Andrew needs a digital camera, Part 2

[Andrew_TSKS]

Last time I made a thread like this, I found out a lot of info about what sort of camera to buy if I could afford a really nice camera, and that the camera-knowledgeable peeps of LPTJ would generally discourage me from buying any camera cheap enough to be within my price range. And that was all fine, back when I could be assured of a job going forward, and could at least pretend to myself that I'd eventually save up the scrilla to buy myself a $300 camera. But now, my job will be a thing of the past in less than 3 months, and I need to buy a digital camera before the job has disappeared (so that I can subsist in potentially forthcoming lean times by selling my collectible possessions on ebay, which will require me to have photographs of same). SO: what I'm wondering is if you, the LPTJ hivemind, had to buy a digital camera for $150 or thereabouts, $200 at the ABSOLUTE most, what would you get? Links to specific products are encouraged.

[cold before sunrise]

i've got a canon elf that you can have. thought it had been stolen and threw the cords away, i called canon and they are $74 to replace so if you want it, holla. it's not anything incredible and my mum gave it to me so i feel like it should have sentimental value but maybe somebody has cords you can get for cheap on ebay? i should look but don't really care about it that much. my mum is the most important person alive so i will give it to you for free but only if you promise to not leave it sitting in a drawer.

[Bernard]

If you want to spend under $150 I am of the opinion that anything in that price range from a well-known manufacturer (Canon, Fuji, whoever) will be perfectly fine. Go to a shop and play around with a few different ones and see which one has menus and controls that feel intuitive to you. That's a more or less subjective thing and spending twenty minutes in a shop fiddling will be worth more than everybody's advice.

[diesel_powered]

Yeah, what Bernard said. Maybe get yourself a few candidates and then check the reviews online before making a final purchase.

[alistarr*]

If you want to spend under $150 I am of the opinion that anything in that price range from a well-known manufacturer (Canon, Fuji, whoever) will be perfectly fine.

...but don't get a nikon anywhere near that price - a friend of mine has one and it's horrific, even in comparison to the camera on his phone.

if you're going into a shop, remember to tell the salesperson to fuck off if they start talking about 10 megapixels this, 12 megapixels that. if the magic number is higher than 6 then you're fine, because you care more about the quality of the sensor and the lens and (if you want to take photos at shows) how well it performs in low light without flash.

i'll try and look up some examples later but being in a different country might hinder that.

[diesel_powered]

Also, make sure it takes standard memory (I've got an Olympus that uses weirdo memory... it's twice as expensive for no reason) and try and go for one that comes with a rechargeable battery pack. My dad has one that takes AA batteries and it's a pain in the ass. It goes through disposables like water and the NiMH rechargeables don't work right. Check out http://www.steves-digicams.com/ for reviews and info. They're pretty good.

[clare]

And if you are doing the rechargeable battery thing, it goes without saying that you'd want to get a spare battery or two. Some of them don't last all thatl ong either. My Olympus Mju is a bit like that, though my SLR goes great on AA batteries,as long as I get the expensive digital ones. I'm no good for finding you a cheap one though. But good luck with your quest. 

[Thermofusion]

Mine is one of 'em Powershots, the A570. It cost me about $200 two years ago. I have dropped it hell of times and it still works great. It takes nice pictures.

[milesofsparks]

I agree with what's been said, and also you will almost certainly need to save a little money for a memory card--the ones that come with most cameras are so small as to be basically useless.

I have owned two different Canon Digital Elph models and loved them both a lot.  Good interface, pretty sturdy, decent battery life.  I'd say get whichever model you can afford, and preferably with the IS (Image Stabilization), which I found helps a lot in low light:
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=145&modelid=16718

[Bernard]

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS7k. $140. I think this is the one my mom has. She needed something very light and easy to use. She loves it. Uses commonplace storage (SD or SDHC), takes very dandy little videos (quicktime file), has great battery life (rechargeable), connects via USB. One quirk of this camera, if I am not mistaken, is that there's no eyepiece -- you compose using the LCD only. I personally haven't missed it, and I live in LA, but in bright sunlight there can be glare off the screen, making it harder to see.

Canon PowerShot A480. $110.  SD memory, AVI videos, AA batteries, connects via USB.

Fuji FinePix Z30. $160. SD memory, AVI videos, rechargeable battery, connects via USB.

