Camera for the average person

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Another vote for Kodak Easy Share. Takes great pictures!

 

[Jobie]

I usually do not suggest Kodak cameras, but this one I would. At the Sam's club that I work at we have a Kodak V530. It is a nice, small 5mp camera with a 3x optical zoom. It also comes with a free docking station; which is a nice add on but I would never buy a docking station all by its self becuase they are not worth it. The camera runs $192. The reason why I recomend his camera is becuase of price, and it is pretty easy to use. It does not have all that many extra features on it, it just has auto-mode and some preset scene modes, but for a camera to capture some family vacation snap-shots it is a great camera.

Here is the link to the camera at sams: http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=171096&pCatg=5753
You could probaly purchase this camera somewhere else rather than sams club, but it will run around 10-30 $'s more.

Hope this helps some.
Jobie

 

[zipuzee]

I have a nikon coolpix (4mp) and love it. I find it very easy to use and it does do great night shots. I've taken pics of fireworks and they really came out great. It has an internal memory that will hold about 20-30 pics, but I have a 1g card that will hold about 1000 pics.

 

[iluvwdw_2002]

I recommend the Sony Cyber shot. Best camera I've ever owned (I've owned a Kodak and an Olympus). I got the 7.2 MP version which was pricey, but I just bought the 6 MP version for my mom for mother's day, on sale for $179.

Kitka,

Where did you get that sale at? That is an awesome price for a 6MP Sony Digital Camera. What model was it?

Thanks!!! We leave in 6 days, and I am still looking for a digital camera and having a hard time finding one that cheap.

 

[Glendamax]

Pocohantas and Sixcats, thanks for answering my question. Too bad the memory that comes with the camera forces you to buy a memory card. At least I know now BEFORE I go to the store! Thanks!

 

[alite]

I know very LITTLE about digital cameras, but I want to buy one this summer. I'd like to know about how many pictures can you take with the memory card that comes with the camera. I will not be taking my laptop with me to WDW this Sept, and will not have the option of transferring the photos.

Thanx!

I believe there has been threads on this before, but you can transfer your pictures to a cd in WDW. I had two memory cards go bad on me on my last trip, and rather than buy another card, I had my pictures put on a cd and erased one of my cards for more pics. I think it was in the $20 range, much less than buying a new memory card.

 

[Glendamax]

you can transfer your pictures to a cd in WDW. I had two memory cards go bad on me on my last trip, and rather than buy another card, I had my pictures put on a cd and erased one of my cards for more pics.

Thanks for the info. Where in WDW did you have this done?

 

[BuzzPrincessMom]

Hello,

I was looking for a new camera at Christmas time and found this site:
http://www.dpreview.com/

They let you do a search on feature, will do a side by side comparison. What I loved about it, it gave you things like battery life, lag time between shots, and ease of use data.

It helped me narrow down the camera I wanted. And I love the new camera DH got me for Christmas as a surprise! (He used the site too!) A Cannon Powershot A610.

 

[Nite0wl71]

I just have to say something about the Kodak c330 we bought for DD13. It was very easy to use and nice and compact.

Two weeks after we bought it the lens would not come out when the camera was turned on, so I took it back and replaced it with the same camera. We went to WDW and I have to agree with who said the daytime time pics were great but not the night shots. We tried it on different settings and still not really one good picture.

Four weeks after getting the replacement the camera would not turn on at all. We took it back and exchanged it for a Canon A530. The guy at the store said a few have been returned

She has only had the Canon since Monday but the pictures are fantastic and it seems easy to use also. We still have to try it at night though.

 

[jenniferma]

Hi-- I have the Easyshare too. I just got the c340. My complaint would be (and I have heard this on the photography board here too) that Kodak Easyshares take terrible photos with the flash. They are too bright -- white like.

I just went to WDW (got home yesterday) and I took 265 photos. If you would like, pm me if you are interested in the easyshare and I can send you my pics in a photo album.

Overall I do like the camera, but it takes MUCH better photos without a flash than with one! I love the photos without flash!!!! And it is very very easy to use.

There is a person on these boards that knows a lot about cameras-- check out the photography boards and search "easyshare c340" " I think his name is Miffy? but he was very helpful to me (too late )

good luck!
jen

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

Glenda, if you have a Sam's Club/Costco. near you...or even a friend with a membership I have found out (the hard way of course) that memory cards are SOOOO much cheaper there, than at a best buy.

I got a 1Gig memory card for my Canon Rebel for like $60...I consider that a good deal considering I paid more than that for a 256 SD at Best Buy.

I have heard of memory cards going bad on people. One thing I always do before a big event and I have new memory card, is that I just fill the memory card with photos. Just take 100's of photos around the house annd of random things. Then I pop them in my card reader and make sure all the files are a-okay.

Night shots are difficult with a consumer level digital camera. You have to have a VERY steady hand in order to avoid those really blurry photos. I recommend buying the camera you THINK you want and practice, practice, practice. Especially with night settings.

 

[Kick Save]

Haven't seen it yet, so I've got to put a vote in for our Canon A510. After two Olympus digital cameras, I took a step backwards in MP (from 4.0 to 3.2) for this Canon and haven't regretted it at all. This camera is compact, loaded with features, and very easy to use. It's also got a fairly quick write speed, and if you don't need the flash you can take the next picture almost as soon as the preview of the last picture goes away. If you're using the flash, you've just got to wait on it to recharge which causes a little delay between pictures, but nothing outrageous.

