# Any advice for buying a digital camera? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 18, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-advice-for-buying-a-digital-camera/208162 "2003-10-18T05:07:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-advice-for-buying-a-digital-camera/208162/1 "2003-10-18T05:07:08Z")
Hello all, I’m in the market for a digital camera. I want something good, but I don’t have a ton of money to spend. Basically, I’d like to keep it under $250. I’m looking for a good point-and-shoot camera that could conceivably replace my film camera, or at least be interchangeable. I’m not a professional photographer and don’t need anything too high-end. Most importantly, I need it to take very detailed close-ups, so a good zoom is a must. I sell a lot of items on eBay (mainly comic books and action figures), so I need the camera to take pictures of these items to list with my auctions. I used to lay my items flat on a flatbed scanner, and the resulting images were of surprisingly great quality. My scanner recently died, and rather than replace it, I think I’d rather just bite the bullet and get a digital camera that can take equally good close-up pictures of my collectibles and collections. Any advice is appreciated! Megapixels, brands, technical specs, anything I should AVOID… let me know! And thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-advice-for-buying-a-digital-camera/208162/2 "2003-10-18T06:17:19Z")
Get the latest _Consumers Reports_ and read the extensive report on their tests of digital cameras. A good deal of information, and unbiased tests. You can probably find a copy for free at your local library. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-advice-for-buying-a-digital-camera/208162/3 "2003-10-18T15:06:09Z")
Also try the Deal Forum at [fatwallet.com](http://fatwallet.com) & opinions on [epinions.com](http://epinions.com), [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) & [circuitcity.com](http://circuitcity.com) Daily deals are also posted at [techbargains.com](http://techbargains.com) ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-advice-for-buying-a-digital-camera/208162/4 "2003-10-18T20:48:19Z")
[Digital Photography Review](http://www.dpreview/com) has a lot of exhaustive reviews, although they tend to go for the more higher-end stuff. Personally, I’ve been using a Sony Cybershot DP-71 and it’s great, wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone. The only thing I can possibly complain about with it is that it’s a little big, but they’ve already come out with a smaller version. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-advice-for-buying-a-digital-camera/208162/5 "2003-10-18T22:22:20Z")
I have a Sony Cybershot U30, with which I am thorougly impressed. it is only 2 MP, but I have blown up some shots to near-A4 size with no noticeable degradation in quality - ordinarily I wouldn’t enlarge them this far though - it is a more than adequate replacement for a 35mm pocket camera. My advice (and this is personal opnion, of course) is to go for the smallest camera you can; you’re much more likely to take it places with you if you can just slip it in a pocket and once you are divorced from the expense of printing every frame you shoot, you can and will take a lot more photos. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-advice-for-buying-a-digital-camera/208162/6 "2003-10-19T09:05:38Z")
How much is the Olympus D-560 in $USD these days? I second the Consumer Reports idea. Also check out [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=213943&highlight=camera) from last month. ---
**Author:** ![IrishRideGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b4bc9f/32.png) [@IrishRideGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IrishRideGirl)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-advice-for-buying-a-digital-camera/208162/7 "2003-10-19T14:45:46Z")
I use a Sony Mavica for my Ebay photos. You slide a floppy into the slot and basically point and shoot. For close-ups, you press the focus button until a little flower appears on the screen. No messing with memory sticks, uploading, etc… The whole thing cost me about $250. I love it. Easiest thing to use ever.