Your favorite digital camera and why

[85MH325]

Originally Posted by S C Streamer

Roger,

The ONLY thing I wish my Canon G5 had would be a Bulb shutter setting.
The longest shutter speed is 15 sec.

B&H Photo is also a very good place to shop. I've bought 7 Canons (5 digital-2 film SLRs) from them,with no complaints.

Mark

Ditto. I've bought a TON of stuff from B & H over the years. I've found they're about the only honest NYC camera dealer.

Roger

[Devoman]

E-20N 5.0 Olympus here.The best camera I have ever used so far.Hope to get a bigger one sometime in the future for even better quality.

[SilverGate]

Lots of good information and resources posted so far. Looks like Canon PowerShot is a real favorite. If you haven’t posted yet, please do let us know what your favorite camera is (even if it is not a digital) as the last message thread on this topic was almost two years ago. I am sure this updated information will benefit many of us considering a new camera as we begin the summer season… and the International Rally!
Bill

[casarodante]

My primary factor was optical zoom. Secondary was ease of use for my family. The Kodak we have has a 10X optical. It also has a digital but I never use it.

Good luck with the information overload!

[AirConditioner]

Quality, features, reliability, price, and simple to use.

[Angel73]

We have a Casio Exilim EX-Z40 4.0 mega pixels with a 3X zoom.And i love it.It fit in my pocket and i can record short movies and sound.Plus its not to badly priced my husband loves to take pic so the 350.00 price tag wasn't to bad since now i can print pic or copy to cd at home now.

[brunoffrance]

Very satisfy with my canon Powershot A95 5Million pix.

The great advantage of this camera is the oriented screen that allow you to take pictures above when lot of people or take impossible other views with the camera at the ground level by example;VERY USEFULL !
So,just change the genuine Canon memory card with a 512mb to get more space and quantity pictures with a great quality !

Bruno;

[Buttercup]

I will go along with what 65GT offered. I have a Canon Powershot G6. I bought this camera after almost getting a more expensive SLR digital. It would have been a mistake! I reviewed digital cameras online at Digital Photography Review (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/spec...n/canon_g6.asp) and this camera was rated VERY highly. On that site they have full size images to look at. I was worried that I would not have the flexability that I enjoy with a higher end SLR. But this camera is fully capable and will go from full auto to full manual and everything in between.

As a side note, my wife and I are in the graphic design business and we have used this camera for publication work and print runs that number in the hundred of thousands. This camera will take pictures of a high enough quality for print publication.

I put one picture from my recent trip to France at http://archnevada.com/chartrescath/chartrescath.jpg. This is a full size image and the one thing you will notice is the minimal amount of chromatic aberration (rainbow shadow around high contrast areas). So the lens is of very good quality.

[Davydd]

I've owned a half dozen or more digital cameras. Right now I am partial to the Olympus Stylus series because they are pocketable, all-weather capable and have the xD memory card that I like. I keep a six pack of cards in a credit card size plastic carrier. The battery will shoot in excess of 200 pictures without recharge under general use including playback.

I'm actually eyeing two more cameras. I could use a digital SLR and I am thinking of moving up to the Olympus Stylus 720 SW, a waterproof camera to 10 ft. depth since we kayak a lot. It is small enough at .8" thick to keep handy in a vest pocket.

[65glbtrotter]

Allthough it will not fit your needs I chose the Fuji S5100. I like it because it has 10X optical zoom and a threaded lens protector that will accept additional lenses, such as a 3X zoom adapter (taking the zoom to 30X optical) or a wide angle lens and others. It is to big for a pocket but I would loose someting that small and I like alot of zoom.

[S C Streamer]

Here is an example of a Canon Powershot G5 macro. I had to reduce the file size in order to post on this forum.

A tip for all digital cameras, always shoot at maximum resolution. Get the best shot that you can, don't sacrifice quality for quantity. Memory Cards are pretty cheap nowadays.

The photo of the Original registration card was used in my 6 mo. battle with the California DMV in order to retain the Original black Lic. plate.
I finally WON .

Mark

[juel]

One more thought from the digitally challenged. My Canon PowerShot takes 4 AA batteries that can be found at any gas station. That's a real plus for a back roads traveler. I pity my sister who cannot ever find the right battery for her very expensive Olympus SLR camera. I can rob the batteries from my trailer remotes or clocks to use in my camera if I have to.

[thecatsandi]

Nikon Coolpix
5700, replaced by the 8700..
Versatile Love the thing. Had it for several years and taken several thousand pictures.

[flyfshr]

Pentax Optio MX - 10x Optical Zoom - 3.2 megapixel

I've had this camera for just about a year and it has always amazed me with its versatility and picture quality. It too has the flip out and down screen so I can take pictures from anywhere I can hold the camera. Plus, best of all, my iMac and iPhoto just love it. I would like to get a smaller, shirt-pocket size one though and as lenses and circuitry improve, the sizes get smaller, the megapixels get larger and the prices drop. All good reasons to have a newer model.

