Help me buy a Digital Camera with a budget?? Please don't lock.
 

We don't have a Videography/Photography section on this board so I figured since this is where most of the people browse I would post here, and the camera would get a lot of use on my car (thanks mods).

I have a $700.00 budget set aside to pick up a digital camera.. I know that I want it to use a smart card that goes directly to an adapter to USB and that I want it to have an AC adapter (no AA or AAA battery crap). I also want to try and stay at 3.0 megapixels or larger with a decent zoom..

Two of the cameras I have been looking at are the Sony DSC F707 which my parents recently bought and the FujiFilm FinePix S602Z, and i think there was a Nikon in the mix, but can't remember.

Keep in mind, I have to be able to get the 128MB memory stick, adapter for USB, and any power chords so the camera itself can't be $700.00 unless it comes with all this stuff..

Thanks, and any input on Digital Cameras would be great, especially if any of you work at places where I could swing the discount. ;)

-Jason

Sadler, I hope you don't mind if I jump on this with you. I've been thinking about getting a digital camera too, but I'm just looking for a cheap one. I'd say under $200. Any suggestions, please PM me. I don't want to take over the thread. Thanks:)

HEY! The nikon i belive 4000, with 4megapixels IS AN AWESOME DEAL!. You can also get 256 megs ULTRA fast memory for about 170ish. But anyway, i got my auntie into one, and its fabulous. Nikon quality, 4 megapixels, compact size, decent zoom. Uses Compact Flash, card readers are cheap. Comes with rechargable LI-ON (lithium ion) battery with a quick charger. Batteries are also easy to order. Honestly IF you plan to keep it for over 1 year. I would reccomend getting it at best buy. The only reason why is because of the Performance Service Plan available. You do pay extra but I belive its 3 years of TROUBLE FREE SERVICE. Bascially if your Zoom goes out, or your LCD fails, battery no longer holds charged. Best buy will take care of the expenses of fixing it or replacing the camera or part in question. If it werent for that plan I personally would buy the camera online. But i plan to keep my nikon 2500, and 4000 for more than a year. Hopefully you wont have any problems, but its nice to know your investment will be working guranteed. Any questions? lemmie know.

do you remember what Zoom size it was and what exact price you paid with all the goodies.. i think the 4000 was what i was thinking about.. thanks.

One funny thing i've discovered.

I like my old 1.3M Panasonic (with the huge 120MB LS disk) better than the Olympus 10X optical zoom 2.3M camera I bought at work.

The quality seems better... higher res doesn't necessarily mean better pics.

I guess your selection will depend what you will be using it for.

Bestbuy.com will have it..also if you sign up for best buy card..you'll get atleast 6 months no interest finanicing with payments...mabey 18 months depending on promoation, you should get 10% off the camera also! Uhmm I'll check tommrow my recipt is at work. At best buy..AHHAHAHA...but seriously tho..its a good deal with finanicng price shouldnt' be too big of an issues. There is also a 256 Meg ULTRA compactflash card on clearance for like 180. It writes WAY faster than the regular ones making them useful for Large size shots in high detail. Oh also to mention it has a TV output so you can see the pics on your TV the short movies too.

pictures of the car.. pictures of people.. stuff like that.. i am a graphic design major so i need some sort of high res (not necessarily 5.2megapixels) but high res to work from..

how are the new rotors, you are sticking with wilwood?

I'm having them (front and rear) plated (Nickel or Zinc) tomorrow. I had to get a matching set for the rears slotting pattern.

I should get them back by Friday. I think the Wilwoods are enough for me, I can't justify spending another grand or two on another set of bigbrakes. Parts for Wilwood are readily available (and cheap!).

www.dell.com
Canon A200
$189 shipped after 10% off coupon, which I dunno if it still works. My gf loves it.
Jae

I'm going to recommend Olympus C4040zoom. 4.0 MP and it has a super bright F1.8 lens. Circuit city has it on clearance for $549. That is a deal you cannot beat. I have an Olympus C3000zoom and it's a great camera as well. For sample pics just check my ebay auctions below :)

I bought a Fuji Finepix 2650 after looking at that cam, I wouldn't get one without optical zoom. $170 shipped at Staples.com with a couple of coupons. If you're looking for a 2MP cam just for point and shoot, they've got a Hewlett Packard 612 real cheap there too. It's got 2x optical zoom and 2.5x digital and is more than adequate for casual users.

