In the market for a low end digital camera

Erockrazor

Erockrazor

I mix in (2x) real-time
Hey camera freaks,

My girlfriend and I want to get a digital camera. The features we are looking for in the camera might list something like...

  1. takes a clear picture
  2. can take a picture quickly after pressing the button
  3. compact
  4. fair battery life

Everything else is kind of secondary. We just want to take photos to document things more than any sort of art. Zoom rings and aperture and shutter settings are not important. We just want simple and effective.

I was hoping I could tap into some of your knowledge. There has to be a few "dmp3's" of the camera world. A camera that's cost effective and well made at the same time.

I really don't want to spend more than 150 dollars on this so the less expensive, the better. I don't mind buying used on eBay really. I am also talking about buying a camera for myself and another one for my girlfriend. A perk for my girlfriends camera would be a green camera. But that's secondary too:). At least I think that's secondary to her...


Thanks for your expertise! I hope I'm not asking a "whats the best vocal microphone for 30 dollars" question. If I am, I'm excused as a camera n00b!

Any suggestions will be looked into. Also a website with credible reviews or even a reputable camera retailer (such as b&h) might come in handy. :)

Thanks, Eric
 
Erockrazor said:
Hey camera freaks,

My girlfriend and I want to get a digital camera. The features we are looking for in the camera might list something like...

  1. takes a clear picture
  2. can take a picture quickly after pressing the button
  3. compact
  4. fair battery life

Everything else is kind of secondary. We just want to take photos to document things more than any sort of art. Zoom rings and aperture and shutter settings are not important. We just want simple and effective.

I was hoping I could tap into some of your knowledge. There has to be a few "dmp3's" of the camera world. A camera that's cost effective and well made at the same time.

I really don't want to spend more than 150 dollars on this so the less expensive, the better. I don't mind buying used on eBay really. I am also talking about buying a camera for myself and another one for my girlfriend. A perk for my girlfriends camera would be a green camera. But that's secondary too:). At least I think that's secondary to her...


Thanks for your expertise! I hope I'm not asking a "whats the best vocal microphone for 30 dollars" question. If I am, I'm excused as a camera n00b!

Any suggestions will be looked into. Also a website with credible reviews or even a reputable camera retailer (such as b&h) might come in handy. :)

Thanks, Eric
Click to expand...

These days, just about any cheap digital camera will satisfy at least three of the criteria. The tricky criterion is: "can take a picture quickly after pressing the button".

This depends, in part, on the power of the camera's processor (with power generally commensurate with price). Slowness is also a function of auto-focus and how efficiently the camera does this. However, technique can help out here. Most cameras have a 'pre-focus' on the shutter button; half-press performs focus, then full-press takes the shot. If the situation allows you to pre-focus, then shoot, even cheap cameras can do this quickly.
 
gecko zzed said:
However, technique can help out here. Most cameras have a 'pre-focus' on the shutter button; half-press performs focus, then full-press takes the shot. If the situation allows you to pre-focus, then shoot, even cheap cameras can do this quickly.
Click to expand...

And there we have a work around. Thanks for the response Gecko.

Yea my sister has a camera made by Olympus and it literally takes a few seconds to take the picture. This just seems to make the photo a little less natural. I'm just saying, I dont want the kodak moment to pass me up :).

Is there any direct specification that would tell me how quickly it responds to the picture? I know there's other things involved like how long the shutter speed is and things but I just want a simple point and shoot camera.

Thanks again, Eric
 
The spec your looking for is called shutter lag , measured in mili-seconds, and its a spec that doesn't normally get published on point and shoot cameras because most of them are very slow compared to a DSLR. The only way to really check that out is to go to a camera store and try a bunch of them out before you plunk your money down.

Digital SLR cameras will definitely be markedly quicker, offer fully automatic PHD* modes but also be well outside of the price range you mentioned unless you could find an older model like a Canon 10D or 20D with a kit lens which might go for around 200-250.

Cheers! :)



* Press Here Dummy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top