Recommend a digital camera

In My Humble Opinion
1

My camera is old. And very big (4.5" x 4" x 2". So, seriously, it’s big). And it takes forever to be ready to take the next picture. I want a new camera, but I’m not sure what to get.

I plan on mostly taking pictures to be used as reference shots for art. And photographing myself in kimono and stuff. So it doesn’t have to be the best camera in the world, but I want it to have a remote available so I don’t have to deal with a timer.

I’d prefer it not to disappear into my hand - so no teeny tiny thing. A bit bigger than a deck of cards would be good. (this is the most negotiable)

I don’t have a lot of money, so less expensive is better. I’m thinking of spending between $100 and $200 on the camera, memory card, remote, and a tripod. So, recommendations? Cameras / brands to avoid?

2

Check out http://www.dpreview.com

There are probably hundreds of cameras on the market which meet your requirements. If you stick with the big names (Nikon, Canon, Sony, etc.) it’s hard to go too wrong.

3

I’ve got a Canon A570 that I really like. It’s a good quality camera that’s definitely in your budget. You can save a bit more by sacrificing a few features and getting the A530 or A550 instead. I like the fact that it uses AA batteries, although this makes for a really slow flash. The automatic modes do their job admirably, and when I feel like playing around there are a set of full manual controls as well.

It’s not tiny – about the size of two decks of cards by my estimate.

4

Last weekend at the photo show, I bought a Nikon Coolpix S550. It’s small and fits easily in my pocket. It takes high-capacity SD cards (“SDHC”–capacities of four gigabytes and above), and I got a memory card to go with it. At largest file size (highest resolution (3648 x 2736 pixels) and lowest JPEG compression, in this case around 2.5 megabytes per image), the card holds well over 1500 pictures. Which would require me to recharge the battery 7 times.

The camera has face recognition: it will identify and focus on any faces in the field of view. It will even automatically take the picture when the person smiles! I don’t need to press that shutter release. That’s a bit weird. It also warns me if the person blinks, so I can retake the picture.

:: rereads OP ::

Hmm. My camera was maybe a bit expensive for your price range; I paid CAD 250.00 for it. I think I may have overpaid for the memory card ($129.00); I got the one with the built in USB connector from a Well-Known Brand. You can get slower cards of similar capacity for half the price, without the USB connector, and from Less Well-known Brands. And a helpful poster pointed me to Newegg.com, which had the same card for about 40% less. Unfortunately Newegg does not ship to Canada.

My friend the pro photographer recommended going with the Nikon; I was going to go for a Canon.

There seem to be two main groups of point-and-shoot cameras. The first group, from which I chose, are tiny. Seriously. They’re almost at the point where they’re hard for my Giant Anglo Hands to operate. My new camera is almost as small as my cellphone.

There’s a second group that are larger and, for lack of a better word, bumpier. They often take AA batteries instead of proprietary rechargeables, and need room for them. Here’s one, a Canon Powershot A650 IS, which is similar to a camera I use at work.

At the top range of the point-and-shoot cameras are a number of ones that resemble SLRs, such as the Canon G9, but they are probably out of your price range.

There’s a squillion different kinds of memory cards. The most common ones seem to be the SD card and the Compact Flash card. Sony cameras, and almost no-one else, use the Memory Stick card. Olympus, and almost no-one else, uses the xD card. I avoided those brands for that reason.

Basic point-and-shoot cameras in the hundred-dollar range? At one large retailer, for example, they seem to start at around 140.00. You can get a one-gig memory card for about $20, and I got a little tripod out of the sale bins for $5.

I haven’t seen anything in the low end with a remote or a cable release. I was asking about that because I wanted to mount the camera in an animation stand and re-photograph my animations from when I was at Sheridan; the people at the camera store basically pointed me in the direction of the SLRs.

5

I think you can’t go wrong with the Canon A570 (or its replacement, the A590) or the A720. Both are compact but not tiny, they are well under $200, have excellent image quality and movie modes, and do very well in auto mode but have full manual controls if you want to learn and grow with the camera.

Very few cameras in this range have remotes. If you want to take tripod shots you’ll want to use the timer mode to damp motion from pushing the shutter release. A 2G SD card will cost you under $10. A good tripod will easily cost more then the camera at this range. What do you want to use one for?

6

Hmm… it looks like my info is a little out of date, and the A530 and A550 are no longer sold. The current cheap version is now the A580. Still, any of the A5X0 series are great. Just decide if the extra features (mostly image stabilization) are worth it on the more expensive versions.

7

I also recommend the Cannon A570IS. It uses the Digic III processor, has optical image stabillization, uses regular batteries, and has a view finder. At 7.1 mb resolution you should be able to print out 8x10s without a loss of quality.

If you are away from a battery charger it helps to be able to use standard AA batteries.

View finders are becoming a rare feature on small cameras. They alow you to shoot without using the back display, thus saving the battery.

Image stabilization is a good feature to have for an amature

It’s not a tiny camera. The battery bay makes a nice grip for your hand.

