looking to purchase a dig camera,don't want to spend more then $250,what brand name camera would you suggest?

Answer 1

Look for a camera with a 1) minimum 5 megapixels (mp), this is very good for most users. 2) 4x optical zoom is good, don't worry too much about digital zoom. 3) Best to stick with regular (or rechargeable) AA batteries. Lithium battery are good, but not easy to find if you're on vacation and need batteries at a convienence store or can recharge quickly. 4) I see that many digital cameras are doing away with the optical viewfinder (the old fashioned way of looking through the viewfinder to take a picture), and strickly having just the LCD screen to compose a shot to take. I, personally still like the optical viewfinder to really focus on a particular subject, or use on a really sunny day where it's hard to see your subject(s) on the screen, or just to save battery power on my camera. These are just a few things to consider for your first camera. Here's what I have...

I LOVE my Canon PowerShot A620. It's a 7.1 mp camera which takes awesome still shots, and just as awesome video. Great for home and everyday use. Easy to take on vacations and you can take some really artistic/creative photos too. A great all-around camera. My 35mm cameras are Canon too, and I still love and use it. .

I had a Sony, and I gave that to my daughter, and purchased the Canon PowerShot A610 for my teenage son. The Canon A610 is exactly like my A620, but is a 5 mp digital camera. They both take GREAT pictures, but my favorite thing about the camera, is the vari-angle LCD screen. You can even hook it up to your tv and see your pictures/video on whatever size screen you have. It's pretty neat on the big screens! (The necessary cords come with it). It is very easy to use, and a camera you can grow with. http://www.usa.canon.com
Go to 'products' to 'consumer products' to lead you to the cameras.

Our A610/A620 has a setting, call "kids&pets". Typically you use these on the subjects that usually has a hard time keeping still. But I also use this setting when taking pictures of my soccer team during game play. I've also taken pictures of my kids, nieces and nephews jumping in the air, a la cheerleader jumps, with great results. Lag time is very, very, very minimal. (e.g. delay from pressing button to actual camera capturing the shot). This is just one of the many settings the camera has to offer and you can also manually set and program your own settings.

For ease of point and shoot, just choose the setting in which you're taking pictures of, (i.e. indoor, outdoor, nighttime, portrait, fireworks, snow, beach, and 'auto' [automatic]), and it'll adjust accordingly the proper exposure/settings. And it even has an 'underwater' mode to use, but that's if you purchase the special housing for the camera. (I don't have the housing. I'll wait to save up or find it for very inexpensive). If you get more experience or for the experienced, you can manually choose exposure and settings like the old 35 mm.

I'm a bargain hunter. I purchased both NEW Canon this late spring 2006 on line. My son's was under $200 and mine was $204. Just Google (or Froogle) or Yahoo! Search any Canon model, and then see which merchant has the best price with those low price websites and order on-line. The price is waaaay better than going physically to the stores. If you need it right away, just upgrade the shipping. It's still cheaper than buying at the stores. No matter what model camera you're searching for, better prices are on-line.

I don't know if you'll find this model (A610) at the stores. They have newer models, the A630 (8mp) and the A640 (10mp), they boast more mega-pixels and ISO settings. But 5mp, more than suffices for most users. What I did was physically touched and feel the camera at the store, then go on-line to purchase. But if you prefer to purchase at the stores, some good places are Best Buy, Wal Mart and Target. Suprisingly enough, they have good selection at Wal-Mart and Target.

Here is the link if you'd like to check out the specs on these models and other Canon cameras: http://www.usa.canon.com
and go to 'products' to 'consumer products' to lead you to the cameras. It tells you what the camera has and what it looks like up close.

While you're searching on-line, you'll also find many reviews on these cameras. All with many positives things to say about the camer and you can also find information on these cameras in Yahoo! Tech http://tech.yahoo.com/rc/digital-cameras...

Hope this helps in your hunt for a digital camera!

Answer 2

You can get very good quality cameras in the $150- to a bit above $200-in the Canon line. Such as Canon A560, A570, and A630. The more you read about cameras the more features you'll find out about. You may want a camera where you don't want to wait more than 1 second to shoot next shot, maybe you'll want image stabilizer to steady the camera. It doesn't take place of a tripod. Manual controls are on many cameras in addition to auto. Maybe you want lots of zoom. I have a Sony only 6 megapixels at 12X optical zoom that gives me excellent 8X10 prints. So no need to get on megapixel hype and think you must have 10 or 12 megapixels. 4 to 6 megapixels is sufficient for most shutter bugs. Most compact cameras are 3X and 4X optical zoom. So just some things to consider. Lots of zoom would be a Canon S3 IS and Fuji S700.

Answer 3

I have been researching for a couple weeks too and have decided to go with a Canon sd 600 or sd630. What I have seen that I like so much about these two cameras are the features of b/w, sepia, and something called color accent which is where you can choose to make a picture b/w and then highlight a certain thing in the picture to be a color of your choice (ex a rose). There is also the portrait option (on lots of cameras) where your subject is in focus and the background can be made blurry. Naturally everyone who writes to you will have a different opinion of their favorite camera but I like these two. Best Buy has them on sale right now for $237 and $269 but buydig.com has the 600 for $206. That is what I think I'll be ordering tomorrow. They also have a bundle pack including a memory card and case for $246. Great deal! Good luck.

Answer 4

Canon...
Look at the SD600 or the more stylish, SD700 IS if you want an ultra compact point & shoot camera that shoots great quality photos & movies. They come supplied with a rechargeable Lithium battery.
Or the A630 or A640 if you want the added flexibility of full manual controls. They use rechargeable batteries, so you will need to buy batteries and a charger.
Also, you need to factor in the cost of a good (fast) SD memory card. 1GB would be my recommendation.

Answer 5

If you look at Fugifilm cameras, Sony and Canon...you'llhave a very wide selection. Add another $30 to $40 for a memory card above whatever you spend.

Answer 6

A Sony CyberShot for about $200 and it takes great pix. The Sony DSC-W70 for around $230 can take 7.2 megapixel pictures and has either 32 or 64 MB of internal memory for in case u forget ur memory card for whatever reason.

Answer 7

we only use the Kodak EasyShare. It has a great reputation. You can get a 8mp digi camera with 5x optical zoom right off the website for under 200 easy. Check it out. www.kodak.com

Answer 8

Pentaz Optio T20 or Cannon Powershot

Answer 9

I have a CANON 520, that is easy and works great, i sell on ebay and Ruby Lane, and i take close ups, that camera is great for that.......good luck

Answer 10

First choice Nikon.
Second choice Canon.