HELP - need recommendations for a good digital camera

[pbnjrockette]

I LOVE, LOVE LOVE my Olympus cameras (one with 10x zoom) the other is an 8mp Stylus. Although both cameras use the more expensive XD card (look for a sale or rebate) the clarity and sharpness of the pictures run circles around my husband's Panasonic and son's Sony.

The new Consumer Report (Nov) just did a digital camera review.

 

[makinorlando]

Thank you everyone for your responses -- I knew if I asked the question here that I would get valuable responses

It seems Cannon is a leader in this group--are they easy to download to the computer? What if I bought an additional memory stick so I could download all my Disney pictures and then burned them to CD or printed them when I got home?

I have a Canon S2 (now S3) and I love it! If you would like to see some samples check out the links in my signature..

Pictures are very easy to download to a computer directly from the camera with a USB cord or I use a card reader.

Canon does no use a memory stick - it uses SD cards.

I would suggest having at least one extra card for your trip.

Personally even though I am local and make day trips, I always download my photos right away and back up to a CD for safe keeping.

 

[Yzerbear19]

The first thing you want to make sure is that the camera has OPTICAL zoom. A lot of cameras say they have a ton of zoom, but its DIGITAL zoom which will blur your pictures. So you want to make sure that whatever camera you get it has OPTICAL zoom. Most come with at least 3x optical zoom and then some digital. I never use the digital zoom on my camera.

I have to stick up for Kodak. My first digital camera was a 2 megapixel Olympus camera. It was OK, but back in February 2005 I was looking to get a new one before we went to Disney World in April. A fellow coworker used to sell digital cameras and was very savy about them and recommended the Kodak camera. The one I got is 4 megapixels, with 3 optical and 4 digital zoom. It takes amazing pictures! I've printed a lot of them off as 8x10s and they are beautiful! The colors are rich and vibrant. I love my Kodak camera. I had originally wanted to stick with the Olympus brand, but after reading a lot of negative reviews went with the Kodak and haven't regretted it since.

My camera uses 2 AA batteries and you can use rechargable batteries. In fact I recommend rechargable batteries since digital cameras drain batteries. If at all possible use the view finder, not the LCD screen to take pictures, this will help to prolong the life of your batteries.

Check the link in my signature to see pictures taken with my Kodak camera. The pictures there are a bit lower quality because Yahoo shrinks them, but they still look good.

I'm actually looking at getting a new one before we go to WDW in January and it will more than likely be a Kodak camera.

 

[Yzerbear19]

Just wanted to add that you will also want to purchase a camera bag for your camera. It will help to prolong the life of your digital camera.

 

[GIOny]

I'm so glad this thread came up! We are also looking to buy a new digital camera. I am looking at the Canon PS A540 and the Kodak Easyshare C875. I'm guessing the general concensus is that the Canon is a better camera than the Kodak? I'm hoping to get some great lowlight shots during our trip this Christmas, like Main Street and the Castle at night. Would the Canon be good for this?? Thanks for your help!

To be honest with you I haven't used the camera

under those circumstances but I have no doubt that it will work fine in lowlight because all the pictures I have taken so far are great. Another reason I like the camera is because it uses regular AA batteries, so I don't have to go hunting for some obscure camera batteries . You can buy rechargeable batteries if you want but so far I have been doing fine with Duracel (they say "digital camera" on the package, they cost a little more then the regular batteries). You will also need to buy another memory stick, it comes with a very small one (only approx. 16 pictures). The best way to judge is to go to the store and get a feel for the camera, hold it, take pictures, see if it feels comfortable. That's what I did. I went to the store wanting to buy a totally different camera, but once I saw the powershot A540, I knew that was the one I would be happy with. BTW, I see Frankie in your signature, is he a pug ?? I have a pug, his name is Ralphie .

 

[wiggles02]

Another vote for Canon. We just bought the S3. DH loves it, but I haven't figured how to turn it on yet. We just got the new Consumer Reports (Nov) and they did review digitals. That might be of help! Good luck!

 

[kimmikayb]

Great thread...I'm in the market for a new camera too. I am not happy with my Kodak.

 

[ransom]

My vote is for the Canon SD700-IS. It received some of the highest rating by people who actually used the camera. I have only had it for a very short time and I am very pleased with it. It takes GREAT pictures, does digital movies, and is small enough to fit in your pocket.

That one gets my vote, too. We have many cameras, but this is the one that gets used the most. It's very small, but takes fantastic pictures. We agonized over that purchase for a long time, but DW and I are very happy with the SD700-IS we ultimately bought!

 

[TinksMagic54]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and sample photos -- this is great information - keep it coming!!!!

