I am looking to buy my sister a digital camera for xmas but I have NO idea what to look for in one. I would like to keep it under $300 if possible. She will soon graduate college with a degree in interior design, so she would use it to go around to clients houses and take pics of the rooms, etc. Someone please point me in the right direction! Thanks guys.

 

well i just bought a sony dsc-p52 for my wife for xmas..I gave it to her early..it costs 300$ Canadian right now at futureshop.ca..only thing with it is you need a bigger memory stick for pictures..it comes with a 16mb one that just isn't enough..I bought a 256 mb pro stick for 150$..

what you should look for it the megapixel count..the sony is a 3.2 and that is plenty..optical zoom is another feature that is important to alot of people..the sony has a 2x optical and a 3.6 digital zoom..the sony also has movie mode with audio..all in all the sony camera I have is about the best I have seen for the price tag..another camera to check out is the canon a300..it is discontinued now, but you may find an older model laying around..there is no optical zoom on it though and the movie mode is very short compared to the sony..

 

If you want really nice pictures and you want to be able to make them bigger and still look good, dont bother with under 4mp.

Things to be carefull with it...dont paye attention to "digital" zoom, thats crap. Optical zoom is the only thing that matters when it comes to zoom.

If she is going to take night shots, look for something that has a shutter speed that can be high enough (5 seconde +).
If its just point and shoot, look for something with a FAST shutter speed.. 1000+ milli secondes.

And most camera nor days can take mini videos (30 or so seconds). Make sure it has a microphone to also take in the sound.

Another thing to look for is a camera then can accept both kinds of memory sticks. There are to main kinds and I forget the names. One is MMC the other I dont remember.

Good luck

 

I do tech support for digital Cameras with Hp, What to look for in a digital camera a non- hp [img]smile.gif[/img] , mostly you want the highest OPTICAL zoom not digital zoom and anything over 4mega pixel isn't worth the extra $$$.. I just got a Kodak DX6490, where you can add filters/lenses to it granted it was almost 900$ but amazing pics though, if you want a basic camera just get like a 3 mega pixel if she don't plan on doing anything special with it... The camera I bought was 10X optical and 3X digital, I can print a 20*30" Photo if I had a printer that big, the wifes parents just spent 500$ on a Sony Cybershot 5 megpixel and it's like 3 optical zoom and 4X digital.... of course people fall the the TOTAL zoom instead of optical....I am just learning mine still lots of interesting **** on that thing...when the pic is uploaded I can zoom like 10X on the program before it starts to pixelate, and 1 more thing, you want something that has a decent flash on it, my old Samsung Digimax had a like a 4 foot range was horrible, the one I have now is like 16 feet, and I can add on an external flash as well..

[ December 15, 2003, 05:03 PM: Message edited by: ChizzerZ24 ]

 

Jon, I have a Hewlett Packard Photosmart 320 digi cam. It is 2.1 mp, takes 30 second vid clips. The next model up has all the same features, but costs an extra $100 for sound...LAME!

A great camera for $200, staples has them on sale from time to time.

[img]graemlins/@bow.gif[/img]

 

I just picked up a Canon Powershot S400 and it is sweet. I don't think that i could have picked better for my needs!

 

Check this site out

http://www.imaging-resource.com

You'll find the most detailed reviews and the largest review database that I've seen.

Check this article out in particular:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/ARTS/FEATURE/FEAT.HTM

As well as this:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/WB/WB.HTM?view=dp_cheap

It's a little more than $300, but I'd recommend the CANON A60. Kodak has good image quality, but they are very basic units. HP is blah IMO and I wouldn't touch one of their 'lesser' cameras with a 10 foot pole. I bought a Fuji FinePix2650, takes very nice pictures and for $200 at XS Cargo, ya can't go wrong.
Canon is your best bet if you want loads of features and excellent image quality. Fuji is great for a budget.

With a cheaper camera you better get familiar with photo editing programs.

My 0.1c. [img]graemlins/beer.gif[/img]

[ December 15, 2003, 06:00 PM: Message edited by: chaos ]

 

for 300 bucks good luck getting a 4mp with any kind of features..i couldn't imagine pictures being more clear than my 3.2 on fine res..or being able to distinguish a 3.2 mp shot from a 4.0mp shot..

saying don't bother with anything under 4 mp is just crap..3.2 mp for 300 bucks is a good deal especially when I can take 11 minute movies 640x480 at 15 fps..and 320x160 clips at 9 fps for 1.5 hours..all with sound..the sony also has night settings, and a whack of other features..300 bucks is a deal for this camera..

I do agree that optical zoom is the only thing to look at but sony's smart zoom really does help keep the pictures clear when using dig. zoom..

[ December 15, 2003, 06:02 PM: Message edited by: pounder ]

 

He's a Solectron ****, everyone!! [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img]

 

Yeah that's an absolute load of poop.
With the right techniques and a decent camera, you can pull stunning pictures out of a 1 or 2MP camera. And likewise, you can pull totally crappy pictures out of a $1500 6MP Digital SLR in the wrong hands.

Oh. And since a lot of indoor photos are going to be taken, trust me on this, invest in a tripod.

[ December 15, 2003, 06:40 PM: Message edited by: chaos ]