Digital Cameras

I am in the market for a digital camera. Time to hang up the SLR. I am impressed with alot of the pics on this BB with the quality and clarity of the photos.

I have narrowed my choice down to 4. (It changes daily)

1. Canon PowerShot S330 2MP Digital ELPH
2. Canon PowerShot A40
3. Sony DSC-P71 Cyber-Shot
4. Nikon Coolpix 775

I know there are better ones out there but what I am going to us it for I don't need the $1200 digital camera with all the bells and whistles.

I have played with the ones mentioned above in the store but it is hard to tell how it really performs on the outside. I have also read the reviews and it was helpful.

I am planning to get additional card, 8mb included with all these are not enough, thinking 64 to 132.

So any of you on here use any of the mentioned cameras?
Do you like or dis-like and why?

Is there a better choice then the ones I have been looking at for the same price range and options?

Any one have one and want to get rid of it?

They will all take "good" pictures. Consider the software that comes with the camera. I have a Hewlett Packard 315 ($150). Pretty basic camera. Great for up close fish and fisherman shots. The software that came with the camera is excellent and easy to use. You may want to consider buying a photo editing software program too, like Adobe Photo Deluxe. That program will help you shrink down photos so you can post them on this site.

Canon a40 is great. Takes alot of abuse. Mine goes camping and fishing all the time. 64 meg will give you somewhere around 150 pics depending on the resolution you set. Also I highly recomemend buying a card reader about ($25) it saves alot of time transferring photos from the camera to cd or whatever.
hope this helps.

I've found that the best camera's are those that are made by good SLR manufacturer's.

A 3 megapixel Canon,Nikon, or a Minolta is far and above better than a 3 megapixel Sony.

Alot of people like the Sony's cause of the floppy drive. With a new camera you might be lucky to put one pic on that floppy. When they first came out with it I could see it cause it was hard to find Smartmedia and Compactflash. Now you can head to any Wal-Mart, Target or Freddies and buy more memory.

I've got a cheapy HP camera and it's decent outside where it's bright out but it sucks inside, not enough flash. I've been looking at new ones and have decided my next one will be a Nikon. They seem to have the best options and the clearest and sharpest pics.

Now I've just got to save.

I like the Canon's. Ive got a power shot A20 that ive had for a little over a year. Takes good pics that print very well up to 8x10. It also has been a tuff camera. It gets wet all the time, not drenched but it can take a little rain without killing it. Ive dropped it a number of times and it still keeps going (not in the water though). Its a 2.1 MP.

You can't go wrong and won't be disappointed with a Canon. Got the PowerShot G1, but if I had to buy one today, I'd get the S40.

Get as large of a Compact Flash card as you can afford.

Always use the LARGEST image format when taking photos. You can ALWAYS shrink a large photo, but you can not always expend a small image.

Invest in 2 good sets of NiMh 1800 mAH rechargeable batteries and a good recharger. You won't regret that move.

I have the Nikon, and have been very happy with it. Takes great pictures, easy to use for the most part.

The one thing I am not happy with, is that the autofocus takes some time to zone in, which makes it difficult to get action shots. There may be something in the manual that I haven't found yet, but the camera requires a second or so for the autofocus to 'set', and until then, it won't shoot. So you can't just point and shoot it, or at least I haven't figured that out yet. This makes it hard, for example, to shoot a shot of a jumping fish. You can manage this, by pointing the camera and paritally depressing the shutter button, which causes the focus to set, and then hit the button when you want the shot. But that's a bit less convenient than my old film cameras.

Other than that, I'm in love with it. For grip and grin fish pictures, it is great.

Thanks for the great info. I have been on the computer and going to shops all day looking at it.
The more I see the harder it is to choose so
I am choosing between the Canon A-40 or the S330. will know when I walk out.
I will buy the 128mb flash and the rechargable batteries, I already have adobe photo shop.

They have a Nihm charger now that does it in 30 minutes, thats the way to go.

Just bought an Olympus c-4000 Zoom. Seeing the pictures on the board has also persuaded us into digital photography. Will let you know how we like it in a few months. Picking up the charger and 2 sets of batteries this week. Take care all.

Doubletake

I agree and disagree with some of your comments. SLR manufacturers do make good digitals, but you can't say when comparing a Sony to Nikon, the Nikon is better.
I am a Nikon SLR user, in SLRs Nikon is awesome. Digital cameras aren't bad, but man, Sony is very nice too.
Did you know some digital cameras actually use Sony IC's?
Digital cameras are more electronic than just a lense. Nikkor lenses really good...
Well, back to digitals...
www.dpreview.com is a very nice and detailed digital camera review site. Go take a look.

Jack Ip
TackleTour
http://www.tackletour.com

I have the Canon Powershot G1 and absolutely love it. It's only fault is that it's a bit on the heavy side when carrying it in my vest. I would recommend the Canon Powershot S40 or S30 depending on your budget.

S30/S40 info

Thumbs up on the A40.

I just recently bought a Nikon 995 and have used a Nikon 990 for a couple of years at work.
I opted for the Nikon 995 over the Nikon 775 and others because I just really prefer the cameras that allow me to control everything manually if I want (or need) to. I've shot lots of film cameras, from point-and-shoots to Canon EOS 1N's, to Nikon F5's, to 4"x5" studio cameras, and from tricky sunset shots to backlit shots, you can't beat a camera that lets you shoot full manual if you want to... but, if you don't need it, and if the smaller size is important to you, go with the 775 or one of the Canons. I've been doing lots of studio shots of tackle and such for the SU site, so I knew I was going to need a manual camera to get good results doing those.

