Recommend Me A Digital Camera

kennythebomb

kennythebomb

4,394
Hi all. I'm in the market for a digital camera for about $300 or so... I'm willing to go 100 below or above that (brand new).

Features I need:
-5MP or above
-excellent zoom
-excellent image quality
-image stabilization

Features I want:
-I prefer a midsize camera, that will fit in a large pocket
-good battery life and the ability to use AA's if possible
-something that can take a lage size memory card that isn't proprietary
-no red eye

Now the Canon 570IS and 710 IS fit this very well - except for one thing. Even with red eye reduction on, the red eye is still absolutely horrible. Now that isn't a huge concern, because the large majority of my shots are still nature shots. However I would like to be able to use my camera for a fun night out with friends.

Any suggestions?
 
No small camera is going to eliminate redeye, especially at anything over 8 feet distance, no matter what they say. The flash and the lens are just too close together, and even with the pop-pop-pop-pop-pop pre-flash, peoples' eyes are open too much to avoid the retinal reflection.
 
Red eye is easily fixable also if you have photoshop. There are plenty of tutorials online on how to correct it, it's usually a 10 second fix.
 
antihero
Red eye is easily fixable also if you have photoshop. There are plenty of tutorials online on how to correct it, it's usually a 10 second fix.
Click to expand...

Yeah I have a program or two that takes care of it. I would like to get a camera that does it first though 👍
 
We have a Canon Digital Ixus 850IS in our house. It's very good. Flash could use about -1 stop of FEC, especially at < 4 feet, but the IS is excellent, and image quality is usually very good. It rarely takes shots that aren't recoverable in Photoshop, even when my 2-year-old is using it.
 
I've got a Fuji E900 which i'd recommend. It's not the smallest compact digital camera, it's more of a mid sized one, but it has plenty of features including 4x optical zoom and the option to fit other lenses too if needed. It takes 2 AA batteries which gives it plenty of juice. I've got a 1gb XD card which gives me about 450 9mp photos or 15 minutes of TV quality video (or 30 minutes of better-than-YouTube-quality video)

But the best thing is, whilst i paid £190 for it less than a year ago, which i thought was a bargain at the time, since the RRP was £250 - It's now available on Amazon for £140!! ( $272.87 - US ) which is great value for a 9 megapixel camera IMO.

It also gets good owner write ups too 👍

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_g...&field-keywords=fuji+e900&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go - US

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000B66HG4/?tag=gtplanetuk-20 - UK
 
Thanks guys, now I have some more models to research :)

The Canon SD700IS seems like a great smaller camera. I am impressed with Steve's review.

The S3 IS is a bit better in some terms, but it much bulkier.

The Sony CyberShot H5 (comparable to the S3) definitely trumps the Canon in quality and zoom. The girl's eyes are very clear with no hint of red eye. However, it seems even bulkier. As with the Canons, I like that it can use rechargeable AA's.

All three cameras I look at on that site are $500, I will have to look and see what the retailers are actually selling them for now.

The Fuji E900 looks rather sharp too. However it seems to have less IS features than some of the above models.
 
kennythebomb
Thanks guys, now I have some more models to research :)

The Canon SD700IS seems like a great smaller camera. I am impressed with Steve's review.

The S3 IS is a bit better in some terms, but it much bulkier.

The Sony CyberShot H5 (comparable to the S3) definitely trumps the Canon in quality and zoom. The girl's eyes are very clear with no hint of red eye. However, it seems even bulkier. As with the Canons, I like that it can use rechargeable AA's.

All three cameras I look at on that site are $500, I will have to look and see what the retailers are actually selling them for now.

The Fuji E900 looks rather sharp too. However it seems to have less IS features than some of the above models.
Click to expand...


Can I ask you why you prefer rechargeable AA nickel metal hydride battiers over a rechargeable Lithium battery? I absolutely hated those AA's when I had my Cybershot. And, I absolutely love having the Lithium in my 350D.
 
speedy_2
Can I ask you why you prefer rechargeable AA nickel metal hydride battiers over a rechargeable Lithium battery? I absolutely hated those AA's when I had my Cybershot. And, I absolutely love having the Lithium in my 350D.
Click to expand...

My own reason for such a preference is that you can use alkalines in a pinch if you find yourself off somewhere with dead batteries and no power.
 
wfooshee
My own reason for such a preference is that you can use alkalines in a pinch if you find yourself off somewhere with dead batteries and no power.
Click to expand...