Not sure of the remote

8

Oh, and just to be clear, for cameras that use AA batteries you must buy NiMH rechargeable batteries. Alkalines will be useless after a dozen or two shots. The cameras are designed to use NiMH, so that will add another $30 for a set of 4 and a charger.

But you’ll have an extra set of batteries, something that would cost $30 for any Li-Ion battery anyways.

9

I have been very happy with Canon PowerShot since I got it several years ago. I picked mine out based on reviews and it offered all the features I wanted at the time. They usually do pretty well in the reviews. I highly recommend the review site **beowulff **linked.

10

Silver Tyger Girl, you say:

  1. Your camera is old and big.
  2. It takes forever to be ready to take the next picture.
  3. You plan on mostly taking pictures to be used as reference shots for art.
  4. You plan on photographing yourself in kimono and stuff.
  5. You want it to have a remote available so you don’t have to deal with a timer.
  6. You want the camera to be “a bit bigger than a deck of cards.”
  7. You’d like to spend between $100 and $200 on the camera, memory card, remote, and a tripod.

So …

  1. What brand and model is your current camera? This is not just idle curiosity.
    What do you like about it? Why did you chose it and why are you using it?
    Did you buy it new or used, or did someone give it to you?
  2. How long is “forever”, and what would be an “acceptable” interval? Are you using a flash? (This will increase the interval.)
  3. What do you mean by “reference shots for art”? How important is picture quality? Do you want the camera to automatically determine the proper exposure and focus, or do you want to control it yourself?
    4 and 5. Are you moving around as you take photos of yourself? Is that why you don’t want to deal with a timer? Or do you want more spontaneity? And, do you have a remote now?
  4. Your current camera is substantially bigger than a deck of cards. Why, specifically, do you want something smaller? If you’re using a tripod and a remote, the size is not especially relevant.
  5. AFAIT, there aren’t any new digital cameras in your price range that have a remote control.

You say you want a “new” camera, but perhaps you want a camera that is “new to you”. Your best bet might be eBay or craigslist, but there many choices.

What are the “deal breakers”?

(BTW, dpreview.com is the best site for info about digital cameras but it’s quite technical, and their “Feature Search” does not allow you to select cameras that have a remote control.)

11
  1. What do you mean by “reference shots for art”? How important is picture quality? Do you want the camera to automatically determine the proper exposure and focus, or do you want to control it yourself?

I’d rather the camera do it automatically. I’d like fairly good quality - most of my reference pictures right now are things found on the web. So, 400x400 pixel pic type quality. Somewhat better than that would be great. For the reference pictures, for example, I’ll take pictures of myself posing, or snapshots of buildings or objects so I can use them for drawing later.

4 and 5. Are you moving around as you take photos of yourself? Is that why you don’t want to deal with a timer? Or do you want more spontaneity? And, do you have a remote now?

I’m not moving, but it’s hard to hold the same pose for the ten seconds or whatever it is. And I’d like to not have to get up, go to the camera, hit the timer again, and then try to repose. For example, I was taking reference pics of a hairstyle and I wanted pics from multiple angles. I don’t have a remote now.

  1. Your current camera is substantially bigger than a deck of cards. Why, specifically, do you want something smaller? If you’re using a tripod and a remote, the size is not especially relevant.

My current camera is TOO big. It’s bulky and difficult to take places with me (it fills my entire purse and I don’t really want to carry another bag too). But I’ll use my boss’s camera for work stuff and I feel like I’m going to drop it. It’s about the size of a cellphone. I don’t always use a tripod - like when I’m taking pictures of my cats or anything but myself.

  1. AFAIT, there aren’t any new digital cameras in your price range that have a remote control. You say you want a “new” camera, but perhaps you want a camera that is “new to you”. Your best bet might be eBay or craigslist, but there many choices. What are the “deal breakers”?

New to me is great. I know I’m rather cheap, so the price is very negotiable. I’m still technically poor (I live in low-income housing, but I have enough extra money that I can buy gas or groceries when I want and have the occassional ‘I’m spending money!’ day) and I’ve always been cheap. It takes mental effort for me to spend a large amount of money on something (large being defined as over $200 on one go for something technological). My sister said she was going to help me shop for cameras, but she’s never home (thus why I have to take pictures of myself, rather than having her do it). I have several compact Flash cards already, so if I get a camera that uses those, that’d help a lot with the price.

I guess the main deal breaker is too poor of quality. My camera now sometimes takes very blurry shots if I’m holding it. I don’t think my hand is shaking, but it takes too long to respond. I’d rather spend more money than be unhappy with the quality.

The other main thing would be size. I don’t want to feel like I’m going to drop it and break it or that it’s super bulky. My current camera is difficult to carry around with me. I’d like to be able to put my new camera in my purse (it’s a big purse) and carry it around with me all the time for impulse photographing. Or be able to take it to RenFaire and hide it in something smaller than a towel.

(I will answer your technical questions, but I don’t have a great time sense and I don’t remember the brand so I’ll get both of those written down when I go home for lunch) I hope my answers help.

I’ll look at dpreview. I knew if I posted here, somebody would recommend a good review site.

