[taylor]

Well, it's time for me to seek counsel amongst the wise and all-knowing camera-fi people.

Just took a trip to Arizona, with my trusty HP Photosmart 735. I bought it for the sole reason that in Spring 2004, it cost $200, and the Canon A40 was $300.

It's a real basic point-and-shoot 3.2MP thing that runs off of 2 AA batteries. Purchased because the few reviews I read said that it didn't completely suck and because I wanted something cheap.

The problem is that the pictures don't come out that great and the battery life. It will take maybe 50 pictures on a set of AAs, with the LCD turned off. When you turn it on, it drops to like 25 pictures. It's not bad batteries either, I have eight and it happens with all of them.

My mother was very dissatisfied with this all, and has decided she wants a new camera.

I was wondering if you guys had some reccomendations for me. Looking for around 5MP, good battery life (i.e. proprietary Li-ion rechargables), good picture quality. Not too many size constraints. Prefer something that isn't too bulky, but if there's one of those big ones that is really great I could go for it.

Just quickly browsing around, I saw and liked this one
http://circuitcity.com/ssm/Canon-Pow...oductDetail.do
Was wondering what else is out there that is comparable. ~$300 seems to be the usual for a good 5MP camera, wouldn't want to go above $400.

So, what do you guys think?

I was also talking with my grandfather, and he too is looking for a digital camera. He has Nikon SLR now, with several lenses for it, and he's looking for something in the <$1000 range that's a quality Digital-SLR that can work with his lenses. Again, not sure what's out there. Hoping for some ideas or reccomendations.

Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[Arainach]

The Nikon D50 and D70s are perfect for your grandfather. I own and love a D50. The D70s isn't much different - most of the features it adds 99% of people never use. The only one I kind of miss is a depth of field preview, and to be honest it's rare to find someone who truly knows how to use one of those.

 

[taylor]

Do they use the same lenses as the Nikon film SLRs?

 

[JaGWiRE]

My sisters got a Sony W50 and she's a total picture moron. The pictures aren't bad, I am not a very good photographer either, but I can post a few that my mom snapped quickly if you want to see how quick point and shoot will turn out. My sister had a canon elph before that she couldn't get to take decent pictures as shes a total picture moron, but somehow this camera works well for her.

 

[Jmmmmm]

I'm a big fan of the canon digital point-and-shoots. They consistently have the best or near the best photo quality. My canon s400 (which I loved) kicked the bucket recently, so I just bought a sd450 to replace it. I shopped around and it seemed like the canons were still some of the best. I don't know about the a540 in particular, but I don't think you can go wrong with those canons, since they all have the digic II image processor. Just now glancing at a couple reviews, they all seem very positive.

 

[Arainach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by taylor Do they use the same lenses as the Nikon film SLRs?

Yes, they do. Nikon's used the F Mount since 1959 and all of its lenses are fully compatible. The only thing to be wary of is that the old Pre-CPU lenses (AI, AI-S) will not meter light properly on the D50 or D70, only on the (much more expensive) D200 and D2x. Then again, if your grandfather was using such manual lenses it's entirely likely he knows how to shoot in full manual mode anyway and the addition of the color histogram allows him to check exposure as well.

Check http://www.nikonians.org/html/resour...atibility.html for more information.

 

[taylor]

I'll call him tomarrow and ask him what kind of lenses he uses.

Tomarrow when I'm at circuit city, I'm going to check to see what different cameras are available, so that I can say 'Out of these 4 cameras, which is best?' instead of my extremely broad request.

 

[dj_mocok]

In US, won't it be cheaper if you buy it from online shop?

 

[taylor]

I want to use the camera before I buy it. I want to be able to drive to the place where I bought it if I need to return it. [size=xx-small]I also want the employee discount where they sell things to you at wholesale cost[/size]

 

[taylor]

What do you guys think about Canon SD450 vs. Sony W70?

Both are the same price, similar size, have li-ion rechargables, same zoom. Sony is 7.2, Canon is 5.0, but I don't plan on printing out 8x10s or anything like that. I've been told that Canon makes a better camera than Sony and that the Digic II is a great chip. I also like the SD cards for the camera because I already have a few SD cards and they're less expensive than Memory Sticks.

What do you guys think?

 

[darkninja67]

Get the Canon A620 if you can deal with the size. It is faster in recycle times than the smaller A series cams. You can get it for around $210 on the net. PM me if you need more info, but this camera is highly rated at all major review sites.

 

[taylor]

The thing is, I want to stay away from rechargable AA batteries. From my experience and a few people I've asked, special li-ion batteries last longer than AAs.

By recycle time, do you mean the time between shots?

SD450 says 2.1fps, A620 says 1.9fps.

As far as I can tell, they're both very similar. A620 has the edge in the image aspects, like resolution, shutter speed, that kinda stuff. SD450, however, has a bigger 2.5" LCD (vs. 2" on A620) and the li-ion battery, and is smaller.

If it was for me, I would be looking at the A620, but my parents want to use this. They're camera novices but they're very big on viewing on the LCD, which is why they want a really big one (I think the HP is 1.5"). They hate the AA batteries, and like something small. The SD450 also weighs 5oz, half as much as the A620.

However, my dad does sometimes have issues with holding small things. We're going to check them out tomarrow. If he doesn't like the feel of the SD450, A620 is next on my list.

 

[darkninja67]

Quote:

Originally Posted by taylor The thing is, I want to stay away from rechargable AA batteries. From my experience and a few people I've asked, special li-ion batteries last longer than AAs. By recycle time, do you mean the time between shots? SD450 says 2.1fps, A620 says 1.9fps. As far as I can tell, they're both very similar. A620 has the edge in the image aspects, like resolution, shutter speed, that kinda stuff. SD450, however, has a bigger 2.5" LCD (vs. 2" on A620) and the li-ion battery, and is smaller. If it was for me, I would be looking at the A620, but my parents want to use this. They're camera novices but they're very big on viewing on the LCD, which is why they want a really big one (I think the HP is 1.5"). They hate the AA batteries, and like something small. The SD450 also weighs 5oz, half as much as the A620. However, my dad does sometimes have issues with holding small things. We're going to check them out tomarrow. If he doesn't like the feel of the SD450, A620 is next on my list.

For them get the SD450 then. I would look at the A620 though as it is a great camera for the money.

 

[MD1032]

I agree on the A620. Right now, in fact, they're being discontinued, probably to be replaced by some newer model (or maybe because the A700 came out). In fact, my Office Depot (I work there) has them on clearance for $200 or so, which is a STEAL considering what you get, which is an excellent camera with Canon's new Digic II processor, and I've seen the images they take, and they're excellent. sure, it's not as ultra-portable as my SD700, but will it take better pictures, have a better flash, be more durable due to the flip-out screen, and still be quite portable? You bet.

As for the DSLR, sure, get the older Nikon or check out Canon's 350D, which can be had for pretty cheap compared to some of the higher-end DSLR's. If you want to go all-out, though, the 30D and D70 (canon and nikon respectively) will blow you away.

 

[taylor]

I'll see what my parents think size-wise of the SD450 vs. the A540 (similar size, right? My store doesn't carry the A620).

My dad has never really liked small cameras, but my mom does. I don't know whether they will prefer the big A-series or the little SD-series.