True. But, I bought an extra lithium battery. I'll shoot over 200 shots sometimes and never switch batteries. And it will still have life left. Even if I did, I'd be able to load up the extra. I'm sure someone with a point and shoot wouldn't be shooting that many shots. And if they did, one lithium would still be enough.
 
speedy_2
True. But, I bought an extra lithium battery. I'll shoot over 200 shots sometimes and never switch batteries. And it will still have life left. Even if I did, I'd be able to load up the extra. I'm sure someone with a point and shoot wouldn't be shooting that many shots. And if they did, one lithium would still be enough.
Click to expand...

My Sony point-and-shoot gets lousy battery life with either the NMh or alkaline. I'd be lucky to get a full day's shooting on two sets of batteries, especially if I had to use flash during any part of it. Problems with design, though, include no auto-dim on the display, and when the camera times out and goes to sleep, it retracts the lens, the highest current draw of anything it does besides flash, and there's no adjustment for the timeout value. If it would just sit idle with the display unlit, the batteries would last all week, I'm sure.

On the D70 I borrowed last weekend, though, I got scared because he didn't include the charger in the kit he handed over and I just knew I was in trouble. Three days, several hundred images, and the battery indicator never came down from full.

Apparently there are varying degrees of efficiency out there.
 
speedy_2
Can I ask you why you prefer rechargeable AA nickel metal hydride battiers over a rechargeable Lithium battery? I absolutely hated those AA's when I had my Cybershot. And, I absolutely love having the Lithium in my 350D.
Click to expand...

I would prefer the camera to be able to take both. I would use the rechargeable lithium ones but stock up on the AA's for other times.

CCX
holden reccomended me a minolta z3
Click to expand...

Why? Did you buy it? Do you like it?
 
I have a point and shoot that i use sometimes. I would suggest a sony W-6. I was very pleased with the image quality and very pleased with the color saturation and sharpness that it shot. All and all its a good little camera. They do have the newer version of the W-6, i can't recall the name of it but my wife uses it allot but it just doesnt take as good of pics as the W-6 does. Very strange since its the "updated" version of the W-6.
 
I'll be purchasing a Canon Powershot A710 IS later this week. I've been comparing cameras and looking around for a few weeks. My criteria are basically the same as yours.

-compact camera
-preferably AA batteries
-image stabilization is a must!
-good lens (either wide angle, a decent amount of zoom or both)
-enough manual settings

Because of the image stabilization you immediately end up looking at the higher end of the point and shoot class. In the end it was down to the panasonic lumix TZ1 and the canon powershot A710 IS.

The TZ1 bit the dust after reading up on user reviews and seeing that people we're sometimes let down by the image quality when using more than 4x optical zoom (out of 10x available!). It also lacks manual control and doesn't use AA batteries.

The A710 IS nails everything! Basically the only complaints that I've heard are flash related, and that doesn't bother me since I don't like using it. The image stabilizer should take care of that in plenty of situations.

Also, after taking into account the cost of an extra battery for the TZ1, the A710 IS comes out cheaper in the end, at least for me.
 
I have an Cannon S2 IS and I like it quite a bit. The S3 IS is probably a good choice. It's a bit on the larger side, but it's got everything you listed.
 
I just bought a canon S3 IS.

Got it over the panasonic FZ7/FZ8 is because it uses AA batts.
Reason is AA batts are cheap, and replacement few years down the road will not be a problem nor will it costs much. And i can use them for other devices as well.

Those lithium thingys can be real expensive if you get the original ones.
 
TsLeng
Got it over the panasonic FZ7/FZ8 is because it uses AA batts.
Reason is AA batts are cheap, and replacement few years down the road will not be a problem nor will it costs much.
Click to expand...

Totally agree, the AA Eneloop rechargeable batteries that I have been using are very good indeed. The Powershot A710 IS was quoted at being able to take between 250 and 300 pictures on one set of 2 AAs. Just earlier today I depleted the first set of batteries at exactly 500 pictures!

This is with regular shooting and camera testing over a period of 5 different days. With results like these I'd take the AAs over the lithium cells any day.
 
Good suggestions guys.

I looked at the S3 but it is just a bit too bulky for me.

The Canon Powershot G7 looks like the best fit for me. I found out I'm going to save a few hundred on rent, so I can go ahead and get a slightly more expensive camera - which has the features in the size I want.
 
I've never had a point and shoot camera (I work with 35mm bodies) so cant really advise you on what to buy but I'm happy to point you to this site that has excellent reviews on digitals. That may be of some help to you.

http://www.dpreview.com/

AMG.
 

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