Hi Yahoo-ers!
I want to buy a digital camera mainly for landscape and nature photography. I can't spend more than $200 right now so my options are a little limited. I want to stay with more 'known' brands like Kodak, Canon, HP, etc.
I'd like to hear from everyone who has a digital camera and is very happy with their results! Brand, price, megapixels... any advice? Whatever information you can give me I'd appreciate. Thanks!
2006-09-05 05:48:32 · 10 answers · asked by MissJ 3 in Consumer Electronics ➔ Cameras
Oh, and I'd like to know what kind of zoom and/or wide angle lense options anyone has on their camera too. : )
2006-09-05 05:50:23 · update #1
OH I should also be a pain in the pooper and mention that I don't have a computer at home right now so Photoshop and other programs aren't really do-able.
I will try and find a deal that at least includes a printer. But I'm still taking answers --- I've gotten some great ones so far!
Yikes, I'm so behind the times....lol
2006-09-05 06:44:15 · update #2
I have a Canon PowerShot A700, which is a point-and-shoot camera. It is a six-megapixel unit with a 6x optical zoom. It is a pretty good camera, although not perfect. It has an optical viewfinder (which I like) and a BIG LCD display. It has a great flash and it runs on two AA batteries, which I also like. I get 350 shots on a set of batteries. The 6x optical zoom lens is really nice to have, although things tend to get a little fuzzy when I'm zoomed all the way in.
On the downside, shots from this camera are a little noisier than I'd like but still very usable. I would get this camera again for its small size and nice lens. I've probably taken a few thousand pictures with it so far. Below are links to two pictures that I took with the Canon A700 about a month ago in Alaska. Yes, I took both those pictures with the Canon A700.
Price for the PowerShot A700 is right around $200, maybe a little more I think.
2006-09-05 05:59:05 · answer #1 · answered by pvreditor 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are MANY cameras out there in your price range, but I can only comment on the ones I know personally. Nikon Coolpix 4600 (4 megapixel) or 5600 (5 megapixel plus video) are both under $200, even including a decent sized memory card (512K to 1 GB). I have many digital cameras and I am never disappointed with the results of my 4600. AND - it uses "AA" batteries instead of expensive special batteries. It's about the size of a pack of cigarettes, too. There are newer cameras that I am not as familiar with in that price range, but since you said "good, small, cheap," this is one (two) I can really recommend from experience. There are newer Coolpix cameras, but I admit that I am not familiar with all of their features. I assume that the quality of the photos is at least as good as these older models. I'd say to just be sure you get one that has an optical viewfinder, though, because you can't always see the image in an LCD viewfinder.
Here are a few samples. These pics were taken with the Coolpix 4600 with no tricks or gimmicks or filters or anything. They had some "very minor adjustments" in Photoshop. If you bought this camera today, you would be able to go out and snap these pictures yourself.
500KB - http://members.aol.com/swf08302/benfranklin.jpg
Supported on a metal fence for about a 3 second exposure
The camera was in "auto" mode and I just held it still.
1.7 MB - http://members.aol.com/swf08302/commsthouse.jpg
Just a grab shot of a particular house
2MB - http://members.aol.com/swf08302/sunset20060214.jpg
Pretty winter sunset
38KB - http://members.aol.com/swf08302/solstice20051221.jpg
That's Venus up in the sky
There are several newer cameras that will still come in at less than $200, in spite of some of the others' comments. Go to eBay and search on digital cameras and then order the search by price. Evenif you do not like to buy on eBay, this will let you know what's available in your price range and then you can go to http://www.dpreview.com/ and start to browse around.
2006-09-05 13:16:18 · answer #2 · answered by Picture Taker 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Alright, I was just in your position a few weeks ago myself so I hope what I say is helpful!
I had never owned a digital camera and didn't know where to start. I asked friends, read reviews online (a great place to see reviews is www.cnet.com) and even asked coworkers.
After looking online in my price range I then when to stores so I could feel out the ones I liked. Handling them is a good idea so you can see which ones are cheaply made.
After all was said and done I settled on a Samsung which was an awesome camera with great features BUT it ate AA batteries like a rabid vulture. I returned it and opted this time for a camera that came with a rechargable battery.
I now am a very proud, happy, satisfied
Check out www.dealnews.com for the best bargains. The site searches the internet for deals on electronics and then puts them on their page so you can check them out and then be redirected to the seller for purhase.
