Help Choosing a New Digital Camera

[ldn324]

OK, I'm calling for help from all the techies out there.

I finally have a reason to buy a new camera :mickey:. For 1/2 or our WDW trip in December, we are staying in a Savannah view room at AKL :thumbsup:. I want to take tons of photos and it's time to upgrade our circa 2001 digital camera (what a relic :blush:).

I'm probably going to be somewhere in the $300-$350 range - possibly a little higher on the right camera. Biggest wants: a decent zoom, ease of printing/downloading photos, relatively simple to use - doesn't need to be Fisher Price easy, but not brain surgery either. If it had extra features like storing video clips, etc., that would be nice, but I basically just want to be able to take a good, clear photo, have a camera that's not outdated in a month (if that's possible) and a decent name brand.

I have gift card from Best Buy so I'd like to try and get something there, but it's not completely necessary.

Anyone have advice on brand names, models, etc. that might be right for me?

[NJGIRL]

I have a sony cyber shot 8 mega pixel, 15x optical zoom. It takes great pictures and is very easy to use. It is small but not the kind that fits into your pocket. I think I paid about $400 for it. I took it when we stayed at the AKL. The pictures I took of the savannah look like postcard!!

[DestinationWDW]

Be carefully what sales people tell you, they will say what you want to here. Here are three important factors, I think if you stick with these you'll be happy no matter what camera you purchase.

1. optical zoom is the most important, don't worry about digital zoom it's trash and your pictures will show that. Remember the larger the optical zoom the bigger the camera. Panasonic has very nice cameras with there Lumix line and have large optical zooms. They take very good pictures and are easy to use.

2. Second thing many people believe that you need a lot of mega pixels. In fact most companies hide camera faults by producing high mega pixel cameras. The most you will ever need is 8 meg pixels, unless you plan on printing a picture for a Bil-board. I would recommend looking at consumer reports, i think you'll find that pansonic, canon , and Olympus will be the 3 to choose from.

3. Another important factor get image stabilization, you need this feature with a optical zoom greater than 5x. If you don't have a stabilizer your pictures will be blurred. This is a must have no matter what brand you buy.

Also go to the store, after you determine what you are looking for and fit them to your hand you may be surprised what you choose. Also take a memory card with you, put your card in the camera and shoot some photos, take the card home a sample the photos. This might help in determination by picture quality.

If you go to a Ritz or Wolf camera they will gladdy let you experiment with the cameras.

I bought my mother a Panasonic Lumix fz7 or 5 can't remember, but she loves it. Heres a hit she is 60 and has no problem taking or transferring pictures. Panasonic is very easy to use.

Hope this helps

[Katarch]

I just got a Panasonic TZ3 Lumix. It's 7.2 megapixels and 10x optical zoom. It's very easy to use and takes great pictures. I think I paid around $250.:mickey:

[medic9016]

We just got a Kodak Z712 IS 7.1 mega pixels. 12x zoom. Kodak easy share software is easy to use. You can get downloadable firmware updates for the camera if you want to. $250 at Bestbuy. Go to their website and you can pick up to 5 camera to compare. I took about 30 pictures this morning outdoors, river, birds, small crabs. If you would like to see some of them PM me an email address.

[Clotho]

Another vote for the Panasonic Lumix series. We have an FX7, which hubby asked for after lots and lots of research, trying out a friend's camera, and waiting for two years to see what improvements might have been made to future models. Now we have had it for years, and love it. It is small and light, takes incredible pictures and video, the image stabalization is insanely wonderful--like shake the camera violently while taking video and you won't see it in the image. I don't know how they do it!

At any rate, we are amateur photographers in this house, and love our cameras. This little guy goes with us almost everywhere. We even photographed his sister's wedding with this camera, and the pics were comparable to what we might have done with a D-20 (with stock lens, but still).

[princessimagineer]

you want one with a Li-Ion battery. not like AA, this way you can keep recharging and it lasts longer.

Canons are the BEST

i just got a Canon PowerShot SD630. i think it was about $300. it is the greatest camera ever. its very thin and has the biggest screan on the back that you could possibly find. it also takes videos that theres no time limit (the limit is how much space you have left on your SD Card)

i love my camera. this august will be my first time using it in WDW and i absolutly cant wait!

[kakn7294]

We've had 2 Kodaks and 1 Canon. I liked them all but the Kodaks both broke. One doesn't work at all and the other's battery tab broke - however, it still works quite well as long as the compartment door is closed. I love the Canon - PowerShot A620 - but it's fairly large and bulky and takes 4 AA batteries, adding considerably to it's weight. My dad has a small, pocket-sized Nikon - it's a great camera as long as you don't want action shots - it's terrible for those. The advice above is great - also consider the size and weight of a camera you want to lug around as well as the type of media and batteries it takes. Media cards/sticks can add considerably to the cost. As far as the battery power, some use standard disposible batteries - great for restocking on the fly when you run out - and some take dedicated (can only be used for that particular device) batteries - usually lighter weight and last longer but you either have to keep it fully charged or carry a fully charged spare.

