Camera Suggestion

TROY70

Senior Member
Looking at getting a new digital camera. Don't want to break the bank but, none the less want a good one. Will be used as the basic family camera: vacation pics, kids ball games, Christmas, Easter...you know the drill. Would like to have a pretty good zoom capability and good mega pixel....I am all ears at this point....
Troy
 
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Hoss

Moderator
Check out the sticky at the top of the forum for some basic information. Then gives us a few more details like what Crickett asked for and I'll bet you get a bunch of suggestions.

Hoss
 

TROY70

Senior Member
good point...

read the sticky at the top. After reading though, I will say point and shoot, lens that do not have to interchange, couple $200-$300ish range, a very easy to use camera, fast (the little camera we use now has such a terrible delay from the time you push the button to take the picture),be gentle on the suggestions--you guys are WAY smarter than me on cameras based on what I read on some of the post.
Thanks for your help,
Troy
 

Crickett

Little Lady
My husband's friend just bought a Kodak Z981. It's just a little over $300 but he says that it's an awesome camera. I don't have any personal experience w/ it but I have read all of the features on Kodak's website & it seems to be a pretty decent camera. Here's the link for it if you want to look it up.
http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/pd/Z981_Digital_Camera/productID.169236500
It looks like a DSLR but it's really just a point & shoot. Now if you want something a little more slim. You know something that will fit in your pocket then I'd look at the Canon Powershot or the Nikon Coolpix. Both of those are excellent cameras. They do have several different models so you'd have to look & see which one you like the best. Good luck & let us know what you end up getting.:cheers:
 

rip18

Senior Member
"Fast" = quick shutter lag or quick shutter delay. That number generally isn't published in the technical specs because it depends on so many different things. Because most point & shoots are "live view", their computer programming to focus, expose, flash, etc. before the picture is taken takes a LOT longer than a DSLR. I bought what I thought was a pretty fast point & shoot digital camera for Mrs. Rip (and it was the absolute fastest in it's class as far as I could tell), and it has been a REAL pain for taking wildlife & kid pics because of the shutter lag.

I don't personally know of a single point & shoot with a negligable shutter lag/shutter delay.

With that said, look at the other things you want it to do. Ignore digital zoom - it is just digital cropping, and you can do that on a computer with a lot more control... Look at megapixels, "toughness", "shutter delay or shutter lag", etc. Check out the reviews at www.dpreview.com . I'd say that any of the somewhat recent Canon, Nikon, or Olympus point & shoots that meet your needs would be fine. I personally seldom by the "latest & greatest" because most of the time, you get more bang for you buck buying a generation or so back - and you know whether that model will have inherent problems or not.

Good luck!
 

Hoss

Moderator
Been using P&S cameras at work for the past several years. We've gone through a Minolta, Panasonic, and are now on a Nikon. I'd have to say I liked the Panasonic about the best, but it didn't do well in a fall.
One detail to consider is does the camera have a view finder. Many of the new cameras don't, you just look at the LCD screen to compose your shot. This is alright until you are in bright light where sometimes you can't see the screen. A coworker had this complaint when trying to get some pictures of an eagle using his wife's camera. A view finder eliminates that issue.
Another consideration is batteries. If you can find one that uses AA batteries, you don't have to worry too much about not being able to get a shot as you can find em anywhere. If the camera uses a proprietary battery, then you have to make sure to keep it charged and/or have a spare.

Hoss
 
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