Need help finding a Digital Camera

[RG1202262]

I'm looking to upgrade but have no idea where to start. I know I want to go with a 12 mega pixel and a larger display (around 3 inches). I'm also looking to spend around $300. What do you suggest? Any help will be very much appreciated!

[ziggo99]

Re: Need help finding a Digital Camera

How big of camera do you want, one that you can put in a pants pocket easily or one with a 10 or 12x zoom?

http://reviews.cnet.com/best-digital-cameras/?tag=leftColumnArea1.0

Just check out all the "best of..." on the left hand side and check the ones listed.

[Ganesa]

Re: Need help finding a Digital Camera

I would recommend the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 that is very easy and user friendly to use, if your just looking for a point and shoot digital camera... Its great to use because of the wide lens it has, meaning you dont have to move too far back like other pocket camera's if you want to take a large family photo :]..

heres the review:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonictz5/

or you could try this buying guide :]

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp

[RG1202262]

Re: Need help finding a Digital Camera

Thanks for the replies! I'm definitely going to be checking out these links.

I am looking for a point and shoot as well as something that will fit in my pocket. A higher zoom rate would be great too. Pretty much the best I can get for my $300+ while still keeping it small and user friendly.

[SHYNEMAN123]

Re: Need help finding a Digital Camera

I'm looking to upgrade but have no idea where to start. I know I want to go with a 12 mega pixel and a larger display (around 3 inches). I'm also looking to spend around $300. What do you suggest? Any help will be very much appreciated!

Why do you want 12 mega pixels? Do you blow up a lot of pics larger than 8.5 x11 ?

[JohanD]

Re: Need help finding a Digital Camera

I would recommend a canon camera. Those work pretty good, even the small point and shoot. We recently purchased the canon T1i 15.1 megapixel camera, but that is about double what you want to spend.

[C30-Mike]

Re: Need help finding a Digital Camera

Get a Canon SD1200i 10MP and pocket size. I bought it on Amazon with free shipping and no tax.

[TH0001]

Re: Need help finding a Digital Camera

Is there a patricular reason you want to go to a 12 mega pixel? Are you going to be printing out posters (about 4 foot wide)? If you are going to print posters, I would recommend at least spending the money and stepping up to a decent DSLR such as a Nikon D60.

If you are going to use a point and shoot and most of your pictures are going to be normal sized (8x10 or 6x4) or you are gong to host them on the Internet, then anything over 6 mega pixels is money poorly spent.

Megapixels are kind of like the amount of vigrin white carnauba wax: They do not mean anything yet people are willing to pay a lot for them.

[Kooz]

Re: Need help finding a Digital Camera

I just purchased a Fujifilm F70EXR from B&H Photo about two weeks ago. It’s an awesome point & shoot ultra-compact camera with a nice 10x optical zoom. It retails for $280.

http://forum.digitalcamerareview.com/ helped me decide what cameras to consider for my needs. As others have said DPReview.com is also a very good source.

[RG1202262]

Re: Need help finding a Digital Camera

Hey guys! I've been doing a lot of reading but am no closer to making a decision than when I started. At least I have a starting point now! For that I am very thankful!

It's funny posters are brought up, I actually tried to get a few pictures I took made into posters with horrible results. Well, they would have been If the printer didn't show me what they would look like in advance. Good guy. I won't be making tons of posters but I would still like to be able to If I happen to take an awesome picture or two.

I took a look at the Nikon D60 just now. I'm sure it's a great camera but It looks like too much for me. The little lady will be using this as well and I'm sure she won't even try to pick up a camera like that.

I will check out these new new links and camera suggestions tonight.

[Kooz]

Re: Need help finding a Digital Camera

Anything higher than 10 megapixels is overkill.

[ziggo99]

Re: Need help finding a Digital Camera

Not really. If he's going to be doing some posters, he needs the most he can get. You may like this one

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1449

12 mp
10x zoom
small body.

[Tim Lingor]

Re: Need help finding a Digital Camera

Hey,

When looking at the number of MP you must consider the pixel density and pixel size which is a function of the size of the sensor. A point and shoot will not have the picture quality of a DSLR as the sensor on the DSLR is much larger, and therefore can have larger sized pixels. So for example, if you have 2 cameras, a DSLR and a P&S both with 10 MP, the DSLR's larger sensor will have a much better picture thanks to pixel density, pixel size etc.

High mega-pixel cameras do have more resolution which makes cropping a picture while retaining sharpness possible. So in that case, more is better. How well the picture looks is a function of the sensor itself and its attributes I mentioned above. But how many pixels do most really need? I really see no need going higher than 12 MP unless you plan on poster sized prints and or aggressive cropping. Therefore, I would rather have a lower MP count on a camera with an excellent sensor and get excellent picture quality rather than having a large MP count, with a poor sensor and getting lower quality photos. If you can get an excellent sensor AND a large MP count, you would have the best of both worlds, but to do that, you will need a professional level DSLR. Even the lower end consumer level Canon and Nikon DSLR's, while the pictures look great, they are no match for the very expensive pro level camera. Therefore one must consider its intended use, and the users ability. You can have the best camera in the world, but if you do not know how to use it properly, the pictures will look terrible; the converse is also true! Moreover, large MP's take up a LOT of hard drive space on the computer. Even a 12 MP takes up a lot of room if shot in Raw mode and converted to Tiff's for post processing. Some of these go up to 60-70Mb for ONE picture! On a point and shoot I would not go larger than 12 MP, but only on the best P&S. A lower end P&S I would not go beyond 6-8 MP.

Usually, P&S's achilles heel is picture noise which is created from packing too many smaller sized pixels on a small sensor. There is not much you can do about that, except buy the best you can afford. Usually, the more expensive P&S's will have better picture quality than the cheaper cameras. But again, it comes to the point in what will satisfy the user and its intended purpose.

If you want a great point and shoot, I would suggest the Canon G10 or its replacement G11 which should be available by the end of this month. Another choice, which I personally think is a better choice would be the new Canon S90. It has a fast lens f 2.0, good zoom, Raw mode and will fit in your pocket!

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0908/09081906canons90handson.asp

Just a few things to think about.

Tim

[Paul S]

Re: Need help finding a Digital Camera

Tim
Thanks for the link on the Canon S90. I've been wanting to replace my dinosaur Toshiba PDR-2300. I like the DSLR type cameras but was looking for more of a slip it in the pocket purchase. (I guess its time to unload the kodak brownie also LOL).

Paul S

[ziggo99]

Re: Need help finding a Digital Camera

If you have access to a local bookstore, see if they have the Consumer Report's 2009 Buying Guide with the digital camera ratings in there. They do some pretty in depth testing.