Digital Camera

[TommyDodge]

I am looking to purchase a digital camera. Having never owning one before, I am looking for advice on brands etc.
I am looking for a decent camera that is "easy" to use.
Complicated is not an option!
Thanks in advance
Tom
PS loving that Chrysler Town & Country I just bought
wanting to get the camera to post pics of it and other stuff

[Desoto61]

Man, that's kind of like saying you want a pair of shoes. There are a ton of cameras out there now.

Sounds like you want a basic "point-and-shoot". They have lot of features, but for the most part if you just put them in "auto" they'll all take good pictures.

I would expect to spend more than $100. You can buy cheaper but probably don't want too, but you don't have to go much over to get a decent camera.

Most all have plenty of resolution for anything you might want to do with it so I wouldn't get wrapped up in "mega-pixels".

Look at the OPTICAL zoom number, the higher the better. Usually it will be 3 or 4 but could go as high as 10 or 12. Anything larger and it's either expensive (and large) or they are talking about a "digital" zoom which isn't worth worrying about.

I think it's worth a little extra to get a camera with Image stabalization (IS), with small cameras or longer zooms it helps to keep things from being blurry.

Also consider the battery the camera ususes. Battery packs will usually last longer but are more expensive and must have special chargers, vice cameras that use AA or AAA batteries, which can be purchased anywhere, and can also use rechargables.

Personally I like Cannon cameras for point and shoot (not as much for their high end stuff), but I would recommend going to your local store that sells them and play around with a few. If the interface is confusing or it's slow to take pictures, or cumbersome to use then it doesn't matter how great a picture it takes. If you buy from them or go online is your choice.

You will also need to plan on buying a memory card. I highly recommend an "eye-fi" card (http://www.eye.fi/). It can transfer pictures to your home computer wirelessly over your wireless network. You set it up once and any time you want to transfer photos you just make sure the computer is on and turn on the camera and done. It can also automatically post photos to an online storage site like flicr or picasa or FB. Very convenient.

[Gordon Maney]

Go to a real camera store, and buy from a real camera store, not Best Buy. The real camera store will be able to educate you and will be there later for questions they can capably answer.

The real camera store will also be able to let you try taking a few photos in the store, so you can get a feel for which cameras you like best for their controls. You can then also see results; how were your pictures?

When you get your camera, always, always, always, set it for the highest quality image. Always. It is also best to have two pieces of media.

As you take photos, take them off your media and store them on your computer. Don't just leave them in the camera.

Don't just store them on your computer because it will fail someday. Also store them on CD's or DVD's, but preferably on online storage.

Digitals bring many virtues, and also some huge problems. More later on all that.

Go to a real camera store. Also read online reviews of them.

Only one place for info is here: http://dgrin.com/

There are other good sites that specialize in reviews.

[Bob Thompson]

I have to agree with Gordon on the media cards. Get them into your computer or an auxillary drive. I filled the remainder of a large card at the ATHS Antique truck show in Fontana several years back. I started a new card but somewhere along the line I lost the pouch the full card was in. I not only lost the first seventy-five or so pics I took that day but hundreds of others that I hadn't saved. I've been much more conscientous about it since.

[Bob Thompson]

posted in the wrong place

[Hobcobble]

I am looking to purchase a digital camera. Having never owning one before, I am looking for advice on brands etc.
I am looking for a decent camera that is "easy" to use.
Complicated is not an option!
Thanks in advance
Tom
PS loving that Chrysler Town & Country I just bought
wanting to get the camera to post pics of it and other stuff

Tom,
Look at some of the LUMIX cameras made by Panasonic.
They're good quality and simple to use. If you plan on
using your camera a lot, buy an extra battery.
John