 

[phantom728]

We have 2 digital cameras, the first is a Kodak Easyshare, sorry can't remember the model no, but its a year or two old. We took it on our cruise in January and it took fantastic photo's and many of those were landscapes, which a few I blew up to 8x10's with no distortion.
Our second is a Sony Mavica which burns right to a small CD. The photo quality is fantastic, but it is built more like a tradition camera, so can be bulky.
I love them both and will be bringing each one to WDW in Dec for my various shots.

 

[pbnjrockette]

Yeah!! My Olympus Stylus 800 came in #3 on the Consumer Report review (Nov). My only complaint is that I wish it had an optical viewfinder. Screen is quite large and works well even in sunlight but I do like the option of a viewfinder (more and more compacts and subcompacts are omitting them).

 

[TaraPA]

I did a lot of research & decided on the Canon Powershot A610 (previously the Canon Powershot A95). I needed a high quality, general use camera & this is perfect for me. I've owned it for about 8 months now & it produces the clearest, crispest pictures I have ever seen. It has a ton of functions that I haven't even used yet, but someday I will read the manual & learn them all.

It is SIMPLE to download pics- you just plus in the USB cord (comes with it) and they just pop up on your computer screen (there may be software to download - if there was, it was included & DH did it - I am computer illiterate!)

It is OPTICAL 4x zoom which is much crisper than digital zoom, and it is 5 MP which is about as high as you can go & still keep the price reasonable.

It takes regular AA batteries which is great but you MUST use rechargeable or you'll be replacing them every day.

It uses an SD memory card, I purchased one at the same time as the camera. Staples had the best price on this camera at the time I bought it.

I can't say eough good things about this camera! I've had Olympus & Vivitar in the past & the Canon beats the pants off of both of them!

 

[deekaypee]

When I was looking into buying my digital camera, I really benefited from looking at the information on the Digitial Camera Resource site: http://www.dcresource.com/

The information there was almost overwhelming, but I was able to choose a camera that fit my needs, budget, etc. I ended up with a Casio Exilim, which I'm happy with as I become a better photographer and for its portability; I carry it almost every day. The site also helped me to decide on a camera for my FIL, a Nikon D80 that he loves (and one which I will to upgrade to when I've "earned" it).

 

[tinan]

Great customer service too! My oldest dd brought this camera with her on a school trip to a Relay For Life. Unfortunately she allowed someone else to use it and of course they dropped it scratching the lens. I called customer service in which they said to send it in and I explained the entire story. They said that this would not be covered under warranty as it was accidentally dropped and that the estimate was $181 to get it fixed. Well much to my surprise they fixed it for $0!!! It takes excellent pictures and even though you are not looking for video it does take that as well. My other dd has a Kodak easy share and it takes some nice pictures as well even though others have commented on the inferior lens and it takes video as well. DH took video of the fireworks at Disney with the Kodak and they came out nicely.

 

[meloneyb21]

WOW, I'm in the market for a digital camera too! Great recommendations! I'm off to research some more....

 

[CajnMom]

Last June I bought a Kodak P850 and love it. I'm a novice and it is so easy for me to use. All the features are so easy to get to that even I can figure it out. I wanted a camera with 10X plus zoom for my kids sports activities and other distance shots. This camera has 12X zoom and is 5mp. The lcd screen is viewable in bright sunlight too, as I was pleased to discover. I did not buy the EasyShare dock or printer, but haven't found the need for it either.

 

[kitner25]

I just recently bought my second Canon Powershot A710 IS. I really like my first Powershot A70, but had a need for better zoom. The picture quality is great and easy to use.

 

[kimmikayb]

I just recently bought my second Canon Powershot A710 IS. I really like my first Powershot A70, but had a need for better zoom. The picture quality is great and easy to use.

Where did you buy your A710? After doing some research I decided this is probably the camera for me....went shopping tonight and couldn't find it argggg! I was at Target, Wal Mart, Staples, Office Max and Best Buy. I guess I could get it over the internet, but I prefer getting it from a local store. Was it around $400? Thanks!

 

[kitner25]

I bought my 710 on the internet since it could not be found locally. I paid $399 for it but if you belong to Costco they have it on their website for $349. Good luck.

 

[cybrkitn]

My DH just bought a new digital camera for our upcoming Dis trip next week. I don't remember if it's a Nikon or not.

I do have one tip for you though. If you have a Best Buy near you, check online for any sales. If you find one for a digital camera that you like, make sure to print it out and bring it with you to the store. The sale prices in the stores are different than online. However, Best Buy does honor the online sales price as long as you have the back up paperwork with you
We did this and it turned out that the online price was cheaper than what the store had. Needless to say, we were able to get the digital camera from the store at the online sale price.