These have been coming down in price lately, too. Check buy.com, they had the best prices on them I'd seen in a while. (Actually, check there no matter what brand you settle on, on found them to be below a lot of places on their camera prices. Bought from there twice, no complaints at all.)

We've got a Canon digital video camera (Mini DV tapes) that has survived four trips to WDW and still takes solid video. It was one of their initial Mini DV cameras, so I'm sure the latest version would be better, but this one just keeps plugging away, can't really justify spending money on a new one yet.

I'm not usually big on the brand loyalty thing, but I can't find a bad thing to say about Canon's cameras.

 

[ScoJo15]

Hello,

I was looking for a new camera at Christmas time and found this site:
http://www.dpreview.com/

Also check out www.stevesdigicams.com

He does an in depth review of every camera on the market, each review even screenshots the user interface on the cameras itself, along with a lot of sample photos.

 

[jenniferma]

About photo memory cards....I bought a Kodak 256 for $19.95 at Walmart. On my Kodak Easyshare camera-- we have a 5.0 mp, I could save about 170 photos.

For those of you that decide on a Kodak Easyshare.. definitely plan on buying the battery charger and/ or dock.. but do not put your camera on the dock to recharge it UNTIL it is is COMPLETELY drained, or you will ruin your batteries!

good luck--jen

 

[alite]

Thanks for the info. Where in WDW did you have this done?

I had mine done at Epcot, at the Kodak store near SE. I've read there are other places/parks to get it done.

 

[crazelion]

I have Nikon 4600 that I paid 149.00 dollars for at Best Buy on the before Thanksgiving sale that was having. I like the camera because it's easy to use. I narrow may choices between Nikon 4600 or Canon 520 A. I end up getting a good deal on the Nikon that's how made my choices.

I can't even put film in my 35mm camera without destorying the film.

 

[pdarrah]

Just a note for the person wondering about how many pictures fit on the memory card.

How many depends on the quality level you have the camera set at and how many pixels your camera can record. I always use the highest level since I never know if I might want to crop/enlarge/etc. the photo later and the more pixels you use, the easier it is to do that.

Just remember that 150 or 200 pictures may sound like TONS of space when you are used to using film - BUT as you get used to being digital, you will find yourself taking a lot more pictures..... Not sure everyone was looking at the camers - just take another. Ooh, look at that pretty flower - take a picture. Wow - that's the 10th autograph we've gotten today - good thing we took photos of them all, we can make a scrapbook out of them. And so on! I just took nearly 100 pictures at my DS's 7th birthday party!

Although you can view the pictures with the camera and delete the "bad" ones to save space, I never have the time (or take the time) to do this on vacation. I just keep shooting and then take care of the cleanup when I get home.

Another thought is that it might be better to have 2 or 3 smaller memory cards rather than a single big one. If the single big one develops a glitch (rare - but it can happen) you might lose all your photos. If you have spread your photos over a few different cards, then one problem won't mess up ALL your photos. I have 3 256MB cards and 1 500MB card and I swap them out at least once per day to spread the photos around. I make the change in the hotel room so I am less likely to drop/lose a card. I leave at least a couple of the cards at the hotel so I don't lose everything if is lose my camera & case.

Just some tips from a digital photo addict!

pdarrah

 

[Glendamax]

I just want to thank everyone for your help. I've learned so much in the last 24hrs. After looking at some of the links you've posted, I think the Canon 5MP Powershot A610 looks good to me. It's $209.54 at Walmart, but I did find it about $10 cheaper through one of the links that was posted. Also, I think I will get the 1gig memory card (and probably another smaller one) so if I shoot any video, all my memory won't be used up. Circuit City has a very helpful chart on memory cards on their site. Tomorrow I plan to go to the store to see it in person.

So thanks again everyone. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow!

 

[snusnu]

Thanks. i tend to like to do artsy-fartsy stuff with my photos so i'm trying to figure out what a "normal" person would like daughter has 4 mp easy share but it seems so slow..has this been a problem for anyone else..? it's difficult to take 2 pics in a row it's so slow. i'm used to film slr so maybe that is the problem, don't really know. i ordered some faster memory cards so will see if that helps...other wise i am impressed with the pics as we enlarged some to 8x10 after cropping with no problem. I did read a number of reviews but again they are usually from people who enjoy taking pictures and might be more knowlegeable than the person i want it for so that why i want "man on the street" info

We loooooove our Sony Cybershot DCSP150. It has an incredibly fast shutter speed for a digital. It's kind of fancy-schmancy for the joe blow consumer, but I'm a total gadget freak. I'm also a huge bargain shopper and used stackable coupons found on techbargains dot com to get around $125 off plus free shipping. Go to that site and enter in the search for whatever camera you're looking for and you'll be amazed at the deals.

 

[BuzzPrincessMom]

Glenda,

I have the Cannon Powershot 610 and DH has tried to take some video. It takes a bunch of space and we are unsure what we are going to do with the videos we took. I doubt I will put the family around the PC to watch the video. But I am not much of a video person anyway.

I will say I LOVE this camera. DH got it for me because I have been toying with the idea of starting a children's photography business. The response time is great, I don't have to make the kids "do it again". I love the LCD screen and how it flips.

My favorite feature...the timed pictures, and being able to take 10 shots with the self timer at once. My FIL doesn't like to take pictures, so I just make him sit once for the family shot.

Enjoy!