Trying to buy a new digital before trip...

[enchantedpixiedust]

Hi Everyone

Not sure if this is the best place for this, but here goes. I have a digital camera that I use for Ebay, etc but it's not what I need for vacation. I've been out looking but now am totally confused. I borrow my sisters Canon Powershot A70 sometimes, which I like but the response time isn't great on it. Ideally I'd like the Rebel, but it's too much $$ right now. I'm trying to stay at $500 or less if possible. I would like as much zoom as possible as well as a quick response time. I was looking at the Konica Minolta DiMage Z-2 although I've never owned a Minolta. Anyway, if anyone can give me some insight or opinions I'd be greatly appreciative!

It worries me spending so much money and not having a firm grasp on what I really need to be buying.

Edit - also, when my sister bought hers from Wolf she ended up buying their warranty on it that protects more than the factory one - is this a good idea? I'm worried about the whole moisture/dropping factor at the parks.

Thanks again!

 

[Nanu57v]

I'm looking for a new camera too. Mine is old and I dropped it a few times. Its a 1.3mp.

I'm usually all about new technology, but a 5 mp just isn't necessary. That's something to keep in mind. A 3 mp will give you great quality pics that you can even make into 5x7 or 8x10 without it digitizing.

I'm not sure which one, but one of the specs talks about response time. Thats something I love about my camera, you only have to wait 5 secs between pics. The camera my church uses (I'm often the "official" church photographer) has such a slow response time, its like 20 seconds between pics. You should probably ask a store person about this, even if your going to make an online purchase.

Also look at card space. You want to be able to purchase a card that will hold lots of pics. The largest card for my camera is 68 mb. That holds 400 1.3 mp, but far far far fewer if it were a 5 mp.

I like the rebel too. Someday it'll be old and affordable.

I like Fujifilm because that's what i have now and my camera has lasted long. So I'm looking at the A210.

Hope that helps a little!

 

[bobcat]

Just make sure you get it in plenty of time to learn all about it before your trip. I bought mine in Feb for my trip in July and I'm glad I had the time to play with it and figure it out.

I have the Fuji S3000 and I love it. There have been a few posts about this isssue with a lot of great info so you might try doing a search. Also Zurg has a great digital photo Q&A on www.allearsnet.com That along with the info from other digital camera users helped me find a camera within my budget that I am very happy with. Good luck!

 

[rscotty]

Take a look at the new Olympus UZ series cameras. They have excellent optics and a 10X OPTICAL zoom (digital zooms should be avoided). The new ones have excellent cycle times due to a serious upgrade of the processor. These are 4MP cameras and the models are the C765UZ and the C770UZ. The older c700UZ can be had pretty cheaply these days, but isn't as fast as the newer models.

I recently purchased the C770UZ because it does full VGA 30 frame/second video as well. It saves me having to carry a seperate video camera. A 512 flash card will hold 30 minutes of MPEG4 video.

Good luck in your purchase!

 

[mja451]

I got a new Olympus from Amazon a couple of weeks ago. They were on sale. Did loads of research. They seemed to have the best prices at the time. Just make sure you get it early so you can learn how to use it. Ours seems to be fairly idiot proof. Have fun!

 

[JFrey4240]

Just bought an Olympus Stylus 410--it's awesome. Very compact, great pictures and easy to use. It's all weather and very durable--what we need since I like to throw it in my purse. It's very difficult to choose a camera since there are so many good choices!

 

[TinknBoys]

We purchased the Kodak6490, 4mp, 10x optical zoom. Love it. Weighs 11oz. Also thinking about getting the pentex 4mp. It's tiny(smaller than a deck of cards.

 

[Clotho]

I would suggest getting a smaller camera for your trip. A Rebel is a great camera, very professional and lots of bells and whistles. But it is larger, heavier, and is something you would need to babysit 24/7 because it is so valuable.

My hubby is a hobbyist photographer, and he just bought me my very own Rebel just this week. I love it. But neither of ours are going to Disney with us. We will bring a much more compact camera and some extra flash cards. We are even toying with the idea of just brining some disposables and bringing one to the park with us each day, so that if they are lost/stolen/damaged, we won't fret like we would if it was an expensive camera. With all the jostling around on rides, leaving it in the hotel room when we go out sometimes, the thought of taking a "nice" camera just is not our interest.

So smaller, cheaper, that takes decent quality pics should be the best option, I would think. Unless you are planning to take fancy photos, portraiture, framable photography, it should work out fine for you.

 

[disneyaggie]

I, too, was shopping for a digital camera and a friend of mine who is a camera buff saw what I had narrowed the field to. She steered me into purchasing a Sony VI digital camera and I love it! It has so many more features than the Nikon I was looking at (and at the very same price . . . $500).

