Is this a good camera?

[Simba22]

I wasn't sure where else to post this but would someone who is camera savvy look at this and tell me if this is a good camera to buy?http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...t&productCategoryId=cat04002&id=1110266874825


thanks in advance!

 

[epfootballcutie04]

first of all, i personally wont EVER by anything from best buy EVER again. every time i do, somethign goes wrong with it. But, that's just my opinion.

that aside, it looks like an ok camera. i wouldnt go lower than 5 mp for a camera though. If you do, the resolution won't be very good. I went to office depot to get mine. They had some pretty good deals on cameras back in june. I got a sony cyber shot 8mp camera, 1gb memory card and a pretty decent zoom with a 2" screen, for about 400 bucks. maybe it was 450, i got it for a bday present and didnt really pay attention to the price, but i do know it was 4something. Works like a charm and with the memory card i can get about 456 pictures on it on the standard setting.

but the camera you picked out, looks ok! esecially if you dont want to get really artsy professional! I'd say good choice! But do some more checking around at different stores before you make your final decision!

 

[FishFlavoredSoda]

Please do not buy this camera from Best Buy. There are online retailers that sell this camera for about 50 to 70 dollars less. Best Buy online has horrible service.

Service aside...this camera is spectacular. 5 Megapixels will get you clean 8x10 prints without a hitch. The image stabilization built into this camera will allow you to shoot in low light with less blur. There is an update to this camera already, but the new features introduced do not really improve on this one very much. So, my final words are yes! Get this camera! But, no! Don't buy it from Best Buy!

 

[dmthoma76]

Please do not buy this camera from Best Buy. There are online retailers that sell this camera for about 50 to 70 dollars less. Best Buy online has horrible service.

PLEASE LISTEN! I wouldn't buy a pack of pens from best buy let alone a camera!


~Donna

 

[epfootballcutie04]

glad to know im not the only one that doesnt like best buy!

 

[Mickey-4-Me]

I wasn't sure where else to post this but would someone who is camera savvy look at this and tell me if this is a good camera to buy?http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...t&productCategoryId=cat04002&id=1110266874825


thanks in advance!

Great camera. We have a Canon Powershot G6 7.1 megapixel. The camera you are interested in is similar. You will have lots of options for "professional" shots like adjusted the aperture, shutter release, blah, blah, blah. Although I sometimes play around with these options. I usually just use the main dial options. There is an option for people shots (close up with a blurred background), night time shots (so the lights don't blur), landscape shots, and stitch assist (if you want to take a close up shot of something really big you can take individual shots and line them up on your camera and "stitch" them together).

 

[F4disneyfan]

THe camera is a good camera Canon has always been a great name in photo products now next thing is MP yes 5 MP is great but honestly the higher you go the better it really ISN"T unless ofcourse you are making posters. Many people make this mistake and buy large MP cameras with nearly 0 optical zoom this one has 12X optical very good thing but you DO NOT NEED a 5 MP camera for taking holiday pictures unless as I said you are making them into posters a 3.2 MP camera is just fine for storing them on teh net or printing them off as 4X6 or 8X10 etc so don't get sucked into the I need more MP's for better pictures.

 

[Simba22]

Thanks for the info guys! MY dad doesn't like Best Buy either. I've neber personally had a problem with them, but I will search around and see who else sells this camera!

Thanks again for your help! You guys are awesome!

 

[ukcatfan]

Just be careful when doing online purchases for cameras. There are some slimeballs out there that have great looking websites. Many like to bait and switch you. They will call and tell you that the camera you want is out of stock, but they will give you a "special deal" because of their mistake. They then try to sell you something extremely overpriced. They also try to pressure you into extras. Do your research. I have had luck with http://www.buydig.com . They have good reviews also.

Kevin

 

[hrbib21]

I must be one of the few who's shopped at BB for many years and has never had one problem. Most likely that is because I research like crazy before I buy something.

For this camera, there are 28 reviews here: http://www1.epinions.com/Canon_PowerShot_S2_IS_Digital_Camera where it has an average rating of 4.5 stars (out of 5). Here are more reviews: http://reviews.cnet.com/Canon_PowerShot_S2_IS/4505-6501_7-31354064.html

 

[ukcatfan]

Here is a professional review. http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/s2is.html

 

[Michele]

You should hop over to the photography board. There are lots of people over there that use this camera. I'm sure they can give you informative reviews.

 

[makinorlando]

I have the Canon S2-IS, and LOVE it. I upgraded from a simpler point and shoot camera to this in February and have had so much fun with it. If you would like to see my photos, click on the "My Photos" link below.

I agree that you can find this camera on line for much cheaper than in a stoore - www.buydig.com offers you several price comparisions!

