[stuartr]

I know the users of this site are generally very knowledgable about electronics, so I was wondering if any of you could suggest a good digital camera. I don't need much zoom, it should be relatively compact, and picture quality is important (at least 2 megapixels). Aesthetics too are a concern to me, but certainly not the primary one. I would consider anything under 1000 dollars, but the target range would be sub 600.
I appreciate any help.
Thanks,
Stuart

 

[aeberbach]

For an excellent travelling camera that should fit in the pocket of your jeans (unless you wear them like Britney) the Canon S100 or S110 is hard to beat. I also have the A20 and I prefer it when I am carrying a bag, as it has higher resolution and is faster between images and when switching modes. If portability isn't a concern at all, maybe the Nikon Coolpix 995. If money isn't a concern, try a Nikon D1!

 

[gloco]

I have a Sony MVC CD200, its a great digital camera, the media is 3" cdr/cdrw's. So its very versatile with that. I paid $800. If you want, i can send you some pics that i took so you can get an idea of the quality. Let me know.

George

 

[Vertigo-1]

I was just pondering this very question today, except in the $300-350 price range. Was looking at the Sony P50 Cybershot, any good?

 

[chadbang]

I was just walking around yesterday wondering the exact same thing. I'm in the same ballpark as Vertigo-1 $300-350 seems around the right price to me, but I'd still like to see one of those pics Gloco. To be able to write onto media other than onto a memory card sees an economical way to go.

 

[Surfaday]

I've had a few cameras and this is what I've distilled my personal requirements down to:

1) must have an lcd to preview pics.

2) Removable media rocks! I currently have an older model Sony Mavica with 3 1/2" diskette drive. Its so much easier to just take out the disk and pop it into the computer and be ready to view or use it without ever having the pic on your hard drive. I hope I never have to connect another usb/serial cable again, start 3rd party software, upload pics, save as desired format, open the email/web/photo program I want to use, find where the heck the program hid the pics I just uploaded, then organize, move, delete so that it won't take up space on my hard drive.

The Sony Mavica also takes videos with sound - as much as will fit on one diskette, whick is probably almost a minute - surprizingly enough for lots of reason to use the feature.

One downside - the camera is kind of bulky, and battery life is not very impressive, but you can buy extra batteries and they charge fairly quickly.

 

[stuartr]

Yeah, I am looking for something rather slick. I like the canon series, and I am taking a serious look at the new s30, the old s20, and the relatively new s300. The s30 is the best, and comes in at around 600, though I could find it for less. It looks pretty sweet: it is very good looking, small, has good features, and really good image quality (3 + megapixels). Also appears to be getting good reviews. I do think the s300 looks better, but I have heard it is not as much bang for the buck as the s30. Anyway, all this talk does not really matter, because this is my "Christmas Present" we are discussing, and I don't get the final say in which one I get. I suppose I can always return one if I don't like it and buy one myself, but that is pretty grinch-like, so I guess I hope that my dad knows digital cameras as well as tradional ones....

Thanks for all the suggestions.
And yes gloco, I would like to see some of those pics, but put them on the site if you can, because I am on a very slow 26k connection, and if you email them, it will take forever. That way I can choose when I see them, making things easier.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

For an excellent travelling camera that should fit in the pocket of your jeans (unless you wear them like Britney) the Canon S100 or S110 is hard to beat.

I second this wholeheartedly! If 2.1 megapixels is enough for you, the S110 is a killer camera. I had the S100, but sold it and bought the S110.

The great thing about it is its size and durability. It's the smallest 2.1MP camera on the market, so I end up taking it places I didn't take my older camera -- just drop it in a pocket.

It also takes great pictures, which is important

If you shop around, you can get it for around $350.

P.S. The October issue of MacWorld magazine (macworld.com) had a huge comparitive review of 1, 2, and 3 MP cameras. I could only find the 2MP review online (the S110 received the Editor's Choice award):

http://www.macworld.com/2001/10/revi...gapixcams.html

 

[stuartr]

Ah man, I DO wear my jeans like Britney! What a jip.

 

[jaskin]

I have the EOS D30 but I think that's not what you want. Recently I bought a S30 for my gf it's a great small camera but it vignetss at wide angle. I think if you can afford it get a Canon G2.

 

[hongda]

Take a look at the Nikon 995. I just purchased one for 680-100 dollar rebate so it'll come to 580. If you have an American Express blue card you can do some price matching and get it for around 480. It's a 3 M-pixel+ camera. For a lot of reviews and info check out

www.dpreview.com

 

[pigmode]

If you search around, you can find the older Nikon 950 for under $500. I would go with that over most newer models in the same price range.

Doh', just saw hongda's post. The 950 should be going for considerably less now.

 

[gloco]

If anyone wants to see some pics from my mavica 200 drop me an email at: angelis@acedsl.com Mind you, these photos average at 800-900kb in size. Only downsize for me? Once you switch to digital zoom the quality degrades, so i dont use it, plus the optical zoom is only 3X. Stuartr, maybe you should look into those more miniature cam's, just research them before buying one, not all of them take great pictures regardless of their digital nature.

george

 

[becomethemould]

im in the market for a digi camera too..

what's are the movies like made on a s110? my friend has a 1998 or 99 sony digi cam that can do 320x240 for 15 secs.. the s110 has approx 10 secs.. is that right? do the movies come out with good quality? movies to me are one of the most important features=) gotta capture those funny moments in motion=)

thanks

oh, the movie format of my friends one is mpg.. is that better than avi? which the canon has? thanx

 

[becomethemould]

sorry to bother again.. is a manual focus crucial for good pictures? or is the auto focus on cameras good? coz my friends one took a while to auto focus well, and when it did, it didnt stay focused that well, when the image was moving..

btw i think my friend's cam is the Sony DSC-F55