Have $250 but know nothing about cameras

[dreamn_Disney]

The last 2 cameras I have purchased I was not happy with. They were too slow and the pic quality was not there. I am not a professional by any means. I just want a clear pic of my kids in front of the castle or to be able to catch a cute shot of my ds when he is playing in the back yard. I have $250 to spend on it and hopefully a memory card. I do have one 512MB SD card that I used in my last camera. The camera I have now is a Polaroid PDC 4355 that a friend said she had and really liked it was cheap and so I thought I would give it a try. As I said I do not like it at all. I would appreciate any recommendations. Thanks

 

[Groucho]

You should be able to get a camera you're happy with for that budget. However, pretty much every camera in that range (with one or two exceptions) is going to have disappointing nighttime photos; this is an almost unavoidable consequence of the cameras being so darn small. Daytime photos should be reasonably good from most decent digital cameras.

There's a couple other questions about your priorities... do you want the smallest camera possible? Do you want a long zoom range?

One other general recommendations... don't fall into the megapixel trap, 6mp is more than enough for any point-n-shoot digital, you're really not going to be gaining anything by going to a higher megapixel camera, and you very may well find yourself with worse photos from a 10mp compact camera vs a 6mp one.

 

[dreamn_Disney]

You should be able to get a camera you're happy with for that budget. However, pretty much every camera in that range (with one or two exceptions) is going to have disappointing nighttime photos; this is an almost unavoidable consequence of the cameras being so darn small. Daytime photos should be reasonably good from most decent digital cameras.

There's a couple other questions about your priorities... do you want the smallest camera possible? Do you want a long zoom range?

One other general recommendations... don't fall into the megapixel trap, 6mp is more than enough for any point-n-shoot digital, you're really not going to be gaining anything by going to a higher megapixel camera, and you very may well find yourself with worse photos from a 10mp compact camera vs a 6mp one.

What do I need to go up to in order to get a decent night time photo?
I do not need the smallest camera and actually I prefer one that is big enough to have a neck strap.
Not to sound too stupid or anything but what is long zoom rang mean. Is it getting an up close shot of something far away?
I really don't mean to sound so naive here I just know so little about cameras.
There have just been so many nice photos on some of these threads and I think to my self- Man I would love to stand on the bridge and get a shot of the castle way over there and have it look good. Or have my kids standing in front of me and have them and the stuff behind them look good. If this isn't possible with a point and shoot the I guess I need to know what kind of camera and lenses I need to get in order to have decent photos.

 

[Master Mason]

I would look at the Canon S3 IS, I think that it will probably fit your needs, without busting your budget too much. I think they are around 275, which is close.

As for night pictures, I have seen very good ones taken with this camera. Yes it will not take the quality of a dSLR, but you will also spend a lot less and there is a steep learning curve on a dSLR.

 

[dreamn_Disney]

I would look at the Canon S3 IS, I think that it will probably fit your needs, without busting your budget too much. I think they are around 275, which is close.

As for night pictures, I have seen very good ones taken with this camera. Yes it will not take the quality of a dSLR, but you will also spend a lot less and there is a steep learning curve on a dSLR.

That is why I wanted to stay away from a dSLR if at all possible. I know nothing about what lens to use for what. I read another post here on the S3 and there were some night shots posted and I thought they looked good but the one posting them was either using sarcasm and I missed it or felt the shots at night weren't good. I do not do a lot of night shots anyway so that is not at the top of the priority list but more of a bonus. I will look in to the Canon. I also looked at the Nikon D50 but like I said I am at a loss when it comes to lenses.

 

[Stitch'sCousin]

Just picked up a Canon S3 two days ago (partly based on the recommendations I read here) and am in the process of learning how it works. It is pretty intuitive and does take nice pictures.

 

[S. C.]

Also with the canon powershot S3 IS you can take some pretty good videos of your DS. I took some videos of my grandkids with my S3 that i cherish. My old digital takes videos but not as good as the S3.

If videos are important to you than whichever camera you choose make sure the videos/movies have sound. I read that some P&S cameras that take movies do not record sound.

 

[Groucho]

For decent low-light performance from a point-n-shoot, Fuji is pretty much the only way to go. There are some comparison photos here of Fuji low-light versus some of the others. Note that it's not all Fujis, it's specifically the ones with large sensors - the F- and S- series, I believe (though I'm not sure if they all do.) The F31fd (after rebate) and F40 can both be had for slightly over $200 and are basic 3x zoom cameras.

However, if you are using a tripod or similar support system and photographing a still object, you can get very nice results from pretty much any camera.

However, if night shots are not the highest thing on your priority list, then there are many decent options.

And yes, long zoom range would be the ability to zoom in from very close to very far away. Most compact cameras are 3x zoom, while big zoom cameras are usually 10-12x and are much thicker because of the larger lens needed. The Canon S3 falls into this category, but I don't think you'd find one in your price range, especially when you look at memory, too.

Good luck!

 

[SharonLowe]

I am sure all these recommendations are fine but remember, a camera doesn't take photos, the photographer does and the photos will only be as good as the person behind the lens. When you do get your camera, take the time to learn how to use it and to understand its strengths and its weaknesses. And, please, if it is a p&s, don't hold it at arms' length so you can see the viewfinder - it is no wonder why so many people have blurry photos. If it has a viewfinder, use it - you will be holding it steadier and you will get better photos. If it has shutter lag (the time it takes from when you push the "go button" to when it actually takes the photo), learn how to compensate for it (push the button half way down before shooting for most cameras today) or anticipate it. Also, learn how to turn off your flash - you need it less than most people think and will be happier with most photos if it doesn't go off.

 

[Jeninpa]

I have a very cheap camera but yet get numerous comments on my photo's,lol. I have the Panasonic Lumix LZ2 with a 6x zoom and image stablization and paid $200. It is probably cheaper than that now and they also probably have even newer better versions out.

This is a userpage of mine from another board with some different styles of pics I've taken with this camera so you can see the quality of the photo's.
http://forums.gottadeal.com/userpage.php?do=main&userid=69430
If you would like to see any other examples let me know. It does not take very good indoor photo's unless you are within the flash range or it is well lit although I have just recently tried taking it off the auto WB (white balance) and it seems like that problem could be fixable.