Digital Cameras

[UD_Delt]

Does anyone know anything about digital cameras or have a good web resource for reviews and whatnot...

I'm looking to pick something up in the $150 range as a honeymoon present for the fiancee since we don't have a camera at all.

Looking at ads I'm seeing the following:

Hewlett Packard HP 435
PhotoSmart 435 Digital Camera. 3.1 MegaPixel, 1.5-in. LCD, 5x digital zoom, 16MB internal memory, SD & MMC memory slots - $129

Fujifilm Finepix A210
Finepix 3.2 MegaPixel Digital Camera. 1.5-in LCD, 3x optical 3.2x digital zoom. 16MB xD memory - $143

Olympus D395
D-395 Camedia 3.2 MegaPixel Digital camera. 1.5-in. LCD, 2.5x digital zoom


Any of those better than the others and anything else I should be looking for? I am a photography idiot and have no clue as far as anything related to cameras goes...

[cevik]

It's a slightly more expensive than your price, but I love my Canon Powershot A70, amazon.com has one for http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008OE5G/qid=1084546163/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-6830284-8124723?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846">$218.39.

It's 3.2 MP, 3x Opitical 3.2x digital zoom, uses compact flash, and also takes up to 3 minutes of video.  It has auto and manual settings for aperture and shutter speeds, so you can fiddle with that if you ever get interested.  Back when I was searching for cameras I decided on this one for a couple of reasons, it got great reviews, it has optical zoom (do not get anything with only digital zoom, you need optical, there is a huge difference), and the battery life is fucking amazing if you buy 4 AA rechargable batteries for around http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000J47L/qid=1084546500/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl23/104-6830284-8124723?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846">ten dollars.

[Glamdring]

The Canon A60 is good as well.  It definately falls within your price range.

[Paelos]

I'd recommend anything that you can find for under $225 and that doesn't take up much space in your pocket or carrying devices. The reason I didn't use my first one much was due to the bulkiness of it all.

[Furiously]

Prepare to give up the hassle of film and get the hassle of batteries.

[cevik]

Prepare to give up the hassle of film and get the hassle of batteries.

That's one of the main reasons I went with the Canon Powershot line of cameras.  One set of charged up AA Energizer rechargeable batteries will easily last me somewhere between one and two weeks of vacation.  I have a 256 meg compact flash card and I can fill it up before I have to charge my batteries.  I actually bought 2 sets of 4 batteries, I charge both sets up, put one in the camera, one in the case when I have to travel and I almost never have to switch batteries before I get home.

[Furiously]

My Sony is horrid, its only a 2 mega pixal model from last year - it chews throught batteries like nothing.

[UD_Delt]

I may go with your suggestion Cevik. I'm going to attempt to try and convince either my parents or the fiancee's parents that a good digital camera would make for a great wedding gift. Or possibly get friends to chip in on one. That way the boost in price won't be much of a concern.

Thanks to all for the info... I hadn't thought of the battery issue. Seeing as we'll be gone for 10 days that will definately matter whether or not we can recharge or replace batteries to get all the way through the vacation.

[Shockeye]

Best resource I've found for digital camera information is here:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/

Comprehensive reviews with sample pictures from the camera.

[Rasix]

My wife and I got this for a wedding present. I was great for our honeymoon in Napa/San Francisco.

From that Steve's place:

With its all-metal design and affordable price, the S40 is perfect for the tourist, family, or business user.

Thing has a ton of functions, good battery life (lasted the entire trip) and is small and light.

[Alrindel]

I gave my sister-in-law a Nikon Coolpix 3100 for Christmas and I rate it doubleplusawesome.  It's out of your price range new, I think - Amazon has it at $299, but they also say "used and new from $159.99.

[Hanzii]

I'd say go with traditional cameraproducers.
Fuji and Kodak are fine in the lower priceranges, but for quality camera I'd go with Nikon or Canon (I'm saving for the Canon 10D).
Forget digital zoom - it's like enlarge in Photoshop. Your computer does it better than any camera, making it an useless selling point.
Think of what your gf needs.
A small nice looking designer thing that also takes good pictures (the Canon Ixus is nifty) or a more professional camera which most likely has features that makes it big and unhandy and uses batterypower.
Good optical zoom is very nice (you can have up to 10 built in) but takes up space and makes the camera heavy and everything with a motor burns through batteries.
Also bear in mind, that most cheap offers comes with small memory cards (like 8mb). Without 128mb+ you're better of with analog film unless you drag your laptop along for storage (and transfer often).
Some people think that built in video and mp3 is cool - just like the camera in mobiles, I've never seen it used for anything useful and I'd rather spend the money on better quality optics and more megapixels.

[Rof]

I bought my (now) wife one of these for her birthday and we like it. Takes good photos, doesn't seem to eat batteries too fast.

However, it's a little bulky for a pull-out-and-use camera. A friend of mine has one of these, which is small enough to drop in a pocket, and takes almost as good photos. No zoom, though.

[Arnold]

When I was doing my research for purchasing a digital camera, the review sites warned that the megapixel rating was more of a selling point than anything in the amateur realm.  They said that good cameras with 2 mega pixel resolution put our great pictures for up to 8x10s and that if you weren't a pro, you shouldn't bother spending the cash just to get a higher resolution.  Of course, nowadays most cameras have higher resolution than that, but just keep it in mind before you blow an extra $100-200 on resolution.

That being said, I've got a Canon S200 and I love it.  SIZE was one of the main reasons I got it.  I'm sure I use it far more than I would a larger camera.  It fits into the front pocket of any pair of shorts or pants I own.  I think the pictures it takes on medium resolution look great, and it's only 2 megapixel.  It's also got an aluminum shell and is more durable than plastic models.

I'd be looking at physical zoom and physical footprint, in addition to picture quality.

[edlavallee]

Here is a great source for Digital Camera information, reviews and comparisons:

http://www.dpreview.com/

I am due for a new one too so post what you get and how you like it!