Need Camera Advice

I'm around water a lot and kept needing a new camera like every year. This Olympus point and shoot has lasted past the year mark! It's waterproof and shock proof and over 7 megapix. It's small and I keep it in my purse, diaper bag, or back pocket. The view screen doesn't flip up, but it is water proof. I love the underwater videos it takes. I can zoom in and out while videoing too.

The shutter delay is b/c it focuses when you push the shutter button. I was soooooo annoyed with that until I realized that most cameras do that and why. You'll have to get a real (bigger) camera to get away from that. Just hold the shutter part way down, it often beeps when ready, then you can push as soon as the front of her head is back toward you. THEN it'll be an instant pic. I do that when my kids are on the swing. I push it half way down the first time they are being cute right in front of me (close) then take the picture the NEXT time they swing toward me with a huge smile.

I just got a Canon Powershot G9. I picked it because a professional photographer friend told me that that was the one all his friends had for their point and shoots. It is a little expensive, about $450 on sale. So far i have been extremely happy with the quality of the photos and the shutter speed. So, if you can swing that i think you would be very happy with that camera.

I always liked the Sony cybershot. It takes great pics and it's small. Olympis is good too.
Btw,
I live near Oldsmar too:) let me know of anything fun for a 2.5 year old boy of mine. He likes the water spray park out there:)

Olympus shockproof, waterproof, weatherproof camera. They have 4 different models and if you google the model when you find the one you want, you can get better prices than in local stores. We broke 2 cameras by dropping them, and at $200 a pop we figured we could invest the $350 to have one NOT break when dropped.

Hi,

We have had quite a few cameras and have had the best luck with Sony digital cameras. We also have a Sony digital SLR and it's fantastic (a little more pricey). We have an Olympus digital too and it's a good little camera. You can really get good deals on digital cameras these days. The beauty of digital is that you can look at what you took and if you don't like it, you just discard! Best of luck to you.

I am going to give a little back ground on me so that you can see why I chose the camera I did. I am a amature photographer and use a professional SLR which catches everything. I am also a mother of a 4 1/2 yr old, 2 yr old and watch a 1 1/2 year old. I can't carry the big heavy camera every where. I recently was in the market for a point and shoot camera. However, because I do have a SLR, to carry a point and shoot that could fit in my pocket would drive me nuts as I knew that it would not be fast enough for me. Like you said, you get the back of their head. So I just couldn't commit to the small slim models that are so popular. A friend of mine has a cannon that I had recommended to her a few years ago. One of the features I REALLY liked is that the back screen flips around so you can take a picture of yourself and your child (you can see if you are in the shot :). So that was a qualification for me. Here is what I purchased. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8297513&amp...
It is not the cheapest point and shoot, but is a nice in between point and shoot and a professional SLR camera(but is not much more than the slim models either). I was a bit skeptical, but the reviews really sold me on this camera, as I noticed many reviewers had an SLR as well and still raved about this camera. I purchased it on our way to a family weekend @ Sea World. This was a true test to see if it was going to be to awkward or heavy with the kids. It was PERFECT!!!! Light weight (of course I am use to a really heavy camera). It has a great zoom lens, the video is comparable to our video camera ( a big plus is that you can zoom in and out while video taping, which is hard to find on a small point and shoot). Plus the camera has the flip screen that I wanted. If you really enjoy photography and want to learn more this is a great camera for that. It offers so much more than a point and shoot. You can shoot manually and use f stops, you can put an on camera flash if you want a higher quality and more control of your flash/lighting. If you choose to buy this camera I suggest investing in at least a 2G card. They are not that much these days and it will hold ALOT of pictures / videos so that you are not constantly having to stop and empty your card. I hope this wasn't too much info, but I am really excited about this camera. I have had point and shoots before but this does not compare, IT'S AWESOME!!! The quality of pictures is GREAT as well!! Good Luck, it is really hard to choose, but if you can't do this camera do try and choose one that has very high reviews from customers.

Hi J.,

I'm a professional photographer so hopefully I can give you a little advice here. If you're looking for a "fast" camera with little or no shutter delay (shutter delay is what causes you to "miss the moment"), you'll probably want to get a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera. Essentially these are the larger ones with interchangeable lenses. They have no shutter delay, whereas the point-and-shoot type cameras typically do have a delay, causing you to end up with the back of your daughters head, as you meantioned. I'm not sure what your budget is, but the Nikon D40 is a lower end DSLR that's great for the average consumer. Its 6.1 megapixels, which means you can print up to 8x10 with perfect clarity, and even 11x14 would probably be fine. I just checked on www.pricegrabber.com and you can get the D40 camera body plus a lens (called the D40 SLR Digital Camera Kit) for around $449. Not sure if you're looking to spend that much, but I would say its worth the investment if you need something that can capture an active toddler. Canon also has some very nice DSLRs, but since I'm a Nikon girl, I don't know much about them. Someone else may be able to chime in and offer some advice in terms of Canon or other manufacturers.

Hopefully that helps. If you have any more questions, feel free to email me at ____@____.com luck.

K.