Can you recommend me a camera?

What do you feel is the best digital camera in the $300 range? I would like clean, sharp pics and decent macro shots. Thanks in advance!

Bought my wife a Canon Powershot SD1100 IS - its small and takes wonderful pictures. If she lost it I'd buy the same model. $149 after rebate from J&R.

http://www.jr.com/canon/pe/CAN_SD1100ISBLU/

I'm a fan of using nimh batteries in my camera and use a Powershot A630 - its bulky and can't fit in your pocket, but it has a wonderfully useful flip out screen and tons of customization features. I'm not sure if ou can still buy this model but there must be a newer version.

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/canon-powershot-a630/4505-6501_7-32073855.html

I would recommend either of the above very highly.

Good luck!

There are so many good choices these days, I would hesitate against any single recommendation. I would start with these two dpreview comparison threads, thread one and thread two.

addictedmatt said:

What do you feel is the best digital camera in the $300 range? I would like clean, sharp pics and decent macro shots. Thanks in advance!

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Going to mention another Canon; the SX110 IS. It goes for about $250 give or take a few dollars. 9.0MP, 10x optical zoom, IS, and fairly compact for what it offers. Has a lot of features that seem to make this worth a look.

Can't go wrong with a Canon. I'm not up on all the latest models but I would get one with an optical viewfinder. If it's sunny out at all, it can be very difficult to see the screen. With an optical viewfinder, it's no problem.

D.B. said:

Going to mention another Canon; the SX110 IS. It goes for about $250 give or take a few dollars. 9.0MP, 10x optical zoom, IS, and fairly compact for what it offers. Has a lot of features that seem to make this worth a look.

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I'll second the Canon SX110 IS. I have the earlier version (the SX100 IS) and it is one of the best P and S cameras I have ever used. The manual control is excellent, and the picture quality is amazing. You can't go wrong with it! :thumbsup:

The Canon Powershot series is excellent. Not spendy, and the size of a deck of cards. I have the SD1000. Small enough to ride on your belt and you don't know its there.

Good macro, too.

I usually look for cameras that are on sale:
Photo

At the risk of being completely different, I suggest picking up a used Pentax ME Super 35mm film camera from craigslist. You can get nice ones for less than $ 100 with high quality lenses.

Use some Kodak Pro Ultra Color ASA 400 film. Have the film developed but not printed, scan it yourself, and save the rest of your money for flashlights.

Canon and Nikon make nice cameras, but you pay a lot for the brand name IMHO, even in the used market.

Yes, we own some digital cameras and have tried more with a "goal" of DSLR. They are ok, but I still pick up either my ME Super or the 35mm Minox.

A decent camera phone these days is as good as a lot of digital cameras. Nokia makes some nice ones.

If you do decide to really go with digital, buy one that takes good pictures of YOUR family, esp. eye and hair color tones without a lot of fuss. Sitting in front of a computer fixing every color on every picture is a pain.

I can tell you that this feature is not "brand" specific, as my son has a canon that takes great pictures of us, but a more expensive canon DSLR failed completely.

Thanks to everyone for the help. I'm leaning towards a canon, but I will let you know what I choose. Feel free to keep the recommendations coming. :twothumbs

Need to know more about how you plan to use it and size preference to make a recommendation .

You can do a great deal more with a super zoom a little smaller than a DSLR, but if you want to carry it in your pocket, then that's not a good fit.

Most subcompacts are limited to a 3x zoom which is very limiting. A compact like the Panasonic TZ5 has a 10x zoom and can still fit in a pocket.

If you're not limited by size, I'd suggest the Panasonic FZ-28 super zoom. It's nearly as capable as a DSLR.

Just about any Canon camera will be a good choice. GO CANON!!!!!

Ok, now I'm torn. I was going to go with a canon 5s is that a member has for sale in the marketplace, but that Panasonic FZ-28 super zoom looks pretty great. I think I'm leaning towards it now.:thinking:

The Panasonic Lumix series are a great set of cameras too. I'd recommend those right up there with Canon.

I used a FZ-8 for about a year and loved it. I just upgraded to the 28 mainly for the wide angle, but I've noticed that the newer processor does make a difference too. I really didn't need the top end of the zoom - from 12x to 18x, but it's nice to have.

I can't say enough good about them. I'm attached to the FZ-8, but I've got to sell it to justify the new one. I wasn't sure when I got the 28 if it was worth the upgrade. I'm sure now. You won't be disappointed.

Another DP link for the Super zoom reviews in which the Z28 is a co-winner. Very much worth reading the whole article.

addictedmatt said:

Ok, now I'm torn. I was going to go with a canon 5s is that a member has for sale in the marketplace, but that Panasonic FZ-28 super zoom looks pretty great. I think I'm leaning towards it now.:thinking:

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I would recommend a compact Canon or Sony. For most people I know, compacts seem to get the most use since they're so easily carried.

HarryN said:

A decent camera phone these days is as good as a lot of digital cameras. Nokia makes some nice ones.

If you do decide to really go with digital, buy one that takes good pictures of YOUR family, esp. eye and hair color tones without a lot of fuss. Sitting in front of a computer fixing every color on every picture is a pain.

I can tell you that this feature is not "brand" specific, as my son has a canon that takes great pictures of us, but a more expensive canon DSLR failed completely.

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VERY few camera phones could even approach the performance you'll get from a good quality compact in the $250-300 range.

A dSLR is only as good as its operator. Only go this route if you know what you're doing!

I've got an older Canon (S110) and Sony (V1), and they're still great cams. But, about a year ago I wanted a 2AA model to beat around on a trip, so I picked up a cheap Samsung (S85). For about $100 it does everything very well, has a 5X optical zoom, and even a manual mode. Only problems are it seems to prefer the extra voltage of lithium batts and does not have an optical viewfinder, which I definitely prefer. Not quite up there with the big boys, but close.

Geoff

Usually Canon and Sony are recommended for compact digital cameras, but take a look at Panasonic before you buy something. They make pretty damn good cameras, very high quality for reasonable prices. I recently bought the DMC-LX3 and I won't go back to Canon anytime soon. The Panasonic has excellent image quality and it's much faster than any Canon I ever had. The LX3 is at the high price range for a compact digital camera because you have full manual control and some advanced options. If you only need a point and shoot camera, look at some models in a lower price range. I bet they offer more than Canon/Sony for the same price!

Slightly unconventional recommendation, but I picked up a Pentax K100D on closeout for about $250 before Christmas. It's a dSLR and, as such, can use interchangeable lenses. There are 2 versions of the kit lens. "I" came originally with the K100D and can be had for like $50 used. Since I plan to be with Pentax for awhile I went ahead and bought the newer "II" version of the lens, even though it's improvements are not really noticeable on my older camera body.

The Pentax dSLR bodies have shake-reduction built into the body and work just fine with old lenses, so for a pretty reasonable outlay, you could get macro extension tubes and such and /really/ get into Photography.

Even though it's a little bit older body, I'm loving it! I now have the camera, the kit lens, 2 older lenses (Purchased used), and a bag, and I've still spent like under $500.


Failing that, I'm also a huge fan of the Canon A-series cameras. Pretty small, take AA batteries, and I especially like the ones with swivel screens. Prior to my Pentax dSLR I owned a Canon A80, and then more recently, an A95.