need advice regarding digital camera

[baby_bear]

I am a photography idiot. My regular camera was ruined last year by a speed boater who soaked me (and the camera). I would like to get my husband a digital camera before we go on vacation next month. Nothing fancy but easy and relatively good quality.

Any suggestions? Keep in mind, I am a scientist but not a mechanical engineer.

Thanks!

baby_bear

[BlueJazz]

1. Here's a link with tons of Reviews >>>

http://www.imaging-resource.com/DIGCAM01.HTM

[baby_bear]

4. I read all the reviews

BlueJazz, thanks so much. I am studying these and on my way to a purchase soon. This is just what I needed.

b_b

[Maddy McCall]

2. I hear a lot of good things about the Canon PowerShot.

One of my friends has an elderly mother who swears by this camera. She's a luddite in every sense, but she takes this little camera with her everwhere.

I've seen the photos that she's made with it...great photos. She just takes her memory card to the photo processing store, and they download her photos and print them for her.

Since you're probably a great deal more computer saavy than she is, you'll have no problem downloading the photos to your computer.


http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Optical-Stabilized/dp/B000Q30420/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1216075711&sr=1-1

[baby_bear]

3. Hey, thanks

Maybe I'm not a luddite, but my husband clearly is. This may be just the thing. Thanks! b_b

[fortyfeetunder]

8. I just bought a PowerShot -- love it

Got an 8MP. It's good for now and it takes great pictures. It uses AA batteries -- which was great for me because I have tons of rechargeables.

The only drawback for me is I am not comfortable with looking at the screen to focus in on my picture.

Otherwise, I recommend it. It has lots of features you can grow into but simple enough to take good pictures.

[begin_within]

5. I'm pretty happy with my Nikon Coolpix L11

It's only about $100 and takes pretty good pictures (all the photos in my original post at this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x7770590

were taken with it). I'm not even sure if they make the L11 any more, but pretty much anything in the Coolpix line is going to be decent quality. So you might consider that line. Definitely get a memory card to go in it, because the built-in memory only holds like 5 pictures or so, while the card will store hundreds of pictures. You can't always be exactly sure what type of memory card it uses until you read the manual after you buy the camera. So you can't necessarily buy the camera and the memory card at the same time, unless you're dealing with a salesperson who really knows what they are talking about.

[MissMillie]

10. I have the 8 pixel version

the memory card was relatively cheap (1G for about $15, more memory would be needed if I took videos).

I'm pretty happy w/ the camera.

[begin_within]

11. Do you mean 8 megapixel?

[MissMillie]

13. yes

please understand, I'm technologically challenged (especially when it comes to the lingo)

[pokerfan]

6. I'm very happy with my Canon PowerShot

It's a few years old now (S40) but I'm mostly happy with idea of digital photography.

How do you plan to use it? Unless you want to make hugh prints, #pixels is pretty overrated, and your shots just wind up taking more memory space which means room for fewer pictures on your memory card.

I mostly view the pictures either on my computer or on the tv via a DVD player that reads CDRs. Even a high def TV can't display more than a couple million pixels. But if you want to do a lot of cropping of your images then it's nice to have some extra pixels to throw away.

Digital zoom is a meaningless stat. It pretty much simply means performing the cropping option in the camera than later on the computer.

Optical zoom is the stat you want to look for. Most cameras have at least 3X but you can go higher if you want.

Lot of reviews here:
http://www.dpreview.com

[crimsonblue]

7. anything point and shoot

something slim. Get one with at least 7 megapixels. Avoid Pentax, Casio, and any knock-off brands. Go with Canon, Nikon, or Sony.

[blueraven95]

9. go talk to the people in the photography forum

you'll get lots of good advice.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=280

[bif]

12. Bought my daughter a Panasonic -Lumix

It has an excellent Leica lens, fits in your pocket or purse and takes great pictures including super close-ups. We may have paid a little over $200 for it. She absolutely loves it.

Check out www.cnet.com for reviews and comparison shopping. Costco has a nice selection and they're reasonable.