digital camera.best in price range till 400$?

Question

i am a student ,i havea a lil interest in photography nd i want to buy also coz i dont have a camera and my studies smtimes need a cam.i cannot spend more than 400$..try to tell me a cam in range of 250-300$..i dont want to go into som photography or ne thing ..but want to buy a very good cam with cool features like water resistant till few meters ,touch screen ,big lcd or great looks and of course outstanding piture quality,good optical zoom, many picture modes,and last but not the least video recording.i dont want to start with a cheap model and then go higher (i cant afford again nd again)want to do time investment..just want to buy a good cam which last till my last breadth coz i dont kno ne thing about lences or cameras,shutter speed or ne thing..i think u had gotten my point which i want to explain..sugest me a camera acc to my needs.if i cannot get all that features its ok but if there is smthin out there then plz plz answer.

dont refer me to ne website or a brand name only..if possible do tell me the model no. also.thanx

Answer 1

From the B&H Photo web site, here is a camera that should suit you well. It costs $299.95 plus $8.90 shipping.

"Designed to take the knocks, bumps and other trials of daily life with ease, the exceedingly tough Olympus Stylus 720 SW Digital Camera can take pretty much anything life throws at it. At less than 0.8" thick, this versatile, compact digital camera is designed with the style and performance for which the Olympus Stylus line is renowned with the added benefits of Shock resistance to falls from up to 5 feet (1.5m) and it is Waterproof to 10 feet (3m) - perfect for any situation, from hiking, surfing and skiing to parties and Little League games.

The Olympus Stylus 720 SW has a 7.1 million pixel CCD, a 3x optical zoom that does not extend from the body, high light sensitivity to reduce the need to use flash, and a 2.5" LCD Display with BrightCapture Technology which uses all of the information from the CCD to make the LCD screen significantly brighter.

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See also: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Olympus/oly_stylus720sw.asp where you can click on "Read owner opinions" for some mini-reviews.

And see also:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/stylus720.html

I see Olympus makes others, but I don't see them on B&H yet.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Olympus/oly_stylus770sw.asp - waterproof up to 10 meters.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Olympus/oly_stylus725sw.asp - waterproof up to 5 meters.

Answer 2

I don't know if you'll be able to get all that in the price you want. I have the Fujifilm Finepix F10. It's been discontinued, but it's sequel the F30 is out and even better. Don't get the F40 or the F31.
Advantages:
-You can get it and a 2GB memory card for under $400 if you shop around
- The F10 goes up to 1600 ISO and the F30 goes up to 3200 ISO
-They both have very good battery life
-They both have a bright flash
-They're both very reliable and reasonably compact
-I don't know about the F30, but the F10 has a very good macro mode. I've taken pictures of stuff from less than an inch away.
-I don't know about the F30, but the F10 shoots video with sound at 640 by 480 and 30 fps. It's not HDTV but it's adequate.
-I've used my F10 with Linux.
-It has a good size LCD.
-Both are 6 megapixel.
-The manual is available for download. I stopped using my 35mm SLR because I couldn't download the manual.

Disadvantages:
- You can't change the focus while shooting video.
- There's no manual focus.
- Neither is waterproof or water resistent.
- The optional waterproof case is very expensive.
- They only have 3X optical zoom.
- I don't care, but apparently you would that they don't have a touch screen. I like the knobs because I don't want to have to look at the camera to use it. I do a lot of night shots and low light shots.

Answer 3

If you're actually interested in photography, the Canon PowerShot series (not the Elphs, the bigger PowerShots!) is, I believe, the only series in that price range that gives you the option of fully manual exposure AND manual focus. If you learn how to use these manual features (and it's really easy to figure out on a digital camera 'cause you can see what they do on the LCD preview screen!) you'll have the maximum possible flexibility and control over the pictures you take. They also have point-and-shoot modes and optical zoom. Not waterproof, but I don't think many good cameras are!

Answer 4

My First Choice is SONY Cybershot series of digital cameras WHY ?

My Criteria for Compact Digital Camera :
1. Easy to use
2. Stylish
3. Zoom
4. Features
5. Compact
6. Good lens
7. Reliability
8. Good technical/repair support
9. Robust
10. Assessories expandability

WITH all these in mind i must say SONY ranks TOPS. Followed by Canon.
Browse through the Sony Cybershot series. It has met all my 10 criterias.

AND if you have not downloaded Picasa 2. Download it for free at http://www.geocities.com/lcming/Digitalphotography

Answer 5

Cannon has good cameras