Cameras

[grlNIN]

I want to buy a digital camera, like, today pretty much. Nothing super-duper fancy, i don't need all the gidgets and gazmos because i know i will never invest that much time in figuring them out.

The camera is purely for taking candids and concert photos, would i be better suited for a point and shoot camera? What is the difference between a p&S and a digital? Is there one?

I'm also looking to stay under $200, the lower for the "will do" is good enough for me. I've been looking on target.com, yeah im super fancy!

Anyway, any help would be appreciated because im a retard with this stuff.

[Gvac]

The lower end digital cams are all "point and shoot" although you can change the settings manually if you wish. I never do. I just put in on "automatic" and click away.

Basically all you have to know is that 'optical zoom' is how much the lens can zoom in on an object. 'Digital zoom' is how much you can zoom in on a picture you already took, kind of like putting a magnifying glass up to a film picture. Obviously, the optical zoom is much more important.

If you're not going to be printing the pictures out onto film you really don't need anything more than 3 or 4 megapixels, but prices have come down so much you might be able to find a 5 MP camera for under $200.

Canons are excellent cameras and the "Elph" series is slim enough to fit into a shirt pocket.

Good luck!

[Mike Teacher]

For concert shots, most of the small and lower end cameras suffer in this area; what you need to look for is either an ASA setting that can be manually set [its the digital equivalent of how fast the film/CCD soaks in light; the higher the number, 200, 400, 800, 1600, the better] or some kind of actual or digital image stabilization for low light uses.

Concerts are tough; you either use a flash and get a washed out smoky photo, or drop the flash and get a blurry mess.

Personally, I like the Canon's from the SLRs down to the compacts. And some of the compact canons def have image stabilization and/or high ASA settings.

[Tenbatsuzen]

Maria:

Both Liz, myself, and my mom (who is a complete technophobe) all use Canon cameras. I have the Powershot 610, Liz has the 520, and Mom has a smaller sized camera.

We all love them to death because they take great pictures, are easy to carry, and this is key - they use REGULAR BATTERIES. Too many cameras use proprietary batteries and it sucks if you're taking pics and you run out of juice and you have nothing to replace it with.

That being said, I'd go with the Cannon A550. It's in your range, it's a slightly better model than what Liz has, and she's never had complaints.

Here's the link:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_13/602-7970915-1719843?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000MFA1NE

[Fez4PrezN2008]

I like my Kodak Z650
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/JBphotojunk/kodakz650.jpg
Easy to use with several built in programs for point and shoot under various conditions but also some nice manual setting in case you want to tinker with settings on your own. It has a view finder and a dig screen which is nice.
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/JBphotojunk/flying.jpg
Its great for action shots
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/JBphotojunk/telephoto.jpg
and a very respectible lens + digital zoom combination.
It's not very expensive either. Add a 1GB card and you can take 6mp shots all day long.

[cfrods]

My Polaroid izone 300 sucks, dont buy it

[grlNIN]

I just got back from my little shopping excursion and ended up with a Cannon Powershot A540. I didnt see the A550 but this seemed just as well. On sale for $169 and i purchased the 3 year extended warranty for $20.

There was an old man perusing the cameras as well and started chatting me up about the Cannon brand and how i was smart to buy the three year but short of dropping the camera itself, i would never run into a problem.

Thanks for the advice and feel free to tell me i got ripped off because i can go and return it if that's true...:surrender:

[RogerPodacter]

www.dpreview.com for all reviews and comparisons on cameras...

[SatCam]

There was an old man perusing the cameras as well and started chatting me up about the Cannon brand and how i was smart to buy the three year but short of dropping the camera itself, i would never run into a problem.

gvac

[RogerPodacter]

I'm a really huge fan of Nikon digital cameras. Check them out.

[scorpion]

I'm a really huge fan of Nikon digital cameras. Check them out.


I agree. Just got the Nikon DX40 and WOW what a difference from my older Cannon. I still like my point and shoot but for quality the SDL is way better.