Hope this was helpful!
2006-09-05 13:07:31 · answer #3 · answered by Kung Fu Girl 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Right now I have the Panasonic Lumix DMC FX7. It has a Leica lens (high quality optics) and is 5 megapixel. It has a 3x optical zoom and a 4x digital zoom. the hand stablizer gives you really clear shots when zoomed all the way out or macro'd way in. it is real user friendly and compact, but it has a large disply screen. the battery use is good, I usually get half a day if sight seeing or longer if I am only taking ocasional photos. You can also get cheap knock off batteries for bout $10.00 at bestbatt.com (they work as good as the original) ther are a lot of features such as black and white, sepia, rapid shoot (for races or bird flight) and it uses a SD card (you will probably want to upgrade from the original 16 meg card to a 512mb or 1 gb, but you can find them for 20 to 50 dollars at target). My wife also has the Canon powershot SD450 but for the little extra money ($40.00) I prefer the Panasonic. Oh It cost me about $300.00, but you can probably find a refurb or used one for under 200.
Good luck!
2006-09-05 13:04:06 · answer #4 · answered by cjryden 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have a Canon Power Shot A520 4.0 megapixel camera and it's pretty darned good. Lots of bang for the buck -- they're retailing for $150.00 to $200.00 right now, and you may even be able to get one from Best Buy or Circuit City with a small photo printer thrown in for good measure. Memory card leaves a lot to be desired, but you can buy a memory card that'll allow you to take 400+ pictures for about $30.00. No upgrades available in terms of lens upgrades though -- you'd have to spend the big bucks on a Nikon or Canon digital camera body that would allow you to change lenses. Even so, I used it to take all kinds of landscape and nature photos when my wife and I went to Kauai for our anniversary and the pictures turned out GREAT!!!
2006-09-05 12:55:35 · answer #5 · answered by sarge927 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
$200 isn't going to get you much of a digital camera. you might want to think about saving that $200 until you have enought to get somethign that yo're really going to be happy with. A friend has the 8 megapixel Canon that he can chage lenses on and it's incredible! It will set you back about $800 dollars though. I have a 5 MP Minolta that's about three years old and I can't recommend it. I've had lots of problems with it and I paid $1000.
2006-09-05 12:57:32 · answer #6 · answered by Spud55 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I was in office max the other day and saw a great deal on a camera and printer with camera dock. I's made by olympus and I trust their equipment. both pieces were about $150.00 and the camera was 5mp.
I have a C-4000 olympus 4mp camera that I bought 4 years ago before going to China. It has worked well for me and has been to China twice and Europe twice as well as many states around the US and Canada. It works fine and I love my camera but I wouldn't reccomend it as it uses a type of memory card caled a SmartMedia card and they don't make them anymore.
be sure your camera uses common batteries AA or AAA that you can buy in a store if you run out or rechargables. use NMH (NIckel Metla Hydride) batteries with a high mAh value (my AA batteries are 2500 mAh. the higher the number the more photos you can take before the battery wears out.
email me if you have any specific questions.
2006-09-05 14:07:26 · answer #7 · answered by oldsoftee2001 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like you would like a camera which has the capability to take panoramic shots. In addition, some have the capability to take several pictures and form a full 360 degree view.
You shouldn't forget that you may enhance your experience by purchasing a good quality photo editor.
I personally like Microsoft digital image pro. Adobe photoshop elements is good also.
I've found that I'm usually dissatisfied with my pictures when I get home, but if I spend some time enhancing the photos with a good photo editor, I can achieve a significant increase in quality and usability.
2006-09-05 12:53:44 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
My wife has the Kodak EasyShare cx4310 and it produces pretty good pictures (we are happy with it) at 3.2 Mega-Pixels. It is easy to use and easy to share your pictures with a computer. My wife takes pictures of things that she is selling on eBay and LOTS of family pictures...
it gets a LOT of use around here!
Edit: OH! price.. hmmm.. about $100 for camera and $70 for docking station a while back... you can get it MUCH cheaper around Christmas time if you can wait.
2006-09-05 12:59:24 · answer #9 · answered by ♥Tom♥ 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
For $200 or less, you might want to consider a used digital camera.
2006-09-05 13:20:11 · answer #10 · answered by btsmith_y 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