What's the best camera?

[cEveArdenfan]

I'm going to buy my first camera soon, and I'm not sure which brand is best for me. I know only I can tell that for sure, but I could use some help. I'm just a casual photographer, nothing fancy. I would like to buy from a company who's at least somewhat kind to the environment. I'm a WDW pass holder so that's where I think I'll be taking most of my photos. I know Kodak probably springs to mind, but I'm a Dreamfinder fan and I'm suspicious of their involvement in his disappearance. Any help would be appreciated! :dale:

[Ed]

Wow... there are so many good ones out there. There are a lot of variables that will come into play in making your decision.

Digital vs film
"Point and Shoot" vs adjustable
Zoom/wide angle capability vs fixed lens
Maximum/Minimum Resolution for digital
Too many more to list.....


It all depends on what you plan to use the camera for. For simple snapshots, you might be perfectly happy with a pocket-size camera with minimal "gizmos" to fool with. For serious photography offering a huge array of possible adjustments, interchangeable lenses, etc., etc., a good digital single lens reflex (SLR) camera is the way to go. The downside is that most DSLRs are large and often fairly heavy to tote around.

The very best thing you can do is to stop by a local camera shop (a REAL camera shop, not Target or WalMart) and have a chat with one of their sales people whose whole job is selling cameras, not cameras today and washing machines tomorrow. :nono: Explain to him/her exactly the type of photos you are looking to capture, your budget, and preferences as to size, weight, and whether you plan to print out your pictures or just enjoy them on the computer.

A few of the better brands who make both point-and-shoot and DSLRs for casual photography would be Sony, Canon and Nikon. There's plenty more out there; a quick Google search might be helpful.

[Disney Doll]

The very best thing you can do is to stop by a local camera shop (a REAL camera shop, not Target or WalMart) and have a chat with one of their sales people whose whole job is selling cameras, not cameras today and washing machines tomorrow. :nono: Explain to him/her exactly the type of photos you are looking to capture, your budget, and preferences as to size, weight, and whether you plan to print out your pictures or just enjoy them on the computer.


Great advice! I did this when I started looking at upgrading to a digital SLR. The staff at the camera shops are really knowledgeable. I know at my local shop all the salespeople are pretty serious hobby photographers and they know their stuff. I basically walked in and asked, what's the best camera I can get for x dollars? After talking a little more about what I wanted to do with the camera I walked away knowing exactly what I wanted. All I had left to do was convince DH that I needed a new camera.

[DizneyRox]

Take film out of the equation. Except for many higher end cameras, film is not a good choice for the lay person.

Digital is the wave of the future... I know a few pros and up until a few years ago, they refused to dump film. There are many many converts in those ranks these days.

[Ed]

Take film out of the equation. Except for many higher end cameras, film is not a good choice for the lay person.

Digital is the wave of the future... I know a few pros and up until a few years ago, they refused to dump film. There are many many converts in those ranks these days.

Especially now that Kodak is dumping the venerable old Kodachrome film. :(

[Altair]

Especially now that Kodak is dumping the venerable old Kodachrome film. :(

There will quite possibly never be a better medium for recording photographic images, in small format, than Kodachrome 25 or 64.:(

[kakn7294]

Back to the OP. Do some serious thinking on what you want a camera to do for you and then do some research to find a good fit. Some things to consider:

Do you want film or digital? - personally, i love a digital camera for the ability to play with the camera, take multiple shots of the same things, and delete the pics i don't like without printing them.

Do you want a dedicated rechargeable battery or to be able to use standard batteries? - I like a camera that uses standard batteries for the ease of replacement factor but my current one has a dedicated battery. I just make sure that it's kept charged.

Do you want a viewfinder or just an LCD screen? - most pocket point and shoot have only LCD screen - some people like to still have a viewfinder so it might take some searching to find a small camera that has one.

Do you want something large and substantial or small and light? - larger cameras generally have better features and take better pictures but are heavier and more awkward to carry around.

What kind of zoom do you want, optical or digital or both? - optical is a better zoom, camera lens itself actually zooms. digital zooms can create grainy pictures. i like a combination of both

If going digital, how many MPs do you want - a higher MP gives picture that are less grainy.

What's your budget? - cameras range in price from $20 (I don't recommend those!) to several thousand depending on the features you choose.

Go to a camera shop or even play with the ones at Walmart to see what you like. Ask family and friends with cameras to show you theirs - play with them and see what feels good to you. Also pay attention to shutter lag time - the amount of time it takes from when you push the button to when the picture is actually recorded. This varies greatly among cameras and some are so slow that you miss your shot.

I love my Canon PowerShot SD110 IS. It's small enough to fit in my pocket but has tons of features and take great pictures! Best of all, it was under $200. Good luck in your search!

[LauraByTheSea]

My last 3 digitals were all Nikon Cool Pix (so many due to a dropping mishap and one getting caught in the rain, not quality), and I love them. So easy to use. Right now I have the Cool Pix S550 and it's great. Very inexpensive too... Perfect for the casual photog...

[cEveArdenfan]

Thanks for the help, everybody! I definitely want a digital with rechargeable battery. I've been doing much research on the internet, and I think I've decided on the FujiFilm FinePix 10.0 MP J20. I have to save up a little more money, so there's still time to consider my options. This one looks really good though.

[DizneyRox]

Really? I don't think I've seen a good review of that camera. Fuji has never been high on my list. They used to use a strange image sensor and extrapolate an image out of it, not sure if they still do.

I think you can do better...

[Jll3Sonex]

I'm fond of Samsung's pocket cameras - they're inexpensive, have loads of capability, take SD cards (and with some of the 4 or 8 GB SD cards, you'll run out of interest long before you run out of space...) AND there's plenty of models that take AA batteries. :number1:

I don't like rechargables - maybe some have different experiences but the blasted things always die right when you're really into the picture taking.

The new Energizer Lithium batteries do a heck of a job - got 150 full-flash shots out of a pair one time as a test, and I can easily get an hour of video (did I mention the Samsungs do decent (not HD, but decent) video also?

Everyone's got their own experiences and opinions with cameras - good luck to you!

(One story about the Disney 'magic', by the way - when we visited Disneyland a long time ago, the Instamatics with flashcubes had just come out and I had one. I had enough money for a film cartridge, but not a full package of flashcubes. What is a 10 year old to do? I asked if I could buy two flashcubes out of the three-pack... and the CM broke the pack and sold me the two. I was impressed.)

[cEveArdenfan]

After reading a few more reviews on the Target site, now I'm thinking about the Z30fd instead. I'm sticking my decision to try Fuji, unless I hear something really bad. The Z30fd is a little more expensive than the one I was looking at before, but I think it might be worth it from what I'm reading.

[Itchy]

I have the Fuji S5100 and love it. It is an SLR type camera.

I would look for a Fuji since you like that brand that has both the view finder and LCD screen.

Mine has both and I can switch between the two. The advantage is when you get into bright light conditions you may not be able to see the screen making it hard to lineup you photo.

Dedicated batteries are ok until the run out when you really need or want to take pictures. Mine uses standard AA batteries. I just carry a 4 pak of extras and change them when needed and keep shooting.

Good luck with your choice.:mickey:

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I had a Fuji as my first digital and it didn't take the best pictures. I then went to a Nikon and still wasn't happy. Before I bought my next one I ran into a distant cousin who owns a camera shop and he said either Canon or Olympus were the best. I went with a Canon and LOVE the pix it takes. It has a 10X zoom so you can get really great close ups in WDW.