OT-new camera to buy?

[Indianawdwfan]

Im in need of a new digital camera. I need something easy to use but with great pictures. I dont want to spend over $250. I would like to have one that took videos & good night pictures. my camera now blurrs on nite pics. ?? What do you all recommend?

Thanks

Jill

 

[budbeerlady]

Canon S3 IS. I love mine! I use the normal, firework and night mode at WDW. I have never done video but I know it is possible.

You can lurk around the photography board and look at everyones photo. It will give you a better idea and they can answer more technical questions.

 

[Indianawdwfan]

thanks. so yours is a canon, how does the battery life on those. I have always had Kodak and they arent to bad. I know at WDW I have to recharge every nite!!

 

[collcass]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...ac=&fi=all&pn=1&ci=8612&cmpsrch=&cltp=&clsgr=

A link to B&H for your price range

Looking for a Canon S3 link. I had the S2 IS. They are great cameras

ETA: http://www.beachcamera.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=CNPSS3

here's the link to the Canon S3 IS

 

[Minniemouse07]

We have a Canon SD750 that we picked up last May in anticipation of our trip in December. It is WONDERFUL!!!! Great movies and I even got a few excellent shots of the castle in the icicle lights at night!

 

[Honeymooner04]

I really like the Fuji F50. It's my little everyday camera when I don't want to carry around my DSLR. It does a really nice job in low light conditions and I've been really happy with it. I bought it last year for our October Disney trip and have been using it consistently since.

You might check the photography board for some more specific recommendations from people that really know their stuff.

 

[heartbeeps]

if I may make one suggestion, seriously consider getting a camera with a viewfinder. Yes, it's great that they have large LCD screens, but they're almost worthless in bright sunlight. I am so thankful that I have a viewfinder! We were at the Matterhorn recently and it was bright and sunny; there was glacier snow and a grey/white Matterhorn in the background. Strangers asked me to take their pix with cameras w/o viewfinders. I had to guess that the pix was ok when I took the pix. could only check AFTER the pix was in memory... and checking after each pix can run the battery down quickly!

I personally have had (oh about) 5 Olympus digital cameras since 1999; from proconsumer models to point-n-shoot ones and LOVE Olympus. The only other brand I would even consider switching to is Canon.

Also, check to see what the shutter lag speed is if you have kids or like to take pix of quick action. If there's a long shutter lag, you'll push the button and the kids will be out of the pix by the time the camera registers it digitally.

Good luck! There are new cameras on the market all the time. Just make sure you get one soon enough that you can practice in various settings (sunny, night, inside, outside) before your trip.

And don't forget to Smile!

 

[Minniemouse07]

if I may make one suggestion, seriously consider getting a camera with a viewfinder. Yes, it's great that they have large LCD screens, but they're almost worthless in bright sunlight. I am so thankful that I have a viewfinder! We were at the Matterhorn recently and it was bright and sunny; there was glacier snow and a grey/white Matterhorn in the background. Strangers asked me to take their pix with cameras w/o viewfinders. I had to guess that the pix was ok when I took the pix. could only check AFTER the pix was in memory... and checking after each pix can run the battery down quickly!

I personally have had (oh about) 5 Olympus digital cameras since 1999; from proconsumer models to point-n-shoot ones and LOVE Olympus. The only other brand I would even consider switching to is Canon.

Also, check to see what the shutter lag speed is if you have kids or like to take pix of quick action. If there's a long shutter lag, you'll push the button and the kids will be out of the pix by the time the camera registers it digitally.

Good luck! There are new cameras on the market all the time. Just make sure you get one soon enough that you can practice in various settings (sunny, night, inside, outside) before your trip.

And don't forget to Smile!

I actually prefer not having the viewfinder...VERY easy to use and I never had any issues not being able to see the screen. I consider the larger screen/no viewfinder one of the pluses of the SD750!

 

[momto28weeker+1]

I've been looking too, right now I'm considering the canon powershot sd 1000. I don't know if it has video.

 

[heartbeeps]

I actually prefer not having the viewfinder...VERY easy to use and I never had any issues not being able to see the screen. I consider the larger screen/no viewfinder one of the pluses of the SD750!

WOW! I am amazed that you've never been in a situation where you could not see the picture on your LCD screen. Congratulations.

Of course, then again we both live in the tri-state area where there are more grey days than not! Hoping for the sun to come out tomorrow.

I will say that buying an after-market "hood" does help for those that don't opt for a viewfinder. Also, many mfrs are saving money by not offering this feature. They're tougher and tougher to get - but both Canon & Olympus make models with viewfinders.

 

[tkme4ard]

I have the canon SD850 IS and I LOVE it! you can get for a great price right now (and it has both a large screen and a view finder)

http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=CNPSSD850&omid=106&ref=cag..

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Optical-Stabilized/dp/B000Q30420

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0705/07050702canonsd850is.asp they give wonderfully detailed reviews here is the link to the 850, but please check out all the others

 

[Hensandchickens]

I have the canon SD850 IS and I LOVE it! you can get for a great price right now (and it has both a large screen and a view finder)

http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=CNPSSD850&omid=106&ref=cag..

