, and looking at new cameras...lamenting on today's throw away society and then Canon FIXED my camera.

I've also always been very pleased with my pictures and the overall performance of my camera. The pictures in my trip report below were taken with my Canon A95. I also like that the camera takes AA batteries. I have rechargeables, but absolutely love that I could drop by a gas station and replace my batteries.

I would probably buy the Canon SX20 today.

There are many digital camera reviews online. I like to type in the camera model and the word "review" in a search engine.

Good luck!

 

[FigmentLady]

My Canon Powershot is amazing. I have the sx100 IS and I think it's the best point and shoot camera I have ever owned.

It also has manual options if you want to play around with it and a ton of auto settings.

My main camera is a Nikon D50 DSLR but I take my canon every where I go.

 

[mkarizona]

I would avoid Kodak if I were you. Mine died just after the warranty expired; my daughter had two that did the same thing. From the reviews I have seen that is not unusual.

 

[jekjones1558]

I also have had wonderful customer support from Canon over the years. I bought a subcompact (SD780) last December and loved it. It also has HD video. Unfortunately I left it on the Safari ride at AK in April and it was not turned in to Lost and Found. But I liked it so much that I bought another one exactly like it. I also checked reviews and this camera got good reviews and it was pretty cheap ($174). Good luck with your decision. There are many good choices out there.

 

[hmcfall711]

Another Cannon supporter here. Any model from point and shoot, bridge, or SRL. The color quality is great. The point and shoots are easy to use with common sense setting. I was a Fuji die hard for a long time. I've owned an expensive nikkon, but Cannon is SO user friendly with its various settings. The last time I was looking to get a new camera I went to a fancy smancy camera shop and owner asked me what camera I had been using. When I told him a Cannon PowerShot he said that they make the best everyday use camera and have wonderful color quality. (Which I already knew.)

I have a SRL for artsy photography but my old standby, everyday, in my purse, and vactions camera is a Point and Shoot Cannon. I know some people love to take their SRL on vaction but for me they are so bulky to carry around the park. I can fix most anything in a processing software if it is really bad, but I rarely have to do anything but adjust the brightness on a very few photos.

 

[JimMIA]

I recently had a fantastic experience with Canon!

I mean, really...there I was being grumpy, and looking at new cameras...lamenting on today's throw away society and then Canon FIXED my camera.

Don't you just HATE it when good customer service messes up a perfectly good grump???

 

[twinklebug]

I would avoid Kodak if I were you. Mine died just after the warranty expired; my daughter had two that did the same thing. From the reviews I have seen that is not unusual.

I've owned 3 Kodak easyshares and never had an issue with any one of them. I like the features, intuitive dials and settings and best of all: the fact that I can use my rechargeable NIMH AAs and not have to dish out for an extra power pack as a backup.

The key to any photo, other than getting the settings right to start with, is to brace the camera on a surface before the shot. This way I've gotten some amazing results with just a little point and shoot over the years. I'm long past ready to upgrade to a camera with more control over the shutter speeds but am still sticking with this little guy for weight (and in truth I really want to save up for a DSLR )

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Don't you just HATE it when good customer service messes up a perfectly good grump???

yeah...but you get it over it!

and now... I'm stuck with the notion that my NEXT camera will probably be a CANON too! Such good service ALMOST makes you forget there was a problem to begin with.

IF only Disney would do something so Disney!

 

[whamma]

Another vote for Canon here. Our first digital camera was a PowerShot A700--after having a big 35 mm Canon SLR for years--it seemed so small when I bought it several years ago! A couple years ago we "downsized" to the shirt pocket size Canon PowerShot SD850 IS. It's so small I usually carry it in my pants/shorts pocket when we're at WDW. There are newer models of each of these cameras now. I guess a lot depends on how much you want to spend. We love our Canon cameras. My sister has had 2 Canon digitals and when my Dad finally went digital he also bought at Canon. My brother couldn't wait for his Kodak to die so he could finally buy a Canon! My kids both have Kodak that I bought cheap on a Black Friday sale--but I don't like them nearly as much.

Good luck in your search!

 

[hakepb]

I try to look at every feature of a camera and how it will allow me to capture the most memories

For instance, a dSLR may take the best pics but is too bulky for me, so it will not be with me when most memories happen
To me AA batteries are important, they're cheaper(need at least 2 sets) and, if I had to I could buy others most anywhere to keep capturing more memories.
To me, camera response time is important, both time to powerup and time between pics. At least it used to be some cameras took seconds to power-up and the memory is gone before the shutter clicks, and some cameas took too long processing pictures and you could miss additional memories

My current camera is an older Sony W series(high end point/shoot), and I've been quite satisfied with it nice response time with enough possible manual settings for experimentation and it sometimes stuns me with an extraordinary pic. It was made in the day of lower ISO sensors, so I wish that were better. I have always heard good things about Cannons, too. My first digicam was a basic Kodak and wound up being better than expected but it was very basic.

If there is one statistic I would most look for in a new camera, I would compare ISO sensitivity. Higher ISO means better motion/low light performance, but you have to watch out because those numbers are sometimes suspicious with very,very grainy results.
I think stevesdigicams.com (I hope that is right) has historically produced the best comparisons and stats for most cameras (last I checked they still showed test pics of the ISO settings and other unbiased comparisons.

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

I'm a huge fan of the Olympus cameras. The first point & shoot camera I ever captured great images with was an Olympus Infinity and I've kept moving up their p&s line ever since. My current camera also has movie capability. Many Olympus p&s cameras have superior lenses built in and also offer the capability to add specialty lenses for super macro or tele shots. And, to top it all off... if you are ever planning to go to Aulani and get in some snorkeling or diving, Olympus makes reasonably priced underwater housings for many of their cameras, so you can capture what you see underwater too.

Can you tell I love my Olympus?!??!

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I try to look at every feature of a camera and how it will allow me to capture the most memories

For instance, a dSLR may take the best pics but is too bulky for me, so it will not be with me when most memories happen
To me AA batteries are important, they're cheaper(need at least 2 sets) and, if I had to I could buy others most anywhere to keep capturing more memories.
To me, camera response time is important, both time to powerup and time between pics. At least it used to be some cameras took seconds to power-up and the memory is gone before the shutter clicks, and some cameas took too long processing pictures and you could miss additional memories

My current camera is an older Sony W series(high end point/shoot), and I've been quite satisfied with it nice response time with enough possible manual settings for experimentation and it sometimes stuns me with an extraordinary pic. It was made in the day of lower ISO sensors, so I wish that were better. I have always heard good things about Cannons, too. My first digicam was a basic Kodak and wound up being better than expected but it was very basic.

If there is one statistic I would most look for in a new camera, I would compare ISO sensitivity. Higher ISO means better motion/low light performance, but you have to watch out because those numbers are sometimes suspicious with very,very grainy results.
I think stevesdigicams.com (I hope that is right) has historically produced the best comparisons and stats for most cameras (last I checked they still showed test pics of the ISO settings and other unbiased comparisons.

My camera response time is not great.

www.stevesdigicams.com is a great website for camera reviews.

 

[wdwfan1]

We also love our Canon.

 

[acejka]

I prefer cannon for point and shoot and sony for dslr.

 

[CarolMN]

Moved from DVC Boards