I really goofed. [:(] Somehow I managed to put our digital camera in the washing machine. I think the little one grabbed it and put it in the laundry basket then something else got put on top and needless to say although clean it no longer works. We are going to replace it ASAP with only weeks till Danny is due so if there are any digital camera experts handy I d appreciate the input. We are looking for a good one but not really high end. Our old one was a Sony cybershot.
julecavCanon powershot A40. Really good, not expensive. I have a Powershot A20 I bought as a demo for eBay and I am very happy with it. I had a series of HP ones before the Canon and did not like the pciture quality at all, I guess the lens they used was not really good.
Never buy anything which has les than 2 Megapixel resolution. anything above is better if you have the money.
Good luck !
julecavI agree with birol that you should look for a digital camera with 2megapixels or greater. That should be easy to do since there are cameras out there approaching 8 megapixels. Also look at the zoom. The digital zooms are generally not as good as an optical zoom. Probably a 3x optical and 3x digital is ok. Sony is a good brand. I have an Olympus that I swear by and Nikon also makes good digital cameras.
julecavJulecav -- Sorry to hear about your loss on the digital side. I m not familiar with the cost of the camera you had but you might want to check you homeowner s insurance. If your deductible is reasonable, you might be able to get a replacement for just a few bucks. Never hurts to ask.
I have a Sony which takes beautiful pictures. It was costly when I first purchased ($800) but still a great camera.
julecav[link]http://www.dpreview.com/[/link]
The above site has a great wealth of information on digital cameras...
I am a Research and Development Photographer for Kodak, and I am impressed with the testing protocol that is used by that site. At work I have tested Professional Digital Cameras from Kodak, Nikon, Canon, and others. Everything from 1.3 to 16MP!
If you are looking for a " snap shot" camera that will make excellent 4x6 prints and very good 8x10s, I think you will be happy in the 2 to 3MP range
The Kodak cameras have very good image quality, and are very easy to use! If you want a simple user interface, and excellent color, go with a Kodak.
If the Kodak cameras don t offer the feel or features that you are after... I would start my search with Canon... I have read good things about the A40
While I still feel film still offers the highest image quality, I do use a digital camera for snap shots. My current digital camera is a Kodak DC5000 (now discontinued) which is weather and shock proof... the perfect camping camera!
julecavI have ordered a Nikon 4500 and can t wait to get my hands on it. The selling points for me were:
1) Excellent optics
2) Ability to screw on additional lens and filters
3) Ablility to take macro photographs
4) 16 preprogramed scene modes
5) 4 mega pixel resolution
I consulted 3 close friends with digitial cameras whose photo s I have admired. They own Kodak, Canon and Olympus. While all three thought highly of Nikon in general none liked the 4500. The twist body bothered them, its a feature people either love or hate.
I hope everything goes well with new baby. Godd luck!
Rambling Wreck
julecavI have a kodak and love it. Kodak has a service department that can t be beat. The one i have is a DX 4330 with a dock. The dock makes it super easy to use.
julecavI have an Olympus C-700 and am loving it!!!!
julecavDo any of these camera s have difficulties sharing a port? My Palm Hot Sync Cradle will not work unless it has it s own usb port. I only have two ports and tried to use a hub and a new card but it wouldn t work that way. I m wondering if digital cameras are as senstive as the Palm product was?
julecavI have the Kodak DX 3500, a fairly simple and straightforward camera, not too pricey, and yet it has been very satisfactory for our use. It has the dock, but when I stayed with NightOwl last summer, I was surprised to find how easily I could upload my photos into both her laptop and Billy s Mac. The program that came with the camera has a lot of cute features, and I have fun playing with that as well.
T
[;)]
julecavSo funny... I saw your subject title and said... " Hey our new camera (which we love) is sitting right here in front of me, so I might as well reply" . Funny part is, It s a Sony Cyber-shot! The same one you cleaned up!
julecavTo sum up (yes, I love summing up things).
- At least 2 Megapixel
- Must have 3X optical zoom (This is very important) before digital ones kick in
- Docking station compatability is nice , most good brands have docking stations
- Macro capability is nice to have
I would feel comfy with Nikon, Canon, Olympous, Kodak (eeeekkkk :):):) ) Minolta and so on. basically companies which are already famous for producing great 35 MM cameras already.
Good luck and let us see a few pics after you get the new toy. And remember, never throw tho whole basket into the washing machine ever again, I always take them one by one. Never washed a 20$ after started to do that :)
Birol
julecavThanks for all the advice. We actually ended up ordering a Fuji from QVC. It was a 3.2 megapixel and had a 9.6 zoom and the price was comprable to most of the 2.0 mp s I saw on bestbuy.com. Since they have a great return policy we will get a chance to really try it out and if we don t like it it is easy to return. We liked the Kodaks but have limited space on our computer desk and a dock is just one more thing that would get in the way- this one uploads with a USB which hooks right in the front of our computer. THANX AGAIN--JULE[:)]
julecavI have a Sony that uses the 3 and 1/2 inch CDR/RW and it works great holds about 400 pictures on a disk and no cables to fool with. Just pop the cd into your cd drive and copy and paste!
julecavI have done alot with my digital camera (Olympus 600-D) and found that the camera takes excellent pictures. One time I tried to skimp and save a few bucks on the photo paper. It ended up being a lesson learned and a throwaway box of paper. The Kodak photo paper for digital pictures is the best quality paper you can buy. I also heard that the Hewlett-Packard ink cartriges use dyes instead of " watercolors" that the other printers use. I don t kow if that is correct or not, but I am very pleased with my set-up.
julecavI have a polaroid PDC 1100. I got it at an auction for 20 bucks, brand new in the box, missing the compact flash card. The card was easily replaced. For the price it works wonderfully!! I used it to take pictures at the lake all summer last year and even made a picture quilt with pictures I had taken. I am however considering getting a better camera in the future. I have a compact flash reader I use so I don t have to plug the camera in everytime I want to upload pictures into my computer. I am REEAALLYY glad I got the reader! The only thing I have found that I don t like about the camera is that it EATS batteries really fast. I am not sure if all digital camera s do this or not. Wish I could find one that didn t go through them so fast.
julecavAll digital camera s are like that, especially when one uses the lcd display. I use 4 NiMh AA rechargable s and I am happy with these batteries performance, if I do not use the flash a lot. If I do, one 64 MB flash card eats the batteries up alive !
julecavMinolta Dimage S404. 4megapix, 4x optical zoom. Very good reviews of it, recommended by [link=http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/minoltas404/]Digital Photography Review site.[/link]
We have two of them, wonderful cameras.
julecavWe have a Poloroid PDC640, which is a piece of junk. For Christmas DH got me a Nikon Coolpix 5700. 5 megapix and 8X optical zoom. It is a very nice camera. You can add other lenses to the camera which is a plus. I still love my 35mm, but it is so nice to see the photos as soon as you take them. I hope you like the new camera. It is nice that you can try the camera and then return it if you don t like it.