Recommendations on a new digital camera?

[arenaissanceman]

Is size a factor? I.E., do you need a slimline camera or just a regular style?

Also, are we talking retail price or deal price? You can snag a $450 camera for $300 if you're willing to be patient.

I've never been a fan of Olympus or Fuji because they use their ridiculous proprietary memory. Same goes for Sony but you can expand that if you have any more of their crappy gadgets.

In the $300 range, and a regular sized shooter, I'd recommend the Canon SD800IS. It retails for $350 but can be had in the $250 range. Great camera, not bulky, and the image stabilization is a real plus.

 

[migo]

+1 on Canon powershots...they're excellent for rereational use and also I find the manual mode let's you play around with a lot of stuff so that you aren't tied down too much

also, look around www.dpreview.com and www.popphoto.com for info/reviews and such.

 

[arenaissanceman]

I'd also recommend DCResource.com as well.

 

[Brian SD]

Okay first off 100% of compact cameras are going to create ****** quality pictures because you're just not going to get anything great off of a tiny little lens. In general, Nikon, Canon and Leica have the best glass in their cameras (Panasonic uses Leica glass for theirs) so take that for what its worth (not much). That said, what really matters with these cameras are the functionality of them, and how eas it is to get around the menus and use the features on them. That's why Casio makes the best compact cameras. They're quick, the menus are awesomely easy to navigate and all the features are very easy to access. Lots of scene modes, easy-to-acess manual controls, and ISO/quality/white balance can be changed with the EX button very easily.

Nikon and Canon are both really difficult to use. I dont understand how both companies make such beautiful dSLRs (particularly Nikon which excels at ergonomics/functionality), and then make their point-and-shoots stupidly hard to operate.

The one thing to remember is that Megapixels DO NOT MATTER. Anything above 3 is going to get you good enough quality pictures to print at 8x10. You're just simply not going to get anything passable at something like 12x18 from those tiny little lenses. This is especially applicable if you're using your camera mostly for web-based sharing.

So anyway, like I said, I hate compact P&S cameras, but Casio's are the best that I've used.

 

[ratboycom]

Originally Posted by Brian SD

Okay first off 100% of compact cameras are going to create ****** quality pictures because you're just not going to get anything great off of a tiny little lens. In general, Nikon, Canon and Leica have the best glass in their cameras (Panasonic uses Leica glass for theirs) so take that for what its worth (not much). That said, what really matters with these cameras are the functionality of them, and how eas it is to get around the menus and use the features on them. That's why Casio makes the best compact cameras. They're quick, the menus are awesomely easy to navigate and all the features are very easy to access. Lots of scene modes, easy-to-acess manual controls, and ISO/quality/white balance can be changed with the EX button very easily.

Nikon and Canon are both really difficult to use. I dont understand how both companies make such beautiful dSLRs (particularly Nikon which excels at ergonomics/functionality), and then make their point-and-shoots stupidly hard to operate.

The one thing to remember is that Megapixels DO NOT MATTER. Anything above 3 is going to get you good enough quality pictures to print at 8x10. You're just simply not going to get anything passable at something like 12x18 from those tiny little lenses. This is especially applicable if you're using your camera mostly for web-based sharing.

So anyway, like I said, I hate compact P&S cameras, but Casio's are the best that I've used.

EWWWWW! Casios have some of the noisiest images I have ever seen come from a compact digital. I bought my girl a EX-Z70 (which got better reviews than the newer EXZ700), she likes it but to me the low light shots looked like ass. Too much blue and red in the blacks. Canon makes some of the best compacts, SD1000 is a good camera for compact. I dont think the menus are that hard to nav either.

 

[j]

The best compact camera I've used is my little Sony DSC-something with a 3x Zeiss lens. It took great pics, but now it won't run on a battery after it got soaked in a rainstorm.

 

[Aries]

The OP has set price and size limitations which leaves anything bigger than a subcompact camera out of the question. Within these paramenters, I would say the compact models from Sony, Canon and Fuji, fit the bill the best. However, not just any compact camera within these brands is good, so you must further narrow the focus to particular cameras within these three brands. Off the top Sony DSC-V3, Canon SD series, and Fuji F series all have great reputaitons (might be outdated by now) LIke everything else in life, each has pos and negs, but further research on sites such as DPreview could help you decide. Good Luck.

 

[SGladwell]

Originally Posted by ratboycom

I like the features and shots of a lot of Lumix slim cameras but they are SLOW, which is a downside.

Originally Posted by j

I have a Lumix FZ7 and I want a different camera.