A 4 gig SD card should be about $20-25 and you can fit in a couple of hundred shots before you need to dump them and refill. In my experience I never fill it up before I want to download.

[mountmccabe]

I have a Panasonic Lumix that is probably a couple generations down from/years older than that one.  I like it a lot.  And I have no problem with it not having an eyepiece; I wouldn't use one if it were there.  And when it is really bright out there is a button to increase the brightness of the screen to compensate (at least some.)

And mine uses two AA batteries and I use hybrid rechargables and just have a couple sets of spares that I cycle through (though, really, it doesn't go through the batteries quickly enough that I've ever gone through two sets of batteries.)

[FreddyKnuckles]

um, take the free canon

[Andrew_TSKS]

I'm really interested in that Lumix now. Thanks for the link, Bernard.

And Freddy, I hear ya and if it was anyone else I would, but I don't trust cbs as far as I can throw her.

[Bernard]

My pleasure. I still think you should handle one in a proper camera shop and consider giving them your business.

[donblood]

And Freddy, I hear ya and if it was anyone else I would, but I don't trust cbs as far as I can throw her.

You would open the box and it would be like "people are sensitive, so even in a post-racial world where race doesn't exist anymore you need to make sure your same-sex partner knows the boundaries you've set, but even then society may not approve!  for example in africa there are monkeys and chimpanzees and sometimes they fight but they often rape each other.  no one in biology can argue about morality in a 'pure' sense because it is impossible to argue animal intelligence without being an animal oneself.  so the only way to really make a decision here is to live among monkeys for a certain period of time and return to society.  if you disagree with me you're as bad as coldforge who is one of those people who" and then you'd close the box and bury it.

[diesel_powered]

Donblood FTW.

[heather marie]

I convinced Richard to buy this, mostly due to size and price, since it was perfect to take to Egypt:
http://www.amazon.com/Fujifilm-FinePix-Digital-Camera-Optical/dp/B001QEJPOG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1247619235&sr=8-2

It takes pretty good pictures. I mean, you just want a camera to take pics of your friends and bands and stuff, right? That'll do the trick.

But I'm a Canon girl, through and through. I've had 6 Canons -- two film, three digital -- and I've loved them all.

[diesel_powered]

I also endorse Canon.

[Andrew_TSKS]

Ooh, I like that one too. I work right down the way from a camera shop, so I'll have to go up there and see what they've got that I can play around with.

[donblood]

Image stabilization helps a ton, especially in low light, but if you don't really know how to take photographs (and I know mos does) it's crucial.  I had an Elph 700, no IS, and was completely satisfied with it.  Then I dropped it down a fire escape on a trip, destroying it completely, and replaced it the next day with an Elph 800 IS - the difference in my shots from the IS alone CHANGED THE M'FN GAME.

[Andrew_TSKS]

How do I know if a camera has image stabilization?

[donblood]

Canon point-and-shoots will have "IS" somewhere in the model name.  Beyond that you should look on the website or box - if it has IS it'll be prominently featured.  I suppose you could also ask a sales person but that's outmoded.

[cold before sunrise]

did immediately message andrew after making my offer to say i couldn't find it but don't get how i could be called untrustworthy since i don't really bullshit about anything, even when it gets me in trouble. (even judging by how far i can be tossed! it's not like i have to jump from key to key to type this out but am fairly small) the camera is a powershot sd600 digital elph and is actually pretty cute so i don't mind keeping it, turned up while packing.

how's this... if you're in a bind and need to take some shots (if you haven't rounded up your own by then) i can post this one, trusting that you will mail it back.

[alistarr*]

A 4 gig SD card should be about $20-25 and you can fit in a couple of hundred shots before you need to dump them and refill. In my experience I never fill it up before I want to download.

fwiw i think andrew would easily get away with a 2GB card and save some cash. i mean, i use a 1GB card and take 150 pictures before it's full, on a camera capturing more pixels per image than that lumix you linked.

anyway, andrew, whatever you do don't buy your SD card on the high street. it will be less than half the price via amazon marketplace or crucial.com or somewhere similar.

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Memory-SDSDB-2048-A11-Retail-Package/dp/B0009RGLSE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1247645906&sr=8-1

also, get the lumix. that's a crazy price for a great camera. i had one of the earlier models in that line and it was awesome - and i paid £220 for it at the time which is i don't know how many dollars more than that one now costs, and didn't once regret it.