Digital camera question

Denis · December 30, 2011, 05:38:38 AM

It's looking like the nice Canon digital camera my girlfriend got me a year ago made it's way into the Christmas wrapping paper and was thrown out (royal suck).
She bought it for me to replace the Sony Cybershot (Euro model) I found on the ground at a motorcycle swap meet and used for years. It finally died when nothing would come up on the screen. With the pop out lens it was a little more bulky than the Canon but I loved that thing.

What do you guys use? Recommendations?

ack1961 · December 30, 2011, 06:11:35 AM

Sorry to hear about your camera - that's a bummer.
I don't know too much about using them, but I've bought several for my wife who loves photography. Luckily, it's just a hobby - these things get crazy expensive when you enter the pro world.

For point-n-shoot, she's been using a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290. It's 12.1 MP (5x Opt Zoom) and does 720P video. It's nice for quick shots and as you know, it's very compact. It's been bullet-proof so far (3 years or so) - the downside to it is that you can't zoom while recording video.
These are like $250 (US)

A few months back, I bought her the Kodak Share, which is a neat little Camera/Video (HD) device that instantly uploads pics/video to YouTube, Facebook, email, etc. We now use it when our kids have gigs. It's tiny, but has good sound capture capabilities and (I believe) it has a light. ($150 US)

For Christmas this year, I got her a Canon EOS Rebel T3i so she can mount it to her telescope and shoot astro-photgraphy hands-free. That thing is amazing: 18MP and Full HD and it sports a 3" swivel screen. ($700 US - for the kit)

Good luck - let us know what you end up with.

The guys at Peace Camera are great to work with and they'll answer questions/give recommendations on the phone.

Barklessdog · December 30, 2011, 07:43:49 AM

First you need to decide if you want one you can fit in your pocket or one that has great opical zoom (usually larger).

Pilgrim · December 30, 2011, 09:36:42 AM

I have the most fantastic pocket digital camera I have ever owned. I HIGHLY recommend it. My beef with most pocket cameras is their pitiful 3X and 4X zoom lenses...but mine gets WAY past that problem:

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5 has:

12-power Leica optical zoom lens (plus 4X digital zoom, which I don't use)
12.1 megapixel
Intuitive menu
Shoots video AND allows optical zooming while shooting

It's light, easy to use and turns out fantastic quality shots. The ONLY drawback is that the USB port on the camera's side is a funky non-standard one that won't match any of the cables you have. However, one comes with the camera, and you can buy extras cheaply on Ebay.

This retails for over $300 but I found a link to an outfit which has it on sale at $155 and refurbs at $137: http://www.techforless.com/cgi-bin/tech4less/DMC-ZS5K?mv_pc=google_base&tts=20111230023701&utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=free&utm_campaign=google_shopping

I recommend this camera as one SWEET pocket digital!!!!

For Christmas I gave my daughter a slightly less-powerful (8-power stabilized zoom) version of the same camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH25K. 16 megapixels, and a very nice camera! This sells around $149 but I found a place called Electronics Expo that had it on sale about $99.

dadagoboi · December 30, 2011, 10:24:14 AM

Big +1 on the Panasonic Lumix. I have an older DMC-LZ8. It has the Leica lens and also full manual capabilities. It's been my only camera for about a year since my Sony DSLR crapped out.

Pilgrim · December 30, 2011, 12:45:31 PM

I can't praise mine highly enough. On the video side - I went to a Moody Blues concert at Red Rocks this summer, and was sitting more than halfway up the amphitheater. I was able to zoom in far enough get two of the band members in the frame, and the audio pickup was surprisingly good.

The still photos it makes are just lovely.

Denis · December 30, 2011, 07:34:13 PM

Awesome, I'll take a look at them! Thanks!

Nocturnal · December 30, 2011, 10:39:43 PM

We have a Panasonic Lumix as well. People that aren't me take great pictures with it. Me? Not so much. Nice camera tho.

Highlander · December 31, 2011, 04:00:41 AM

The Fuji's are pretty reliable...

I use SLR style (on my second now) whilst daughter uses the compact variety...

Heard good things on the Lumix stuff too...

Pilgrim · December 31, 2011, 09:59:50 AM

I got a Canon Rebel T3 for Christmas, as I've been wanting to get into digital SLR. It's a good entry-level SLR. Now I have something new to spend money on, as I want a telephoto lens. Their base lenses come with image stabilization which works well.

But when I'm hiking or on the go, that Lumix will be in my pocket.