I'm looking for another camera.

I had an older Cannon Powershot that lasted many years with good results.

It started acting funky a while back, so I quickly bought a GE950 el cheapo that actually takes GREAT pictures.

Sometimes.

The issue is that it won't always actually take the picture. And then if it does delay, I end up moving the camera and getting a blurry shot.

So let's just call it tempermental.

Anyhow, my want list is below in order:

1. $200 This is a target, not a true maximum.(I'd be too nervous traveling with a $500 camera, since we often take it on hikes, bike rides, beach, etc)

2. Fast "lag time" between pictures. I don't want to have a special option to take 5 frames in on second. I just want to be able to click the next picture very soon after taking the first. This may be even more important than price, as I've missed too many great pictures over the years.

3. Prefer SD or SDHC memory cards.

4. Long batter life, or simple AA batteries. When camping it's tough to always recharge.

5. Size doesn't matter. I have my small GE camera for when I need to carry it in my pocket.

I'd jump onto some fancy-pants photo forum, but they all use $2000 cameras and talk about things that mean nothing to me. I just want to take the damn picture.

Oh, and I already have a video camera, so I don't need this one to take vids, or cook my meal or give me GPS coordinates.

Muchas gracias.

With my son's high school graduation and me with a 15 year old camera I decided to take the jump and purchase a good camera.

I selected a Sony CyberShot TX7.

I like it for everything EXCEPT is you're trying to zoom for a distance shot...it's really limited.

Very user friendly and HDMI too!

tail...shoot me your email and i'll line you out. Being a Profesional Horse Racing Photographer, I know a lil about horses and more than my fair share about camera equipment.

capenaz at comcst dot net

For a beater/camping camera, you can't beat the Olympus SW line.........which I think is NOW called "stylus tough" or something like that.

LONG battery life (I always have a spare charged battery just in case).

Waterproof (can actually be taken underwater)

Drop/Shock resistant

"Better" than other cameras I have owned as far as time between shots goes.

Small.......the zoom mechanism is internal so no moving parts.

I am pretty sure Olympus has moved on to SD SDHC cards.......if not they used to always include adapters for MicroSD with their cameras.

The brand new ones are around $300..........I'd get an older model (who really needs 14 **** megapixels anyway??).

Ping bluwater

Just looked..........eBay has the 10MP versions for less than $200.

I'd recommend another canon powershot. I have the A530 and I bought my wife the A590 last year, I think.

Very good, inexpensive cameras, IMO.

My email is acting up so I'll shorten it and put it here.

Obviously a digital SLR would be the best choice for frame to frame shooting. The PAS (point and shoot) models just don’t compare to the reaction time and shutter speeds of SLR’s, but unless your looking to invest money which it seems your not at this time, there are a few alternatives.

Before I really got into Photography years ago, Kodak made some of the best functioning PAS cameras around. That hasn’t changed much over the years. I would say a good camera to look into would be the Kodak Easyshare Z981. Its runs a little more than 200, online its going between 260 and 300 but the features it offers justify the price if your looking to expand your photography a little bit.

One of the biggest features this camera offers is its 26x optical zoom SKV lens. Many PAS cameras will extend well past 26x, but not in optical zoom, they do it in digital, which means the camera adds more “noise” to the picture or makes it grainier.

It looks great for night work as well. It will go up to 1600 ISO at 14 megs and will go to 6400 ISO at 3.2 megs. Going that high on your ISO will certainly add grain to the picture but it allows you to take shots you couldn’t before or when the stock flash wasn’t enough.

It looks to have about 16 different picture modes, one of which is manual. The shutter will run up to 1/2000th of a second with a frame to frame lag time of what looks to be .02-.03.

The aperture on the lens is fast 2.8 , but it only goes up to 5.0 which means doing creative photography with no depth of field will be hard without manipulating the camera

It is a full 14 megapixel camera, which means (in theory) you should be able to print images 18 x 24 straight from the camera with minimal noise, of course the lighting will affect that.

It does have a 3” viewing screen which is nice and it also does facial recognition as well.

There looks to be many more features this camera offers, these were just a few. Id say it’s a fairly good deal and it allows you to expand on your photography skills if that’s something your interested in doing.

Digital SLR’s will always offer more creativity in terms of true photography, but it gets pricey real quick and if you don’t have a fundamental understand of the basics, it can be very confusing and frustrating. I would be more than happy to offer any advise or tips you may need…...just let me know.

Took a Nikon click n shoot kind of camera to Costa Rica. It's a decent little camera, but after years of using my trusty Pentax K-1000, which took great pics for years, I was disappointed. Nowhere near the flexibility of an SLR, and the pic quality was nowhere near either.

If I had it to do over again, back when I had a few more bucks last year, I'd have picked up a decent digital SLR.

MrsHar just researched this for a month, reading all kinds of websites and reviews, and she ended up buying a Panasonic Lumix something or other, so... Definitely buy an Olympus!

ScottHar

^"SLR Anxiety" is a concern of mine.

I don't have one.........but I've always had some sort of midrange camera (my "better" camera).

I find that I take it out less often that I should.

Years ago I bought my little Olympus "go anywhere" camera and I owe most of my more memorable pictures to that purchase because I don't "worry" as much about beating it up or getting it wet.

But then again, I feel that everyone should have at least TWO cameras........maybe three.

My next camera will be a digital SLR.

OP..email me

polaristar_2000

yahoo

com

^13

ems

I just bought a Nikon coolpix 10 mega pixel refurb with a full Nikon warranty on ebay for $60...

Nikon Coolpix S220 10 MP Black VR Digital Camera USA

Sale date: 05/09/10

Tracking number:

$56.55

Paid with PayPal on May 09, 2010. Shipped 05/11/10 Feedback left Positive feedback received

good little camera

wheel,

#15 We got a Coolpix, too. Can't recall which one. I bought it for the business, mainly for the investigator to use. It's fine for that work, but no match for the quality of pix my K-1000 took, and I got the K-1000 way back in 1981.

Yeah...I think my next camera will be a digital SLR, too. Still...the Coolpix was easy to tote, I didn't have to lug an entire gear bag with it, and if it got stolen, I wouldn't have had a heart attack from losing $3000-4000 in camera equipment. Knowing what I know about Costa Rica now, I wouldn't worry as much about it getting stolen...as long as I took care of it. Still, you start adding lenses, filters, etc., that can add up.

dpreview.com

digitalcamerainfo.com

Pac,

I bought my Pentax K-1000 a couple years before you bought yours. I think the body was $99, $109 or $119. A Pentax lens was $40-$50 more. Anyhow, fast forward through the Nikon FE and FM I had at the same time during high school. I had motor drives with rechargeable batteries. They were stolen out of my bedroom closet by one of our maids, while I was in my first semester of college.

Now, I have a law-office-dedicated Nikon DSLR that is about 6MP, with the following approximate lenses: an 18-55 zoom, an 85-210 zoom, and a very fast (1.4 or 1.8) fixed 55mm. I have 3-4 different cards.

It is always charged up, and everything is stored in a camera bag that is locked in on of my desk drawers. I also keep an Obensky folding scale in the bag for property damage photos and take injury photos whenever I can.

Tailgater,

Check out Walmart's website to review some cameras. Go to Walmart with a few potential choices in mind. Check them out and buy one. Great prices. Great selection.They sell all the major brands. You will save yourself a lot of time and $$.

BTW, we have bought a few Sony there over the years and have been very pleased with all of them.

However, if you are going for a DSLR, I say buy a Nikon- and only a Nikon!

Costco... Canon... good value and great pictures...