Go to staples.com, search for item # 469921. Enter coupon code 61884 for 30 bucks off, comes to $110 with free shipping.

Enjoy. :D

I'm going to agree with Sweetsound; I have the Olympus C720. It is 3mega, 10x optical, tons of features including movie mode. I bought mine on ebay. I also bought the card reader (usb), NiMH batts, additional 2x zoom, 128mb card.

I personally like my camera. I also have an HP 1215 printer, that prints out awesome pics. I have printed high resolution pics as big as 8x10 that people can't tell are digi pics. Really.

The Olympus C family has been picked in many publications in their "10 best" list. I would highly recommend them.

my friend recentyl bought a digi cam that takes beautiful pictures and shoots magnificent video...it was i blieve 600 or so dollars...ill get the model number later on tonite

You could always go on ebay and get a digi camera for wholesale.;)

I have an Olympus C-3040, and I highly reccomend it.

www.techbargains.com always mentions great deals on digital cameras. They also mention sales and coupon codes for various sites. One thing they mention a lot is the American Express Gold Price Match Protection things.
"This credit card will refund you the difference if what you purchased drops in price within 60 days. Up to $250 per covered item, up to $1000 per year. $10 minimum. CPUs, RAM, and most electronics can drop rapidly. You can also purchase a product from a familiar vendor and then submit pricematches against those more risky vendors who advertise low prices. Great for expensive tech gear like digital cameras and CPUs."
http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/16311
I have not personally used the AMEX thing though.

One example is:
Nikon 4500 4Mpixel $699 - 10% - $25 coupon - $50 rebate = $555 shipped

I do not have any personal preference yet on a camera, but I used my parents Sony 5mp camera with Carl Zeiss(misspelled) lens and like it a lot.
Just take a look! Please let me know if anyone finds this useful!
Good Luck!

Go on ebay, punch in Olympus C, check out all the features you get, compare prices. They may not be studio quality, but they do take awesome pics, and are very reasonably priced. I studied up on it for about 3 mos before I ended up deciding on mine. The straw that broke the camel was it's 10x optical. Nobody out there has it for that price and in that size camera. Optical is the real zoom, not digital. Digital only stretches the pixels to appear bigger.

If you want a camera that takes pics in a quality good enough to print out in 4"x6", I would recommend somthing in the 3Mpixel range. For pics that you just want to post on the web, 2Mpixels should be okay.

I just picked up a Canon S30 with 3 Mpixels & a 256Mb Compact Flash card. The quality of the pictures are really good. I like the fact that there is an LCD display behind the camera & it allows me to vary settings like apeture size, shutter speed, etc. (of course, those are just "electronic equivalents"). Canon's cameras come with a funky software that allows you to stitch pics together to build a panoramic shot. That I love!

dpreview.com

Canon S40. We just bought one and its soooooooo nice. All the options you could possibly want in addition to 30sec. video capturing mode (avi format i believe) Thing is beautiful...

Also have a 3040 which is 3.3 megapixels and has a 1.8 lens and 3x optical zoom. Very happy compared to my old Nikon.

:( coupon does not work for online orders :bawling:

boy im glad i get digital cams close to cost:woot:

Ant

Sorry about that, they discontinued online use a few hours after I posted it. I actually used that one on my camera last week too. I'll post up if I see another one.

For just $337 The new Cannon Digi Elph S230 Series is HOT!! I just bought it the other day, it's the smallest 3.3Megapixel camera out there.

