Best digital camera or video camera to get?

Question

Okay, so I might want to ask my dad for a digital camera for my birthday (maybe a video camera that can take pictures too if you can give me some information on something). My friends said if you're getting a digital camera, make sure that it is no lower than 4 gigabytes. Does that affect the storage of pictures and videos? I also want one that's videos can record sound. My grandma has a digital camera, and hers doesn't have sound, so I don't want one like hers. I want to make sure that it isn't very expensive either. Maybe around or lower than $200?

So if you could tell me brand, price, and gigabytes; that'd be great! (Make sure it can record sound!) Oh, and if you want to give on a video camera, my friend has one that can take pictures too. Can you give me info on something that's not expensive, good quality video, brand name, and can take pictures? THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH!

Answer 1

I think your friends meant MEGAPIXELS, not gigabytes. The higher the megapixel, the higher the resolution per image (better pic quality for enlargements). On the other hand, gigabytes are the amount of storage in a memory card/sd card. This is upgradeable.
WHAT IS THE PRIMARY use---for pictures or for videos.
For pictures, duh, get a digital camera. And most of the digital cameras are slim and has mpeg feature for shooting high quality movies with sound.
I have a Casio Exilim ex-z850. It's an 8MP digital camera.
Make sure you save $50 for memory card!

Answer 2

Around or lower than $200 makes me think Canon Powershot A540.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/a540.html

Many stores have the A540 for $170. Add a decent memory card and you're still under budget.

Answer 3

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. With that said, 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 is more than sufficient 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 camera and you can also find information on these 4 Canon models if you search in Yahoo! Tech http://tech.yahoo.com/rc/digital-cameras...

Hope you get what you want for your birthday!

Answer 4

Try this website for information...
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http://www.dpreview.com

http://www.camcorderinfo.com

Answer 5

JVC is the best