Digital Camera Recommendations

I have a some birthday money (around $125) and want to buy a digital camera, probably off of Ebay due to price. Do you have any suggestions on which brand works best with Macs? I was leaning towards Olympus, Nikon or Fuji, but have seen some cheap HPs on there.

Any help would be appreciated!

do not get a cheap nikon. go canon or fuji when going low-end, they tend to make good compromises.

don't worry too much about mac compatability, you can get a card reader for just about anything, plus, i'd kind of assume most cameras will at least show up like a flash drive.

keep in mind, if you do find a model you think might be ok, go to flickr.com and use their camera finder to search pics taken with that camera. it will give you a good idea of what the camera is capable of.

eric said:

do not get a cheap nikon. go canon or fuji when going low-end, they tend to make good compromises.

don't worry too much about mac compatability, you can get a card reader for just about anything, plus, i'd kind of assume most cameras will at least show up like a flash drive.

keep in mind, if you do find a model you think might be ok, go to flickr.com and use their camera finder to search pics taken with that camera. it will give you a good idea of what the camera is capable of.

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Agreed. Canon makes a nice low-end camera (coincidentally, I also like their high-end models as well). Most digital cameras work well with the Mac.

As far as what model to choose, based on your budget - think about how you're going to be using it. If you're just using it to do web pictures, eBay stuff, email pictures to friends and family, there's no reason to go over a 2MP camera. If you're going to be printing 5x7s and larger, consider something 3MP or better.

I love my Canon Powershot SD300. It wasn't quite that cheap when it was new, but it's great for slipping into your pocket and using for candid shots. It's not something you'll want to use for 8x10s, but it works fine for what I'd otherwise use a disposable camera for. I'd imagine you'd be able to find one used for around $150 or less on eBay.

While I don't agree that cheaper Point and Shoot Nikons are crap, I would recommend a Canon. Their P&S are nice. I want a PowerShot SD600 or better myself.

breadfan35 said:

23' HD Monitor

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Twenty-three feet? That's AWESOME! Post a pic! :mac:

I've always been happy with the Canon cameras I've owned, P&S and SLR. However, at the low end of the price structure you have a LOT of options. My advice, if you can, is to head over to a Circuit City or similar type store and play with the various models they have. Size, features, resolution, etc. vary a lot at the $100-$150 level. Get what you need that works well for you in your hands.

check out www.dpreview.com for tons of review and information, as well as a camera finder based on price and specs you are looking for

Thanks, guys- it sounds like Canons are the consensus, here. I'm not into serious photography- just want to take pictures of our kids here and there.

you know, if you're taking family pics, you might want to spend just a bit more.

these are pics you'll look back on in years, and having just a bit more detail or slightly better color may actually matter.

i just bought a panasonic lumix DMC-TZ1 and i am thrilled with it.
5MP / 10x zoom, leica optics, very fast recovery time, takes great low light/natural light pics as well as flash and bright light. colors are natural. all around great camera. retail is normally about 299, but i see them on sale all the time, and got mine for 250 or so.

there are places to skimp, but memories of your kids...

this is the cam:


a sample low-light pic when i wasn't really even trying to get something spectacular...

ToddG said:

Twenty-three feet? That's AWESOME! Post a pic! :mac:

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Haha! Thanks for pointing that out.

breadfan35 said:

Haha! Thanks for pointing that out.

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No problem, dude. Dream big!

I brought myself a new Pentax the other week. No i'm usually a Canon guy, i've got a DSLR and L series lens etc etc. However the Pentax was the best buy at the best price.

It is a Pentax Optio A20. 10MP and only £160.
BARGAIN

karudzo said:

Thanks, guys- it sounds like Canons are the consensus, here. I'm not into serious photography- just want to take pictures of our kids here and there.

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You don't have to be serious about photography in order to buy a great camera. I work at a one hour lab and seeing customer's photos you can tell you have a good camera and who doesn't. Cheaper camera's tend to have white balanceing problems which means the color and contrast is off. Most cheaper digital cameras are sensitive to brightlight and will wash out those areas. Nearly all digital cameras are sensitive to indoor lighting causing the images to have an orange hue. Then outdoors you can have a blue hue. So...if you want your kids to look like Oompa Loompas or smurfs go buy a cheap camera.

Heres some quick things to remember

PRICE DOESN'T MEAN A GOOD DEAL....Unless its a camera on clearence and because it's on clearence doesn't mean its a bad camera it just might be last years model.

Never ever buy a camera for its megapixels. ex. A 6mp DXG (no name brand) w/ 5x digital zoom is for $100 at Best Buy and a 5mp Kodak w/ 4x opictal and 3x digital zoom for $125 @ BB. Go for the Kodak...trust me. The more megapixels doesn't mean you get better pictures all these things matter.

Optical Zoom is better than Digital Zoom: Optical zoom zooms into the object that you are viewing. Digital zoom zooms and crops into the picture losing quality and megapixiels and creating noise.

Sensor size also has a huge thing to do with the quality you are going to get. A 10mp camera with a 1/2.5" which produce far higher amounts of noise than a 10mp camera with a 1/1.8" | 1/1.65" sensor.

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/deconstructing-the-megapixel-myth/ I dont know if that requires a membership for the times but I suggest reading David Pogue's article on the megapixel myth

Thanks for all of the help. I got a good deal on eBay for a Fuji F700, it seemed to have high reviews from what I saw.