12

Ok, I’ve got a Kodak DC260. It seems to take 4-7 seconds to recover after taking a picture. I’m using the flash. I swear it was longer the other night, but the card was nearly full, so that might have been it.

Oh, and it was hand-me-down from my mom. Eons ago.

13

I came in to talk up the Canon cameras. I had several and they’ve all been great.

Don’t know about the remote, though. I’ve never had trouble with the build-in timer, though.

Make sure whatever you buy doesn’t have some sort of exotic battery. AA’s last longer that AAA’s, too.

14

Cameras with AA batteries are going to be slow shot-to-shot if you are using the flash. Li-Ion battery cameras will recover quicker. For that reason alone you might want to go with a camera without AAs. Keep in mind, older cameras may use batteries that are no longer being made.

Remotes are few and far between these days, very few cameras have them. If that is critical to you, then you should have your search concentrate on that. Is this a “must have”?

400x400 pixels is tiny. If you are printing that out it would be the size of a postage stamp. If you get anything over 4MP you’ll be fine printing up to 5x7 or even 8x10. Are you planning on printing your reference shots or only using them online?

15

You can get a Canon PowerShot 8MP for slightly over $100. That’s much better quality than 400x400 and even though it’s not the latest-and-greatest, it’s probably suitable for your needs (my A75 is only 3.2MP and the shots are fine for the web and 4x6 or 5x7 prints). Canon generally has a good reputation for decent optics in its entry-level products and image quality is respectable and even superior to comparable cameras. Multiple photo settings make it a lot easier to get the best quality photos without really even knowing much about photography. I hardly ever use the AUTO setting anymore, which isn’t bad, but there are usually better settings for any given photograph that aren’t difficult to figure out.

As for batteries, rechargables are a good choice and the newer PowerShots take fewer batteries (2 AAs) than the older generation (mine requires 4 AAs). I don’t think mine is all that slow except when using the flash with red-eye reduction due to the flash blinking.

As far as size, the Elphs are really small and great for tossing in your purse, but I like the slightly larger fit in my hands of the A series PowerShots. I don’t find the super tiny ones all that comfortable to use honestly.

16

The Canon cameras with their AA batteries may not be as bad with the flash as everyone says. I just tested my A570 by taking pictures under my desk, and the delay between flash pictures is once every five seconds. Certainly, other cameras with lithium ion batteries will be faster, but it seems that this won’t be necessary for your uses. I’ve only been unhappy with it in situations where things are happening faster – say, when a friend is doing something goofy at a party, but stops by the time the flash charges up.

Also, if you need AA batteries, I highly recommend the Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables. They won’t lose charge over time like any other battery will, so you can keep your camera in a drawer for a month without having to put in freshly charged batteries.

17

Your camera is there: Koday DC2600. Well, it is big, compared to today’s subcompact cameras. It was introduced almost exactly 10 years ago.

Well, blurry shots are not usually due to poor camera quality. It seems that you’re staying still and pressing the shutter, but because of the delay, you are then moving before and during the time that the shot is actually taken. BTW, I’m guessing that you mean “blurry” as in it looks like the subject moved, rather than blurry as in out of focus. (Also, it’s possible that the shutter speed is set too slow, but I’m pretty sure that this camera doesn’t allow manual adjustments.)

Anyway, if you can live without the remote, then any camera that you buy today will be better than what you have. Your best value will be in the cameras that are slightly larger, like the Canon A570 IS that **Telemark ** and **lazybratsche ** suggested. Small enough to put in your purse, but not as small as the subcompacts, like the Canon SD870.
The larger cameras are easier to hold and they use relatively cheap AA batteries (use rechargables), instead of the expensive proprietary batteries in the smaller cameras.

Canon is the most popular brand and is generally considered to be one of the best. Their lowest priced one is the Powershot A470. Nice camera. Comes in five colors.

Many cameras have two settings for self-timer: 10 seconds or 2 seconds.

None of the new compact cameras use Compact Flash memory (way too big), but the SD memory cards are really cheap: a 2 Gb card can store thousands of photos and you can get one for $10 to $15. In fact, many retailers will throw it in for free, especially if you’re buying a bag and a tripod. Or, they’ll throw in something else.

There are other considerations: layout, user menus, the way it feels in your hand, fancy options. Take a look, touch and play around with one at a store.

Hope that helps.

18

I have nothing to contribute other than to snicker just a little because I have seen the original camera in question. :slight_smile:

19

The Sanyo Eneloop batteries are limited to about 2000 mA which is low by today’s standards. It stores well on a shelf but in the camera it will be limited. You can buy 2900mA batteries For less than $10 which will give you about 45% more power.

Not sure how hard it’s going to be to find a small camera with a remorte but you can research CHDK software which will allow you to program the camera through the USB port.

Another feature of the camer is a panoramic assist mode which helps stitch pictures together. You can make some neat pictures this way.

20

Thank you everyone. I was out taking some reference shots and random photos and several times my camera took over 30 seconds to stop blinking. Argh.

I think I’ll be buying a camera this month. If I have any money left over after RenFaire next weekend and a kimono-buying trip the week after that. I just have to figure out which of the Canon Powershots is best for me.