The Sony V1 has a 4x (versus a 3x) zoom. Pretty nice for taking even closer pictures of the lions at AK. It is also much better for taking pictures at night, like of the electrical parades. The pictures are supposed to come out better.

If you go to Sony.com, this can give you more information. Good luck!

Have a magical day!

 

[tmli]

My dh just bought me one this week as an early birthday present. After much research we found the best value for our money was the Nikon coolpix 3200. It is very small, easy to use and has alot of cool features. It will also take small video clips with audio. Auto focus, zoom, etc. As you can tell I'm not really technically informed.

Also important to me was the type of memory card...this takes SD which is the least expensive of all available. Also has the usb port for quick downloading to my laptop.

The camera came with battery charger and 2 rechargeable batteries, cd rom, and necessary cables. Total cost was $349 cdn plus tax at Best Buy.

 

[snoopy5386]

FYI on the Canon Powershots. I got a Powershot A60 May 2003. It broke (the shutter wouldn't close) in September, sent it in got it fixed, was without it for about a month. This June (of course a month after the warranty expires) it breaks again, this time the shutter button. I haven't sent it in to get fixed again yet since this time I have to pay for it, but we'll see. Also it broke a week before I went on vacation so I had to buy a new one. I also went with the Nikon CoolPix 3200, which i really like so far. It is easy to use, easier than the canon and the response time is pretty good, not instant but 5 seconds or less for sure. good luck with your choice.

 

[luvabargain]

I have the Konica Minolta DiMage A2, not the Z2 like you were thinking of. I absolutely LOVE this camera but it is bigger and bulkier, more of a professional type and is very spendy, more than the $500 you are thinking of and probably more than you'll ever need. I know it's more than I need but love it anyway. It is a nice camera though but everybody has given such great advice here.

 

[enchantedpixiedust]

I wanted to thank everyone for your help! I've printed this out & I'm headed out shopping today to look at all of these. You guys are great!!!

 

[melissa6631]

Being a digital freak that I am.. I'd recommend first.. the Nikon 4300. what a beautiful camera, tons of features, very easy to use as a Point and shoot but also has the potential to play around with more features if you need to at a later time etc. I'm pretty sure it's under $400 now.

Also I did see at Sams Club the Fuji s3000 I think? that has a 6x Optical zoom and that was only $250 I thinik? Fuji also has some newer models. Both would be great. Both cameras are from reputable distributers and you hardly hear anything bad about those cameras in particular.

I just got back on Saturday from Disney and I lugged around a Sony 717. I really truly regretted bringing that camera in a lot of instances because it was too big, too akward and just a PITA--(but, I got nice pictures LOL)

 

[Geoff_M]

Questions about the build quality, power-up "time to shoot" response, shutter lag, and a whole lot more on most digital cameras can be found at www.dpreview.com

A 3-4 MP point-n-shoot should be more than sufficient for vacation snapshots.

If you're thinking about a Digital Rebel, I'd consider a Nikon D70 first... there's a whole lot more features for the price-point than the Drebel, and Nikon can't make them fast enough.

 

[ChairborneRangr]

another vote for the Olympus C770UZ

It is fantastic.

 

[Ladyslug]

I just purchased a Canon Powershot S60. It's fantastic! Medium-sized, but able to do about a zillion different things. Really intuitive button/menu setup. My sister has a Powershot S45 and my dad a Powershot A400 and neither has had any problems -- from regular use (see below).

Just a word about extended warranties: I'm usually against them, but my dad just got back from a trip in Mexico where he had his small digital camera come out of his pocket while he was on the beach. It fell directly into wet sand and then got a little bit of ocean water on it, leading to fizzles and sparks. However, my dad had purchased the extended warranty, so now he's able to send it back to have it fixed. Thank goodness -- otherwise, $300+ out of luck!

 

[montblanc]

I've used a Nikon Coolpix 4300 in WDW, over the last two years I have logged nearly 8,000 shots with this camera. It has been very reliable, takes great pictures and is easy to use. The only shortfall is indoor shots, most digital cameras have very weak flash capability.

 

[PhotobearSam]

We have a powershot (Canon) a-40 and love it for what it does. We have had it for 2 years now and use it A LOT!!! Never had a problem whit it.

We are looking at a digital rebel for our trip to Paris in 2 years.

I'm a Canon girl...

 

[eclipseSD]

Just purchased a Nikon D70 for our coming WDW trip.

Sure it costs $1000+, but the quality of my sure-to-be memorable family vacation pictures will far outweigh the cost.