Camera??

[Carlissa's Mommy]

I had no clue where to ask this, so redirect me if there is a better place. But, we need to buy a new digital camera before our trip next month. My husband loves to take pictures of our little girl, but we don't care about (have no clue about) the manual functions on a camera - we just need a point and shoot. Can someone who knows about cameras tell me which one is better between these two:
http://www.neutralday.com/panasonic-zs3-vs-canon-sx200-is-compact-super-zoom-comparison/

Or, if you have a better one in mind that isn't more expensive, let me know that as well. I definetely need image stabilization because I am very shaky - so on our current camera, I get very blurry pictures. And, it is important to me to have a rechargeable battery. But, other than that, I have no clue what all that other stuff means. Oh yeah, we are planning a couple of college and pro football games, so the optical zoom is very important too.

Thanks!!!

 

[IndyShutterbug]

I would go to a local camera shop and tell the rep what features you are looking for and have them bring out a few models that match. Then, I would hold each one and see how they feel to you. See how easy/hard it is to change settings on the camera.
There are very nice, and expensive, point and shoot cameras out there and they some great deals to be had on used dslr's. I was in a shop last week and they had some Canon 20D's for $200.
Buying a dslr allows for changing lenses and using external flashes as well. Also, check out the xt/xs series of Canon as well. They also have entry level dslr's by Nikon, Sony, and a few others, but I am not as familiar as I am with Canon. Also, check out the Canon G9/G10/G11.

 

[Best Aunt]

I like Kodak because their software is easy to use. If you want to crop your pictures, remove red eye, brighten them up, etc., you can do this on your computer but you have to use software.

Think about the battery issue. To charge the battery on some cameras, you have to plug the camera into the electrical outlet. Not convenient if your battery dies in the middle of the day (although there have been threads here about where you can get your camera charged in the parks).

Other cameras run on AA batteries. You could purchase rechargable batteries for them. You would put the batteries into the charger, and plug the charger into the electrical outlet.

I asked a family member to take pictures using my camera, and his hands shook, so the pictures were blurry. I have not had that problem. I think part of the problem could be the adjustment to a digital camera. With a non-digital camera, you look through the viewfinder and hold the camera with two hands. Many digital cameras don't even have a viewfinder. You tend to just hold the camera in front of you and snap away.

Try to find a store with a generous return policy, in case you try the camera before your trip and realize that you hate it. Some stores charge a re-stocking fee when you make a return. I think Wal-Mart does not.

 

[QVCshopper]

QVC has an amazing TSV today -- Saturday only. It's $121 Kodak and comes with a $75 gift card to Kodak gallery. Free shipping and easy pay, too.

Watch one of their presentations. They are very informative and should provide all the info. you need.

 

[palavra]

We just got a Sony Cybershot for around $250.00 for our Disny trip. I love it! It is very easy to use, has lots of features and uploads quickly and easily to our computer. It has the lithium battery that you recharge. The camera itself does not have to be hooked up to the recharger-only the battery. Our last point and shoot used AA batteries. That was a real pain because it literally ate batteries. i was always having to change them out and keep a large supply on hand. With an extra rechargeable, you are good to go while the other is recharging. The rechargeable battery lasts much longer than regular AA's.

 

[ktlm]

I love my Canon powershot. It is easy to work and takes great pictures. That's the one I'd pick. We had an older version originally, and everyone in our family liked it so much, they all got them too.

 

[dizneechic]

I own the Panasonic ZS3 and love the thing! I bought it the 1st week it came out at street value (400) but now you can get them for under 300 on Amazon. As a hobbyist photographer who also needs to shoot product for my business I own some pretty decent equipment, but my ZS3 is my "purse camera" that I carry with me everywhere when I don't want to lug around the giant DSLR bag. I also LOVE the HD video mode and that I can easily switch between photo & video, the quality for both is amazing, and for a small P&S I have yet to be disappointed in the images it produces and don't miss that I didn't have my DSLR with me when needed.

Yes the ZS3 doesn't have the manual controls, but the ia mode works fabulously and I really don't miss them at all because of that. It's great to be able to take a camera out for the bag and shoot in any condition and get wonderful results each time (without thinking about the conditions and adjusting).