Buying a Digital Camera

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GTP_event / kevinr6287 (farming account)
I'm going to purchase a new digital camera this weekend. I need a camera that will give me good quality pics, has an optical zoom, and is less than $200. I will mainly use this camera for cars, like when I see a nice car or go to a car show. My #1 choice is the Canon Powershot A400. I've heard great things about Canon.

Any other suggestions? Keep in mind the guidelines posted above. Any camera will be an upgrade from my .81 Megapixel Polaroid PDC700, which is going on ebay for $5. (not mine, but others of the same model)

EDIT: Also must be able to record movies
 
Could you try and give reasons for your choices? Iam digital camera illiterate...
 
anything from Fuji will do the job VERY VERY well for you. The price is excellent and in addition to that, they take awesome photos. Try to get one with the SuperCCD and you'll be set for a long time coming :). The only reason I didn't get one was because I needed the smallest camera I could afford and sony was the only one offering 5 megs and a really tiny physical size.

If size isn't a big concern, you could wait for the FinePix s5100 to come out or for the s5000 (being replaced by 5100) to drop in price. The cameras are bulky but offer a 4 meg superccd and 10x optical zoom. The superccd allows for effectively 8 meg images.

Also, fuji is rediculously amazing in terms of noise in the images. Even at iso400 settings and max resolution, the ones i've seen had virtually no image noise
 
emad
anything from Fuji will do the job VERY VERY well for you. The price is excellent and in addition to that, they take awesome photos. Try to get one with the SuperCCD and you'll be set for a long time coming :). The only reason I didn't get one was because I needed the smallest camera I could afford and sony was the only one offering 5 megs and a really tiny physical size.

If size isn't a big concern, you could wait for the FinePix s5100 to come out or for the s5000 (being replaced by 5100) to drop in price. The cameras are bulky but offer a 4 meg superccd and 10x optical zoom. The superccd allows for effectively 8 meg images.

Also, fuji is rediculously amazing in terms of noise in the images. Even at iso400 settings and max resolution, the ones i've seen had virtually no image noise
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What camera are you using, Emad? I'd assume it's a Fuji (you sound like a salesman). I love your pics and the image quality of them. I would love to take pics like that!
 
Cybershot DSC-P100

btw, I *am* a part time computer/electronics salesperson. I just really really llike the fujis. I play around with them whenever the store is devoid of customers and my boss isn't looking (way too often).
 
emad
check Steves-digicams.com - crappy site design but their reviews are very thorough :).

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/fuji_a340.html

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/a400.html

in particular, pay attention to their remarks on the features as well as the sample pics they provide
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Well, it looks like I will probably be going for the Canon Powershot A400. It's only 3.2 MP but there seems to be less picture distortion. Plus, the Fuji A340 dosn't take good indoor pics. The pics look like they have color distortion or maybe even auto-smooth. The A400 is also smaller! 👍
 
Avoid the Sony DSC's, I the 5.0mp pics are really really grainy, even the 1.2mp mode isnt really good. Although it does pretty well when recording 640x480 videos.
 
2ez2KiLL
Avoid the Sony DSC's, I the 5.0mp pics are really really grainy, even the 1.2mp mode isnt really good. Although it does pretty well when recording 640x480 videos.
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before you say that, you should take a look at my gallery at deviantart.com. The only manipulation that any of my photographs have seen is cropping, resizing to more manageable levels and the occasional border. All my photos are taken with manually configured settings. 1 or 2 of them have been lightened or darkened because I didn't have the shutter at the right speed at the time but aside from that, the images have not been modified in any way

The only time my sony shows any grainyness at all is in the very rare occasion that I have to set it to use an ISO400 film speed rather than the usual ISO100 and 200.
 
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Nikon/nikon_cp4300.asp

I've been happy with it for the past year. It's small, goes easy on the batteries. IT's got a handful of excellent scene shots and a wide variety of functions that you don't have to be a wizard to take advantage of.

IT's comparable to the a400.

I compared many cameras in that price range and this one came out on top. The only hesitation I would have is that it doesn't record sound with the movies. But it makes up for that with how nice of an image it shoots. THe up close and macro shots (fishtank) are absolutely incredible. I can upload a few high res images if you want to see.

It also takes incredible daily scene shots. I've got a few of those that I can share as well.

Drop me a PM if you want to see the images.

AO
 
Der Alta
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Nikon/nikon_cp4300.asp

I've been happy with it for the past year. It's small, goes easy on the batteries. IT's got a handful of excellent scene shots and a wide variety of functions that you don't have to be a wizard to take advantage of.

IT's comparable to the a400.

I compared many cameras in that price range and this one came out on top. The only hesitation I would have is that it doesn't record sound with the movies. But it makes up for that with how nice of an image it shoots. THe up close and macro shots (fishtank) are absolutely incredible. I can upload a few high res images if you want to see.

It also takes incredible daily scene shots. I've got a few of those that I can share as well.

Drop me a PM if you want to see the images.

AO
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That's a little on the expensive side. If I go for a more expensive camera, I need to wait longer, and I want to buy an MP3 player soon.
 
Ahhh... I just read your first post a bit closer. Missed the Cash limit. Sorry for that.

A quick look and the Power Shot a400 shows as a good deal in that price range.

AO
 
@Event - whatever camera you get, don't ever leave home without it :). You'd be amazed how many photo ops show up every day
 

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