Digital Camera for WDW?

[mommykds]

I have no idea about digital cameras but would like to get one for our upcoming trip to Disney.

We need a camera that's fairly easy to use just for family vacation photos & other family type stuff..nothing professional.

What is the lowest/highest megapixals would you suggest & also what zoom.

Any other features you consider a "must"? Thanks!

 

[civileng68]

I have no idea about digital cameras but would like to get one for our upcoming trip to Disney.

We need a camera that's fairly easy to use just for family vacation photos & other family type stuff..nothing professional.

What is the lowest/highest megapixals would you suggest & also what zoom.

Any other features you consider a "must"? Thanks!

The thing I would look for more than any are the features of the camera. I myself am more serious with photography and pay attention to shutter speeds, but for a family cam you wont worry about that.

However, I would say, unless you are planning on printing large (8X10 or bigger) photos, do not worry about megapixels. After you get by about 4 megapixels, you cant even tell on a computer screen, unless you are zooming in heavily on the photo you took. Keep that in mind.

I think I would look for zooms (dont look at digital zooms). Digital zooms are nothing more than a con (my opinion) to sell a camera. Look for "optical" zoom. Optical zoom is a crips, clean picture. The minute you hit your digital zoom you start getting grainy photos.

So:

1) Look for features that suit your personal family interest.
2) Look for OPTICAL Zoom.

 

[Lewisc]

Digital zoom is nothing different than cropping the picture after you shoot it. Only look at optical zoom.

What kind of memory does the camera use? CF and SD are popular and reasonably priced. Some of the other formats are more expensive.

What kind of batteries? Some of the cheaper cameras don't come with rechargeable batteries. Some use standard AA and others have use a proprietary battery.

I've had good luck with Canon. Nikon also makes good cameras. Even 3 mega pixels should be enough.

Look at sites like techbargains. Places like Dell and Newegg frequently have specials and coupons you can use.

 

[Lewisc]

duplicate post please delete

 

[jlaspoq]

Not sure about any technical aspects, but a bit of practical advice - learn to use the camera before you get there! It does take some getting used to - different from the old point and shoot 35 mm cameras. We got one before our recent trip for the first time - used it just a little before we went, and read the entire manual and played with it on the driving trip to WDW. So I got lots of good pictures. However, I also have way more blurry photos than I ever used to - probably from using the different settings and having to learn what is best for what situation. I actually wish I had gotten a little tripod to play with on fireworks pictures - I love to try to take them, but there's no way to hold it steady enough for those settings.

There was a fairly long thread a while back about digital cameras that you might try searching for.

By the way, we have a Nikon 5200 Coolpix and I like it. 5.1 megapixels, 3x optical zoom. Also several preset modes.

Good luck!

 

[Star Wars Guy]

My past 2 digital cameras have been Kodak and I've had great success with them. Watch your sale flyers and you find good deals. If you're going to print them as 4x6 (which is what I mainly do), a 3-4 megapixel will be just fine and you'll be able to store more pictures on your memory cards.

Most inexpensive cameras that you'll be looking at usually have a 3X Optical and 4-5X digital zoom. I agree with the other posts about ignoring the digital zoom.

I recently bought the Kodak Easyshare 4.0 megapixel camera from Office Max for $149 and have been quite pleased with it. Around Mother's Day, most of the major chains had pretty good deals on digital cameras. The same may hold for Father's Day if you can wait a few more weeks, though recently I've seen pretty decent deals every week.

If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.

 

[WDWOKW92]

Last year before my wife and I took a cruise down the Mexican Riveria via San Francisco I bought a Kodak DX7440 Easy Share 4.0 megapixel Digital Camera with 4X optical zoom. I paid $299 for it from Comp USA. They were also giving away a 128 meg SD memory card with it plus it was 18 months same as cash . The main thing I like about it is it has a 2.2" screen on back. Many digital cameras have a 1.5-1.6" inch screen. You can also set the camera to take pictures at a lower resolution, such as 1,2,and 3 megapixel. In addition I went to techbargains.com and got a couple of Kingston 256mb SD memory chips for only $7 each after rebates . So, between the 3 memory chips (plus the 32mb internal memory) I have enough space for 350-400+ pics at the highest resolution, more at a lower resolution. I am extremely happy with this camera and am so glad I got it. Kodak does make another model that has a 10X optical zoom for about $100 more.

 

[mommykds]

Thank you all for your quick & helpful responses...I really appreaciate it.

I am just checking on line..I found this..

Kodak EasyShare CX7430 Digital Camera and Printer Dock Bundle for about $270...

Sounds good to me..it has
4-megapixel
• 3x optical zoom
• 1.6" LCD screen
• Prints 4" x 6" photos
• As fast as 90 seconds
• Recharges batteries

Ok what do you all think?

 

[Tammi67]

What site did you find that on?

 

[WDWOKW92]

The Kodak printer dock bundle is a great value! I have their new and improved printer dock and it is great because not only can you print 4x6 prints, you can place 2 or 4 of the same print on the same size sheet,... great for wallets! If you plan on taking lots of pictures daily, get an extra rechargable battery to take along with you. Don't want to miss that magical moment because of a dead battery. Like I said,... check Techbargains.com for deals on this bundle you were speaking of plus you'll need the extra memory cards. They come in all sizes and are inexpensive.

 

[DVC Jen]

We got a new digital at Christmas and I am just now learning how to use it. I have taken quite a few pics on the auto mode and when I tried to print them 4x6 they were really quite grainy. Not sure if it is the camera or the printer (betting on the printer even though it was not a cheap one.. about 200.00).

Our camera is an Olympus C-765 Ultra zoom 4.0 megapixel and 10x optical zoom. Does that sound OK? I was checking out the shutter speeds (at least I think that is what it was) and they only go up to 400. I was kinda hoping it went higher for fireworks. Do you cam experts think shooting fireworks at 400 will be OK?

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Our camera is an Olympus C-765 Ultra zoom 4.0 megapixel and 10x optical zoom. Does that sound OK? I was checking out the shutter speeds (at least I think that is what it was) and they only go up to 400. I was kinda hoping it went higher for fireworks. Do you cam experts think shooting fireworks at 400 will be OK?

I've got a C-720 Ultra Zoom ... the older cousin of your C-765. It can take pictures up to ISO 400 "speed" (not shutter speed ... that's usually measured in fractions of a second)

Here are a few fireworks pictures I took with it, it seems to work well enough for me.

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

I bought a basic Fuji 2.0 megapixel (Finepix A205) for under $100. It's been a great 'starter digital' camera for me. I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars only to not use the digital one (I have a nice 35mm Cannon that I bought six or seven years ago that cost way more than that!). The Fuji takes great day pictures, but the night ones are pretty lousy. Some of the daytime pics are on this thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8664098#post8664098

 

[ukcatfan]

I was checking out the shutter speeds (at least I think that is what it was) and they only go up to 400. I was kinda hoping it went higher for fireworks. Do you cam experts think shooting fireworks at 400 will be OK?

That is the ISO speed. It is the same as when you buy 100, 200, 400, 800, etc. film. The higher the number, the more sensitive your sensor is to taking the image. The downside is that it becomes grainier with each higher number.

Fireworks are very bright, so you actually want to use a lower ISO. For the best fireworks shots, you are going to have to use your camera's shutter priority mode and have a longer exposure. A tripod would also help with fireworks so you can go into the 2-4 second exposure range. If you can learn the manual settings, I would say use the smallest aperture, the lowest ISO, and around 2-4 second shutter speed. I will not go into to many details, but the highest aperture number on your camera is actually the smallest. It is actually a fraction but usually not shown as that on the screen. So 1/2.8 is larger than 1/8.0. Your manual should explain more on this.

That reminds me, I can not stress this point enough. Read your manual when you get a new camera. Even photographic experts can not possibly know all the features that a camera has without reading how that camera does it.

 

[tripper]

Hi, I just bought a Canon Powershot s1 IS at best buy for 315 bucks. It's a 3.2 megapixel and 10x optical zoom. I absolutey love it! I bout a 1G compact flash that will hold over 1,000 pictures at medium quality. Also has movie mode, and Image stabilization for using the 32x digital zoom, making a huge difference.

 

[Minnie]

At one point I had a realatively cheap Kodak under $150 bucks and it took decent pictures. Then I purchased a Kodax DX7590 with dock its was about $500. The difference in picture quality and versatility is amzaing. This particular camera even has a fireworks setting so great knowledge really isn't needed to take great pictures. It also has a movie section with sound though it takes a lot of memory or card space. I also recommend purchasing extra cards or taking a laptop to download them to.

I also have one of the PictureMate printers and it works wonders. Great difference between a regular printer even on Kodak paper.

Good luck in your search!