Cheap digital camera?

[Stacylee]

I bought my DD a nice ($250) digital camera 2 years ago, unfortunately I can't borrow it for the trip at this point.

I have seen some in Walmart - some name brands - for around $100.00. Are they worth it? It is sort a last minute thought as I have already bought film for our trip. We were thinking of getting a digital for Christmas, but I want one NOW and can't afford a real nice one BEFORE the trip.

Any thoughts on the subject would be appreciated!:)

[laughoutloud]

Don't sacrifice price for quality. I'm sure you want lasting photo memories of your vacation. This might be a once-in-a-lifetime trip to your destination & you'll end up regretting it if you buy a cheap camera that takes poor pictures.

[surrocruiser]

I ran into exactly the same issue. I've opted to just use the dinosaur that still requires film. Mostly for the cost but also b/c I didn't want to have a new camera that I was still trying to figure out all the little quirks with.

[Stacylee]

I was just thinking that the price of digital cameras seems to have come down in 2 years - as with most electronics. So am I really compromising too much?

[budaman]

If you have a decent film camera, keep it and have a CD made when you develope your film, you don't even need to get prints made. Then you can download the CD and edit using your computer software if you like or just have the photos you like printed. All of our dive & snorkeling photos were done this way along with our early Hawaii photos.

 

Take your time figuring out exactly what you want from a digital before plunking down the money. The technology seems to be changing daily. The Nikon we bought 3 years ago, was rated the best non SLR digital at the time and is now considered a dinosaur, but it still takes great pictures.

 

Mike

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[geoherb]

I just found out about the Digital Photography Review website. It has reviews of a lot of different cameras and sample shots made with them. Digital, to me, is the way to go. It's a whole lot simpler than messing with film cameras. You can see if you got the shot right. If someone closed their eyes, you can reshoot the photo. You will take a lot more photos with a digital than you would with film.

[eyzwdeshut]

I was just thinking that the price of digital cameras seems to have come down in 2 years - as with most electronics. So am I really compromising too much?

 

the cost has come down on the cameras with less pixels & less bells & whistles. the cost remains the same for the newer cameras with more pixels & options for shooting. it is a matter of what you are looking for in your end result.

[PurpleCow]

If you add up the cost of film and processing, especially if you get the picture CD, you might as well bite the bullet and get your digital camera now.

[Stacylee]

Thanks geoherb!! I checked out that site and it looks like I can find what I need for family picture taking without spending a fortune!

[gumballz]

Just something to keep in mind when purchasing your digital camera.......you'll need to purchase a memory card to use with it. For most cameras, anyway. Some might come with it. That's your storage for photos/video. The larger the memory card the more you can store.

 

Another note......once you have your photos on your memory card, you can take that to a photo shop or Walmart (places like that) and use their machine to print your photos. We had 45 printed tonight for $8.55 at Walmart. They were ready in 45 min. You can also get 2 day service and it will be cheaper (I think it was $6.35).

 

Go for the nicer digital camera, definitely! :)

[BuckGuy]

I would recommend nothing less than 5 megapixels and make sure it has at least 3X optical zoom. (OPTICAL zoom). From my perusing, a decent digital camera in that line (and there are several name brands available to you) begin at about $175.

[eyzwdeshut]

I would recommend nothing less than 5 megapixels and make sure it has at least 3X optical zoom. (OPTICAL zoom). From my perusing, a decent digital camera in that line (and there are several name brands available to you) begin at about $175.

 

personally, if you aren't going to enlarge your photos over an 8x10, you can use a high resolution setting on your camera & still get away with buying a camera with 3 megapixels. I have a 3.2 megapixel camera with an 8x optical zoom & it takes wonderful pictures. i even had a picture i shot enlarged to poster size & it turned out beautifully.

[kunwerj]

U can get a Nikon 4 megapixel with 3x optical lens, for $200.00. This is a cute little camera, u can carry in ur purse or pocket and the pics are great, very easy to use. All u need is a memory card (the film for a regular camera), abt 128 mb is plenty (should store more than 100 pics on it). U can get it for abt $25-30 fr wakmart or amazon.com. I think u should go for it.

[deadzone1003]

Cheapest camera you should look at is the Canon A510 which is under $200 plus additional memory. It has a 4x zoom. 3.2mb is fine if you don't plan to do any blow-ups. Great quality for such a cheap camera (in price). Flash is quite acceptable. Picture quality is excellent. Quite versatile as it can be used manually or fully automatic. If you don't believe me, look up http://www.dpreview.com or http://www.steves-digicams.com or http://www.dcresource.com.

It's probably the best selling digital camera in the world.

[mistory]

I just purchased a Fuji A345 for $149. So far so good...and its 4mp!

[KAYEF]

We've had an HP 3.1 for two or three years and it's been great..............does all we need it to do. It was not expensive.:)

HINT!

We download each evening................that way we always know where the photos are from! It's really been a help. We just use a title...........the name of the port/area.

Of course, we have to take our laptop to do that.:)

BUT, I take my 35mm (hubby makes fun of me) and I enjoy some hard copies right when we get home.

HAVE A GRAND TIME!

[Ellya]

One thing to remember is that the extra megapixel cameras are also capable of superior prints in cropped pictures. Once you go digital, you will find yourself cropping and printing "enlargements" even in 4x6 or 5x7 format. So, even if you never print larger than 8x10, you will want the capacity to enlarge.

[BuckGuy]

One thing to remember is that the extra megapixel cameras are also capable of superior prints in cropped pictures. Once you go digital, you will find yourself cropping and printing "enlargements" even in 4x6 or 5x7 format. So, even if you never print larger than 8x10, you will want the capacity to enlarge.

 

You got it exactly !! hit the nail on the head......however, by reading most posts here, the majority of "casual" picture-takers do not crop all that extensively, so as they say, a 3 mgapix camera will be quite adequate for them

[sportsterjohn]

I just bought a concord 3.1mp camera with 3x optical zoom for $68

[Cruise2End]

I just bought the Canon A510 that DeadZone1003 refers to above this past week. It is $159.99 on amazon.com (free shipping and no tax) - same camera is running pretty consistently about $199 plus tax in the electronic stores. I did a lot of research and this camera comes highly recommended.

[poppabear]

Check out the NEW line of Olympus 'FE' and 'SP' digital cameras.

 

The FE series are:

FE 100 = 4 megapixels (under $200)

FE 110 = 5 megapixels (under $200)

FE 120 = 6 megapixels (about $230)

 

These are basic easy to use cameras that produce awesome picture quality regardless of what size you blow the pictures up to. I've enlarged mine (taken on the FE 110) to 13 X 19 tabloid size and the quality is absolutely incredible and the cameras are very, very easy to use.