Great up to date thread.

Brad
FF

[dscluchfc]

I just bought a Sony DSC H5 for a nice point and shoot SLR look alike type camera.
7.2 megapixels....3" LCD screen....12X zoom...got the 2Gb ProDuo Memory Stick.
I am looking forward to an outing so that I can try it out.
I really want a Canon 30D, but my wife says that is too complicated a camera....so I buy this one to get her up to speed in the digital world with a mid-range point and shoot variety that has some SLR type features....then once she is comfortable with it, I can go get the 30D I want with all it's complications and she can be happy with the Sony DSC H5.....I hope.

[dmac]

Two important things to consider:

- Digital cameras eat batteries like crazy. Get one that takes AA batteries, and buy two sets of AA rechargables and a charger. Charge one set while you use the other.
- Many digital cameras have a long delay after you press the shutter release until the picture is taken. This is very annoying, and makes it difficult to get decent action photos. Try before you buy.

[myoung]

Originally Posted by dmac

Two important things to consider:

- Digital cameras eat batteries like crazy. Get one that takes AA batteries, and buy two sets of AA rechargables and a charger. Charge one set while you use the other.
- Many digital cameras have a long delay after you press the shutter release until the picture is taken. This is very annoying, and makes it difficult to get decent action photos. Try before you buy.

While I realize that the initial question concerns point-and-shoot, small, easily carried digital cameras, this comment about battery life and shutter lag prompts me to mention that for many people these are good and compelling reasons for chosing digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras. I have an early vintage Nikon D70 which has a near instantaneous startup and shutter response and a battery life well in excess of 500 shots even when I use autofocus and vibration reduction lenses. Sure you pay more and have to invest in lenses and the cameras are not the pocket variety, but the advantages may be worth the upgrade.

Of course, it all depends upon what you want from your photos and the experience of taking them. I'll second all the previous suggestions about Canon point-and-shoot cameras. We have PowerShot S400, an older model, that my wife loves. It takes excellent shots especially in challenging light/exposure situations. As good as the "S" series are, the "A" series are even better. The trade-off is a somewhat larger size but IMHO the image quality even with fewer megapixels is even better probably because of the size of the CCD.

[53flyingcloud]

SilverGate...
Where's the GOLD??? lol
After reading the others commenting on their camera and, they all had excellent points. I thought I'd share one that we used for ease of traveling.."with".
Sony's CyberShot DSC-P200 with 7.2 mega pixels was our camera of choice when traveling to Africa last year and, it will be going with the family again this year. I love the compactness/ease of operation and, the extra features found in a camera of this size. Naturally, Sony's software makes it a snap to upload and, share the pictures from afar~! I recommend using the 512 M flash card for taking/storing pictures` Take extra batteries/flashcards and, the international power plug adapter kit~!
Review site..
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydscp200/
Samples of pictures taken with:
http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/sonydscp200_samples/
I might mention that this is our second Sonys camera and..We've been extremely pleased with the reliability of the cameras..
As was mention..get ur hands on the camera first and, try it out..Only then can you really know if that's the one..
I forgot to mention batteries..These are the standard Sony's battery designed for the case..I don't think you could get AA/AAA's to power something like this camera with all of it's features and, keep it within the size..
Good luck in your research and travels.
ciao
53FC

[Pick]

The lense is more important than the number of megapixals. I know, they always tell you in the camera department, how important they are, if you want 8X10's you gotta have X number of megapixals, blah, blah, blah.
My brother has an Olympus D series that takes 1.3 megapixal photos. I have made many 8X10's from pictures I have taken with that camera. Most camera phones that have 1.3 mp ccd's take lousy pictures because they have lousy lenses. In this day and age any 3-5 megapixal point and shoot camera with a decent lense will take outstanding pictures, that can be printed to 8X10 with eye popping results.

My current digital camera is a Nikon Coolpix 5600. Takes great pictures. The only thing I don't like is the protective lense cover that automatically shuts when the camera shuts off is starting to stick.

[65glbtrotter]

As far as going through alot of batteries it all depends on the camera. I have worked retail as an electronics manager and here are some of the things I always told customers that were looking at digital cameras.
1. Megapixel is not always more is better, unless you use digital zoom more than 5 megapixel is overkill.
2. There are two types of zoom Optical where the lens actually moves and does not lower the resolution, Digital where the camera enlarges the pixels to make the subject area appear closer and lowers resolution.
3. Most stores offer a set satisfaction return policy, (our store was 30 days) I would encourage them to buy it and try it, then if they were not happy with it they could return it in the box in like new condition and get an exchange or refund thier choice.
4. Find a couple models that you like and then use the internet to do some research as to quality and user feedback.
5. Don't run out and buy rechargable batteries and a card reader right off. Use the camera for a little while if you are going through batteries very fast then invest in rechargables. When uploading to your pc if you seem to use a lot of batteries while uploading then ethier a card reader or rechargables are in order. I use rechargables and no card reader on mine.
6. You can download as well as upload to/from your camera.