motoXmom Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 What is a good digital camera for the complete novice? We did get one from my mother-in-law about 5 yrs. ago and it is one that was really cheap on HSN. It was about $40-$50, if that tells you anything! We need one that is easy for all of us to use and has good quality. What are alll of these numbers that I see along side the cameras, what do they mean? Help anyone I would probably pay up to maybe $300.00 if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brynnfromtheblock Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 I can tell you not to get the Sony P7, P9 etc series.....it was a great little camera but the lense retracts electronically when you turn on the camera. That started malfuncioning on ours and when we brought it to an authorized dealer he said that it cost more to fix than to get a new camera due to the Sony parts (which we paid more than 300 for the camera at the time), and then he showed us a shop full of Sony cameras with the same problem, he said it was very common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoXmom Posted November 17, 2004 Author Share Posted November 17, 2004 Brynn Thank You so much for the info! I will have to start a list on which ones NOT to buy! That helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brynnfromtheblock Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 I was looking at cameras too since we are not going to fix the Sony, I found this site with reviews that you can enter the models and see what they have to say. They seem to like the Fujis and the Kodak at Walmart seems to be a good buy since the docking station is included Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brynnfromtheblock Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Sorry here is the site http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jipy Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 the best buy would be a canon a75... easy enough to start with, has all great features to explore if you ever want to... excellent quality pictures.... also visit dpreview.com if you want to do a little bit research Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RossMAN Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 the best buy would be a canon a75... easy enough to start with, has all great features to explore if you ever want to... excellent quality pictures.... also visit dpreview.com if you want to do a little bit researchRossMAN Approved. Canon PowerShot A series digicams rock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jipy Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 i lost my faithful a70 while riding on a metro bus.... wanna buy a a75 or s1 during bf. but haven't found a decent deal yet.... any help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venerdinero Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Costco has a Kodak LS743 4megapixel camera WITH 512mb memory card for about $250 at costco.com ONLY. There are a number of less expensive cameras, although I believe most of them are 3mp and do not come with a 512mb memory card. You can search electronics from the front page to look for more camera deals. From what I have read (and it may have been at the Steve's digicam website linked in the 4th reply) many "experts" advise buying digital cameras from good traditional camera makers because they tend to have better lenses. In any event there are several decent guides available online. What works best for you will depend not only on your budget, but how you plan to use the camera. Will you be printing out many pics? or will most of them remain on the pc? Also pay attention to what type of memory expansion is available! Good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoXmom Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 Thanks to everyone for your help! The Cannon sounds good, I'll have to check out the sites you guys gave! And Thank You for not getting too technical, that stuff goes right over my little head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Luckycharm Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Okay FUJI plug coming up! I work for Fuji as a merchandising rep and am pretty well trained in Digitals. Easy and for beginners at a reasonable price is the Fuji A340. It's around $200, but is always going on sale at Targets, Walmarts etc........... Here is why: Fuji is the only total GLASS lens on the market. If it gets scratched, you can get it FIXED easily. All other cameras grind in plastic. Good luck getting a scratch out of them. Fuji is user friendly. All the software for downloading is interchangable with every camera they make. The SD & XD cards that come with em aren't very expensive to buy an extra one so you are never without a card to take pics.The loader for your puter is just a cord, Docking stations take up room on your puter desk and have mulitiple parts to break, a cord don't. This particular camera is a 4.0 megapixel with a 5.1X Zoom on it. Always look for BOTH when buying a Digital. Combine them for the EFFECTIVE megapixels of a camera. The higher the number, the better the pictures that come out of the camera. Here's a Linkie to FujiFilm if you wanna go look around at the cameras. If you have any questions at all on any of em, just post and I'll try my damnest to get you the answers. I can also check my sheets and get you when markdowns will happen in certain stores in your area if you give me a list of what's available to you (IE: Walmart, BB, Target, Kmart etc........) http://www.fujifilm.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/digitalShowcase.jsp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brynnfromtheblock Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 So the A340 at Office Max for 199 is about normal price or ever more than normal yes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Luckycharm Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Yes, you can pick this camera up any day at a Target for $199. If you do an online search, some places have it for around $175. Don't wanna put a search link up here because I'm not sure if the site has it's own affiliate search or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venerdinero Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Is that 5.1x Zoom Optical(good) ? or Digital(bad -useless) ? Having the glass lens (better) is part of why I have heard one should buy the camera from traditional camera manufacturers, they tend to have a better lens in their digital camera. Good for Fuji if they do to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Luckycharm Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Fuji's Lens are superior to almost anyones. They pioneered the digital len's and everyone else copied it (or at least that's what I'm told at all the darn training meetings they make us go to LOL) Yes for a beginner who is NOT a hobbiest and wants family pictures, vacation pictures etc........the 5.1 is excellent when coupled with the 4.0 megapixels. I should also mention that this camera takes videos, I THINK up to 5 minutes, could be longer. I own the A330 which is a 3.2 w/ 3X zoom and love it! They are discontinuing the A330 because they are always coming up w/ cameras that do more, so you should be able to pick THAT particular one up at a Walmart