Digital Cameras

[Si|Ver]

My birthday is coming up in a couple weeks and I've decided to get a digital camera with the cash I'll be getting. I am pretty much a camera newb so i've come to you fine people for advice. I'm looking for something durable, small, and cheap. I could go up to $250 canadian but the cheaper the better.

I'll have to buy some memory with it as well, right? What would be a good brand and size that will give me the most bang for the buck?

Oh and don't tell me to search for old threads, potentials.

:confused: :o

[-Serialchilla-]

hrmm...my mom has a kodak easyshare z700, but i don't know how much it costed her. I'm fairly sure it wasn't all that pricey.

I've used it to take pics of my niece, and it has some nice features along with the standard lighting features and whatnot. 4 megapixels, 5x zoom, long battery life. The best feature IMHO is a "child" mode that compensates for kids wiggling around and such. Granted, it won't take away all motion blur, but it certainly helps; especially with my 9 month old niece.

I suggest getting a 5-in-1 (or 13-in-1, you get the point) card reader for your computer if you don't have one already. Transferring pictures via camera base is just too awkard for me. With the media card readers you just use the pc memory card like you would use a floppy disk, only way faster.

[beast]

a nikon d 200. my dad has it, he loves it. i know nothing about cameras however.

[MeestarK]

The Canon A530 is a pretty nice camera, staples carries it for 269 but it goes on sale all the time.

[VP-]

a nikon d 200. my dad has it, he loves it. i know nothing about cameras however.

he said $250 dollar budget ;)

[beast]

i can't read. not only that, i don't know how much one of those things cost :( it's my dad's and i don't have anything to do with photography.

oh i see. i looked them up.

[VP-]

i can't read. not only that, i don't know how much one of those things cost :( it's my dad's and i don't have anything to do with photography.

oh i see. i looked them up.

Tell your dad i'll take it off of his hands ;) I could sell that for some lenses.

[beast]

nah he loves his photography, even has a studio in the house and a darkroom. rarely develops his own film anymore because it's just easier for him to send it off. and since he bought the d200 he just uses his huge ass printer to print out his 16x20 or larger. i make posters for my room :)

[VP-]

got a link to his portfolio or website?

[Zogo]

I've used a kodak easyshare cx6230 it's able to hold ~25-30 super HQ pics without any upgrades and it instantly converts the pics to jpeg when you plug it into computer so it's good. I'm sure they have a newer version out since this one is a few years old.

example of one I've taken:

game (http://home.comcast.net/~dbmcgovern/malou.jpg)

[ass*assassin]

I have had sony digital cameras since they first came out maybe 7-8 years ago.. the newest ones are ultra-cool with anti-shake for fast speed pictures.. keeps things from getting blurred.. kinda cool..

i still use my original mavica mv-7c with disk drive for storage.. really neat for quick shots..

I concur with the above about getting a card/storage reader, these things are 13-1 and take up a disk drive slot in your case.. really a good idea, and they cost about 25 bux. good gift for those who is using generic cases..

[Mulchman MM]

I have had sony digital cameras since they first came out maybe 7-8 years ago.. the newest ones are ultra-cool with anti-shake for fast speed pictures.. keeps things from getting blurred.. kinda cool..

i still use my original mavica mv-7c with disk drive for storage.. really neat for quick shots..

I concur with the above about getting a card/storage reader, these things are 13-1 and take up a disk drive slot in your case.. really a good idea, and they cost about 25 bux. good gift for those who is using generic cases..

We use sonys for work (taking pictures of construction job sites) and I wouldn't recommend them. WAY OVERPRICED AND CHEAP. Don't buy SONY unless it's someone else's dime.

[beast]

nah vp, he's a doctor by trade. just did photography to get him through college. he still does weddings for friends and such. he doesn't have a website up.

[catman]

I heard good things about the Casio Exilm ex-z750, but I've never used one myself. It might still be over your price threshold, though.

[ALieN]

I got a Nikon Coolpix 4600. It's 4 megapixels and it was around $170 USD when I got it. Great for everyday normal use.

[Nitroduck]

I personally like the canon line for usability and high quality photos.

[Anonym]

Casio cameras overall continue to have a low quality build.

Personally, I would go for the Nikon Coolpix P2. Understand that you're not going to get a stellar camera for $250: however, from all the cameras I've seen for that price, the P2 has the best array of features for new and experienced users, and takes pictures that will be decent for what the average person needs.

[Craven]

The Canon A530 is a pretty nice camera, staples carries it for 269 but it goes on sale all the time.

my brother just got that as a graduation present as he is going to Japan, i used it at his ceremony and the rest of the day after and it worked really well, i enjoyed, big enough that it had a bunch of functions, but it still was small enough to fit in my pocket

she said she bought it for $199 and got a 256MB memory card free (not sure what promotion she bought it under)

and i bought him the 512 stick for $45

[Achar]

I heard good things about the Casio Exilm ex-z750, but I've never used one myself. It might still be over your price threshold, though.

I have this camera... I like it alot. It seems built well enough to me. Takes great pictures and has alot of options for manual settings for a compact.