Camera Suggestions

[Uncle Buck]

I know there are a lot of Camera Buffs on here, so...

 

I'm looking for a new camera, my old one was a Fuji FinePix 4800Zoom

I've had this one for a long time, and it finally bit the dust on thursday on our run out of burwell...

 

my dislikes of it were...

 

blurry pics unless using flashmode, even then it was hit and miss

memory card was a smart media card, biggest you can buy is 128MB

Bulky (although not a huge problem, still something to keep in mind)

Battery - Required a special battery, again crap once you run out of batteries...

 

my likes of it were...

4.3MP, at the time it was the holy $#IT of cameras

had a webcam setting built into it

came with a docking/charging/transfering cradle...

 

What i'd like out of the new camera...

 

Price range $200-$300

Memory Card Preferably SD, but doesn't make a difference, definitely not a Smart Media Card though

Mega Pixels 4.3 or higher

photo taking ability, to be able to take clear photos without having to keep the camera 100% dead still

video ability would be nice, but not a requirement

need macro, to be able to take pics of details in close

zoom the more optical, the better...

Size, not too bulky

 

now lets here the suggestions

 

Thanks

[drwxr]

http://www.dpreview.com/

[danc]

There's probably lots of camera with the specs that you listed out there these days Uncle Buck. If you don't ever plan on shooting manual that is. I wouldn't go too high in the megapixels though. 5 or 6 tops is all that you need. Once you get into more mp's than that, all kinds of problems are being reported.

[Raf]

I heart my Panasonic Lumix FZ7. 12x opti zoom, image stabilization, takes SD cards. A little bulkier however. Very happy with it and I am sure you've seen the image quality. Choice #2 was a Canon S2 or S3 IS.

Edited September 17, 2007 by Raf

[drwxr]

i have canon s3, very happy with quality, 12x zoom --- amazing,

i was also planing to spend $300 but then i thought why not spend a hundred extra.

 

[PERCHER]

Cannon.Power shot a560.great quality pictures .Easy to use and a great price.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetai...=&langid=EN

[nomadfisher]

hey buck:

 

canon all the way ! ! !

 

i used to be a nikon chauvanist thoughout my film years, but have subsequently switched to

canon. over years i sarted with an agfa... real piece crap when digital was in its infancy.

 

i then had a couple of nikon coolpix... not really bad, but the autofocus usually sucked in

low light conditions.

when i switched to digital slr, i tried the rebel and was really happy with it, so happy that

i bought a rebel xti and kept the other as a backup. i do some semi professional / hobby work

with them and i find the results to be excellent. all pictures that i have posted to the site

have been with these cameras.

 

recently, i bought my daughter the canon sd1000 digital elph camera for her birthday,

and was very impressed with the results. clear, sharp, fast images from a little well

machined housing.

 

 

 

review

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/SD1000/SD1000A.HTM

 

 

available at staples

 

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku....;AffixedCode=WW

 

or

 

henrys

 

http://www.henrys.com/webapp/wcs/stores/se...p;itemID=191153

 

 

also check out the waterproof housing for the sd1000, which i am sure will save lots of

grief when cameras fall overboard

 

http://www.henrys.com/webapp/wcs/stores/se...p;itemID=191746

 

 

i am almost considering this setup for fishing trips etc. but i still am reluctant to

give up the long lenses because you always are surprised by rare wildlife shots

while out in the wilds.

 

 

also worth looking into may be the olympus line. they are trying very hard to play with the

'big boys' again. i met a photographer on the olympus team going to shoot the masters and

had a long talk with him. apparenty the new line of olympus point and shoot cameras with the integral image

stabilization is quite respectable.

 

 

 

http://www.henrys.com/webapp/wcs/stores/se...p;itemID=224426

 

 

 

the cameras highlighted are on the high end of your budget of $300, but i have

found that below this price, the manufactured quality tends to drop substantially.

 

you may be better of to find a used higher end model.

 

 

anyway thats my two cents worth.

 

 

.... nomad...

[Photoz]

I just picked up this Sony DSCH2 at Staples with a 2 gig memory stick for just over $400.00, taxes in. Here's a good link to check it out, http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Sony/sony_dsch2.asp or ANY other cameras you might be curious about. This was recommended to me by the God of Picture Taking . . . . DanC. It has a fairly acceptable wide angle to EXCELLENT zoom . . . 36mm - 432mm, you can count nose hairs at 300'! Here's an example I got Sunday . . . I estimate this bird was about 200' away, up high.

 

[Douger]

pentax optio wp

 

-5 mp

-waterproof to 1.5 metres deep: awsome for fishing

-small & light, wouldn't believe it's waterproof: i travelled with it and ended up keeping it in my front pocket for most of the trip

- $350-ish

-good quality pics

[todmania]

Hi there,

 

I am definitely in agreement with a lot of the guys on here regarding Canon cameras. That said, I have a Rebel XTi and love it to death... For the specs that you were suggesting you'd like, I would highly recommend looking at the Canon S3 IS. It has a great optical zoom, especially nice for good nature pics. Plus it also has a decent MP and FPS rating.

 

Enjoy.

 

David

[pigeonfisher]

I am partial to the Sony Cybershot with the Carl Zeiss lens. Batteries last forever, pics are easy to take and FAST. I just picked up one for my wife at 2001 for $279, tax in. It would still need a bigger memory card but for now it will suit our purpose.

 

Another nice thing is the battery charges in about 30 minutes.

 

It also has video.

[Garry2Rs]

As a boater and fisherman, that waterproof Pentax sounds good to me. Water is sudden death to electronic cameras. I killed two of them by getting them wet in the boat.

The Pentax is a nice size too. I had a big Nikon, lots of features, but to bulky to take everywhere, and a tiny Canon...took it everywhere, but the zoom pack-it-in about the same time as the warranty expired.

I'm now using a small Nikon. The best thing about it is that is uses 2AA batteries. I also like the feature that tells you if an image is blurry. Personally, I find these super light, little cameras harder to hold steady than a slightly bigger model that has more to hold on to.

My daughter has a small camera with image stabilization, great feature, but it doesn't have a view finder...That might not matter to you, but I spent too many years looking through a view finder to be completely comfortable using the LCD display...

The last time I was in the market for one, I felt that the ergonomics were better on cameras built by camera makers than they were on cameras that came from business machine companies, but that may have changed by now.

[Dartee]

You can also keep looking at the Fuji. I currently have the S5100, its a nice camera and has perfomed well.

Its a little bigger then some of the smaller digitals but I like the almost SLR feel without spending $900.

Its a 10X optical, 5MP, uses 4 AA, self timer, XD card.

Its a couple years old so used ones can be found for a good price.

 

A newer model is the S700 which is in the $250 Can. range. (Henry's),

7.1MP, 10X optical, 4.8 digital, SD or XD cards, 4AA

[douG]

I will second Rafal's Pansonic recommendation, I have the FZ8. The image stabilization and 12x optical zoom make a good couple, and the Leica lens is top drawer. I have a 1 GB SD card which holds over 300 7 Mpix photos.

[Raf]

thanks douG I knew I wasn't crazay.

 

the only drawback I see with it and the other "super zoom" cams (ie. Canon S3) in its class is that the wide angle is not as wide as I'd like. With the Panasonic (I am sure the manufacturers as well), they offer an add-on wide-angle lens for a premium.

Edited September 18, 2007 by Raf

[mooseroo]

Anything in the Canon Powershot SD line would be my suggestion. They are small enough that you can fit them in a breast pocket (fishing vest) or slip into a small compartment in your tackle box. They take great picks, have great battery life, and are at a nice price point.<br><br>

 

Here are some samples from a recent houseboat trip in the Kawarthas. You can download the originals to see full resolution. <br><br>

 

<table style="width:194px;"><tr><td align="center" style="height:194px;background:url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat left"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/greenjcs/Houseboat17?authkey=QKS25fBcIjg"><img'>http://picasaweb.google.com/greenjcs/Houseboat17?authkey=QKS25fBcIjg"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/greenjcs/Rti9YkSmjVE/AAAAAAAABBc/-78-lQYOQjE/s160-c/Houseboat17.jpg" width="160" height="160" style="margin:1px 0 0 4px;"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align:center;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/greenjcs/Houseboat17?authkey=QKS25fBcIjg" style="color:#4D4D4D;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;">Houseboat 17</a></td></tr></table>

Edited September 18, 2007 by mooseroo

[lazybum]

I have a Pentax Optio 50 with 5 mega pixels and I don't like it. It's a battery eater and very poor in low light conditions. My old Canon 2 mp A40 is still better than this newer Pentax.

 

I would buy a low price Canon again.

 

I also have a Nikon D40 for $1k plus that is bigger and too pricey for playing around the water and Carp slime.

[danbo]

Hey UB, let us know what you decide to get.. I'm leaning towards the Panasonic myself..or Sony.

[danbo]

Hey bud, here's my new toy!!...

 

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.a...=&langid=EN

[JohnF]

I know there are a lot of Camera Buffs on here, so...

 

I'm looking for a new camera, my old one was a Fuji FinePix 4800Zoom

 

I'm looking too. I have several cameras now but I want something compact enough to carry when fishing, economical to buy and operate, and with decent lens components and reasonable optical zoom, resolution & processing speed.

 

I'm a Canon fan because of the lenses they use in the slightly higher end cams (dunno if they use 'em in the little bitty models as well), but my family members have convinced me that Fuji and Panasonic are doing good things too, although the Panasonic fan has admitted that he'd go Fuji if he got to do a rerun.

 

For this camera my non-negotiable terms are AA batteries and SD card (great deals available these days and most new laptops have readers built in) and a price of less than $200

 

Water resistant would be a plus, or the option of a reasonably priced case (not likely) but for the price I'll pay I'm willing to take my chances with dunking it. The same features will be available a year from now for less than $100.

 

JF

[irishfield]

Water resistant would be a plus, or the option of a reasonably priced case (not likely) but for the price I'll pay I'm willing to take my chances with dunking it. The same features will be available a year from now for less than $100.

 

JF

 

I had that attitude in the spring too....buy the waterproof case ! LOL

[walleyedreamer]

i have the cannon a620 7.1 mega pixels love it. great pictures takes 4 aa battery little on the heavy side. though. happy fishing, see you on the water, walleyedreamer.

[bpsbassman]

I have a Canon IS3 and it is fantastic. About six friends and family have the same camera and all are extremely happy.

Its a little over the $200 mark, but well worth it, but I know how hard it is for you to part with your $$$

[poobah]

I have an Olympus Stylus 770SW

It's 7.1 meg, has image stabilizer, waterproof to 33 feet, crushproof up to 220lbs, and freeze proof to -10 C.

I've had it since, March, and I have no complaints.

 

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetai...4717&catid=

[JohnF]

I had that attitude in the spring too....buy the waterproof case ! LOL

 

I'm probably the saddest guy you've ever seen whenever I break (or drown) one of my toys, but hey, it's a great excuse to buy a new one. You're talking to a guy who took up fishing last summer, has caught nothing but little bitty river Bass and short skinny Pike (and a few weeny critters that don't qualify as real gamefish) and I already have 14 reels hanging on my den wall, and at least one rod for each of 'em. On the floor there are two largish tackle boxes (full), so don't get to thinking I'm inclined to be fearful of acquiring new toys. If you asked my wife you'd see something like this -

 

Actually, now that I think about it, I have several more rods and reels loaned out that I forgot about. I even have a big ole trolling rod and monster level winder reel hanging there and I haven't been near a boat for anything but diving in the last 6 or 8 years. I really should find a better home for it so it can get some fresh air and exercise and not just whither away here in my landlocked basement. Someday I may get a boat and then I can get it back and put it to use myself. Any volunteers? Perhaps it will cadge some invites for me on it's residence vessel.

 

I'm familiar with drowning camera gear from my diving. Mebbe I'm more cautious than most because of that. I keep a neck lanyard on my cameras when I'm fishing now and just tuck the camera into the bib pocket inside my waders. That's why I want a slimmer cam. The ones I have are kinda bulky for carrying there.

 

JF