Digital cameras?!?!?!

[em99010pepe]

Need help to buy a digital camera for less than $350 but I don't know where to start!
Maybe a list of sites, specifications....

Carlos

[matrix_fan]

What would you be using the camera for? Just regular family photo taking or what?

This is a nice camera though http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830120179 .

[LAURENU2]

Try pricewach.com it will list prices and links to hundreds of webstores
http://www.pricewatch.com/m-73.htm

$196 - 10x zoom
$211 - 12x zoom
$207 - 15x zoom
$211 - 16x zoom
$181 - 30x zoom
$65 - 3x zoom
$41 - 4x zoom
$84 - 1.3megapixel
$151 - 2.0megapixel
$65 - 3.2megapixel
$85 - 4.0megapixel
$95 - 4.1megapixel
$126 - 4megapixel
$91 - 5.0megapixel
$145 - 5.1megapixel
$159 - 6.0megapixel
$270 - 7.2megapixel
$288 - 8.0megapixel
$354 - 9.0megapixel
$196 - 10x optical
$196 - 10x zoom
$159 - 6.0megapixel
$288 - 8.0megapixel
$53 - body
$169 - digital photo frame
$167 - dock
$616 - dslr
$19 - keychain
$39 - manual focus
$207 - memory stick
$10 - mini
$287 - mini dv
$76 - mmc
$159 - mp3
$178 - mpeg4
$21 - pda
$79 - remote
$76 - sd card
$31 - slim
$448 - slr
$595 - slr body
$448 - slr digital
$14 - small
$61 - smart card
$729 - underwater
$14 - usb
$14 - video
$256 - waterproof
$110 - wide
$191 - wifi
$53 - wireless
$137 - xd

[Paratima]

Pricewatch will tell you how much they cost, but not what they do or what they do well (or what they fail to do well). For that, try sites like www.dpreview.com and www.steves-digicams.com. They have reviews and helpful hints, as well as links to many other review sites. Also wouldn't hurt to peruse a couple of photo-enthusiast magazines.

Here's a couple of helpful hints: Don't be in a rush to buy; take your time. And, don't buy from the cheapest dealer. There are a few dealers out there who charge amazingly low prices, then either bait-&-switch or try to charge extra for standard items that should be included.

IMO, the Canon A620 pointed out by Matric-Fan is a good one.

[matrix_fan]

One major thing to think about is what you'll be using the camera for.

I bought a Canon G6 Pro about a year ago, and i love it except the zoom isn't that great. Always remember digital zoom is junk. Only optical zoom matters. Most digital camera dont have much optical zoom (4-6x) But if your going to be taking picture of people way off (as i do occasionaly) you may want to find a 12x-16x optical zoom, but remember the farther you zoom, the less movement to blur a picture. ZOOM camera: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830120171

MP really doesn't matter over 4-5MP as long as you arent printing poster-sized prints. Basically its overkill for most of us. American motto: the bigger the better

Another thing to look for is image stabilization just for the fact i just said. If your not going to have this on a tripod all the time, it is a nice handy feature, and one that not many people know they are missing when they buy a cheaper camera.

Batteries are yet another thing to look into. Me personally, i prefer batteries that are made specifically for cameras (e.g. not AA, AAA, etc). Just because it is easier to keep track of a odd-shaped battery in my life than 2 AAs. Also, the non-AA batteries seem to last longer. And im comparing it to rechargeable AAs, as is what most people with digital cameras will need to use to save money.

One last thing to look at is the sensor in the camera, the bigger the better(i think)hah. http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~parsog/photo/sensors1.html

If you are new to digital cameras, Kodaks are supposed to be very user friendly, but not necessarily best quality. Canons are supposed to be built well, and contain great features/quality for the price. Sonys pack a punch into their cybershots, i think they are good for compact models.

^thats all my opinion, of which ive came to by reading magazine, articles, and through my own experience.

*EDIT*
I just thought of something. actually two somethings. First , make sure the viewing screen is to your liking, mine swivels and turns and can turn the opposite way for self-potraits or the liking, but some are made into the body of the camera and cannot do that.

Storage methods do not really matter anymore ( SD, MMC, CF ). I went with CF, just because at the time they seemed cheaper, now the opposite is cheaper, seems that SD is the cheapest, smallest, and most used. All hold the same capacities though.

Oh, and by the way, ALWAYS GET THE EXTENDED WARRANTY!!!

[em99010pepe]

Thank you all.
I want a camera to take pictures not for movies.

Carlos

[Shish]

A lot do both.
I`ve still got and use both my Hi8 non digital Sony and my prized Canon with a lens set includes both 500mm and 26mm-130mmlenses which apparenty are still of use if I buy a digital body. From what I`ve read and seen of reviews, most digitals can be split into groups but as said above, forget digi zoom, optical is best and if you want a big optical zoom, you maybe also should look for image stabilisers and fast action settings in the programs. I know my Canon has most of that cos I used to take shots from helicopters and the camera shake from that is tremendous but the Canon handles it. Maybe I`ll convert to digi sometime but 35mm still makes for good photos and I`ve got a box of super fast 600 still in the fridge which has free processing for the next 2 years :D
Anyway, decide on your budget, look at the reviews, go to a big camera shop and try them yourself cos some have fast shooting and some take a while to fire up. Then go on the web and shop aound, not forgetting the manufacturers own shops for rebuilds as new cos there`s often some good, guaranteed bargains which may come into your price range as they aren`t so new but may have better lenses etc than you could normally afford. The heart of the modern camera is still the lens first, followed by the action inside (especially digis which may take time to switch on, maybe upto several seconds and your "snapshot" is gone) and the more pixelsa you have on the sensor the better the definition of the final print ( especially if you want to blow it right up or focus on just one part of a group).
Then spend twice as much as you first thought you would :looney:

[gopher_yarrowzoo]

I have a Olympus Camedia C-765 (which is now in their Achieve section although I only got it 6 months ago) it's got 10x Optical Zoom and is a nice 4MPixel Camera, enough features to keep ya happy as well, macro zoom, turn full time focus on/off, digital zoom on/off, change picture size, HQ Jpg or Std Jpg - all very nice, even does Raw TIFF images too, I agree with Shish, go to a good large camera store and find someone who know what they are talking about - if they sound too glib and start firing phrases at ya,ask 'em what it all means - they probably won't be able to tell ya.. Also look out for cost of additional batteries / charger / Memory cards etc and see if you get any discount for buying another memory card at same time as camera - I got 20% off a 256mb xD card when I bought it with my camera. Yeah power up speed is important - but then again, if your out and about and want to capture images fast you have the camera ON :P.

[Digital Parasite]

Yeah the revie sites that Paratima posted are great. I also like this one as well: http://www.imaging-resource.com/

I currently have a Canon S2 IS which I love for the long zoom and optical stabalizer. I never thought I would be using the movie mode much either since we have a good 3CCD digital camcorder but I use it quite often with my son since the quality is great and it is much easier/faster to use for short clips.