Need a Good Camera!!!

I have to agree with the Canon Powershot. I have always been happy with Canon cameras. I just bought the Powershot A590. It isn't the newest model, but it has 8 megapixels and multiple settings etc. I got mine for only $109 and this camera can do so much! I also have a Canon digital SLR for my professional use but those are much more expensive. I'm on my 5th Canon camera and have loved them all. All of them still work, I just like to upgrade. Good luck and have a great trip!!

1 mom found this helpful

M.,
We love our Cannon Powershot Elph. It is pocket-sized, takes great pictures and even long video clips. Can't go wrong!

1 mom found this helpful

We have a Kodak EasyShare Z1285. It takes GREAT pictures and is very easy to use. It uses 2 double AA batteries (I reccomend rechargeable) and a standard SD card in any memory you choose (comes with 1). It has many settings including motion, sunlight, night, fireworks, snow, close up, best for children, .... and so many others and also an auto setting and video. It has 12 mega pixels.

We have had several different Kodak cameras over the years and have never been disappointed!

Avoid the Sony line... terrible customer service! We were so tickled to purchase the Sony Cyber Shot for nearly $350.00 - and two weeks ago, the shutter release button popped off. We protect the thing like crazy - always have it in a padded bag, etc - and there are NO scratches, bumps, etc - Called the company - and despite being told there are numerous buttons that pop off this brand, they won't qualify it as a defect. So, it's $141.00 to repair (can't just pop a button on it, apparently there is a spring attached that reaches down in and allows the functions to work). I won't ever buy a sony product of any variety again. Big bummer.

We've been searching around... and Canon seems to have the best reputation for customer service and lack of service needs. We also own a Nikon, and like the quality... but as for the features on the camera itself, not so great.

good luck!

I can't tell you a certain one but I can tell you to stay away from Sony. They use a memory stick that is very expensive and sometimes hard to find.

Canon brand seems like they are fairly good, the ones that are Digital ELPH Cameras have nice quality pictures. I almost bought a SD1100 IS for our son and dil for Christmas, but decided they needed a cheaper one for right now (not too careful with things and might let the kids play with it). I did buy them a Kodak and it takes very nice pictures.

If you have the time you can also research any cameras that you are interested in. Look for consumer reviews and experts comments on different cameras. A couple of sites I use are:
www.dpreview.com
www.steves-digicams.com
Also I go to Best Buy to see if they sell the camera and see if people have left reviews on it.

Good luck, have fun on vacation....

Hi there!

I have to tell you...I have a daughter that is into photography and we all have cameras.

Our son picked up a Canon. OMG! The clarity, the color and ease of using was incredible.

I paid $200 plus for my Canon digital. And is nothing compared to his which he got at $320.00. Although we bought ours a few years back. His camera is sweeeet! My daughter has a very expensive camera being that she is in photography. We both took the pictures in the same place, and mine turned out just as good as hers. She was actually upset, becasue she couldn't believe the clarity and focus capabilities that my son's camera had.

Look for deals, wait for things to go on sale.

His is a Canon Power Shot SX110IS It has 9.0 megapixels.

It's worth every penny.!

J.

I love my sony cybershot!

Hi M.,

I have an Olympus (model F230, I think), and I love it! When looking at digital cameras, I chose the Olympus because that's that brand I had for my 35mm camera, and it took awesome pictures!! I haven't been disappointed by my digital, either. I even use it to take short video clips when we're out and about. I think I paid $189 for it at Shopko about two years ago. Enjoy your trip to FL! The weather has to be better than this cold, rainy yuck that's in WI right now!

I love my Kodak Easyshare Digital.Bought a new one first time and after several years,dropped it and broke it. Since then have bought several off Ebay,but they are less expensive new now to They use memory cards that you can put on your computer or print out. Very user friendly. Got my first one at Staples,but Walmart also has them as I am sure most places do. Good luck and have a great vacation.

the Canon Elph SD850IS is amazing. You can probably get an upgraded version even for your price range. I got the best deal on amazon. It takes great photos and great videos.

Hi M.,
I really like my Olympus Stylus 830. It has great photos & videos. Really nice quality & features. The battery last a long time. I bought this to capture my active kiddies. It has a great active setting. -And self portrait setting-perfect for leaning in to take pics of yourself with baby! =)
One note- it does slow down when the battery is about to die. But battery last long time. It cost about $200.
Enjoy your vacation!

