Help me buy digital camera

KudzuKing · #1 (**permalink**) 12-23-2005, 12:11 PM

I know next to nothing about these, so with that in mind:

I'd like it to be as easy to use as possible.
I'd like it to have a view of the subject to be pictured

I want to take photos to put on internet, such as here or eBay.
I want it to take reasonable photo of a golf swing. (high shutter speed?)
and possibly a video of the swing ( to last a few seconds)

Hopefully spend < $500.

Thanks for any helpful info on this.

Captn_All_In · #2 (**permalink**) 12-23-2005, 12:49 PM

Anything made by Kodak.

I have a Kodak EasyShare DX6340. It was new a 2 years ago. (I think) And it cost close to $400, but my wife got me a 256K memory card to go with it, plus some other accessories that I did not need, so total it was close to $500. Very good camera with video capabilities. I had the software on my computer but since it crashed in the spring I have just used the Camera and Scanner Wizard that comes with XP. Then print them out, or save them on CD.

Good Luck with your purchase!!

jldecarlo · #3 (**permalink**) 12-23-2005, 01:39 PM

http://www.dpreview.com/

Digital photography review. It has a features search feature where you can list what you are looking for, and it will spit out a few cameras that fit your requirements.

If you have $500 to spend, I would look for a 5+ megapixel cameral with rechargable lithium batteries included. If you have memory cards already for some other device, you may want a camera that uses the same type of card.

There are lots of options, and I don't really know the market very well. Especially the less expensive cameras are in constant flux with new ones available all the time.

I have had a couple of the the canons (A90?) with good results.

L

SingleMaltFan · #4 (**permalink**) 12-23-2005, 01:47 PM

http://www.steves-digicams.com/
http://www.photozo.com/forum/portal.php
http://www.dpreview.com/

i used these forums and reviews for my research..i wound up with a dSLR i am very happy with, tho wished i could have waited till Nikon's D-50 came out..

for EVF or Pand S cameras, the previously mentioned Kodak got really good rating and i was considering b4 i decided to do dSLR...canon and fuji also get good reviews (fuji for cost savings)..all depends on whether you want one the size of your KEM decks or not...

but i would not get anything less than 5mp's and thats more than plenty for casual and online use...

i bough mine thru bhpotovideo.com and had a good experience with them..price was only slightly higher but they are Highly reputable and will not sell you "grey" market stuff.

you can compare prices thru pricegrabber.com or resellerratings.com

hope that helps

sb

ahopen78 · #5 (**permalink**) 12-23-2005, 01:48 PM

I bought a Canon SD450:
5 megapixel, Macro mode (for close ups), everything you need.
2.5 inch LCD screen (just about the biggest you can get)
you can see all the pics I have posted on CT; they are all with this camera.

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/con...&modelid=11939

check here for best price:

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_g...canon+sd450&op[]=page,639,1

For me the best price was at Abes of Maine came to to $302.50 shipped:
http://www.abesofmaine.com/viewprodu...l=Pricegrabber

Quote:

Originally Posted by KudzuKing

I know next to nothing about these, so with that in mind:

I'd like it to be as easy to use as possible.
I'd like it to have a view of the subject to be pictured

I want to take photos to put on internet, such as here or eBay.
I want it to take reasonable photo of a golf swing. (high shutter speed?)
and possibly a video of the swing ( to last a few seconds)

Hopefully spend < $500.

Thanks for any helpful info on this.

Emdee · #6 (**permalink**) 12-23-2005, 01:50 PM

Canons are great cameras, www.dpreview.com is a great source as was mentioned....

the Canon A620 is supposed to be pretty solid:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona620/

I just bought the Canon S80 for my gf for christmas but have yet to try it out (I chose this because of the 28mm on the wide end, and the manual controls):
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons80/

My main camera is a Canon D60 Digital SLR, which I love, if you want to go SLR the Rebel XT is nice --- but then you are looking at a substantial investment in lenses etc...

Colquhoun · #7 (**permalink**) 12-23-2005, 01:58 PM

Once you decide on a model, be careful to not let price completely dictate where you get the camera from. As SingleMaltFan mentioned, the grey market on cameras is enourmous, and you could be getting an inferior product with no warranty. B&H Photo in NYC (bhphoto.com) is an amazing place and very reputable. Since some didital cameras can have a high failure rate, I found it imperative to buy from a brick and mortar store, one you can waltz back into if you have a problem with it. Beware of eBay or any online site that you are not 100% sure about, and read their return policy...some have ridiculous restocking fees, and some will refuse to take it back if it is breaks down...they want you to go through the manufacturer. Wherever you get it from, insist on a US warranty...if your retailer cannot provide one, run.

krw17 · #8 (**permalink**) 12-23-2005, 02:12 PM

I bought a Nikon 5600. I don't know much about cameras really, but this camera had several different "presets" that helped me out. Maybe lots of cameras do this, I don't know. But it has a setting for action shot, low light, flourescent light, etc. It will automatically adjust shutter speed and exposure and other stuff like that for you based on the setting you pick. I've never done movie clips with it, but it can do them. It is 5MP and comes in at about half your budget.

It seems that the Canon, Kodak, and Nikon's have the best reputations in this price range for digital camera's.

One tip, buy the "high speed" memory cards. It will write your pictures to disk twice as fast which means you will be ready for your next picture sooner.

KudzuKing · #9 (**permalink**) 12-23-2005, 02:17 PM

Thank you all for the helpful info. I've got some researching to do!

About the golf swing photo/video. Is this something that many of these cameras can do easily, or is it asking too much of a camera in my range?

austin5string · #10 (**permalink**) 12-23-2005, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krw17

One tip, buy the "high speed" memory cards. It will write your pictures to disk twice as fast which means you will be ready for your next picture sooner.

With a point and shoot, you're unlikely to notice any difference at all when you're shooting - might help if you use movie mode a little. If you go the DSLR route and start shooting continuous mode stuff, it becomes more important.

You will, however, notice a difference when transferring images to your computer thru a USB 2.0 card reader.

Faster is better and doesn't hurt, but if the budget is tight, you don't need to buy the fastest stuff out there.