cameras

[kryscat]

So, our digital camera has been eating batteries at an absurd rate, which means that when I pull it out to try to take a picture of the little one, I'm likely to be thwarted. My plan is to put "digital camera" on the xmas list for the folks to purchase, but I need to tell them *exactly* what to get, or we'll end up with something huge & unwieldy. Looking for recommendations here. What we need is something small, really easy to use, and easy to use quickly to catch whatever moment needs to be immortalized, preferably something that can take little movies (first steps?), and is not too horrifically expensive. Links to actual products would be muchly appreciated, so that I don't end up sifting through bazillions of different models wondering, "is *this* the one s/he was talking about?"

Secondly, does anyone have a digital camera we could borrow for the next couple of months? Doesn't have to be super-spiffy, just functional to take pics & put them up for the grandparents to see. Many thanks!

Comments

[pir.livejournal.com]

My last three digital cameras have all been Canon I like the interface (since it doesn't suck too much) and generally get on ok with them.

There are a few ranges they do, all of the modern ones should do movies. Basicly pick a range depending on how small you want it and pick resolution depending on what you want and what the pricerange is.

I've got an SD900 I just bought when I was last over there, which is top of the small range and 10mp but a shade under $500. The further back the range you go the cheaper they get. An SD450 is a very decent camera an more like $200.

The Axxx series is larger, don't know if they are too big for you, but generally cheaper for about the same res and have a little more optical zoon (ignore any "digital zoom" numbers, they're meaningless).

I'd recommend going somewhere like Best Buy and plsying with a few to see what they actually feel like and how large they are. Don't forget to get a larger flashcard for any camera you get... but flash is pretty cheap these days (I found a 1Gb SD card for $16 at Microcenter).

[catachthonian.livejournal.com]

I also have a Canon Powershot (the specific model is irrelevant because I don't think they make them anymore), but when I was doing research into this, it seemed like that whole series of cameras was very well-regarded for quality in a compact size, and you could more or less just choose your price point and not go too far wrong. Of course that was 2 or 3 years ago. I like my camera a lot...the only thing about it that bugs me is that sometimes it can be a little slow to take the shot when you press the button. The newer models may be better, and/or the competing brands may be just as bad, but it might be something to check on.

[anemone.livejournal.com]

I can't tell from this whether your camera takes AAA that it eats, or whether it has a rechargable battery that doesn't hold a charge. If it's the latter, you could consider a new battery...

[kryscat]

Nah, they're AA batteries so that won't work. Thanks for the reply, though.

[missmerrick.livejournal.com]

I love my Canon SD400
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=145&modelid=11158

[eqe.livejournal.com]

Jacob seems to quite like his Pentax Optio W20. The big advantage is that it has no moving external parts, so it's quite durable (and waterproof, though that doesn't seem like much of an issue for you, except maybe around the high chair). I believe they have them down at CompUSA on Market if you'd like to play with it before recommending a purchase.
It does take movies; it takes about 1.2 seconds to start up; and all of the current crop of point-n-shoot digitals are about the same ease of use. Some people really like the Canon Powershot user interface, some people have other favorites.

[surpheon.livejournal.com]

No personal experience with it, but I've been smitten with the Canon 700is. The review sounds pretty good, but I'm a sucker for optical image stabilization (blurry no-flash indoor pics are the bane of my existence). I'd rather a sharp 6 MP picture than a dim blurry 10 MP... Prices are down to around $300 for it.

As a sidenote, the Steve's-Digicams site in the previous link has a lot of review info, and while every camera pretty much gets a good review (otherwise he probably wouldn't get cameras to review!), he's good about including the facts like shutter lag and features.

[agntprovocateur.livejournal.com]

i also have a canon SD 400. i love it except for the short range zoom and a few other things, which incidentally, mostly in more expensive models. so it was either pay more and get more or be happy with that i have. so far, happy wins.

btw go here:

http://www.dpreview.com/


you can review cameras side by side. it was an invaluable source of information!

my sister upgraded to a $800+ model (i can find out which), i.e. a faster camera because her kids would move too fast for her to take a decent photo. :)