Chrisreyn

The boss has decided she wants a digital camera, so I have been studing up on them, but am realy not sure what all the lingo means when it comes to picture quality.
She will mainly be using it for taking shots at the horse shows and for portrait type shots, ussually of horses( for sale ads)..

Any suggestions? I am looking at a Minolta with 3.2 mp and a 3X zoom....
What have you guys had luck with and what have you had problems with?

BigBlue

I'm looking for a digital camera as well. Nothing fancy, just something that works, takes decent pictures, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Flashdancr

I have a Kodak EasyShare DX7590 great pics lots of features easy to use. Here's a web site with good info. You can check out other makes & models there also.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_...x7590_pg2.html

crobtex

It depends on how much quality and how big of pictures you want and how much you want to spend.

Keep in mind:
* The higher the mega pixel number, the higher the quality of the prints.

* Optical zoom is pretty clear, but digital zoom usually causes some degradation of quality.

* The type of "memory"card it uses will vary in price. Be sure to carry extra memory cards, as these things will go bad. Most cameras will reformat them, but unless you have recovery software on your PC, you will loose the pictures.

Good Luck, there are a lot of choices and options in digital cameras.

winkle

Another thing you want to look at is the battery life. Some eat up batteries faster then others. My wife made the jump about a year ago and she went with a Cannon (not saying the Cannon's the best) but for someone who is technicaly challenged she love the digital camera now.

quantrill88

I just got a Fuji FinePix A340. Has 4 megapixels and 3X optical zoom. Also came with a docking cradle and recharageable battery (or you can use 2 AA's). So far Ive been pleased with it, has done everything I bought it for.

Got it for 200 online. Just though Id share my 2cents

Dr. Evil

If you want to take dig landscape pics I personally wouldnt buy anything under a 4.0 MP.

Ive got a 6.1 MP Kodak DX7630. Overall excellent and a very good value. Its a nice middle of the road camera:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/spec...dak_dx7630.asp

You wont find another 6.1 MP camera under $300:

$296 at www.dell.com

joel

You should get the most megapixels you can within your budget now. Stretch a bit if you have to, because they're like computers: as soon as you buy it, it's eclipsed by the next greatest thing.

I got a Canon Powershot G5 5MP camera about a year and a half ago and love it. I got it almost as soon as they hit the market (and paid a little too much for the privilege of having the latest at the time, but worth it). Within a year, they had 6 megapixel cameras out at the same price point. Oh well.

Now I'm trying to find a printer that'll do the camera justice....

Fordzilla

We bought a Canon EOS Rebel for my wife and you couldn't pay her to trade it off on anything else...Ben

duner

check out this site. it looks like they've reviewed just about everything.


http://www.dpreview.com/

DustyRock

Did alot of research before I broke down and finally spent the $. There are alot of great cameras out there and the prices keep falling. I had it narrowed down to an A85 and an A95 Canon. Told some digital camera owners at work they said they like their own cameras but always want more zoom 3x for them was not enough. With that said I went with the Canon S1is (is=image stabilization)10x optical zoom and 32x digital. Its alot of camera for the $ see info here http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/s1is.html and I got the best deal at the time here. http://www.blueswitchdigital.com/sho...ng&sku=CANPSS1 Just my $.02 hope this helps. BTW I love the camera and use the 10x alot. PS. The software that comes with the camera is really good and easy to use. Also cant say enough good about the people I bought the camera from. They are really helpfull and fast.

1sttruck

Maybe start by figuring out how much you want to spend, how much image quality you need, how portable you want it to be, and if you're looking for more 'point & shoot' or more control. A site like http://www.imaging-resource.com/WB/WB.HTM can help you along. Pay attention to battery use as some models really seem to eat them up. The Canon A75 and A85 seem to consistently get good reviews, as do some of the similar Nikons, for a 'family' camera.

Long range zooms get to be hard to hold steady but they seem popular. I'd suggest not breaking the bank as when you jump on the technology bandwagon you often end up with an 'old' model pretty quickly. I picked up a fixed lens, 4 megapixel Sony for the kids for $180, as I was looking for the best image quality at the lowest cost.

localnet

Looking at one for my mother, xmas gift. I have to agree with Dr. Evil, the Kodak 7630 was the nicest out of the bunch as far as ease of use and a nice big screen on the back. They can be had on ebay for a really good price right now. Personally, I would like the Nikon D70, but it is a bit pricy at $1200.00.

And get 4 mpixels +, pictures are much nicer.

Mike

Dr. Evil

Yeah, thats one of the better cameras Id love to have just cant justify the price....for what I do the Kodak works great....and the viewing screen is 2.2" (forgot to mention that).

Chrisreyn

This is a great site, THANKS!

After looing at the reviews from Consumer Reports and the links all of y'all have posted, I thnk I understand these alot better....
Appreciate all the help