what's a good cheap camera for uner $30?

Question

I wanna start getting into photography.
I saw a polaroid 35 mm-77mm fun zoom camera at walmart for $17.
are these good?
I want to be able to zoom and shoot in black and white.
I also want to upload it onto my comp easily.

thanks.

alright,folks.
thanks for your help.
now, does anyone reccomend any brands in particular?

Answer 1

Hey A,

Try some used cameras. Pawn shops have used cameras. You might find some on E-bay, where someone got a better one for Christmas, now gets rid of an older one. Whe you find one for a good price, research it on the internet for it's features.

B&W with any digital picture is just a simple edit option. You can shoot color, convert to B&W, then play with the contrast and light balance.

I would not buy a New Camera from Walmart for $17.00

Answer 2

A good 35mm film camera or a digital camera? Sounds like you want a digital and a GOOD digital for under $30?? I believe the one you may be talking about leaves almost no room for on camera photo adjusting and more than likely it has terrible resolution (like 600 x 700 pixels at most, maybe). Maybe if you get a used WAY older model...? (Try Ebay, I suppose). Film cameras, on the other hand, are fairly cheap these days. A decent beginner manual with a decent lens, what with the popularity of digital, run only about $50+ . But to upload those to your computer you'll either need a scanner or when you get your film printed, get it done in a place that offers a digital CD of your pictures (most 1-hour places have these now). You can also get black and white film!

I really would suggest starting with the manual film camera and learning how F-stops, film speeds, shutter speeds, etc. all work together to get EXACLTY what you want (if you really want to get into photography). Also make friends with someone who knows how to do it or take some classes. Photography can be extremely fun and rewarding if you really invest the time in learning it.

Answer 3

I find a plethora of very good cameras at garage sales. I would carry a battery for the Canon A1 or AE1, the two that I normally run across the most, and when you see one, try it and if it needs a battery, put your's in and try it. I buy the camera and all the lenses that they have for about $35 on average and most of the time the retail value of what I have bought has exceeded $300 at today's prices.

I see Minoltas, Olympus, and Canon the most. Olympus, which is my camera of preference, has a mechanical shutter speed set up, so you might have to take one of those to a repair facility before you buy it. That can cost $125.

The only thing that you have to look for hard is the glass on the Canons. Most older cameras are not stored in good places and when that happens, you run the risk of lens fungus. You can check for lens fungus on an olympus off the camera, but on the Canon, you have to put the lens in, open the aperture to the widest point, place the shutter speed on "bulb" or Time exposure, and look through the glass, checking particularly around the edges of the glass. If it is there, you will see it.

Answer 4

I agree with Rust. Find a decent used film camera at a pawn shop or on ebay. Camera like my old Minolta XG1 are going for almost nothing. Just make sure they are working. You will get much better photos than what you will get with a cheap cheap digital.

Answer 5

At that price, forget new cameras in either digital or conventional 35mm film.

At that price, you should be able to pick up something on eBay, such as an old PENTAX ME 35mm SLR, then when you get the film developped have them also put onto Picture-CD as well as in prints.

For Digital, up your budget to $99.95 - $150 and get either the Fuji Finepix A400 or A500
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/fuji_a400.html
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/fuji_a500.html

All it takes is to be able to patiently wait a little longer to save up for something slightly better.

Answer 6

film cameras are a great bargain right now. A good quality and well featured cameras often sell on ebay for under $50. When you get your film developed ask for a CD too. Our local shop charges $1.20 extra for that.

Answer 7

theres no way to get started for 30 bucks. i would suggest finding someone who has a nice camera and see if u could get it from them or see if they had any old ones they didnt want. my friend is into that and she has a ton of cameras. if not yard sells. if u are in high school i would say take the class cause i know they let u use cameras and plus u have a darkroom to use.

Answer 8

I'd suggest an old Pentax K1000. You can get them cheaply on Ebay, and it's a good beginner camera.

It's going to be more than $30 though.

Answer 9

yer dreaming if you think you can get a good camera for under $30...especially if you want to upload into a computer easily.
plan on spending a couple of hundred to start for something approaching decent.

Answer 10

It was made by a plastic body camera,that for children to play with.