Digital Camera Broke - Help me choose a new one

[FinelyCruising]

From time to time there are threads with all kinds of good information on cameras and right now my Olympus C-3040 zoom is not zooming anymore. Called the service center and the cost will be $179.00 to fix. The camera is OK, but I think maybe I ought to think about putting that money into a different camera as an option. Suggestions on what you are using and what you like about it, please!

[Vodad]

I bought a Canon A75 for my recent cruise. Camera is easy to use, directions easy to follow. The camera came with great software. Both photos and video clips came out great.

[mohavemommy]

I would also be interested in opinions. My camera takes great close-up shots, but not so good outside pics. They are blurry. I need a good camera for taking scenery pics for my upcoming cruise. :)

[hstrybuf]

Hubby dunked ours in the ocean! I need a new one too.

[endi302]

I have tried several digital cameras in the past few years. I have decided that for good quality photos, the smaller cameras are ok but I have gone with a newer style digital SLR. I have a canon 300d, commonly called the "digital rebel". It has a lens setup just like the 35mm cameras and you can change lenses for desired shots. It also has 6.2 megapixel resolution. The best feature is the auto focus that comes with this type of camera. It will focus in lighting conditions that smaller cameras can not dream of matching. The photos are extremely good quality and when printed professionally, rival any good 35mm shot. The camera has a flash on board that will do a fine job in most situations, but the camera has a hot shoe for an external flask. In my opinion the only down side is the cost ($899 with one lens), but you get what you pay for.

 

Since I started using my Canon 300d I would not dream of going back to a small camera again.

 

Hope this helps,

Kevin

[nosnobunny]

I just bought a new one yesterday. After asking lots and lots of questions, we decided on an Olympus 310 fit our needs just fine. We weren't going to pay for a lot of features we'd never use (like making prinits), so we bought one with 3.2 pixels, 3X optical zoom (digital zoom distorts) and lithium battery. It's compact, included all the necessary cables and chargers and has a weatherproof casing as well. A couple of spare memory cards and another battery and I'm good to go. :D

 

Beth

[AdrieneAGD]

If you're looking for a good inexpensive one, I suggest the Nikon Coolpix 3200. It's not fancy, but it takes really good pics and I've been very satisfied with ours.

[FinelyCruising]

Kevin I have the EOS too, but film, and I just adore it too.:)

 

Did you have any of the smaller Cannon digitals? Can you detail what you had and how well they worked for you? The Olympus gave me a hard time with Red Eye even with reduction, and flash, to bright. Daylight was the best mode, but on a ship for example there is a good bit to take a night, particularly when you want to take shots of people at a table or dressed up for example.

[howard6933]

I agree with Adrienne. I have a Nikon Coolpix 3100 and have found it to

be just fine for all kinds of photos. I had some Hurricane Charley damage

to my house and pool screen room. Took some photos of the damage for

insurance purposes. I transferred the photos to my computer and printed

them out to send to the insurance co. I used the telephoto mode to shoot

pictures of the damage to my roof and they were clear and everything

showed up well.

[giggles1972]

i just bought the nikon coolpix 3200....first time ever using it was this weekend...in a few hours i am going to pic up the pictures...i will let you know how they turned out.

[cruzeluvr]

I bought a Canon A75 for my recent cruise. Camera is easy to use, directions easy to follow. The camera came with great software. Both photos and video clips came out great.

I also have a Canon A75 and agree with the above poster. Used it on our recent cruise and were very happy with the pictures.

[wblynch]

 

right now my Olympus C-3040 zoom is not zooming anymore. Called the service center and the cost will be $179.00 to fix.

 

Finely,

 

Olympus have some of the best lenses for digital cameras and the 3040 you have is one of the best for Olympus. The price to have it repaired is probably worth it as you will not find a better camera for $179.

 

If you just want to take the opportunity to get a new camera I would suggest the Olympus C-770 Ultra Zoom. It has a 10x optical zoom but is actually a bit smaller than your C-3040 when it's closed up.

 

It's a 4mp camera and even can accept an external flash.

 

It uses the XD memory cards as no new cameras use the Smart Media cards your Olympus does. Whichever new camera you get, you won't be able to use your old memory cards.

 

To keep the camera smaller, it has it's own battery, similar to the Canon, so the use of common AA rechargeable batteries is also lost.

 

But, for a more modern, fully featured camera with a GREAT LENS and 10x zoom, I think you should take a look at the C-770UZ. I've seen it for $350-$400 online.

 

Take care and tell us what you decide to do.

[MSUSpartan]

I bought the Sony DSC T1 and just love it! It's the size of a credit card, 5.1 mp and 3x optical zoom. I also bought an underwater housing case for it, so it's the only camera I'm taking this time (always took at least 2 before). Will take my laptop along and just dump the pictures on the hard drive, delete the pictures from the memory card and start over.

 

It takes very good pictures. I've taken some pictures of my grandkids and they actually look better than some we've had done professionally.

 

I edit them and take them to Sam's Club to have them printed out. They do a great job for cheaper than I can print them out.

 

GO GREEN! GO WHITE!

[4cruzin]

I have the Canon A70 and I love it. Not too small (smaller, lighter cameras are easier to shake) and has great picture quality. I can get 5 x 7's with no grain. The price is great for the features. Google the camera you are looking for and compare reviews before you make your final choice. The last 2 cameras I bought were from Ritz.com - no shipping no tax. Saves a lot if you are spending the bucks!!

