It is time for me to join the 21st century camera club. My current camera was a gift, several years ago, from my dad, but it takes film and I think it is time for me to go digital.

I was at Costco the other night looking over what they had while a guy was putting out new ones. He said digital "point and shoot" cameras pretty much all have the same features. He then said the main difference is zoom length. He went on to give the depth in feet for a variety of zoom lengths. Naturally I didn't write anything down nor do I remember what he said. I think he said 3x was good for 15 to 18 feet.

Oh the times I have maxed out the zoom only to still need a magnifing glass. I'm looking for something that will bring my kid (who is standing in the very back row) close enough to me (who couldn't sit closer than half way back in the auditorium) so I don't need that blasted magnifier.

So what numberx do I want? The next thing will be who has that for $100-$125?

Thanks!

I absolutely LOVE my Sony zoom 12x.
Most of the pics in my profile album were done with it.

I am now looking at the new 20x zoom by Sony. But it is pretty expensive still. This is 500 dollars and very new. I am hoping it will come down next year.

My son wants me to get the Panasonic 18x zoom. FZ28.
This model is $305 at Amazon. He said it was a huge value for the price and got very good reviews and has quality.

My old Sony was one of the first...and if it were not for the poor battery life, I wouldn't think of replacing it.

All of the super zooms now have a digital zoom in addition. That gives you an incredible option for fabulous sports/nature and candid portraits. I'd recommend a super zoom over the little cameras any day.

I'm a Canon fan, but the new digital I'd like is still a little too spendy so I'll wait on that. What I used for my son's graduation was a Kodak Easy Share digital, 8megapixel 10x zoom. I bought it for myself for Mother's Day when it was on sale at Wallyworld for $100..This picture was taken half a gymnasium away using the zoom (I didn't focus it great, wasn't wearing my glasses..duh):

Attached Images

Grad.jpg (178.6 KB, 110 views)

I got my DH a Nikon and he likes it a lot. I have a Panasonic but that was more expensive.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218068778550

Here's a Kodak that's on sale and included a 4mb memory card. It's $135, pretty cheap for all that's included.

I think it depends on what you want to do with the camera, too.

What I want and need are nature and candid portrait.

One does not really need 10 megapixels these days unless you are a professional with certain requirements for reproducing large photos. (this is my son's advice).

But the zoom capability is limited on small cameras.

There is a site that evaluates cameras I found very helpful:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html

I used that site to whittle down my Sony which was my first digital purchase. It helped me decide between Canon and Kodak.

There are also forums on the net with people who have bought them. Amazon has a rating place for each too. The Canon zoom at the time had a small viewing screen, and had problems with focus. The Kodak had about 50% of purchasers who were very unhappy with it. So at the time I chose the Sony and I can tell you it is a fabulous camera. Now there are other models. The H50 has replaced mine, for example.

Most of the super zooms have anti-motion feature, and the new ones have very good anti-noise added (wish I had the anti-noise). The anti-noise allows for taking pics in low light, which you may otherwise miss...and when you put them in computer, you will not get as much distortion.

I am stilll waffling on getting a new one. I guess for me it is learning a whole new digital/computerized camera...which will slow me down quite a bit when I get the quick nature event that requires speed...like hummingbirds!

If you have problems like tremor you'll like the antimotion features some have. If you need a large viewing screen, you'll have to choose Sony for example, they typically have the largest.
If money is a factor, you'll probably want Kodak. They are always less $$ than the other names.

All of the super zooms are automatic and have manual features if you want to turn them into an SLR. They typically do not take RAW formats. RAW is a bit beyond me, but my son uses that. Says the pictures are "better". RAW is found in SLR digitals.

I have a Kodak 650z and love it! It was about $250 and came with all the stuff I needed - extra recharge batteries, a dock, etc.

It's probably a lot cheaper now.

Thing is, just get the best one you can afford. you'll end up playing with the features and finding what works for you.


Everyone I know, once they go digi, they never go back.



Oh, and there is digital zoom and optical zoom. Optical zoom is better - it zooms closer to how your eyes do.

I've had a digi for about 10 yrs now. Never could take a decent shot before that. Now, there are some I don't mind hanging on the wall. Even had people ask me for copies.

Mt earlier kodaks - I'm on my 3rd one now - had sad bat life too. This one is impressive. I can go all day and the batt is still good. I've zoomed in and out several times and still gotten like 80+ shots at Best quality w/o charging.

Only thing I'm not crazy about is it takes a few seconds to store every pic so it's ready to shoot again. Are some quicker?

That Pansonic does sound nice.

Yes, the older digital cameras had their faults. Shutter speed was one.

My son and I took hummingbird pics together on the dock, last summer. He has a Pentax SLR with lots of lenses, and I have my Sony zoom.

Mine came out better mostly! He was miffed. But then I am quicker than he is, because of his vision handicap which sometimes impairs him a little.

I have my hummer pics in my album here.
My son got one splendid shot tho of the bird in flight that is very unusual.
This is his Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thekevi...7607101413789/

Feel free to look around there. Some of his things are really good..for a hobby.

I agree about quality of digital. I was never very good with a camera, and had a film Olympus zoom 70mm. I got so so shots with it. This digital is just knocking me out. I actually have FUN with it. Get excited sometimes !! LOL
You can delete mistakes, and take more pics for no money spent, etc. I never took pictures of my garden before. Now I can take them, crop them in the computer, and zero into details, etc. FUN FUN FUN.

The pictures of my son on the jet ski (in my album)... he was a little dot on the water, and I could get many of him zoomed in and he was moving FAST too. I couldn't believe it. That is why I'd like the new 20x zoom.
Kevin says the Panasonic is just as good. So I am tempted, believe ME!

The old Sony's only took rechargable Nihydride 2500mv batteries. When using flash+ anti-jiggle+ zoom, it just eats them up. And they don't store long...if you leave them in the camera a month, they are dead!
The new high powered lithium rechargeables are much better. That is why I am thinking "new camera" too.

My son took the petunia with his camera, I am using for an avatar now. It handled really well, being scrunched down like that!

If you have "nice" pawn shops near you I'd suggest looking in them also.

I found a nice Olympus for 150.00 reg sells for 350.00 - checked that when I got it home.

before I bought it -I asked if I find that something is wrong with it can I return for my money back and they said yes for up to 2 weeks.
It also came with an additional memory chip.

I did have to download the manual from the Olympus website and I saved as a pdf but that was easy and fine with me.

I took a bunch of pics experimenting/ trying all the settings at home and found no problems so I kept it.

One thing to not skimp on is the lens. You will find better quality lenses on the Nikons, Sonys, Olympus type cameras. I am not impressed with the lens quality on the cheaper Kodaks - the more expensive Kodaks (like Brain's) are better.

You could put a $150 Nikon up against a $150 Kodak and see the difference if all other options (zoom, pixels, etc) were the same. I have done it with a friend's Kodak vs. my Nikon.

Brain is right about digital vs. optical zoom. I do not care how much digital zoom there is, it is all about the optical. Digital zoom tends to compromise photo quality.