Have either of you guys played with the bigger (10x zoom) Lumix? I really like the idea of a long zoom, and it doesn't jut out for sixty feet like that otherwise great-looking Samsung camera's zoom lens. Also, a Leica-branded lens sounds cool even though it doesn't mean anything. And blue sounds like a fun color for a camera.

I'm a crap photographer so I care more about the interface than pixel-level picture quality.

 

[j]

I've briefly messed around with Slim's camera which is an FZ-20k I think, and it's better than mine, but it's big and if I 'm going to get a camera that big I may as well get a DSLR... I'd rather have something medium-sized that can get decent quality that I'll be more likely to take with me. I know from experience, I don't bring big cameras with me much, and they are kind of useless sitting at home.

 

[Go Surface]

My first point and shoot was a fujifinepix E510, great image quality, but I hated the fact that I had to switch out AA's all the time. Whatever you get, make sure it comes with a rechargable battery.

 

[ratboycom]

why not get one with AA and buy rechargables? I hate card batts because if yours goes dead in the middle of BFE what kind of gas station will have another ready for you?

 

[Tokyo Slim]

Originally Posted by SGladwell

Have either of you guys played with the bigger (10x zoom) Lumix? I really like the idea of a long zoom, and it doesn't jut out for sixty feet like that otherwise great-looking Samsung camera's zoom lens. Also, a Leica-branded lens sounds cool even though it doesn't mean anything. And blue sounds like a fun color for a camera. I'm a crap photographer so I care more about the interface than pixel-level picture quality.
Aside from the noise issue, which is well documented with the undersized Panny CCD's/anti-shake engine, the FZ20 is amazing. IMO a picture SHOULD have some grain to it, and only very occasionally do I find it to be "too much". Usually only happens when I screw something up phototography wise. I learned to operate the manual controls so that I could take pictures, not let the camera take pictures and hope that it knows what its doing. Doing this, the Lumix gives one very little to complain about. I tend to use my realtime histogram A LOT. I don't think I could go back to a camera without one. Zoom-wise... occasionally I wish it had a wider zoom, but I also use the telephoto alot, so to get any better, I'd have to have a DSLR with at least two lenses. 36mm-432mm optical zoom, a constant F2.8 aperture throughout the range with image stabilization and autofocus would cost a pretty penny in SLR lenses. It would be nice if it had a swivel LCD, but I'd only be using it about 1/4th of the time for concert footage where I shoot above my head, and I'm not sure if I'd feel comfortable with the LCD sticking out of the back of the camera in a crowd of drunk and moving people. Plus, there is only one DSLR that I'm aware of with a "flip/rotate/tilt" real time LCD viewfinder and its the Olympus E330. I don't like the slight shutter delay with that camera when you use the live-view. The fact that its nearly impossible to get fine focus using the lcd viewfinder makes it more of a point and shoot / ease of use novelty that real "pro's" will likely never adopt. Until they start putting much higher resolution LCD's in the backs of cameras anyways. That being said, what I've got aint bad. But it is pretty huge, being about 8/10ths the size of a DSLR, I didn't get it to put in my pocket. It stays in its bag, strapped to my hand, or suspended around my neck.

 

[Tokyo Slim]

Originally Posted by ratboycom

why not get one with AA and buy rechargables? I hate card batts because if yours goes dead in the middle of BFE what kind of gas station will have another ready for you?

The problem is that very few "real" cameras use AA's anymore. Manufacturers finally realized that if they make a camera (any electronic device) with a proprietary battery, they can squeeze an extra $$$ from you if you want a replacement/spare. Anyone really interested in taking pictures will have more than one battery, and at least a plug in battery charger. That is like $50-100 more bucks that Canon/Nikon/Sony/Panasonic/etc. has just taken out of your pocket. Nobody would be dumb enough to make a decent camera that took AA batteries, knowing this!

 

[LabelKing]

I saw Samsung had a camera that used glass from Schneider which made the magnificent Xenotar lens.

I don't know how it is today but the design seemed nice:

 

[Brian SD]

All digital cameras create noise. The worst I've seen are from Olympus and Canon (for compact. Canon is the leader in low-noise for SLRs sub-1k). I like as little noise as possible, but am willing to take a little bit if it means the ergonomics and useability of it will be better. Those Samsungs look really nice, design-wise. Would be nice to mess around with one - from my experience with Samsung products, one of the best points is always the menu/navigating features.

Agree with SGladwell - simply put, you're not doing photography if you aren't using the viewfinder. A 3.5" LCD screen held two feet from your face is not a viewfinder, it's a tourist toy. That said, if you want a P&S to fool around with, the most important thing is the interface and usability. And as I said, whereas the usual leaders fail in this regard, Casio's Exilim is fantastic.