I will say I got the 995 with a 16MB card, a 64MB card, two big lithium batteries, charger, case, cables, etc., for $500. Oh, and like someone else mentioned, get a card reader, they sure are handy.

-N.

I have a Nikon N90 SLR I used for evrything but it is not practical to carry on the rivers.

I do like the Nikon Digital but the $ is too much, gotta save the $$ for more gear.

I am ordering the S330 Elph ( I like the Small size).
Office Depot does have the A40 with 128mb for $299 right now

Thanks again for the imput.

I recommend the Sony sybershot that stores pictures and movies. I have had mine for a year and a half and I'm completely satisfied. Light weight fits in my shirt or waders pocket and uses the memory stick. takes great pictures.

I own a new 4.0 megapixel Sony which is wonderful. 128mb cards at Costco...a card reader is a must. I would check out Kenmore Camera for the Cannon G2 which is now $100 off and has alot of great features. Less than 4.0mp will be like owning an old "Pong" video game in a few months. On the other hand the Canon line has some really small and rugged digital cameras that take great pictures and fit in your shirt pocket..good idea for out in the boat.

Someone finally mentioned the pixel count! Grandpa is exactly right, pixel count is what it's all about if you want quality pictures. Buy the highest pixel count camera that you can afford from a reputable company. Almost any camera store can show you pictures from various pixel count cameras for comparison. It becomes very obvious upon comparison that you want at least a 3mp camera for high quality pics. Good luck!

RM

I have the Nikon 775. Although it may not have the megapixels or some of the ease of use of the Canon models, I chose it because of its versatility and compact size. I am able to take macro pictures ( a very close up picture from as little as 1/2 inch away!) and have had great results from the different settings available as presets. The camera is fully adjustable, just have to go into the menu to do it. It is small enough to be carried in a fishing vest pocket or front pant pocket without getting in the way. Yes there is a delay in the focus to shoot time...but this is the same with all digital cameras. To get really fast response time you would have to go with a very expensive camera.

Also on a side note. This camera is very durable. Although I have not done this on purpose it has survived a 5 foot drop with barely a scratch and a hosing while washing the boat. Great camera for the money!

The pixel count is important, especially if you plan to print any pictures. However, if your main use is to post pictures on the Internet , then it is not so critical becasue your monitor etc. has limits. You can get good Internet pics from a 1.3 or 2 pixel camera.

At least that's the way I understand it. Correct me if I am wrong!

One word of warning - you may get the dreaded "new gear jinx" after your camera purchase. I just bought one myself, and have not caught a fish since!

I agree with you on the pixel count. However 2.1 megapixels should be good enough for photos up to 8X10. It also helps to get some good photo processing software. I use Adobe Photo Suite. My photos that I tend to print ( usually in the 4X6 or 3X5 sizes) turn out great. Another aspect is using the right paper and having a good photo quality printer. A standard color printer - no matter how expensive - will not print photos well because it does not use enough layers of color to get the true photo quality.

I know that sometimes film just seems easier, and it is, but you can't beat the near instant results of today's digital cameras. Besides, when have you had 128 photos on a roll of film?

any piece of crap digital camera works on the internet. The 4.0 and up megapixel cameras allow you to tranfer photos onto cds which you can bring to a quality camera store or Kinkos and have laser print copies made..In my neighborhood Kenmore Camera has stunning photos done by digital cameras such as the Minolta Dimage and Nikon 5000...the detail difference is phenomenal between 2.0 and 4.0...not for everyone or necessary to enjoy digital photography but I think a smart bet to pay attention to. The other thing is the optical zoom..this relates to a standard 35mm camera with a 28-80 zoom for example or a 28-105zoom...very important feature. Don't worry about a high digital zoom number..it is the optical zoom that counts. 3x-6x is great. Some new models are about to come out so some good buys may be had like the previous one I mentioned the Canon G2...great choice..my second choice but a hard choice. Most of us can't really appreciate the quality difference in the photos with our monitors and computers that cannot reveal the real quality of a god digital photo....look at the real camera stores for the real story...CompUsa (aka Morons R Us) where I bought my Sony is no place to really learn anything...I fell for the 0 down 0 payment deal for 12 months...should have purchased at Kenmore Camera.

Anyone using a digital camcorder with a snap-shot mode? Been thinking of going this route, any pros & cons from users? If so, what model are you using now, and what whould you look for that you don't have.........c/22

Chrome , we have the sony PC10 mini DV with photo and the quality of the video is awesome but the digital pics suck. We got this camera in 1999. Maybe the newer ones shave better quality.

just purchased the Canon S300 through a buddy who works for Canon (that helped!). They are great little cameras, tuck right in a pocket or shirt. 2.1mp is plenty especially for posting/sending through cyberspace. Canon makes a waterproof case for the S200,300,330 that is good to 100 ft. under water...perfect for taking out fishing etc.

Here's what the Canon PowerShot S30 will get ya. Took these pics last week. The camera also takes video..

In the end, no matter which camera you go with, make sure you get the Canon S900 or S9000 photo printer. You won't be disappointed with the results.