Another digital camera question

[NewDVCowner]

I've seen people post questions about digital cameras on here and there has always been wonderful information given. Now I have a question.

I have a pretty good digital camera - a few years old, but high resolution and I'm very happy with it. The only problem I have is that in low light situations it either 1.) Takes forever to take a picture or 2.) has a slow shutter speed so all the pictures turn out blurry. Now I'm going on a trip where I imagine I'll be taking plenty of pictures in low lighting )twilight, probably, rather than dark night, with animals - which usually aren't nice enough to stay still. Does anyone have any suggestions for a camera (or settings I can use on my exisiting camera) that won't give me this problem?

A couple of restrictions. 1.) I'd like it to be below $200 (less is better) and 2.) using regular AA or AAA batteries is ideal as there won't really be a place that I can recharge a camera battery.

Thanks so much!

[Capt_redshirt]

most cameras purchased with in the last few years have a low light or a twiglight setting. that being said if it was a less expenisve one it might not be an automatic choice. You might have to play around with the exposure settings (tho keep in mind that the longer the exposure the more it can look blurry if you shake it at all) As for a new camera while i saw some low end cameras that can work with your restrictions they are not the best for low light or even "action"shots. The one thing about rechargeable batteries is that they have a way to converting it to any power source (just need the right converter)

[rpeoples]

One of the challenges with small point & shoot camera's in low light is that they have a very difficult time focusing AND they won't release the shutter until the camera has focused - quite the double-edged sword.
Some camera's have a sports mode which will help speed up the focus time but may not work in lower light situations.
You might want to check out the Nikon S9100 to see if it might fit your bill. At 5 frames a second, it should be able to focus pretty quickly.
And no matter what you decide to go with, make sure you are comfortable turning the flash OFF! Otherwise, the camera gets "confused" and it will eat up your battery.

[KylesMom]

Remember, too that "hi res" doesn't necessarily mean "best pics" in today's cameraspeak. If you're looking to buy a new camera since your old one isn't quite fitting the bill, I wouldn't necessarily look at a massive mega-pixel camera unless you want to blow your photos up to fit your living room wall. Instead, focus on a camera that has several adaptable settings as suggested. You may be limited in what quality cameras you can purchase that take standard US AA and AAA batteries, though.

I went to my local hi-tech camera store for opinions, options & suggestions (found a good guy who didn't want to sell me the moon) and then shopped around for what I could live with paying.

Good luck! :mickey:

[NewDVCowner]

Thanks everyone!

[LVT]

I recently switched from a 10 year old canon I loved to a new canon. There were a lot of improvements in respect to low light.
Amazon.com and newegg.com have user reviews which can be helpful when you look.
I have fallen in love with the pre-programmed options for aquaiums, fireworks, etc.

Research does help.

[Ed]

You might also want to do a Google search for user groups of owners of your particular brand/model camera. I have a somewhat-uncommon DSLR (Leica V-Lux) and the book that came with it wasn't much help as far as getting used to it, but browsing through a Leica owners forum was extremely helpful and taught me a lot that the book didn't mention.

[DisneyMom12]

2.) using regular AA or AAA batteries is ideal as there won't really be a place that I can recharge a camera battery.

Thanks so much!

I always have a 2nd battery this way one is always charged. I just got one for my new canon for $4 online. I bring the charger with me to the hotel, and charge the batteries there.