Sunday, June 24, 2007

Advice please...

Mark and I are looking to get a new camera. The first time around I did all sorts of research and looking and trying and lots of stuff and that was great, but there is SOOO much more on the market now and it can be a bit daunting.

I found a wonderful camera - at the time. This was about 4 years ago. The camera was great and has performed wonderfully. It is a 3.1 pixel, Cannon A70. The view screen is about 1 1/2 inches square. One day I was NOT 'wearing the strap for safety' and I dropped the camera on the concrete floor...

The camera still worked (amazingly enough), but I was unable to 'view' the pictures on the camera. I had the remove the card and plug the card into the computer in order to see the pictures. This has (sort of) worked and has been o.k. up until now, however, we are now in the market for a new camera.

I thought what better place then all my bloggy friends who ALWAYS have their cameras on hand and use them frequently!

We are looking for a good camera (obviously).
We want to be able to switch to Black and White or colour.
Easy to use.
Something that is still available.
Good sized view screen.
Decently priced.


What do you like/dislike about your current camera?

What is the battery life / style of battery? Do you like the power system?

Is it easy to use, download etc.

Does it have a self timer? Self timer is EVER so important.

Would your recommend this camera? If so why and if not why?

I would appreciate any input on your current camera, would you re-purchase the same camera. Likes, dislikes etc. You can also e-mail us from the link on the right if you don't want to write stuff in the comments.

I thank you in advance for all your advise, pointers and tips.

19 comments:

kitchu said...

Oh woman... email me. As you know I'm a photo freak, and I'm picky about cameras. I read major reviews all over the place. I LOVE my camera. And it's gotten better since I purchased it (Canon EOS REBEL XT 8.0 SLR)- you can get it as a 10 megapixel now. Beachcamera.com has good prices. What is your upper end limit? You can switch to black and white/color and even from sepia/blue/purple/green hues for your black and whites. Also has all the black and white filter options (don't completely understand them but I know Ansel Adams always used a red filter for his photos).

The key to great photos is a great lens though.

Good luck.

Sugar Cookies And Hope said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sugar Cookies And Hope said...

Oooooohhhh, I was just goin to receommend that you email Kris or Sandra (if you don't have Sandra's email, let me know).
We use the Canon A80 and we love it, but the next camera we get will be with the advice of Sandra or Kris (only they don't know it yet).

4D said...

I recommned Canon all the way. Great battery life. Self timer of 2 or 10 seconds. Switch to black & white, sepia. Flippy screen is handy dandy. This is my 2nd Canon. The first one, I wore out the gear from using SO much. They have improved and loving it! I think our is A70. Bot it last year.

Keep smilin!

Polar Bear said...

You have some great resources already. I just wanted to add we just bought the Cannon A570 and I really like it. It is small enough, yet not so small that Ryan has a hard time using it. The only thing I don't like about it is it uses AA batteries. At first I thought that would be great, but now I miss not just being able to recharge the battery. These batteries seem to run out so quickly if I forget to turn it off.

Otherwise it takes GREAT pictures.
Good Luck on your search.

Middle-Aged Moi said...

I am not a good person to ask- we have an oldie. Hmmm....maybe I should drop MINE on a concrete floor....:-)

D & S said...

We have a Sony Cybershot that we got about 3 years ago, so you can probably get one with more mega pixels. Ours is only 5 mega pixels. It works well and we're happy with it. It does video as well as pictures. We have a memory stick that works well. What I like about it is that you can transfer the memory sticks with other Sony products. The battery is one that charges right in the camera.

You can always ask Shawn if you have any other questions.

Anonymous said...

I am going to read back here because we need to buy one asap and I cant figure out what to buy. I like that elf thing. Or maybe I spelled it wrong. it is 7.1 mpx

Elisa...life as we know it. said...

Jaz and I have a digital Kodak that comes with the dock and print station. Not really anything profesional but great for snaps.

redmaryjanes said...

Kris knows her stuff. I would follow her advice.

Jill and Jaap said...

I have a sony cybershot- very hapy with it. Only a 4.1 meagpixel.

Donna Paonessa said...

I'm afraid I can't help you out...I'm technically challenged. My husband bought our's and has my computer rigged so that all I have to do is plug the thing in, and it downloads the pic's to my computer. It's a Sony - that's all I know. *grin*

Donna

Unknown said...

We have a Canon Rebel XT EOS. I don't know what all that means. I do know that when I was shopping for a camera I wanted one that I could self focus, change lenses and that was digital. This camera is so great. Our family is out and about a lot at sports or in the mountains so it is nice to have the option to change out the lens for a bigger one or a smaller one. The downloading of pictures is very easy. The battery life is good so far, no problems there. All in all my two cents on it is the Canon Rebel. I got this camera last summer so I am sure they have cameras with more options nowadays. :) Good luck.

Colleen said...

We have the Cannon A540. LOVE IT!! I love all Cannons - I don't think you can go wrong at all.

PaulaBrett said...

Hubby has a Canon XT Rebel......personally I find it too big and heavy. I've got a Canon A540 which I just love. Has all the features and it's pretty cheap.
I have heard that the Canon with the face recognition is great. I will bring my camera to the next MIW dinner and you can have a play around with it.

Tracey and Mike said...

Sorry I don't know a lot of the techinical details cameras, but ours is great for snaps, has a decent zoom, takes short video clips etc. It's a Sony Cybershot, 5.7 mega pixels, just plug in the USB cable & download your pics. The only complaint I would have, and it's not the camera's fault, is that I find the rechargeable batteries don't hold the charge very well sometimes (if they've been in the case for any length of time, if it's cold etc)

"M2" said...

mine is a kodak easy share
3 years old
it is a great camera.. so easy to use

Heather - The Wanna-be Super Mom said...

Oh my goodness. The Canon Powershot Elph is fantastic. All sorts of settings (easy to use though) like black and white, antique, children, night, etc. But it is very small. You can aim, focus, zoom and shoot with just one hand...I figure this will be important when the other hand may have a little person attached to it!!!

Sophie's Mom said...

I would HIGHLY recommend a Canon Rebel Digital. I've got the older one, (6.3 mp) but now they've got a few newer ones out.

My camera takes great pictures, and if you decide to take a class, you can set things manual, like a regular 35mm.

Check out my blog, to see the pics. Great camera, I took it to China and I'm so glad I did!