I'm thinking about purchasing a digital camera. What do you recommend?

Question

I'd like to keep the price under $200. Don't need anything fancy, so long as it can produce clear prints up to 8x10, that'll do.

Answer 1

I think the Kodak line provides the best bang for the buck. I previously had a SONY handy cam that claimed 7 mega pixels. It cost over $400.00
I got mad at a party becuase it couldn't even take a good picture without sunlight, and I couldn't get to work no matter what setting it was on. I tossed it, and did alot of research.
I just purchased a Kodak easayshare V603, the best purchase I've made in along time. The camera is beyond easy to use and it comes with great software to store and review your pictures. It cost $214.00 at WAL-Mart. Kodak has a plethera of accessories for it to.

Answer 2

If you go back up to 1 1/2 days to now on Yahoo answers you'd probably find your answer. I have a Sony takes great pictures, 6 megapixels and 12X optical. You specify 8X10 blowups for under $200...that may be a little hard to come by.Supposedly the more megapixels the more you'd be able to blow a shot up. Check into Nov'06 Consumer Reports at your local library. Could be the most bang for your bucks is Canon brand of Cameras.

Answer 3

All of the major brands have their fans, and I have no doubt that they are all good cameras. The only camera available at the moment that I would stay away from is the Fuji S9500. I bought one and the photos are just not sharp and clear. (More than your budget anyway)

Take your time looking, they are getting better and cheaper as time goes by.

Optical zoom is the most important thing, get the most you can for your money.

Digital zoom is a complete waste of time, do not consider this as a factor when buying a camera. Once you have bought a camera, turn digital zoom off.

Get the most megapixels you can for your money.

As a very rough rule of thumb when comparing your final choices in camera, take the number of megapixels and multiply that by the amount of optical zoom. Buy the camera with the highest number.

Try to avoid a camera that uses two 'AA' batteries (except perhaps the Kodaks that can use the CR3 Lithium ion Battery Pack). Get a camera that either uses four, or one with its own dedicated Lithium Ion battery pack. (If you want to keep it for a long time, check the price and availability of replacement batteries. perhaps ebay?)

Answer 4

I'd suggest looking at products from either

- Fuji (which is what I use)
- Nikon
- Olympus
- Canon

For $200, that's about 5-megapixel camera terrority going by the reviews & price comparisons on http://www.steves-digicams.com

Among the cameras listed under Best 5MP cameras are:
Fuji Finepix A500
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/fuji_a500.html

Nikon Coolpix 5600
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/nikon5600.html

Personally I use a Fuji Finepix A345
( http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/fuji_a345.html ), which looks like it's been discontinued, but the A350 (same camera, but 5megapixel version) is still listed under price comparisons on that site http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/fuji_a350.html

All but 2 of my pictures available for review at http://www.thephotographersworkshop.com (look up s/n jduck1979) were taken on my Fuji Finepix A345... the other 2 currently up there being taken on a work placement's Olympus SP-500UZ ( http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/sp500.html) - which is about $100 over your budget, and the other scanned from a print taken 16-yrs ago

You may also want to purchase a bigger memory card (at least 128MB), as the cameras usually only come supplied with a 16MB card that can only hold 7pictures at best quality resolution.......
http://www.steves-digicams.com/flash_memory.html

and also a battery charger + 2100mAh rechargeable batteries (minimum), since standard batteries don't last very long. http://www.steves-digicams.com/nimh_batteries.html
I always favour cameras that use standard batteries, and getting high capacity rechargeable versions of these batteries on the basis that if you get a camera with a custom designed battery designed only for use in that brand's cameras......... then one day you could find yourself up a certain creek without a paddle should that battery become too worn out to charge anymore, and find they're no longer made.

Answer 5

anything Sony makes you will not go wrong, have had many different types and the sony hands down is the best

Answer 6

go for sony or cannon or nikon all r gr8 sony being the best

Answer 7

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4722197