I personally have the Sony S85 4 megapixel. It takes awesome pictures. I read all of the reviews and while the S85 got very good reviews the Olympus c4040 almost always took the prize. The Olympus has very high marks for taking pictures in low light. I bought the Sony because my Digital Camcorders standard battery was the same battery that the S85 uses and I had 128mg memory stick for the camcorder that I just stuck in the S85.

Another suggestion?
 

I've been looking to retire my Agfa ePhoto 1280. While I love the camera (especially the swivel lense), I need more definition.

I read some reviews on 3mp+ cameras that use the smartmedia storage (I use those cards like crazy - move 128mb from work to home on a "postage stamp") and I'm leaning towards the Olympus D-550. I don't need a sub-camcorder option as I have a Sony TRV230 for that. You can get these D-550's for around $270 plus shipping on-line.

Here's a review


Anyone out there have this one?

I don't have any specific recommendations, but for good pricing check out http://www.buydig.com
I got my Canon Powershot A10 for $150 and my Canon S200 for $245

i am buying a camera soon after doing extensive research i have come up with 2 choices both under $500.00
the nikon coolpix 4300 and the olympus d40
i have a 35mm slr cannon ellan 2...i will never buy another cannon again it has had 2 diffrent problems in 1 1/2yrs. thier customer service dept.is lousy.
in n.j. go to beach camera for a good price. i stay away from ebay on an item like this. if you need to get it fixed under warrenty where is your sales reciept.

Re: Help me buy a Digital Camera with a budget?? Please don't lock.
 

Now, by power chords, are you talking about hot 80's rock by bands like Stryper, Quiet Riot and RATT?

Cuz I think you can get those at Walmart in the K-Tel section for reeeeeal cheap.


I've got a Canon Powershot S200, and it's not bad. I like the quality of the pix, when it's not digital, and the software isn't bad.

I would look at other companies though, based upon some of my irritations with the glitches - digital zoom quality sucks (unless you use a much longer shutter length and a tripod, and the flash is not powerful enough for good nighttime shots), and the software doesn't allow you to delete past picture folders, so all your naked woman shots always show up on a folder montage when you load the software... lol.

Okay, so that's not a concern, but still not a bad camera for what you'll pay - $400 US. max.

Mike

Re: Re: Help me buy a Digital Camera with a budget?? Please don't lock.
 

:laugh: Let's not forget Dokken, Great White & Queensryche. ;) George Lynch was one heckuva axeman for Dokken!!

Re: Re: Re: Help me buy a Digital Camera with a budget?? Please don't lock.
 

YOU DA MAN FELIX!

:laugh: :laugh:

here is the camera i'm getting:
http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=...cat=83&scat=84

in short, 2272 x 1704 max resolution, 4.13 megapixels, carl zeiss lens, mpeg movie maker with sound, comes with 16mb memory card and rechargeable battery, but it costs $500, thank god for the 18 month no interest at bestbuy.

get at least 3 megapixel camera, you will get better picture quality with the higher megapixel cameras.

thebigsadler

I actually bought the Finepix S602Z ... I love that sucker.

If you're concerned about media, the camera will take CF, Microdrive, and Smartmedia.

The camera uses 4 AA batteries. It does have an optional adapter you can get off ebay for cheap. I like AA batteries, I've got three sets of rechargeables and it's lovely.

Goes up to 6 MP (actual CCD is 3.1 MP I think) but that camera is a dream. 6x optical zoom (I'm a sucker for optical zoom), and it lets you adjust white balance, aperture, shutter speed, flash rates, ISO speeds, etc ... almost SLR-like (sadly, fixed lens).

Does 640x480 video at 30fps too but kinda lousy at low light. Also, you cannot use the zoom when you're doing video.

Good luck with whatever you get ...

Here are a couple of pics taken with my Olympus C3000 Zooom :)

This is with highly compressed resolution.

http://myweb.thump.net/629819/93ls/05.jpg

http://myweb.thump.net/629819/740i/05.jpg

more

http://myweb.thump.net/629819/93ls/04.jpg

http://myweb.thump.net/629819/740i/13.jpg

Wow, nice camera shots SWEETSOUND:eek: