What's the best digital camera without spending a $ fortune?

I am needing to take some more pics of my car for a fellow. Which digital camera would you guys recommend that can be bought inexpensively? Thanks!

 

Canon S400 -- about $400

 

i'm sure there are $50 options out there.

you need to clarify "fortune" and "inexpensive".

http://www.dpreview.com/ is a stupendous research tool.

doody.

 

Will agree with Doody... http://www.dpreview.com/ is a stupendous research tool.

Enjoy the Drive,

Steven R. Rochlin

 

I just purchased a Kodak 5.0 megapixel DX4530 for 299.00 from Best Buy. Takes pretty decent pics but I still miss my Minolta 35mm

 

I wouldn't recommend that Kodak. I have yet to read one good review on it. Everything I've read says the colors are off and somethings come out blurry. Plus the price speaks for itself. No good quality 5.0 megapixel camera should be cheaper than $450 imo. And I have to agree with the other two about dpreview. Excellent reviews and if they havent reviewed, the user opinions tend to be very good. I have a Kodak DX6340 thats 3.1mp and is pretty good quality.

 

You can get a DECENT 3.2MP camera (Fuji, Panasonic, Sony) in the
$200+ range. It is more than enough for internet purposes and will produce very nice 4x6 to 8x11 prints (depending on your printer and photopaper). It gets better than this the higher the megapixel (MP).

Bought my Panasonic LC-33 with Leica lens for a little over $200. I am extremely happy with it; I use it mainly for internet purposes and printing 4x6's. It is quite addicting.

Ron

 

Another vote for the S400.

 

I always tell people to Stick with the big 2(canon nikon). They cost a little more but you get a very well thought out camera. The optica also tend to be better. What ever you do do all your reasearch online. If you go to a camera store you should have it narrowed down to 2 choices.

If you need person to person guidence try to find a professionial level camera store near you. They usually know their **** and have digital departments. Just stay away from box stores when it comes to decion making, but they are great place for deals, if you don't need knowledgible sales service.

I would recomend the S400, but if you don't want to part with $400 and are taking shot mainly for screen viewing check out he Canon 2mp A60($199 or cheaper) or the 3mp A70($250ish) if you are planning on printing ever once in a while. Basiclly it comes down to what are you using the camera for. if you are going to be printing 8x10 or larger get at least 4mp camera. If it's web use only get a 2mp camera, and so on.

I always give people 3 things to look for in a digi, Compact flash media (it's the closest thing to an industry standard out there and will be around for a long time), ablity to use AA batteries(no bruce did pay me to say that ) but if you ever are using the camera and you propritay battery dies you can't just run the the nearest 7-11 and get more batteries, and a real view finder thay way you can use it like a real camera when needed (bright direct sunlight which makes LCDs a Biatch to see)

One last thing. Don't be fooled by marketing giniks like using Ziess or Leica lenses. Yes these are big names with very nice products, but they have low quality bottom of the line stuff too. If you repaint and rebadge a Kia with all the Ferrari stuff you can find it's still a Kia.

Just my $.02

 

For an entry level camera I like the Sony Cybershot. At around $200 I think they work really well for the $. You can even find them at your local Wal-Mart.

 

Canon Sureshot S400 -- ultra compact, 4 Megapixel.

 

Do NOT buy a canon camera, S400 included.

The infamous "e18 error":
http://www.bitnet.cx/canon.html
http://www.greenspun.com/com/imaging/PRODS/S100/S100A.HTM

Thousands of people are out of luck (myself included) due to this error, which Canon refuses to recognize. They'll fix it, but if it's out of warranty prepare to pay. My A40 quit JUST out of warranty, many others barely got the camera out of the box. Stick with Sony.

 

If you google canon e18 error most of the hits come back with model numbers of older camera which have been discontinued. I'm not saying it doesn't still happen, but I know many people with Canon cameras and this is the first I've heard of this.

 

Canon PowerShot A60 or A70.

I have an A60.

I agree with Brianjonesphoto's 3 criteria for a Digital Camera. I tell my friends the same 3.

 

I LOVE my s400 it is a pack of cigs in size. great battery life too.

thad brown

 

Nikon Coolpix 3100.

Great software, good colors. I had a Canon, the Nikon is better

 

Canon S50. Check out the pics here http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7281

I heard the Sony DSC-V1 is pretty good too but it's more expensive. Go to www.dcresource.com for reviews.

 

We have a Canon G2 and it's great. This is the first I've heard of those errors.

 

I bought a Minolta G400. Real small (about the size of the Canon S400), very very fast (quick startup time, almost no shutter lag), plus it has scene modes+ full manual mode (i.e., you can manually set shutter speed, aperature, ISO, etc.) +aperature priority modes. Or, just leave it in auto mode, which is what I do most of the time.

4 megapixl, 3x optical zoom lens.

Cost about $300.

Only downside: low light focus (i.e. dimly lit room at night) could be improved, but I've noticed this is a problem with most small cameras.

Dom

 

I have a Canon A70
Takes great pictures and is easy to use

 

When I bought a digi camera I did lotsa research. Olympus is supposed to have the best lens'. The lens is supposedly the most important part of the camera. My Olympus 550 is only a 3.2 mega pixel, and takes AWESOME quality photos. You can zoom into a photo about 3 times before it starts breaking down into little squares of color...if ya know what I mean. Also, when I email them, they are huge photos, actually too large! A 5.0 mega pix will have your friends wanting to strangle you if you send them a photo. Just my 2 cents. A great site for price comparisons and owners opinions.

 

When I bought a digi camera I did lotsa research. Olympus is supposed to have the best lens'. The lens is supposedly the most important part of the camera. My Olympus 550 is only a 3.2 mega pixel, and takes AWESOME quality photos. You can zoom into a photo about 3 times before it starts breaking down into little squares of color...if ya know what I mean. Also, when I email them, they are huge photos, actually too large! A 5.0 mega pix will have your friends wanting to strangle you if you send them a photo. Just my 2 cents. A great site for price comparisons and owners opinions. (Pretty sure my camera is under $300 now).

 

I bought the Olympus for about $200 or somewhere thereabout. I do have to downsize the photos to email them but it works great. The Camedia software that comes with the camera works pretty well although it is not Photoshop. If you do not want to spend much, I certainly recommend the Olympus.

 

i just got a canon A300... dpreview mention alot of good things about it.