It is my sad duty to inform you that my digital camera, which Bump gave me in 2001 for my birthday, is dead.
There's something going on with the battery connection or something, at any rate, the camera's not working. Which means I need a new camera.
This is a good thing, as I've been cursing the shutter lag on this one for the past several months. Pretty much ever since Lumpyhead started moving, the shutter lag thing has been a problem.
Here's the problem, though. As I have mentioned before, I'm kind of a technology idiot.
I want advice, but please don't tell me about how you love your $400 SLR with manual settings and fancy what-its. A Nikon D70 might as well be the space shuttle to me, and I just want to drive to the grocery store.
My photos are pretty bad. I blame the shutter lag and my general ineptitude, but what I want is a point and shoot camera that takes pictures I can print from my photo printer and Shutterfly. Maybe a 5x7 every once in awhile, but for the most part, I'm just looking at 4x6 prints.
I think I can do this for less than $200. I don't need a billion megapixels.
All the online reviews seem to highlight cameras from three months ago, and now the DS420 is not available but the DS460 and DS570 can be purchased, but the DS570 looks nothing like the DS420 in the review and the X320 is $60 cheaper. There are too many choices and I don't know what I'm doing.
I'm currently considering a Fujifilm FinePix A400 or A500 or a Canon PowerShot A430. (Will listing those models generate all kinds of weird spam? We'll see.)
Anybody out there got some advice?
8 comments:
I'm with you there, you don't need a gigantic megapixel camera for 99% of your snapshots. While Lumpyhead is adorable, how many wall-sized prints are you going to make of him?
A 2-3 megapixel camera at the right setting will produce 4X6 and 5X7 prints, which is pretty much all you need if you want to send a package of shots to the Grandparents. If you just want to keep them digitally or post them to the web, hell a one megapixel camera will do.
Look for one with an image stablizer though, you'll get fewer blurry shots of baby-on-the-go.
Heh, after reading your previous post, I wonder if my low-tech advice will generate negative comments. Gawd I hope so. So lonely, so lonely.
I was just going to recommend the same site as suz... I used it when I bought my Nikon D50. I also have a Kodak, which I love. Nikon Coolpix is supposed to be good, it takes great pictures.
I'd look for something that is easy to use & upload, & has a large screen.
We love our Kodak EasyShare camera (don't ask me the model number) and we got one for my parents for Christmas last year (don't ask me the model number of that one, either) that was about $120 or something like that. It works really well and there's no time-lag between when you push the button and the time it actually takes the picture (a HUGE problem with our old camera, too).
The Kodak cameras seemed to be a lot easier to figure out - without so many menus - as some of our friends' cameras. And to download the pictures, we just put our camera on the docking station, push one button and voila! Nice and easy.
dp review is a great site. imaging resource is another. specifically, the "dave's picks" page with his recommendations for all types of photographers: http://www.imaging-resource.com/WB/WB.HTM
when i researched my camera purchase in 2003, i ultimately landed on these criteria: enough megapixels to print an 8x10 every so often + least shutter lag. this brought me to a canon powershot "S" series and i've been very happy with it. when i helped my dad research a camera purchase, we ultimately bought a canon powershot "A" series and he's been very happy with his.
there's my $0.02
sorry the camera died, but have fun with your new one!
Canon cameras are fabulous. Go Canon!
We like Canons in our house, but those are still film cameras.
My digital is a Kodak and I do appreciate the lack of shutter lag. Mine isn't the cute, slip in your pocket tiny spy camera sort, though and I don't know if Kodak makes a tiny camera. The downside of Kodak is their software. I think if are a technophobe, it's good, but if you're familiar with other photo-manipulation software (and I know you are, LHM), you might find it gets in your way. My mom tried to install it on her laptop when she gave me the camera, it didn't work because of its network setup, and fowled up the laptop big-time. Her IT guys had to strip it down to get rid of the insidious, non-functioning program. On my home computer, it works ok, though.
We like our Canon Powershot SD450 Elph--nice and small but big screen. Our friends, who posts photos from her camera all the time at superha.blogspot.com, loves her new Exilim, and I don't know if it's expired yet, but there was a coupon last week for it at CostCo that made it like $200. :) Good luck!
My husband bought my camera for me as a surprise. I know what it's called and I can point and shoot. I, like you, am a techno idiot. I hope you get some good advice soon. A dead camera is not our friend.
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