digital camera ?

[mom2ee]

okay,.okay, so I'm late in the digital scene, but going through my thousands of pic from the last several trips to WDW, I realize that I may need to breakdown and research one...anybody with thoughts on easy use digital for an electronically impaired Mom of 2 with a hubby who HATES taking pics ?

 

[AZKathy]

We have a Nikon 3500. We got it in March for our trip we took this summer. It worked great and it was easy to use. I am sure they made higher pixel cameras since then. Ours is a 3.2 megapixel which works fine; we won't print anything bigger than 8x10's.

When doing our research, we were informed from multiple sources the top companies for digital cameras were Canon, Nikon, and Olympus in March. Don't know if they have changed since then or not.

Have fun looking and buying!

 

[staylor]

I went to pricescan.com and read reviews. I have also talked to many people I've seen with them. So far we are leaning towards the Canon A70. But not set in stone yet. Good luck!

 

[kilee]

We have a Fuji. It takes great pics. However, it's great quality, but not the easiest on the wallett. It uses the XD flash cards and runs off of AA batteries (this saves a fortune). However, I swear it "eats" the batteries. For one average picture day in the parks. I'll probably go through 3 sets of them (I'm using Kodak or Duracell). But the pics are really crisp and clear and it's easy to use.

 

[emmagata]

Check out www.dpreview.com

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by kilee
We have a Fuji. It takes great pics. However, it's great quality, but not the easiest on the wallett. It uses the XD flash cards and runs off of AA batteries (this saves a fortune). However, I swear it "eats" the batteries. For one average picture day in the parks. I'll probably go through 3 sets of them (I'm using Kodak or Duracell). But the pics are really crisp and clear and it's easy to use.

Our Nikon eats batteries also, we bought the rechargables, big money saver.

 

[emmagata]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
Our Nikon eats batteries also, we bought the rechargables, big money saver.

I agree with Gail. Most digital camera draw too much power and Alkaline AA can't provide it.

I would HIGHLY recommend NiMh (they don't get a memory like NiCd) batteries. Several sets and at least 2 fast (1 to 3 hour) chargers.

I have a rechargable battery pack (lasts all day) that attaches to the tripod mount of the bottom of my camera. Makes it a little heavier but I rarely ever run out of battery power. It also makes the flash recycle much faster.

 

[TinkKel]

I bought a Nikon Coolpix 4300 this year and absolutely love it!! It's 4 MP and VERY user friendly. It even has "scene selections" on it (i.e. sunset, portrait, nighttime, etc) for the more camera challenged. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

 

[kdibattista]

I bought the Canon Elph S200 earlier last year for our Disney trip and LOVED it!!! It's definitely made for beginners (or blondes like myself ). I loved it so much that bought the Elph S230 for my mom and dad for their anniversary a few months ago (they would never buy it for themselves) and they absolutely love it. While researching the newer digital elphs for my mom, I came across the S400 and I liked that so much that I ended up buying that for myself and gave the S200 to my brother. Now, all of us will have our digital elphs for our trip in December and we couldn't be happier. I love that it is so tiny and compact... you can carry it everywhere and anywhere and not feel weighed down. We were all able to begin taking pictures within 5 minutes of getting it out of the box!!!!

Here's a ton of good info from the Dis' own Zurg:

http://www.wdwig.com/digital.htm

 

[kdibattista]

I did a lot of research at http://www.epinions.com/Digital_Cameras. It's was nice to hear what professionals had to say but I really wanted some reviews from normal, not so everyday users.

Good luck!!

 

[Tamie]

I bought a Nikon Coolpix 3100 and I love it. Great pictures. Easy to use and download. Easy step by step instructions from putting the wrist band holder on to downloading and editing. Great for beginners.

Nikon is a very popular brand of camera and I have always bought their brands in both regular and digital.

 

[Dan Murphy]

An older Nikon here, a 995. Zurg's review help on Deb's site is great. And do not use alkaline in a digital, you will never be able to afford to go to Disney, LOL. Use nickel hydrides, or, if your camera uses them, lithiums. Good luck.

 

[jazyjewel]

I bought a Kodak 6340 for my trip an love it!!! It takes awesome pics and ha a 4x optical zoom. It takes great night shots and is very user friendly. For batteries I bought 2 sets of rechargeable AA batteries (non alkaline), you can find them in the digital camera section of Walmart and they are only 9.94 each. That includes the charger. I just kept 4 batteries with me at the parks and left the other 4 charging while I was gone. The 4 batteries would last me about a day and a half and I take tons of pics. Hope this helps! And If you want to see any of my pics, just let me know, I am starting to upload them to ofoto.
Julie

 

[candleonwater]

Being a photographer in my younger years - when I went digital I thought I "had" to go Nikon... etc... got a Coolpix 995... actually love the camera, but I have discovered some things... for a single mom, who at times will leave the bulky camera behind so that I don't have to tote it around all day (while trying to keep up with my 6 yo DD)... I'm moving on. I'm looking at the Canon S400... I know quite a few people who have the lower mega pixel versions and they ALL LOVE the camera. One of the biggest pluses is that it is SO small, it doesn't tend to get left in the hotel room!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

I love my Nikon 950 (3 of the pictures below were taken with it) and I am still trying to learn the Nikon 5000 (ok, I have not really taken the time, but, it does take great pictures!!!).
Canon is now offering a digital SLR for under a 1000.00, nice camera.
You can still get refub editions of the 950 for a very reasonable price. Try www.refurbdepot.com or ebay.

What I like about the 950 is that it uses AA batteries and I have purchased the charger and extra sets, makes it very nice on vacation.

 

[kdibattista]

The S400 is FABULOUS!!!! You will love it!!!!

 

[chessie]

Nikon Coolpix 3100 here.

I had been researching digitals for more then a year before deciding on it. I had decided on the 2100 but I took so long making up my mind that I really needed a digital camera that the 3100 was out. The only difference between them is 3.2 mp's verses 2mps. You can go completely automatic or manual, and there are also many settings in-between. I have been very pleased with the photos I have taken.

 

[katerkat]

I have an Olympus D-380. It's nice - very easy to use. With a carry case, memory card and card reader, it was $300. However, it's only 2.0 megapixels, and next time, I'm going to spend the extra money for more!

And we definitely use the NiMh rechargable batteries. We even have a charger that can be plugged into the car so we never run out of fresh ones.

 

[Terk-1]

I bought a Sony Cybershot (3.2x optical, 3.2x digital) and absolutely love it!!! It is very easy to use, takes great pictures and even short videos (unfortunately with no sound). All I have to do is plug in the USB cable into the camera, download the pics onto my pc (very fast) and tah dah, I'm done! Most cameras come with like an 8 or 16mb memory disk. Since those will hold VERY few pictures, I would recommend (depending on how many pictures you plan to take) either a 128mb (set in fine mode, will hold 84 pictures) or a 256mb (again, on fine mode around 203 pictures). Also, if you get the camera at a store like Circuit City or Best Buy, purchase the insurance.

 

[chrisd596]

Where would you download your pictures or burn them to disc if you are staying 2 weeks and what would be the cost.


thanks