The wife dropped a not to subtle hint about wanting a new digital camera for Christmas. The one she currently has is about 4 years old.

Wondering if anyone has any suggestions. I see cameras advertised now that have 7-8 megapixels. Does she need something that has that many?? I don't think she will be printing anything larger than 8X10. Also is there an advantage to getting a loading dock or port?? Or is the cable you get supplied with good enough??

 

A 4MP or so will suffice. I'd stick with a Fuji, Kodak, Canon or Minolta...

Docks are just a fancy cable, that's it.

 

I echo what dzervit said, 4 megapixel will more than suffice. In fact, using Shutterfly, I've had some outstanding 8x10's printed from my old 2.1 megapixel camera. Unless you plan on printing larger than 8x10, anything above 4 megapixel is just a waste of space on your storage card, IMO.

Personally, I am an Olympus fan and have been since my first SLR. The optics on many Canon, Nikon, Sony and Olympus cameras are outstanding. You'll get positive opinions about many other brands. Check out the following sites for some reviews:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/
http://www.dpreview.com/
http://www.imaging-resource.com/

My opinion, set a budget for what you want to pay and read the reviews for name-brand models that fit that price level. Try them on for size, there is nothing more annoying than a camera that doesn't fit your hand well, weighs too much or is too big to fit in a pocket or purse.

Also consider your subject matter. Are you going to be taking pics of children? If so, pay close attention to the lag times in the reviews. Those will a slower lag time will guarantee missing the money shot 7 out of 10 times.

Is it more for landscapes and such? There are several models that now have optical zoom that go beyond the traditional 3x, to 5x and beyond.

My current point-and-shoot (saving for digital SLR), the Olympus Stylus 410, hooks up to the PC via a USB cable, where the camera simply looks like another drive on the computer. Downloading is a simple as drag-and-drop.

 

Thanks for the advise D.
Very festive update to your sig, enjoy the vacation

Webmaster, thanks also for your imput, helpful links. Looks like I should be able to get a pretty decent one for $300.

 

My brother and I have been researching them for my father for Christmas and we've found that what D and the webmaster have said is true and have been particuarly impressed with the Kodak and Olympus cameras. JMHO

 

Working for Kodak (and thus being slightly biased), I highly recommend our LS 743 (4 megapixel) or LS 753 (5 megapixel) cameras for everyday use. They're virtually identical on the outside, and fit right in your pocket so you can take them anywhere. I've got the 743 and absolutely love it. Everybody that's seen or used mine has ended up going out and buying one. Sam's Club even has a special bundle deal on the 753. Merry Christmas!

 

My parents got me a Kodak EasyShare CX7330 for my birthday last month and I love this little thing. 3.1 MegaPixles, 128mgb card, (holds +/-130 pictures), and shoots video with sound. Got it for around 150 at wal-mart i believe. Good little camera, pics are clear as day on the computer monitor.....now if i could only figure out how to get those pics onto f150 online....

 

I’m also looking at getting a digital camera. However due to domestic budgetary constraints, my allotment is significantly less than most. I’m looking for a quality unit around $100. I’ve seen Wally World, Circus City and Sears all have a Kodak brand for $100. I believe it is 3 MP. Sorry I don’t have the add in front of me to supply the model # for you all. Perhaps someone may already have this unit and can supply some feedback on it. Sounds like it is the model below the one Green has.

I only intend to use it for basic family shots and of course for Hoss!!

 

I am a big fan of the Canon line. Plus for some reason girls seem to find them cute. I bought my gf a canon elph and she loves it. Anything over 4mp is overkill for sure. Ours is a 3.2 or something like that and its quality is amazing. ecost.com and buy.com have had some killer deals. I would check them out and read reviews on them as well.

 

Rochester NY native and you're not buying Kodak?! I'll bet you used to use Fuji film too didn't you?

 

I will agree with our Webmaster about the Olympus line. I bought a Stylus 300 a few months ago and like it a lot. I needed something able to withstand getting knocked around, sometimes exposed to rain or dirt. The 300 is a bit heavier than similar models, but it's water resistant and the cover slides over the lense when it's turned off. I think it was about $300-$350 not counting the extra memory card (stock was only 16mb).

I love the easy downloads. Just plug it into a USB port on any WinXP PC and the computer reads it like an external drive. AND the pictures are already in JPG format instead of needing some stupid software program to reformat the pics into a usable format.

I hate getting pics emailed from my sister. They are imbedded in the email in an unrecognizable format. If I save the picture, I can't open it again unless I go back to the original email and right-click the picture and 'save as' JPG. I wish she was computer-savvy enough to reformat them herself but it ain't gonna happen. I hope her next digital camera uses a JPG format like my Olympus.

 

somethin that hasnt really been touched on cept breifly by our glorious webmaster, was what your gonna use the camera for. It makes a big difference in what camera you buy. Some cameras are no good for taking up close pics(macro mode) but great at distance shots or vice versa. Others are total crap indoors with low light but awesome outdoors. When your checking the reviews pay attention to that kind of stuff. I dropped the ball (on a kodak) the first time i bought a digicam a few years back and ended up with one that wasnt quite cutting it indoors with low light.

 

I'm on my second digital camera. Both are Fujis. My current one is the FUJI S3000 which serves my purposes very well. I take mostly pics of me and a Bass I have caught by myself. Takes pics in Jpeg format and plugs right into the PC port and it comes with it's own software for storing pics.

Here is a sample pic and of course, that's with the auto feature and timer in use.

Dan

 

I have a Canon Powershot A400 3.2 Megapixel.

I haven't seen clearer pictures yet from anyone else's camer posted on any website yet....

 

Thanks for all the info guys. I'm glad I have another week to digest it all. Merry Christmas..