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Optical-Stabilized/dp/B000Q30420

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0705/07050702canonsd850is.asp they give wonderfully detailed reviews here is the link to the 850, but please check out all the others

I'm glad to hear you like the SD850. That's the one I'm thinking of buying for our upcoming trip. My old Sony is super outdated and very heavy.

 

[mom2aredhead]

I've been looking too, right now I'm considering the canon powershot sd 1000. I don't know if it has video.

I have the SD1000...bought last year to replace an 8 year old Kodak. We used it on our trip in December for the first time. I LOVE IT. The battery lasts a long time, pictures are nice and clear and it does take video, although all of my video is still on the memory card as I have not figured out how to do anything else with it. But that is my fault, not the cameras.

I was able to take a lot of great night shots (Christmas lights on the castle and spectro) by using the pre-set night shot setting and by tweaking the manual settings. Plus it has a viewfinder if you need it, and is super small and lightweight. I've been very happy with it.

 

[budbeerlady]

thanks. so yours is a canon, how does the battery life on those. I have always had Kodak and they arent to bad. I know at WDW I have to recharge every nite!!

I have NIMH rechargeables I carry in WDW, but I have never had a battery life issue. Its amazing to me how long the battories last, but I use the view finder 90% vs the LCD to take my photos. Its just habit for me. But I do the whole 8 day trip and then some, taking hundreds of pics on the one set of batteries. I carry the spares just in case. (One day I might have to stay 2 weeks and see if that wears them out enough to use the 2nd set. )

 

[digitap]

You might also consider some of the Panasonic cameras. They all have OPTICAL image stabilization, which is much better than any "digital" or "Anti-shake" modes offered by many manufacturers. The digital and antishake methods simply boost the ISO to extremely high levels in order to keep shutterspeed down. This creates very poor quality pictures in low light. The canon SxIS and the panasonics use OPTICAL image stabilization, so you can get the same effect without bumping up the ISO. You still have the ISO option if needed, though.

The Tz3 is a compact camera, smaller than the S3IS, so will fit into a pocket more easily, yet it still offers a 10x OPTICAL zoom, so can get right in close while your kids are on rides. It also is a bit wider zoom on the near side, so you can more easily take shots of the family and all the scenery behind them without having to back way up. This is especially useful for indoors.

It has both a standard and widescreen video mode that's VGA quality - good for transferring to DVD for TV viewing, and it's 30fps (no jerky motion) and records sound. Downside compared to the canon S3 and siblings is that you can't zoom while taking movies, however, as said before, this one has a wider angle zoom and is smaller.

So based on your preferences, either of these would make a great choice. Panasonic also has the FZ series which is comparable to the canon S3 series in size, but has a 12x optical zoom.

 

[drivencrazy]

We bought the Canon PowerShot S5IS, a little more than you were wanting to spend... but it is WONDERFUL! It takes great video and really clear pictures, we love everything about it! And as for the batteries, we use the Energizer LITHIUM ones and they seem to last forever in there! They are a little costly, but one set of them will out last our friends rechargeable ones before they need to change them to be charged!

We also have the Canon PowerShot A540, it to is a great one, we have great videos from it... actually we this is what we took to Disney in May and have lots of videos on it from there and we took tons of great pictures on it. Not sure how much it would cost to buy one now, we have had it for a while, and it is still a great working camara. The only reason we upgraded is that my husband was going to Iraq and wanted to take a camera and I wanted a nice one here as well as he was going to be gone for Christmas and birthdays... but glad to have both of them!

Good luck in your hunting for the right one!

 

[Doogan]

Another vote for the Fuji F50. Fuji has consistently made the best low light compact cameras on the market. The F50 is a step backwards from the the F31, but it still beats the pants off most everything else out there for low light (hight ISO). Fuji is often overlooked by the average consumer, but they make great cameras. Unfortuneatly, they've caved to the megapixel race with the F50 (which is a 12mp camera) and quit making the F31, which was probably the best compact digicam made in the last 2-3 years (IMHO). If you are lucky enough to find one on e-bay, it'll cost you about twice the original street price because they are so popular! Makes you wonder why they would quit making them, doesn't it?

Anyway, check out Steves-digicams and dprevew .com sites for quality reviews and comparisons of cameras. You'll learn a lot about cameras, too.

 

[funkbucket007]

Almost bought a Canon SD850 IS but got a killer deal on a Sony DSC-H3. So far, I love it.

 

[heartbeeps]

you'll find there are many cameras on the market - and many opinions on this board. You might want to read what the experts have to say:
Steve's Digicams
Digital Photography review
CNET

that being said, just don't take it on opinion - regardless of whether it's the Disboard folks or the experts. Better to narrow it down to a few good choices giving you the features you want/need (i.e., viewfinder, short shutter lag time, XXx optical zoom, xx megapixel, quality of shots) then go to a major camera or electronics store (like Circuit City) and pick them up and feel them and see if they work for you. What works for me does NOT necessarily work for my DH's big hands; he needs more camera to grab onto so he couldn't work those thin cameras with no grips.

Remember, whatever you decide, it's important to practice in different situations before you get to Disney so you know what your new camera is capable of producing!