What kind of Digital Camera should I get?

[Rijuhn]

I've been wanting a camera for awhile now and now that I'm getting 200 dollar or so every 2 weeks I feel it's time to spend it on something big, or something really good that's sorta small, ;).

So I want a digital camera because:

1) I want pictures to remember things by
2) I want to make site with pictures I've taken
3) I want to show you guys what I look like now/pictures of my life
4) I want to edit pictures by using my Adobe Photoshop skillz
5) I want to make short movies with my camera (I want one that can do 30 or so seconds of film)


I want to consult you guys about this because I don't know how much to spend on a digital camera. I'm going to spend at least 200 dollars. I'm thinking of paying no more than $300 unless I want to go all out (too much money. I have that much but I want to spend some on games and to save up on a car.)

I want to know what I should look for. Should I look for one with auto-zoom, auto-focus, lighting filters, etc.

Questions:

What is a mega pixel or whatever it's called?
How much for one that I plan to have for at least 5 years?
How much memory should it have? 16, 32, 64 MB?
Should I get one with what cool options?
Are there any that can upload stuff to your computer with link cables or whatever?


I know some of my questions are stupid but I want to make sure I got EVERYTHING down. I'm spending 200 or so dollars on this and I want to make sure I know what I'm buying and doing. Thanks guys.

[Cyclone]

Someone help this guy. What a shame this topic is at the bottom of the list. :p

Cyclone

[Paradox]

hey, dont look at me, i don't know much about digital camera types/prices.

[Cyclone]

I know I saw one at Walmart that saves 61 pictures today. New item. $249 Cdn. Didn't check the specs. (might if and when I buy my own, unless my parents surprise me). But that's one from the lower end, digital-wise.

Cyclone

[Saffith]

Damn it, Windows crashed while I was writing. I hate that...

At the very least, a few sites that might be of some use...
http://www.photo.net/equipment/what-camera-should-I-buy
http://www.dpreview.com/
http://www.dcresource.com/



Originally posted by Rijuhn
What is a mega pixel or whatever it's called?A megapixel is a way of measuring resolution. One megapixel = one million pixels.


How much for one that I plan to have for at least 5 years?Don't know. For one that'll still be relatively good in five years, I suspect it'd be a whole freakin' lot. Especially if it's a video camera.
But if you don't mind that there'll be much better ones when you're still using it, it shouldn't be too big a deal.


How much memory should it have? 16, 32, 64 MB?
[...]
Are there any that can upload stuff to your computer with link cables or whatever?Personally, I'd suggest one that stores pictures on disks or cards or something.
My old Sony Mavica uses floppy disks. Nice and simple. I believe the newer models of those use some sort of mini-CDs.

[Verbatim]

First of all, all of them upload pictures to your computer.

If you're looking at the $200-$300 range, you're probably looking at a 2-megapixel camera, which will get you pictures at a resolution of 1600x1200--enough to print high-quality 6x8's (if you have a good printer, and the right kind of paper, of course).

Just about any camera is good enough for web images...the resolution doesn't need to be high for the web, the only concern would be the quality of the pictures in terms of color richness, lack of noise, etc.

As far as memory goes...most digital cameras don't come with enough...so you should probably plan to buy yourself, say, 64MB of extra memory, if you're like me, and want to get in a couple rolls' worth of pictures when you go out photographing, and factor that into the cost.

If you're looking for reviews, I usualy go to Cnet...here's a link to their most recent round-up of "the top 5 2-mega-pixel cameras (http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/0-6733264-8-7945027-1.html?tag=txt)". If you read their reviews, and check out the prices they list, or those at shopping.yahoo.com, you should get an idea of what you can get for how much.

Hope you find what you're looking for!

[Rijuhn]

Thanks for the links guys, but I'd rather have personal experiences with digital cameras. Does anyone have a camera they'd like to talk about and hopefully help me out? I want to know from an actually person (online "friend") what they think of a camera they have. Thanks.

[Cyclone]

Now you're asking a lot outta us...:p

Cyclone

[Gerudo]

i got an olympus d-370 for $130 at i think it was Office Max

goes from 640 mode to 1280 mode, saves as jpg's, usb connects to comp, makes quicktime (.mov) movies... flash, lcd...

awesome...

[imported_Cool_Link]

I got one for $30. Can't beat that with a stick.:rolleyes: Nice little digital camera to.:D I can't remeber anything else...Must...Sleep...Need...Sleep...

[Rijuhn]

I checked out the sites that you linked me to and I now have a better understanding of things and what different options do what. I think I got the camera I want. It's $350, but it should last me at least 5 years. It seems too good to be true though, and too much for me, but I just might buy it. It has a cousin which is $180 but it about half as good.

[Gerudo]

Originally posted by Cool_Link
I got one for $30. Can't beat that with a stick.:rolleyes: Nice little digital camera to.:D I can't remeber anything else...Must...Sleep...Need...Sleep... you cant get a decent digital cam for 30 bucks...

[EWild]

It's probably cardboard and some sickers.

[Rijuhn]

I was about to say. For $30 it must not be digital.

[Raichu86]

I rather like our Sony CyberShot 3.3 MegaPixel. It takes very high resolution pictures (2156 by something at max), MPEG movies, and has effects and stuff. 6x percision digital zoom. Costs about $800, sorry. ;)