for around $150 or so. Walmart is also running a Bundle pack special in their photo department right now for a Lexmark printer bundled w/ an A330 for I think $168? (don't hold me to that, but I think that's correct) so for $20 more you could get a photo printer too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoXmom Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 Luckycharm you're very sweet and Thanks so Much I will have to check out the site! Again thank you for taking your time to help! Are these cameras good for action shots? My son is in moto cross and zooms by you, it's hard to get a clear shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoXmom Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 Walmart is also running a Bundle pack special in their photo department right now for a Lexmark printer bundled w/ an A330 for I think $168? (don't hold me to that, but I think that's correct) so for $20 more you could get a photo printer too! Great now I want to run to Wal Mart and can't ... have way too much to do today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom395222 Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Moto mom from 1 moto mom to another, you want LOTS of zoom for the racing shots! I bought a Minolta at Meijer for $400, and I get some awesome shots! Just takes some practice, I also get lots of just smoke and dust LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Luckycharm Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 There is an auto picture feature on the A330 and A340 where you can set it for action specifically and it will take 5 shots in a row with one click, there isn't a delay like most digitals with this feature. I used it last week when my daughter was performing in her competition choir and got some GREAT shots. Very detailed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoXmom Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 Moto mom from 1 moto mom to another, you want LOTS of zoom for the racing shots! I bought a Minolta at Meijer for $400, and I get some awesome shots! Just takes some practice, I also get lots of just smoke and dust LOL! LOL I hear ya with the smoke and dust! I can just about taste it too! LOL Where is this store Meijer? Any around Mentor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoXmom Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 There is an auto picture feature on the A330 and A340 where you can set it for action specifically and it will take 5 shots in a row with one click, there isn't a delay like most digitals with this feature. I used it last week when my daughter was performing in her competition choir and got some GREAT shots. Very detailed. Sounds Great! I really have to look into these. Now if I could just pull myself away from the BF boards! Yea right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom395222 Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 They sell the Minolta at wal-mart too I believe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvJoyLunaDawg Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 I have the Canon Powershot A80. It's a 4mp. Best camera I've ever had. I suggest looking at the sample pictures on steves digicams for each camera you're looking at. I looked at $1000 7-8mp cameras sample photos and compared them to the A80's sample photos, and I couldn't find much of a difference. ONLY when the pictures were absolutely huge, like a huge wall covering. I don't need wall covering photos, just standard size prints and portrait sizes. You can't find the A80 much anymore, but the A85 came out in August and runs about $279. Whatever Digital camera you get, you will love it! Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoXmom Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 LuvJoy Thank You it sounds like Canon may be the way to go. and for Motomom(2) you are making it more tempting to drop everything I'm suppose to do today and go to Wal-Mart! LOL I'll just tell hubby you made me do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom395222 Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Alright, I'll take the blame LOL!!! I just got tired of spending so much money on pics from the track photographers! Tell hubby it's an investment for your sons racing future LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoXmom Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 Alright, I'll take the blame LOL!!! I just got tired of spending so much money on pics from the track photographers! Tell hubby it's an investment for your sons racing future LOL! LOL I will have to tell him that one! The people who own Pit Racer (I think or maybe owners of Dirtworld) post photos from the races at DirtWorld online. That is where I got some of mine from my sons race. They took some pretty nice ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natasha1120 Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 My advise for the begginer - get simple and easy to use camera.3 MP will be exellent to start. And this year 3MP camera will be $49.99 at Sears on BF day. For the price of dinner you will get exellent starter camera - plain and easy to use. Normaly it cost around 200. And with my personal experience. I use 2MP for few years and my pictures not worth then 5MP in 4x6. And mostly what I print it 4x6. Do not make any good to spent 300 if you can get same fun and quality for 49. So, Good luck and see you at Sears. By the way, I am fron Akron, OH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdjobadze Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 i hear really good things about the Canon Powershot series (A75, A85, A95). i just bought the A85 from http://www.digitalfotoclub.com/sc/from-shopping.asp?id=964594797&rf=dtfor only 220.00 shipped, they raises there prices to 230.00 though. it is coming tomorrow! i can't wait! **You only need 3.2MP if you are not serious into your photos, meaning if you are just using the camera for fun and everything 3.2 is perfect for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venerdinero Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 since luckycharm didn't answer my specific question, I looked it up myself - it's like shopping at walmart or target! So maybe the reason there was no reply is that there is not REALLY a 5.1X Zoom - that's an "effective" zoom devised to sound better - digital zoom just crops the picture, doesn't truly "zoom". The true specs are 3x optical, 1.7x Digital Zoom. Now, this may be sufficient for most people, and it is certainly better than cameras with ONLY digital zoom and no optical zoom available, but it's misleading at best to promote only the "effective" zoom number. The shame is that it's probably a decent product, meaning there is no need to fudge the specs. That just undercuts your credibility and is counterproductive to plugging your company! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venerdinero Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 motoXmom - sorry to report there is apparently no Meijer within 50 miles of Mentor (according to mapquest). You will have to check the Meijer web site to see where the closest store is, since the store locator lists the stores instead of showing a map. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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