I love my Nikon Cool Pics... make sure you spend the extra cash on one that can charge and does not take batteries. You will thank me for this!

I went to that really good camera store in downtown Mpls and got an Olympus Stylus. It's small, easy to use, and takes very good pictures. I think I paid $150 for it, but it might have been on sale at the time.

We went to Proex and bought a nikon Coolpix. But they were very helpful for us. You do have to spend some time with the manual with any camera because their like a miny computer. You might be able to change the setting(speed) on you phone camera to.
Costco has some great cameras too.
The 7.00 click and shoot is what we used before that. Just watch the exporation date.
Another think My 12 year old has one that you put 2 AA batteries in. I would pay alittle more for the plug in recargable battery in the camera. Because she goes throught batteries like crazy. So we have to get rechargable batteries adding 35-40 dollars to the cost.

http://porters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&amp...
This is at Porters Camera Store on Collins Rd
Canon PowerShot A590 IS Digital Camera

Item#: 030465
Price: $109.99

Get better pictures easier with the A590. Blurred pictures are reduced by Motion Detection technology, which compensates for moving subjects by selecting the best exposure and ISO setting. The 8 megapixel sensor, 4X zoom lens and easy-to-use Mode dial head the list of features that make the A590 IS a great choice. Other features include: DIGIC III image processing for high quality color and gradation; Optical Image Stabilizer to reduce camera shake for sharper pictures; Face Detection tracks and finds faces automatically, locking focus, exposure and flash for perfect portraits; 2.5" LCD monitor plus optical viewfinder; wide selection of exposure modes from full auto to manual put you in control. Supplied with (2) AA batteries, 32MB MultiMedia card (also accepts Secure Digital), USB and AV cables, wrist strap, Windows/Mac software.
Shipping Weight: 3.50 pounds

We like our Canon...it's an older digital, and when we bought it about 4 years ago, it was in your price range. It takes decent quality pictures, I find it easy to use, and it has a setting for "kids and pets" that takes nice action pictures. It also takes a beating! My daughter got a hold of it and dropped it several times, stuck her finger in the lense and it's still working!

M., here is a link to a great camera
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/605245-REG/Canon_35...
it's a little more $$ than you want to spend but it also takes hours of video in HD so you can make DVD's for grandparents to watch! I love the option of having a camera and video camera in one!

I just recently bought a Kodak digital 8.2 for $89.99 at Walmart. It has zoom lens and all and is very easy to use and I love it. I can also download on my computer with it. I have always been a Kodak user and I swear by this one. It only took my daughter-in-law 15 minutes to teach me how to use it. Good luck.

I absolutely LOVE my Canon Powershot SD1000 ELPH, it takes great still shots and I use it for all my videos too (I put family videos on YouTube.) It's very compact and easy to carry, too. I'm glad to see lots of folks like Canon :)

The Olympus stylus tough is a pocket digital camera that won't get ruined by humidity. It can go underwater up to 10 feet and survive falls up to 8 feet. The picture quality is as good as it gets for pocket digital. I take mine swimming, to the beach, take underwater shots of my kids, it's great. It is in your price range. It has a video function built in too so you can take video of your kids swimming and at the beach just by flipping a switch.
My other camera is a Canon powershot S3IS - it's 2 years old so I know they've come out with the latest model but it is great. 12X zoom so you can really get close. The picture quality is AWESOME. My photos of my kids look like they were done by a professional. However, this one can be affected by humidity and costs around $400.00

Over the years I have had good luck with various Canon models. They make a PowerShot line that has models in all price points - just depends on how many megapixels and other features you want/are comfortable with. The nice thing is that many of the models have "action" or "kid" functions that help when you are trying to take a shot of a quick-moving target.

We love our Canon Power Shot. I've had 2 of them. The one I love now is the Power Shot A590. It's just great!

Canon's and Nikon's are typically known to be the best...as far as image quality goes. SONY however, can also be good for some things though too. Depends what your end-result picture goal is.

I have a Canon high-end SLR camera (EOS-40D)....wish I would have gotten the slightly lower end Canon Rebel SLR now (think its more my speed, for now anyway). It takes excellent photos, however you need to know how to tweak all the bells and whistles, utilize the lense to realistically get the GREAT shot. The Canon Rebel SLR does much the same, but would have been less high maintenance.

