Decent priced camera for Disney trips, parades...etc

[TheRatPack]

Okay, I rarely buy electronic items....I've had my digital camera for YEARS and it's an older Kodak 6.1mp so I'm looking to upgrade.

I am impressed with the Canon Powershot line, I've seen a few Disney travelers that have taken photos of the night time parade with it and the photos look great.

My primary complaints with my Kodak are:
*Doesn't take good low light photos, very grainy if you try to alter them
*Takes too long to take photos if you're in a busy area....like trying to capture children running or birds...etc. It has quite the delay between each photo making you miss a LOT.
*Always getting blurry photos and some that when I take them they look fine but then when processed (different processors) they come out black.

Things I like about it that I'd like to find a camera that contains the same:
*Rechargeable battery, I do not want to use AA's
*Easy to use, I don't want detachable lenses or have to focus the thing myself....again I'd lose a lot of photos.
*Nice weight, I don't want one of those credit card sized cameras

So, what camera can the DIS budget boarders recommend? I've read so many reviews and really every camera is going to have good and bad, it all starts to run together after a while.

I really like the Canon Powershot SX30....but again it has some bad reviews too. I'd like to keep it around 300.00 or less....so again, no major cameras with various lenses...etc.

 

[burnsoc]

I'm very happy with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10. It's priced right around $300.

 

[cndij]

I recommend picking a few that you feel like have the features you are looking for and then go to Amazon and read a lot of reviews. I have used Amazon for years just for the reviews and occasionally buy from them as well, but the reviews are invaluable. Look for reviews that a large amount of people have flaggd as being helpful. That being said, I do have on recommendation on the negatives of your current camera, being the speed beetween shots. Make sure you are using the fastest speed SD card your camera will handle as the length of time it takes to record the image to the SD card is a major factor in the delay you mention. A lot of the most modern cameras can use a 10 now, this number is usually in a circle on the front of the sd card near the capacity. If the one your are using doesn't have a number it's probably a "1". If it is, just upgrading your SD card to at least a 4 might make a major difference in that problem area. Also 6MP is a really good resolution that you already have. I know they new ones are in 12 and 14MP now, but unless you plan to enlarge a picture to billboard size, your current resolution is way more than enough for a 20 X 30 poster print.

 

[cndij]

On the blurry photos you might want to look for a camera with an image stabilization software feature.

 

[disneyfreakk]

I just bought my second Panasonic Lumix ZS5 $279.99 at best buy.

 

[eduk8r26]

Panasonic FZ35. 18x optical zoom. Takes great night time pictures. Has image stabilization.

 

[PatriciaH]

We have a Panasonic Lumix as well. The lens is really good and it has a lot of nice settings. Low light is always an issue until you get into DSLR's with good low light lenses ($$$) and tripods. Some of the shots from our Lumix rival my Nikon D90 DSLR thoguh!

 

[TheRatPack]

Thanks Some of the Lumix state they have settings for various photo instances (snow, kids, pet...etc). My Kodak has that and really I want to get away from that....I want a true point and shoot, not scrolling through various photo settings to find the one that takes the best picture. I want to point a camera at my kids, or the parade or the fireworks and just know I'm going to get a good photo. One or two of the Lumix also state that battery life is low (3 hours).....does this require purchasing a separate battery to make it through a day at Disney? And my last question about the Lumix is that one of the reviews stated that the automatic focus won't work when taking pictures of wildlife if a branch or something comes in to the view area....I can see this being a problem with all the things that come in to the view area at Disney, especially during parades or ride shots.

Thanks for all the help....I hope to have made up my mind by the end of the week so I can order one and have it in time to experiment before our trip

 

[nunzia]

I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 and love it! Two friends loved it when they saw the price and the pictures and also bought one. I did alot of research before this..I had also had similar problems with my previous camera. The beauty of this Lumix is it has an auto focus you set and it really does great in many various situations..great at night, quick shots, etc. Price was about $120 through, I think Beach something cameras on Amazon? Great little camera.

 

[KBoopaloo]

I also bought a Lumix on Amazon. I think I got mine for about $150 and I love it. I have no issues with battery life, in fact I think I only recharged the battery 3 times in a 6 night WDW vacation back in April AND I used it to take a couple of short videos which can eat up battery life. I would recommend it.

 

[Swimalie]

We have a Canon SX120 as a back-up camera. It is a really nice camera that is compact as well. The main reason I like Canon's is that their lag between time you press the shutter to the time it takes the picture is low. The SX120 also has many settings.

We bought this one because our main Canon S15S (or something like that) was in the shop due to a speck under the lens. We were going to Disney and the camera wasn't ready so we bought the SX120 to take to Disney. It took great pictures!

 

[SplashMo]

I like the panasonic cameras mentioned and also the Canon Elphs. I own all Elphs. The SD 1300 and SD 1200 are nice. The s95 at $400 is excellent.

www.dpreview.com and www.kenrockwell.com have nice reviews.

 

[TheRatPack]

Thanks everyone Funny....everyone mentioned Lumix camera's and it's today's deal on Amazon and also a refurb one showed up as a deal on Buy.com.....funny, maybe it's a sign.

 

[Bibbidi]

The Canon Elph 300 HS is the one I'm looking at right now. It is a true point and shoot--with HD video and it got great reviews (better than the Lumix - though there are no manual modes on the Canon) from Cnet. It is around $220 on amazon right now.

 

[dfchelbay]

Wow...almost unanimous on the Panasonics.

 

[TheRatPack]

Some of these cameras look thinner....my Kodak has a nice weight to it and nice contoured grip....do the Panasonics or Elph lines have a camera with that? I'm used to using something larger like this and I never get my finger in shots when the camera is larger than my hand LOL

 

[disneyfreakk]

The model that I have has a nice weight. Its not too big, but it is a bit bigger than other digital cameras. Actually, that is one of the negative reviews on my panasonic. lol. Also, my camera has an automatic setting that takes great pics under any lighting. I get some GREAT shots at concerts.

I can't really tell you how long the battery will last at Disney because I haven't taken it there yet.

 

[si-am]

I have a Nikon Coolpix-- don't know what model it is but it's several years old. It takes beautiful pictures and has a lot of different settings. I love it! It's not fantastic for nighttime shots, but most point and shoots will have limitations in that lighting.