PHOTOGRAPHER PHREEPERS! What gen'l purpose, 5+ MP digital camera would you recommend, and why?

12/10/05 | Marty Fierro

[martin_fierro]

Hi all;

'Tis the Season, and I'm looking to upgrade my digital camera from an old 2.3 MP HP Photosmart 612 ...

... to a good, reliable, relatively easy-to-use 5+ MP camera.

Am liking what I'm seeing written about the Olympus C-60 Zoom (6.1 MP), but wanted to what what other FReepers like using/recommend.

[martin_fierro]

Your input is appreciated!

[angkor]

Just read a good review here:

http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001055.php

[kerryusama04]

I have an Olympus Stylus 800 8 megapixel camera. The screen on the back is HUGE and the time between pushing the button and taking a picture is as close to a 35mm that I could find. It is realllllly fast.

[martin_fierro]

Yeah, that one does get good reviews. $336 is a little spendy for my blood, tho.

Would you believe that it takes a full 8 SECONDS between shots on my current cam? I kiddeth you notteth.

[Vermonter]

This guy puts a lot of effort into reviewing digital cameras.

Steve's Digicams

[martin_fierro]

Wow, that one also gets great reviews.

I thought I heard someone reviewing a Lumix today on Bob O'Donnell's radio show, but he doesn't yet have up today's links.

[martin_fierro]

Wow -- a lot to chew on at that site! THANKS!

What digicam (if any) do you use? How d'ya like it?

[Chickensoup]

I just bought a kodak camera and digital developer at Staples for under 400 package deal with all the trimmings.
This camera:
http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?ts=1134206948692&prodCatType=1&storeId=10001&productId=130622&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&cmArea=FEATURED:SC3:CG43:DP1600

and this is the combination with the easy dock printer. It says 350 but they sold it to me for 300
http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&productId=127110&cmArea=SEARCH

[Chickensoup]

I also got a gig of memory for 50 dollars minus 20 rebate.

A friend who is very good about this kind of thing said it was a very good deal and good technology to boot.

[Tribune7]

Well, how much do you want to spend?

A photog I trust recommends a Nikon D50 (6.1 mega-pix) which runs between $650 & $800 depending on lenses & disk.

I'm happy w/my three-year-old Gateway 4 mega-pix that I got for about $350. You can get similar quality for half the price now.

Also, I've generally been happy with the Kodaks I've used.

[Vermonter]

I have an older Minolta that I'll be upgrading in the not too distant future, but I haven't started looking yet.

Far as I know, that site is completely independant and calls 'em as he sees 'em

[kerryusama04]

Would you believe that it takes a full 8 SECONDS between shots on my current cam? I kiddeth you notteth.

Yeah, we had a 3M HP thing before that was as slow as Nancy Pelosi. You had to start taking pictures about 10 seconds ahead of whatever you were trying to get a picture of if it was moving.

The Olympus MPEG has made our 8mm a piece of history, too.

The downside is that you have to take the battery out to recharge it, but that appears standard on all the current models.

A big upside is the help files/menus are on board and easy to navigate.

The pictures are stellar. My wife does the digital studio thing and we make our own holiday photos of the kids. My family can't tell that we produce our own photos. The big upside is that nobody owns our pictures but us.

[angkor]

I'm on my 4th digicam, a Pentax istDS SLR purchased in January. Also have a Pentax Optio S from 2003 ("fits in an Altoids box").

The Optio was "cool" at the time. Was heading abroad on a trip and wanted to have a camera that was small enough to carry everywhere, at all times. Which I did. But the slow startup and recycle times (not 8 seconds, maybe 2) caused a lot of lost photo ops. The small size contributes to camera shake. Finally point-and-shoots as a rule have slow shutter speeds and aren't good in low-light or even overcast conditions (e.g., ASA 400 or 800 equivalent).

The SLR was in the $800 range with 18-55mm lens. At the time was looking at the Nikon D50 (too heavy) and the Canon Rebel (too poorly constructed). The Pentax splits the difference. Everything I don't like about point-and-shoots is remedied with digital SLR: instant-on, continuous shooting modes, bracketing, high shutter speeds, wide-angle lens, etc. Love it.

[Richard Kimball]

You probably wouldn't want to spring for the one I use, Canon 1DMII. Here's a shot with it:

In the true digicam market, I would still look at the Canon and Nikon cameras very closely, and consider them first. Here's a good Canon, the A620. Others could probably give you more info on Nikons. I won't touch anything Sony, as they try to make everything proprietary to Sony (memory sticks are more expensive, and there's no reason for them, except Sony doesn't want you to be able to use a compact flash or smart media card).

[Richard Kimball]

I agree with you about DSLRs as compared to point and shoots, but I went Canon because of the better lenses. I've always had a soft spot for Pentax though, as I learned 35mm photography with a K1000, and took that thing in caves, burning buildings, and just about everywhere. The sand in Haiti finally finished it off, after about 16 years faithful service.

[Tribune7]

I haven't used the D50 whereas angkor is using his Pentax so take that into account.

FYI, If you should happen to have a Nikon film camera its lenses will likely work with the D50. That may also be true with the Pentax, Canon or any other SLR maker whose history extends into film.

So if you have an old film camera you may want keep that in mind. Double check before buying if that should be a factor.

[angkor]

Martin, you may want to take a look at this web site, which summarizes some things for consideration:

http://digitcamera.tripod.com/

[finnman69]

Canon Powershot SD450.http://reviews.cnet.com/Canon_PowerShot_SD450/4505-6501_7-31475444.html?tag=sub


I've used 2 Canon digital powershots, SD 200 and SD 300 now and LOVE them. I have thousands of dolalrs of camera equipment (Nikon) that i have abandoned sonce going digitial. It's small, takes great pics. What else can I say.

I am thinking about going to a Nikon D50 or D70 to start using my lenses as I miss having the ability to take more professional type photos w/o processing.

Best part about Powershots? They are tiny, fitting in a shirt pocket. If you dont have a camera with you, you might as well haev nothing.

[martin_fierro]

Whoops -- I was mistooken.

They were talking about the Sanyo VPC-E6U Digital Camera yesterday on Bob O'Donnell's show.

[shezza]

I'll second the Canon PowerShot recommendation. We had the 4mp and it took great photos. The new PowerShot 550 Elph has 7.1 mp and will easily slip into a pocket for portability (street price about $450). It's not much bigger than a deck of cards or pack of cigarettes.

This is a GREAT resource with professional as well as user-input reviews of all sorts of levels and brands: Digital Photography Review.

I recently got an Olympus C7070 and love it. It's a bit bulky for stash-and-go (more like the size of a traditional Oly or Canon), but it takes fantastic photos.