What kind of digital camera?

Question

We would like to buy a digital camera, mostly for taking pictures and putting them on the pc, then sending to friesnd and family. We would like to be able to print some of them out as well though, on our printer or in the shops
We have no idea which kind are best, I have looked at some guides to see what kind would be best, in terms of pixels etc so I am a little more informed, and we thought around 3 or 4 pixels would be best for us, with optical zooming.
How much should we be prepared to pay, we are not sure of how much is fair, as there are loads of different cameras with different specs on them
and what should be the best kind to go for, we are new to digital photography and have never owned a digital camera
any ideas appreciated

We use ebay a lot so i have been looking on there - but they range in price a lot

our pc and printer are both hp

Answer 1

Tips for newcomers to digital photography:

1. Get a camera that allows both manual and automatic control. When you want to point & shoot, automatic comes in handy, and when you want more control, manual settings are needed. The Olympus C-370 ZOOM, for example, has automatic settings ONLY so beware.

2. If you want to share and print pictures, between 4 and 6 megapixels will be fine. This will easily allow you to print regular 6x4 inch photos, and even 3 megapixels is decent enough for an A4 sized printing.

3. Expect to pay no more than £200. £150 could actually get you a fairly decent camera, like the SLR-style Kodak Z740 on Amazon.

4. You'll need at least, I'd recommend, 512Mb of memory. FujiFilm and Olympus use xD memory cards, Sony use Memory Sticks and others like Kodak use SD cards. Make sure you get the right one and allow an extra £10 - £20 for this.

5. Ignore digital zoom on cameras. It's the optical zoom that makes a difference. Most in that price range will come with 3x, which is fine, but 4x is becomming more common and the Kodak Z740 I mentioned above has 10x ... for just £146! I'm thinking of buying it.

My TOP ADVICE would be... if you want to spend the rest of your life just pointing and shooting, get a slim, good looking digital camera. If you want to take it a bit more seriously and get good at taking pictures, get one with more features and perhaps and SLR-looking one (not a real SLR, though!)

Which ever style you go for expect to pay no more than £200.

Answer 2

SLR are professional grade "film" cameras. You can add color and warmth into digital photos if they seem washed out with software like photoshop or something free like Gimp. I have a Canon digital Elph camera with 3X optical zoom. It's lasted me a long time and takes amazing photos. Be sure to get one with anti-blur. That will mess up more photos than anything else. Most of the point and shoot digital cameras out there will be more than enough Megapixels (8-10+).

Answer 3

The actual makes are a matter of personal preference. http://www.dpreview.com/ do excellent easy to understand reviews, jump to the conclusion and samples if you don't want the technical stuff.

My advice would be,
1. get at least 5mp
2. always go for the longest optical zoom and ignore the digital one completely
3. choose a model with rechargeable replaceable batteries
4. if possible get a camera with an image stabiliser, as this cuts out shake/blur etc
5. try the camera in the store 1st, make sure you can understand the controls!
6. buy the biggest storage card (preferably 2) you can afford

Answer 4

I was an interested amateur photographer with 35mm cameras and getting quite good results, but when I switched to digital it all became so easy it was a joy.

There is no simple answer to your question except...buy the best you can afford...you will want to do more as you learn more and a cheap camera will not be much help.

I have a Fujifilm digital camera and it is absolutely superb..you don't need to know any technical stuff...it does it all for you... and it will do all you mentioned and much, much more. Don't be mean...buy a good one...spend at least £200 if you can...more if you have it...you will be well rewarded with the quality of your pictures...

Good luck...Doug

Answer 5

right now I have a kodak c330 its a good entry level camera for what you seem to be doing. Its not to bad price wise either. I got mine for 125 bucks, but I think you can find a better deal now on them. If you are going to be taking alot of pictures and doing alot of long range stuff then you might want to spend about a grand on one and go for the Cannon EOS model.

Answer 6

We just bought a Sony. It has some sort of image stability feature. We just took 400 pictures on vacation and had only about 20 blurry ones. I know that sounds like a lot but we were getting way more on our older Casio.

Answer 7

fuji finepix... you can also use it as a webcam... i think i saw one on ebay... 4 meg pix... about £150 gbp...new

ebay cheaper!

you can also buy digital video cams cheap... ok the model is slighly less known... you can pick them up for around £50. ebay! some are around 8 meg pix with mp3 dual digicam/vidcam... do a search for xennon digital cameras! vivitar digital cameras... you'll find something cheaper than the norm! hope i helped!

Answer 8

the new samsung is alright but i would recommend.They are consistently near the top of all camera surveys because of there brilliant picture and great zoom. i have a fuji, which isn't as reliable, works well though ive taken 1000 pictures with it.

Answer 9

I had a canon before and they are not as great as everyone makes them out to be. I bought a casio exilim Z-60 this time and it is a great camera. It is slim, it takes great pictures, and it is really easy to use.

Answer 10

My camera is obsolite. since I inherited a mobile phone with camera and bluetooth. I paid a small price for a DONGLE and realised I had wasted £300. sugest you ask local computer shops. happier days
ROY