What is a good digital camera?

[disneydreamerinny]

I have decided that digital is the way to go.
I'm not interested in a printer port. I will just get them developed at our drug store.
A friend has just convinced me how convenient they are.
Being able to develop only the pictures that you like or turn out good. (I'm not the best photographer )
Now, I have read about the zoom, not to pay any attention to digital zoom, its the optical zoom I want right?
Zoom is important to me, as both of my daughters play sports.
Oh which reminds me, I need one that can take pictures of things moving and things at night, and the pictures still turn out good.
Any suggestions?
What about price range?

 

[jswalker1981]

If you need good zoom and quick shutter, you may need to look at SLR cameras. They have the best zoom and the some of the fastest shutter speeds. A very good one is Konica Minolta Z-20. The camera can be found for about $260 on Ebay with some extras, like a case, tripod, and cleaning kit. You will have to buy a SD memory card. The one thing that turns me off from SLR cameras is that they are kinda bulky. They are the bigger cameras that are offered. That reason alone is why I am going with a Pentax Optio s5i since it is so small, it will fit in an Altoids tin, which means it will fit in my pocket and I don't have to carry around a case which is a big reason I don't take my camera everywhere. But the s5i only has a 3x optical zoom so that is why I am suggesting the Z-20, it is a good price for a very good camera.

 

[chiconh]

You are correct. Do not even look at the digital zoom number, it is useless. I upgraded to the Canon S1 IS. It has a 10x optical zoom, one of the largest out there. I found with my previous camera that a 2 or 3 x zoom was not worth very much. I can get much better shots with the Canon. It also has many other features: black & white, sepia tone, panoramic, digital video, etc. I'm very happy with this camera.

Remember, which ever camera you choose, get enough (or large enough) memory cards. You will be amazed at how fast you fill them up. I bring my laptop with me and download the cards every night. I them burn them to CD. You never know if you will have an accident and I'd hate to lose that perfect Disney shot. Good luck!

 

[PistolPete]

I have a Canon Elph S410 (pocket size, 3x optical zoom, & 4.0 mega pixels) and a Kodak DX6490 (larger than pocket size, but smaller than a SLR, 10x optical, & 4.0 mega pixels.

The Kodak is a wonderful camera. The zoom is fantastic, the lens is so clear, and it will fit into a fanny pack. Night pictures are good, but not as good as a SLR. Action shots are good.

The Canon is good for every day pictures, but is harder to use. The Kodak is really simple to use. The menus are easy to understand. The Canon is a bit tougher.

My cameras are about 1 year old each. I'd recommend the current Kodak model that has the 10x optical zoom.

 

[BATBkindagirl]

You are correct. Do not even look at the digital zoom number, it is useless. I upgraded to the Canon S1 IS. It has a 10x optical zoom, one of the largest out there. I found with my previous camera that a 2 or 3 x zoom was not worth very much. I can get much better shots with the Canon. It also has many other features: black & white, sepia tone, panoramic, digital video, etc. I'm very happy with this camera.

Remember, which ever camera you choose, get enough (or large enough) memory cards. You will be amazed at how fast you fill them up. I bring my laptop with me and download the cards every night. I them burn them to CD. You never know if you will have an accident and I'd hate to lose that perfect Disney shot. Good luck!

Wow that sounds very nice.. how much is that camera

 

[Greg K.]

I have a Canon Powershot A95 which is superb -- small, easy to use, takes gorgeous pictures. My one gripe: camera shake. Digital cameras can take wonderful shots without flash, but only if you are COMPLETELY STILL or USE A TRIPOD. Some otherwise perfect pictures have been ruined because of the slightest movement (on my part) that makes them just a little blurry. As a result, I've resorted to using flash more often.

This has made me look closely at the IS-1 -- it has everything I love in a digital (including the celebrated Canon name) PLUS "image stabilization" and 10x zoom. People swear by it and say the image stabilization really works wonders. You agree, Chiconh???

FWIW: You can now find this camera for $275-300. Do a search at Amazon.com for more details. I expect the price may come down in late June, after Canon introduces the S-2 -- same camera, but with 5 megapixels, and a 12x zoom! Expected price for that is about $400.

 

[disneydreamerinny]

Wow, thanks for all the info.
I wrote some of these down. Now I have to search the web and start watching sale papers.

 

[northwds]

I'm not a tech nut, I just wanted something easy that worked. I love my Kodak Easy Share DX7440 (4.0 mega pixels...what is that??? sometimes I set it for lower mega pixels to get more photos on a card...they all were great). Got it last year for a December trip. So simple to use and the pictures were great. Fit nicely in the front pocket of my fanny pack. Again, I agree with......get extra ditigal cards....and I got an extra battery. Mine is a rechargeable lithium one. I was so glad I had it with me and all charged up when the camera blinked low battery just as Wishes started. I took over 400 shots, got home and downloaded them to discs and now I can reuse the ditigal cards again. (okay so I am new at this). I think it costs $25+ (????) to have to cards transferred to discs at Disney....at Walmart/Sams it is $2.95 and they come with master sheets so you can see what is on that disk. Hope this helps. 133 days and counting to see the Mouse again!!!

 

[MOmousefan]

We recently returned from WDW and my daughters used a Powershot A70 and a Powershot S70. The S70 is new and both cameras did a good job. Examples of pictures are at the photo album site and are under Momousefan. I even took some still shots with our Elura 90 camcorder. We took around 1200 pictures and downloaded daily to a laptop. I would be glad to answer any other questions, keeping in mind I am am strictly a point-and-shooter.

 

[Metro West]

I have a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P150 with the 3X zoom and 7.2 mega pixels. I love the shots I get with it.

 

[chiconh]

Wow that sounds very nice.. how much is that camera

I was around $300.