[Got2bsunny]

From time to time there are threads with all kinds of good information on cameras and right now my Olympus C-3040 zoom is not zooming anymore. Called the service center and the cost will be $179.00 to fix. The camera is OK, but I think maybe I ought to think about putting that money into a different camera as an option. Suggestions on what you are using and what you like about it, please!

 

 

If you haven't already checked, http://www.dpreview.com is an excellent website on information regarding various types of cameras. I love the forums and found lots of great information as well as photo's to look at.

 

For a friends wedding, I purchased for the happy couple the Canon A75, however, I would have chosen the A80 if I would have been able to afford it. I really am a Canon person and own the Digital Rebel that someone else has also mentioned. The Digital Rebel, after you learn to use it, will help you create truly awesome, beautiful photographs (NOT snapshots - although you can still use it for those ;) ). If anyone purchases a Digital Rebel, they should also purchase the 50mm Prime F1.8 lens which costs approx. $60.00 online - IMHO, this is a MUST purchase.

 

My SIL has the Fuji Finepix 5000 which she absolutely loves and I find to be a decent camera. I also like the Fuji camera's that have a higher Optical zoom.

 

Regardless of what you choose, the KEY to purchasing a digital camera is to purchase a digital camera that has the HIGHEST possible OPTICAL zoom that you can purchase. Digital zoom means nothing as you can digitally magnify an image on the computer.

 

Pam

[Got2bsunny]

Kevin I have the EOS too, but film, and I just adore it too.:)

 

Did you have any of the smaller Cannon digitals? Can you detail what you had and how well they worked for you? The Olympus gave me a hard time with Red Eye even with reduction, and flash, to bright. Daylight was the best mode, but on a ship for example there is a good bit to take a night, particularly when you want to take shots of people at a table or dressed up for example.

 

 

If you already have an EOS film camera, you are going to LOVE the Digital Rebel. Your lenses should already work just fine with the Digital Rebel unless they are older which may mean having them re-chipped to be compatible with the Rebel.

 

Pam

[Zark427]

I got a Sony P-10 last year which has since been replaced by the P-100... Great camera... Easy to use and takes professional looking pictures... I alos have the underwater adapter for it, which was a little pricey, but as you can see, will pay for itself.... Check out digideep.com

[jrm9999]

I have to agree with the others who talked about the Canon EOS digital rebel. I have had a handful of digitals over the years and none of the others came close (and the others were top of the line, just not SLR).

[FinelyCruising]

See this is the dilemma when I know I love my SLR and want to find a small digital to just put into my beach bag. Is anything out there that good in a small body afterall, or do I just fix the Olympus Digital and like it, and use the Canon when I want that kind of a photo. I struggled with this before I bought the digital too. :confused:

[buchie614]

Purchased the new Sony, very small, $499. love it, works great, it is a digital.

[endi302]

I have not used any Canon camera's other than the 300d. The other poster was correct when they spoke about your lenses working with the 300d. If your lens is a EF or AF it will most likely work with the 300.

 

The other camera's that I have used or owned were Minoltas and Nikon. The last camera I had was the Nikon 5000 which was a 5mp camera. It was great as far as resolution, but the autofocus often would not focus if the lighting was not perfect. Low light seems to be the worst enemy of a digital camera. I have found that the Canon 300D focuses faster than any of the other cameras that I have tried. It also has a large number of operating modes that cover many types of situations. If you need to read a review that is very accurate go to http://www.dpreview.com as listed in the earlier post and read about the 300d. It costs a little more and is not a small camera, but you would be very pleased with the results it offers.

 

Kevin

[Tony O]

A few things missing from the other post you may want to consider. The more megapixels the finer and more detailed the image and the easier to enlarge if you care to do so. Also you want to consider the power supply , regular batteries do consumer a lot of power very fast and I am sure you may not want to carry around a lot of batteries. On my Canon Power shot 4.0 I have a lithium ion rechargable battery which has a recycle charge life of about 300 plus recharges before I have to replace the battery. Memory cards which come in Compact Flash and Secure Data to store you pictures are another consideration most digitals you can buy you cards to hold upto several hundred pictures and are readily available and exchangable between cameras except for Sony Power sticks which are proprietory memory cards and will not interchange with other cameras only Sony. I guess all in all go to a camera store or a Best Buy or similiar type of store tell them what you want to do and how much you are wiliing to spend and the final choice is yours. Good luck

[4cruzin]

The Digital Rebel, after you learn to use it, will help you create truly awesome, beautiful photographs (NOT snapshots - although you can still use it for those ;) ). If anyone purchases a Digital Rebel, they should also purchase the 50mm Prime F1.8 lens which costs approx. $60.00 online - IMHO, this is a MUST purchase.

 

I just bought the digital Rebel this week and am having a great time with it so far! I am a novice photographer and I lover the idea I can "practice" with the creative modes and not waste film. What is the 50mm Prime lens and what does it do?

[jackpine]

Just recently bought a Canon A80, absolutely love it. All kinds of great features and excellent quality of photos (4.0 mega-pixels). Not too big and easy to hold in one hand and perform most functions with just one hand!! Also has a view finder on a pivot for easier viewing and doubles well for protecting the screen when not in use/storing.

 

Can't say enough good about it!!!

[bUU]

I bought a Canon A75 for my recent cruise. Camera is easy to use, directions easy to follow. The camera came with great software. Both photos and video clips came out great.

I also have a Canon A75 and agree with the above poster. Used it on our recent cruise and were very happy with the pictures.

Another vote for Canon. I have three year old S10 and just got my wife an A80, and they're both just great. So easy to use, and so flexible.