[Brian]

Check out PC World's web site. They review digital cameras and update their reviews monthly. I used their reviews when purchasing my camera, and have been very pleased with the results. At the time, it was considered one of their "Best Buys". For what it's worth, my camera is a Casio Exilim EX-Z750. It's several months shy of being two years old now.

[mrsgaribaldi]

I had a Kodak v550 that I loved but I broke it when I dropped it. Then I got a Kodak v705 which I also love. 7.1 megapixels, small and easy to use.

[conorsmom2000]

i just got a Canon PowerShot SD630. i think it was about $300. it is the greatest camera ever. its very thin and has the biggest screan on the back that you could possibly find. it also takes videos that theres no time limit (the limit is how much space you have left on your SD Card)

I have the Canon Powershot SD600, which sounds very similar, and I couldn't be happier with it - I love this camera! It's small, easy to use, takes awesome pictures, excellent video (I never bring our camcorder out anymore) - all around, just a great camera.

But, I would also check consumer reports, and google for digital camera reviews. I really researched it before buying this camera and there's tons of info out there to help you decide! :mickey:

[DisneyCouple07]

My DW got me the Sony DSC-W90 for my birthday so I've only had it for a bit more than a week. It was about $270. It has a 3x optical zoom, double anti-blur technology (on the box), and 8.1 megapixels (the W200 has 12.1, but I'm only printing 8"x10"), and is pretty close to pocket sized. This camera is replacing my Sony DSC-P150 and will be going to WDW is September. The biggest problem I had with my previous camera was that it would be extremely blurry when taking night shots (no tripod) and when the zoom was fully extended the images was very dark. The W90 actually did an excellent job of reducing blur (again without a tripod) and the images were not noticibly darker at full zoom. Overall I am extremely happy with the camera (btw, it also has video capabilities and can be connected to an HD tv for picture viewing).

One negative is that the battery does not give you the amount of time left anymore—just shows a segmented battery, but Sony states its good for an average of 340 shots.

BTW—I also got a pretty neat tripod that will also go on our trip. It;s called the flexpod (there is also the gorilla pod-same concept, just depends on where you purchase it). Its a flexible tripod that you can hook up just about anywhere (and small enough to carry in a fanny pack or pocket). :mickey:

Good luck.

[minnie-mouse]

I recently bought a Kodak Easy Share GS600 ( Ithink that is the #). Anyhow, it is great. I bought the printing dock too, works really nicely, takes great pics and is easy to use. Only cost about $400-including the printing dock. I highly recommend it.

[Momof2boys]

We just upgraded to another Sony Cybershot. This is our 3rd Sony and we've never had any issues with any of our pictures or the camera itself.

[baldburke]

you want one with a Li-Ion battery. not like AA, this way you can keep recharging and it lasts longer.

Canons are the BEST

i just got a Canon PowerShot SD630. i think it was about $300. it is the greatest camera ever. its very thin and has the biggest screan on the back that you could possibly find. it also takes videos that theres no time limit (the limit is how much space you have left on your SD Card)

i love my camera. this august will be my first time using it in WDW and i absolutly cant wait!

I agree Canon makes great cameras. We have a Canon IS S2 that we have had for at least 3 years and has done terrific work for us. They now have a IS S3 that has some improvements on the previous version. I would definitely consider it is I was in the market again.

Good luck! It can be a very tough experience to find a camera that is right for you and your needs. I would recommend www.cnet.com. I find they offer very comprehensive, unbiased reviews.

[ldn324]

Thanks everone for the wonderful reviews and advice! Being that most of us take thousands of WDW photos, I knew this would be the group to ask :thumbsup:.

I took everyone's suggestions and researched the models on various review sites, plus on Amazon's site to see what users said. We decided on the Kodak Z712 IS. It had all the features we really wanted plus was, I think, a great bargain. With the camera, a 2 GB SD memory card that we purchased separately and a $20 leftover gift card from Best Buy, I ended up paying $280. Still undecided on the additional warranty - we will probably do it since it's only like $20 a year.

Got the camera yesterday and, of course, took it right out as soon as we got home and played for about an hour with it. Seems very easy to use. The only thing I can't figure out is, I thought I had seen on Kodak's website that you could take pictures in black and white. Now maybe I read that wrong, maybe they meant you could change them to black and white after you download them?? Anyway, no biggie as most of our pics we want in color, especially the hundreds we plan on taking at AKL while we are staying there! :mickey:

Thanks again everyone! Have a magical day!

[kakn7294]

The only thing I can't figure out is, I thought I had seen on Kodak's website that you could take pictures in black and white. Now maybe I read that wrong, maybe they meant you could change them to black and white after you download them??
I believe that with both of our Kodak's, the black and white feature was something that you did after the pics were downloaded into the computer using the Kodak software. I don't know if they have changed this lately as our newest model is now a few years old and of course, obsolete. Enjoy your new camera!