vB Easy Archive - Help me pick a camera

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Help me pick a camera
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Posted by: bikruca

basically we are looking for a camera to replace the sony cybershot 3.2 MP camera we had stolen.

We are seriously considoring the new sony W-30 which looks awesome- but a bit above our org. price range. Plus we would have to use the memory stick dou which is a bit more expensive, and it uses it's own type of battery which I can't decide if that is a good or bad thing.

Anyone got this camera yet? It wasn't supposted to launch until next week but they have it in stock at FS and Henreys an probably other places.

I just want a camera with as little lag between shots as possible, a fair bit of zoom, enough MP to print up to 8 by 10 and easy to use (I tend to take shaky blurry pics sometimes)

I do scrapbooking and we take lots of pic of our son- and want a good camera for these thing, but were looking to spend around $250 (plus memory stick/card)

I want this camera to last and hopefully I wont lose it or get it stolen haha..

thanks for any help from the experts here!

Posted by: Roasted

I strongly suggest the Panasonic Lumix LZ2. Some folks probably get bored of hearing me suggest that camera and only that camera, but I own it, my girlfriend owns it, her brother owns it, and my mother owns it, and we all love it. It produces solid image quality, has built in image stabilizing features, 6x optical zoom, and 5 megapixels. It has enough manual features to keep an amateur like me curious, but enough automatic features to allow the village idiot to take some nice shots. It uses SD cards, and its regular price I believe is 225-235. Wal mart, Circuit City, and SOMETIMES Staples carries it. I had to special order mine from Staples' web site, because their store didn't have it... but I finally got it.

Check it out, see what you think. CNET.com had a pretty nice video review on it if I remember correctly... got like a 7.0/10.0 or something... Which from CNET.com, is DAMN good. I don't think I've ever seen them rate a product, whether it's a piece of computer equipment, digital camera, or cell phone higher than an 8.0/10.0.

Posted by: bikruca

thank you for the suggestion- I just found another camera which I am strongly considoring...

it is the Konica-Minolta digital offered only by costco.ca

the few reviews I have found have been amazing
5 MP

the kit is 320 and comes with two! lithium battires and a case

plus it takes BOTH SD cards and memory sticks- at the same time....

The camera is extremely fast to power on and take pictures which is very very important to me...

anyone tried this camera??? http://www.costco.ca/en-CA/Browse/P...erPath=79*2937*

the only bummer is that I can't buy it from my friend who works at henreys

Posted by: bikruca

I looked at the camera you are suggesting.. unfortunately I cant yet find a Canadian retailer for it, but Henreys does have the LZ3 on the way I guess

my porblem withit would be the slow reported startup time, lack of a viewfinder and lag between pics, plus using AA batteries...

I really love the amazing zoom and stabalizer, but they do me no function if my camera doesn't power up in time for the shot- and with my two year old that can be pretty much instantly haha

Posted by: Roasted

The camera seems to start up quick for me, but my previous camera was incredibly slow so, it just seems quick to me I guess. I just always leave it on the same setting, snap it on, and I'm good to go. I even leave the burst fire function enabled, so once it does boot up, I'm able to snap 3 pictures/second in full resolution.

Hahahahhaa, it's hilarious that you mention it has no viewfinder. I owned the camera for about a month before I even noticed that... goes to show how much I liked using that thing on my old camera! I find it to be very useless though, to be honest. I mean, if you look through the viewfinder, you can't tell if your image is focused, you can't tell if you're in black and white mode, cool mode, or warm mode, you simply can't tell. The only way to see what your picture is going to turn out before you snap the picture is to simply look at the screen. The viewfinder doesn't do that. In a nutshell: I find the viewfinder very useless, and as I said, I had the camera for a month before I even realized I didn't have one on the camera.

Can't you buy from Panasonic.com? I thought they even had a relatively good price on the camera, which I believe was 229 or 239. That's the going price in the store anyway, unless you catch a sale.

Oh, and the only lag that takes place in between pictures is when you use a flash. The flash has a refresh time, like most cameras, but I will admit it's not the fastest, then again it's certainly not the slowest. I find that I rarely use my flash, however sometimes it is needed... I've probably taken 2,000 pictures with that camera since I got it a few short months ago, and to be completely honest MAYBE 30 of them have used the flash. The other thing is, I don't believe that the burst fire function (3 pictures/second mode) is available when the flash is on. But I'm sure you've already noticed that unless you're in a very dim room, you really don't need the flash anyway.

Read up some more and see if it's for you. But the real deciding factor would be to use it first hand... if only you could find a retailer............

Posted by: angel_wing0

i suggest the nikon p2 (with wifi) or the new sony digicam with touchscreen~ (touchscreen?!)

Posted by: bikruca

hey roasted- I found a similar camera (the 4mp one) in the store and it is nice- but it is over our price range... I LOVE the anit shake thing though.. and it really really works

I would love to talk to someone who has tried the camera I want thru costco.. but I guess the only way of knowing is trying.. the features are just amazing and the price is right

angel_wing

those cameras sound pretty slick but I dont think those features are worth enough to me to pay for them- I would love to read some reviews do you have the model numbers?? What would you use WIFI on a camera for?

I want a camera with bluetooth...

Posted by: rip

Have a look around here:

http://www.adencamera.com/

Posted by: Roasted

bikruca-

What 4 mpx one was it? I know there are different levels and many different models of Panasonic Lumix cameras... was it that skinnier black one? I've seen that too but I couldn't justify buying it over the Lumix LZ2, because if I remember correctly, the one I'm talking about (which was like 300 dollars, 4mpx, skinny and black) had 4x optical zoom I believe. I mean, how can 75 dollars more justify having a slightly smaller size, yet one less megapixel and two-x less optical zoom?

Best of luck in whatever direction you go! But you know where my vote stands.

Posted by: bikruca

http://www.adencamera.com/prod-over...1162&Category=1 I can get yours for 350 canadian

http://www.adencamera.com/prod-over...=911&Category=5

this is amlost exactly like the one I want to get from costco- except 1 more MP and a lot more $$ (and no case and extra batt included)

Posted by: hoytanga

Quote:

sony cybershot 3.2 MP

p72???

i got the same exact camera stolen 3 yrs ago which wiped out my tax return

as for suggestions:

Canon A510 and A520

both cameras posses 4x OPTICAL zoom which is rare for point and shoot types.

buy it.

Posted by: Roasted

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoytanga

p72???

i got the same exact camera stolen 3 yrs ago which wiped out my tax return

as for suggestions:

Canon A510 and A520

both cameras posses 4x OPTICAL zoom which is rare for point and shoot types.

buy it.

The A510 was noisy as hell and incredibly slow startup when I used it. And you say 4x Optical zoom is rare for PS cameras? Sorry to repeat myself, but my Panasonic for the same price has 6x Optical.

Posted by: Stock R

Bikruca,

I was researching on cameras just last night (looking for a bday present) around your price range. I was personally split between getting as Roasted suggested Pana. Lz-2 or the Nikon 5600.

The decision was coming down to size vs function. Personally I would recommend you take a look at those 2 models. I haven't seen them in store, but their reviews on www.steves-digicams.com, www.dpreview.com, and www.megapixel.net seem pretty good.

Unfortunately, here in Canada the panasonic model is harder to find (for a good price). Panasonic cameras seem to be only sold at speciality camera stores like henrys or aden.

Where abouts do you live? If you're close enough to the border, u can probably ship it to a mail depot in the states, drive over and pick the camera up. That's what I do with all my purchases now.