I want one, I know shit about them and I only can spend about $200. Someone tell me what to buy.

hmm...the only cam that I really liked the quality of was Sony (we're 4 photographers in our family, they all agree that Sony looks best for the meduim priced cams). but $200? I'm not sure you can find one of Sony at that price, unless you get lucky on ebay.

Heavenly said:

That's what I figured I don't need a really good one just one for my classroom. I'm broke.

Sweeny79 said:

check and see what canon has to offer. mine was more than 200, but they make more inexpensive ones. But canon has been great. Look at PCWorld.com, and check what they say. That is what I did.

bluesbaby said:

Cool thanks

Wonder if this one sucks it's priced at $149.99 at Bestbuy.com




Hewlett-Packard PhotoSmart 2.0-Megapixel Digital Camera - Silver

Model: 635

Canon Powershot A60
* 2.0 MegaPixel CCD
* 3X Optical Zoom
* 2.5 Digital Zoom
* Movie mode with sound
* Intelligent Orientation Sensor
Price $229.00US

I have something similar to this one. They are great if you want to just take snaps and it's light weight...so you can easily carry it around. The photo on Vashti's website was taken with my Canon.
The software with it is very easy to use and will store everything on you home computer for you.

althom said:

Thanks Althom!

Gateway has a 5 megapixel now for like $250 i think. Thats a major bargain.

Megapixels are alot like dealing with film size. You could go from APS, to 35mm, to medium format, to large format, etc... the larger the negative the better the detail and tonal range. Same thing with megapixels, the higher you go the more detail you're gonna get.

A 3 megapixel will print out a decent 8"x6" print at 300 dpi. Anything larger, you're gonna start noticing a lack of quality. A 5 megapixel will print out a good 8x10 at 300 dpi. You wont match the quality of 35mm film until you go as high as 11-13 megapixel, but most people just doin snapshots wont notice that or wont really care.

Also, look for a camera with a larger lens and nice range of optical zoom. The cheapo digital cameras tend to have tiny lenses that cause distortion around the edges and arent very sharp overall. Many of the cheap ones only offer "digital" zoom, which is the equivalent of taking the image and enlarging it in a paint program, you loose alot of quality.

Lastly, if you can, play around with them in the store and try shooting some shots under low light conditions. Some digital cameras, like Sonys, arent as good under such conditions, and produce alot of noise.

Take a look on Ebay. I sold my Nikon 880 3.2mp on there for 150 bucks. Also B&H Camera has a lot of good deals.
[This message was edited Mon Nov 3 19:46:04 PST 2003 by Tom]

Thanks Tom most of that was in Chinese, but thanks

Sweeny79 said:

I'll make it simple. LOL. Get a Nikon.

http://www.bhphotovideo.c...277&is=REG

This model is $300. But if you look around on Ebay or elsewhere you can find an earlier model like the 880, that is also 3.2 megapixel and has alot of the same features, for much less, simply because its a discontinued model.

Check with local stores for any open-box items as well. They knocked like $150 of a camera I bought at Best Buy a couple years ago simply because someone bought it, opened it, and brought it back that evening cuz he had no idea how to use it.
[This message was edited Mon Nov 3 19:59:19 PST 2003 by Tom]