Last year, decided to get a mid-range camera...for many of the same reasons you mentioned (to get the easy, quick shot, ease in portability, etc). And got the Canon Powershot S5IS (8.0 mega pixels). Mostly got it as it is mid-size (smaller than my SLR) and heard it can take both pictures and good quality video. However, quickly learned that although it can take movies...I'd have to first convert the .AVI video format to a .MOV file format in order to be burned to a DVD for viewing on the TV). Its sort of nice...but way TOO many times it MISSES the shots! I got it to actually replace my SONY Cyber-shot (that had 3.3 mega pixels)...but to be honest, my old SONY got the shot 100% more times than this supposedly better pixeled camera. Also invested in a Nikon Cool Pix for my purse (instead of the phone camera). They're tiny and easily shoved into a small purse and comes with a nice sleek-lined carrying case as well). It does a great job on pictures (for those times when you need to get something in a pinch).

A friend of mine recently got a Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS, Digital ELPH. 8.0 mega pixels (from Target). She wanted something simple to use but with good pictures too as she is not very savvy at all to the digital world yet. Hers is a fairly sleek, slim-lined model...so also could easily fit into a purse or small bag. And I have to say the shots she has gotten with this are FABULOUS! ...and it seems she always gets the shot without much over-exposure or under-exposure to contend with. She took shots at my son's birthday party the other week...and they all turned out really great (at a bowling alley...where it was dark, and also cosmic lighting was going on...definitely a tough place to get good shots!). Neither of my two higher end cameras were getting the shots like she did so effortlessly. So, actually am hoping to now get rid of my Canon PowerShot and trade up for the one she has now!

Also it might not hurt to check out a 'National Camera Store'. Maybe a couple trips...to get a couple different sales people's perspectives. They are VERY knowledgeable there. People that work there are people that live and breathe this stuff. And for their job there, they play with the cameras there all day long. And can tell you more detail of what they can do for you. They'll even allow you to test the cameras there...to do some picture taking on your own. Think you also have 30 days to play with the camera and return it if you don't like it (double-check on how that policy all works though...before purchasing). Also, bench mark their prices against other places (Best Buy, Target, etc...) as you will want to make sure to get the best price at the end of the day (think they price match??). Another thing that's nice about National Camera...is that if you buy a camera with them, you get a FREE camera class. Helps with the learning curve...as they'll teach you how to use all the features (bells and whistles) on your new camera...to get the best shot you can.

Best of Luck! Hope something here helps! :)
R~

Hi M.,

I would agree that Kodak or Canon is the way to go. I have always used Kodak and my best friend has had Canon and I love them both. One thing that you may want to think about is getting something with a good zoom. I have a Kodak Z712 and it has 12x zoom. This one is no longer available but any Kodak is a great buy. My friend just bought the Canon SX10 IS and it has a 20x zoom (this one is around $400). Good luck and happy vacation!!

I agree that Canons are great. There is another we love for its durability with kids- the Olympus. We have the 720 which is waterproof, droppable and I know the newer model is crushproof.

I love my Kodak camera. Kodak has any camera need you maight be looking for and it has the easy share that makes it easy to down load pictures to your computer. I have used several cameras and this is the one that I like the best. Hope this helps. I got mine at best buy.

A.

In November I bought a Canon Powershot A590IS. I love it!! It is small enough to put in my purse, but not the tiny little things. One of the things I like the most is that it has multiple settings--one for kids and pets, indoor, night scenes, portrait, landscape, and a manual setting. It will even take short movies. The kids and pets setting will stabalize and takes good action shots. It is very easy to download pictures and has a feature that you can connect directly to a printer and print without downloading pictures. The software that it comes with is also very easy to use. I bought mine at Best Buy and I think it was around $250 (with also buying batteries, memory card, and camera bag). They also had the same camera at Target for the same price. So far I haven't found anything I dislike about the camera.

i HIGHLY recommend the latest fujifilm camera that you can find. the one i have is S1000. its FANTASTIC. you can find it at walmart. look online to see if fujifilm has any coupons or anything like that before you go to the store. the one i had last year was like a s700 - it was 250 at a camera shop - this year we bought the s1000 at walmart for 199.
GOOD LUCK