The camera has auto mode, but can also be used in the manual mode. The LCD screen is not as big as some, but it swivels like a video camera and is great for those hard to get shots. The ZOOM is amazing and one of the features that was the deciding factor in this camera.

I took this photo from near the train station using the zoom -

I think you will be very happy with this camera if you purchase it.

I bought it after seeing some folks on the photography board who have it as well.

I took this using a mini tripod on a fence post.

 

[pbnjrockette]

I have an Olympus with 10x zoom, my husband a Panasonic with 12x zoom. Both of us love our cameras. Not the smallest out there but great for trips. We were in Antarctica and I have phenomenal penguin pictures (my camera is just 4 MP and my 8x10's are great!!) I use a smaller pocket sized 8 mg with 3x for "everyday" people pictures.

 

[ssleblanc]

I absolutely LOVE this camera. It takes amazing photos, and can be anything from a point and shoot to a camera with lots and lots of manual features allowing for creative photography.

Amazon has the same camera for less - it is around $315 right now I think (it lists for $349 but it is "blocked out" and you have to add the item to your cart to see the actual sale price - I did it a few days ago to get a price for a friend and it was around $310 or $315).

And as much as I despise Walmart, they also have it for less (around $330).

But I would HIGHLY recommend the camera. I absolutely love mine!!

As a matter of fact, I'm really torn. I was going to bring my smaller Canon point & shoot with me on the trip - I have a attachments on the S2 that make it bigger and more cumbersome to deal with. But I think I'm going to disassemble it and bring the camera alone with a smaller camera bag.

 

[Simba22]

okay so before I got the response above with the list of places that sell this camera, I searched on google and only got a couple of places (2 of which were on the list that was posted). Since I had never heard of them, I went with the 3rd company which was Walmart. I figured that it was the lesser of two evils, considering I was going to go with Best Buy. A day after I placed the order I got the list above and saw that I could have gotten the camera for about $30 less than what I paid for it, but all in all I'm not upset in any way. I am so excited and I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who helped me make my decision! I got an email this morning that said that the camera is on it's way! Hopefully when I come back from my December Birthday Trip I will have some great pictures to go along with my first ever trip report!

Thanks again everyone!

 

[ssleblanc]

Congratulations! You'll love the camera.

I suggest going out and "playing" with it before your trip. There are often times when you can get a much better shot using some of the manual features than the point & shoot (auto) mode. The camera does it's best to try to figure out the best settings for your situation, but it is just what the 'computer' in the camera can determine based on what it "sees".

I learned a TON about my camera from this website: http://www.dcresource.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=10

The first sticky is DCRP Canon S2 IS Tips - it gives a TON of great tips for using that specific camera. I also always found user manuals a PAIN to read (boring, etc), but when I took this camera to the park on a weekend with the kids, I looked up various settings and took the same picture 5 or 6 different ways based on suggestions in the book (and from that "Tips" thread), and then went home and analyzed the pictures - figuring out what button does what and the effect on the pictures. I love photography, so this is a fun thing for me to do - but it is also a great idea to do it when you aren't "counting" on the pictures - like on a trip or a one-time event.

 

[mrs.elliott]

I just bought this camera and I love it! It's a great camera. I would highly suggest it! We got ours on sale at http://www.berger-bros for $279.00.

 

[F4disneyfan]

Ok just to ask all the people buying the point and shoot cameras with the manual features why not just go and buy yourself a nice Nikon D50 entry lever DSLR then you can change lenses and have all the auto and manual features you want with way better glass and so on for it? TO be honest the thing that makes the pictures even better is the quality of glass you are shooting through and the point and shoot versions tend to be on the low end for the glass they use. We just got some new Nikon pro glass for the D70 and man what a nice addition to the lineup of lenses we have now ya it can get expensve but does make a world of difference.

 

[makinorlando]

Ok just to ask all the people buying the point and shoot cameras with the manual features why not just go and buy yourself a nice Nikon D50 entry lever DSLR then you can change lenses and have all the auto and manual features you want with way better glass and so on for it? TO be honest the thing that makes the pictures even better is the quality of glass you are shooting through and the point and shoot versions tend to be on the low end for the glass they use. We just got some new Nikon pro glass for the D70 and man what a nice addition to the lineup of lenses we have now ya it can get expensve but does make a world of difference.

Some folks don't want to (or can't) spend the price difference between a dSLR and a nice point and shoot..... for some (like me) the nice P&S like the Canon S2 or S3 are nice stepping stones to dSLR.

a few months ago - I didn't know what the difference was between a digital camera or a dSLR camera...or what was meant when "photo folks' talked about "glass". Would I know love a dSLR... yes, can I justify the expense at this time... no..... and I think the S2 takes fine photos.

Good luck OP with your new purchase - from my experience (over 1000 pics since Feb) and in my HUMBLE non dSLR opinion.... you will love it!