[Skookum]

i'm in the market for a new digital camera. My old Fuji is dying it only has auto focus, therefore 8 out of 10 shots come out unfocused. Plus it sucks really bad for motion shots, and it takes a good half second to a full second from the time i press the button to when it takes the picture(i bore of that) as well as loading time inbetween shots. Obviously i lack in technical knowledge but i know i take some good shots and i have fun with photography. As a bikey analogy i would liken my current camera situation as if i've been riding a Huffy and i'm not looking to Race pro but i definately need something that doesn't suck so damn bad. So help me out would ya?

Lookin to spend under a grand, any websites, consumer info sites, or comments from those with knowledge, i sure would appreciate it.

 

[Toshi]

www.dpreview.com

 

[SkaredShtles]

i'm in the market for a new digital camera. My old Fuji is dying it only has auto focus, therefore 8 out of 10 shots come out unfocused. Plus it sucks really bad for motion shots, and it takes a good half second to a full second from the time i press the button to when it takes the picture(i bore of that) as well as loading time inbetween shots. Obviously i lack in technical knowledge but i know i take some good shots and i have fun with photography. As a bikey analogy i would liken my current camera situation as if i've been riding a Huffy and i'm not looking to Race pro but i definately need something that doesn't suck so damn bad. So help me out would ya?

Lookin to spend under a grand, any websites, consumer info sites, or comments from those with knowledge, i sure would appreciate it.

If your ceiling is $1k you can pretty much get a kickass camera! Toshi's recommendation for dpreview is spot on.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Nikon D70 for the wife.

-S.S.-

 

[binary visions]

There's a ton of all-in-one digital cameras available on the market for under a grand. There are also some digital SLRs, though. Which are you looking for?

 

[MikeD]

Canon S70, my man. I have a Nikon D70, and would recommend it if an SLR is your thing...but bringing an SLR along is something that turns a ride or an outing into a photo-specific event.

The S70 fits in a pouch on my camelbak strap, offers me tons of manual control options including some fairly useful flash controls (2nd curtain and slow sync and manual power select), great optics, 7 friggin megapixels, a tough metal body...and it's not very expensive considering. It's not an ultra-thin pocket camera, but it's hardly one of the larger compacts...entirely mid-sized I call it. Loving mine here in NZ. If you put the flash on manual or turn it off, and pre-focus or manual focus, you get almost zero lag on the shutter and some sweet pics besides.

Get it, case closed, unless you want/need the SLR. Can't think of a better compact.

 

[Threepointtwo]

First off, I am not much of a photographer. I just wanted a camera with at least 4 MP that took great pictures and was easy to use. My review is based on my wanting to get a camera to take great shots with the least amount of effort or knowledge.

I first had a Mionolta S414. It takes great pictures in most conditions on full auto. It has shutter lag pretty bad and the continuous shot mode is too slow for most action. It died as soon as warranty expired.

I then tried a FujiFilm with 10x optical zoom. It is the coolest looking and feeling camera I have ever used but it takes lousy pictures. If you shoot anything in auto that is moving faster than a sloth, it will blur. Pretty much the same for the Sport mode. If you are pretty good and don't mind messing with it, it can take good shots. But, that's not me so back it went.

Next, I tried a Kodak 5MP (model 765?). Look and feel was nice and it captured motion fairly well but the pictures were just OK. For a 5MP camera I was really dissapointed with the quality of the photos. It also takes XD cards and you put it on top of a little cradle thing to charge. The final straw was that in continuous shutter mode, the viewfinder shut off. After the first picture snapped, you have to guess where you are pointing. Took that back.

I now have a Panasonic Z15 4MP with a 12x optical zoom. It is kind of big, takes a proprietary battery and has no sound for the movie mode but I love this camera. On full auto, just point and click and the pictures are great. Switch to Sports mode and you can shoot great action shots. The continuous mode is really cool with 4 frames per second. There is very little shutter lag (almost imperceptible) and it is just really easy to use. It takes SD cards and writes very fast.

I went to DP review and found it really usefull too.

All of the above cameras are less than $500.