Recommend a digital camera under $300

In My Humble Opinion
1

I would like to keep it under $200 but that’s probably pushing it.
I’ll be using it for ebay mostly, but also for outdoor family outings.
Any suggestions?

2

I’ve got an HP 315 model which takes decent shots (although the zoom is terrible, so it’s really best with close-ups). Spent about $250 on it, and it’s probably come down since I bough it last year.

3

The Canon A40 is nice. I have a Canon S200 and love it, but it’s out of your price range. The A40 is supposed to be similar, but larger, which doesn’t seem like it would matter much in this case.

4

I can’t fault my fuji finepix 2600. cost me £250 which is $381.58. But I would not be surprised if the camera was actually sold for under $300

5

If you are looking for an under $200 camera you’ll probably be getting a 1.3 or possibly 2 megapixal camera without optical zoom. (Digital zoom is a useless feature, ignore it.) That’ll be good for taking web shots, and printing images up to 5x7, with the possibility of printing an 8x10 if the image is just right.

In addition you will probably need to buy rechargable NiMH batteries, a charger, and an extra memory card. Keep that all in mind when you decide on the final choice. You may also decide to get a photo editing software package, although the ones that come free with the camera are usually adequate for the job.

Some inexpensive cameras that have gotten good reviews:

Olympus Brio D-150 http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php3?cam=280

Olympus Brio D-230 http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php3?cam=317

Olympus D-380 http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php3?cam=356

Fuji FinePix 2600 http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php3?cam=306

Fuji FinePix A101 http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php3?cam=307

Fuji FInePix A201 http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php3?cam=308

Cannon Powershot A200 http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php3?cam=370

Cannon Powershot A30 http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php3?cam=341

There are several others, but the Olympus, Cannon, and Fuji lines seem to have the best bang for the buck in terms of features, price, and image quality. Nikon makes excellent digital cameras but they don’t have a really low priced model.

6

I have an Olympus D-520 (2 megapixel, 3x optical zoom) that I love. It came with some very nice editing software (I’ve gotten some effects out of it that I can’t duplicate even from PaintShop Pro), an 8MB SmartMedia card (plenty enough for my needs), and assorted cables (USB and multimedia). It was a bit over $300 but I’m sure you could find it for less than that on line. The picture quality is excellent.

IMO, anything less than 2 megapixels isn’t worth it. The pictures don’t even look that good on the computer, let alone printed.

7

I’ve got a Sony Cybershot DSC-P31 that works quite well. It’s quite small, which is nice for road trips, family functions, etc…I can carry it in my pocket, and the pics are pretty nice. The memory sticks are a bit pricey though. $219.00 for the camera, the sticks run anywhere from $20 to over $100, depending on the memory size.

8

BTW, you get a free 8 MB stick with the initial purchase, usually, and it is a 2.0 megapixel camera. I took it to the amusement park last week, and even the rollercoaster pics came out nice…

Visit the Hooters section on my site, the pic of the kids (scroll to the bottom) is an example of what it looks like. It was a dark environment, and the hot blonde “accidentally” got caught in the kid pic…

9

I have one of these, and I love it as well. I really don’t have any need for a digital camera, but it’s just so small, and just plain cool. I think it might be able to be found online for just under $300, but I can’t remember which site I heard about having it that cheap.

In any event, if you can find it in your price range, I’d recommend it. See, ain’t it pretty?

10

I’ll second the HP315. Great little camera for the price. 2.1MP and should cost less than $200US now.

Mine came with an 8MB compact flash card… I think thats pretty standard.

11

What I completely love about camera suggestions (having thousands of $ invested), is that buyers invariably buy the first thing a salesman convinces them is the “best” thing.

Photography is an art form. Camera selection is an aesthetic choice, for those who are artists.

OP: sign up for a local photography course, if it’s extremely important to you. If not, then…buy from Consumer Reports, and have fun. No problem.

12

Thanks everybody.
I’ve got it narrowed down to 2.

13

I have a Kodak 3600 2.2 mg. It was $279 before tax.It takes really nice pictures also.

14

I’ve got a Hasselblad at $2400, and a Polaroid digital I-zone at $30. Hmmm, they both take good pictures… I wonder what the common factor is?

15

partly_warmer I hope you were not implying that we are all mugs.

The ‘salesman’ had no influence whatsoever in my decision. He attempted to sell me a kodak camera, but it was obvious after about 4 seconds that he didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. The fuji 2600 was the best thing there by my judgement. and having had it now for several months I don’t think I could possibly have got a better one for 250 quid.

If I had got one with higher than 2megapixel It would be just too big on the screen, i’d be shrinking the pictures in every case. even my 2 mp pictures are too big.

16

I’d recommend the Sony Cybershot P51. 2 megapixels (good enough for 8x10 prints, just barely), 3x optical zoom (which is pretty much the “standard” for the mid-range digital cameras), it’s nice and small, and has a crapload of spiffy stuff that’s fun to play around with.

Memory Stick isn’t that expensive anymore compared to Compactflash or Smartmedia… a 64 megabyte stick can be had for fifty bucks, and that’ll be enough to hold well over a hundred images.

17

I’m going with the Olympus D-380, It has everything I need plus a few extra features I can play with.
And I’m taking it as a good sign that every store within 20 miles is sold-out of it.

18

I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t respect SDMB folks, but in this case, once I got to thinking about, I realized that the “what’s the better camera” is a con job.

I’ve owned many cameras, taken everything from “fun” shots to ones where a mistake would be serious. Unless your aim is to be the next Ansel Adams, choice of camera is irrelevant. I mean exactly that.

If you can’t take a good picture with a $50 camera, you can’t take one with a $500 camera, either. Buying cameras with better “stats” or more features is a con job, for 99% of buyers.

Picture takers, just have fun. Relax. Don’t spend a month’s wages on photography, unless it’s for more film.

19

I have to disagree. If you want to be able to, for example, print out an 8 x 10 of your daughter to put on your desk at work, you aren’t concerned if your photography skills aren’t up to art school standards, but you are going to need 2 megapixels. Likewise if you are going to use the camera a lot, you might see the advantage of NiCad batteries and recharger, as well as cheaper media. If you think you might want the occasional video clip, a camera with that ability might appeal to you. You also want a camera that you are going to be comfortable using.

I chose the camera I did primarily for its size and shape. For one thing, I have a rather emotional and non-rational preference for smallness in general. But mainly, I wanted a camera that I could toss somewhere in my messenger bag and not worry about being in the way of anything. Or even slip into a pocket if need be. Certainly, the salesman didn’t pressure me into buying this camera; I had a rant in the Pit venting my frustration with salesmen seemingly actively engaged in preventing me from buying this camera.

20

waterj2, your point is well taken. I’d respond this way:

  1. 6 out of 10 people don’t own an 8 x 10.
  2. 9 out 10 people don’t understand enough about composition, lighting, film to replicate the 8 x 10 they dream about, that comes from a professional photographer.
  3. 9 out of 10 people just want to see a recognizable image of their friends/loved ones.
  4. Only somebody who’s more interested in the technology than the art cares how many megapixels a camera has (boy, what a HUGE bunch of hype the Japanese marketing types landed on us with that!) or what kind of batteries it has.

Again, I say, one photography course at the local junior college will improve someone’s photography more than a $500 camera. And it’s cheaper.