Cheap Digital Camera

[ModelMode]

I know sometimes that cheap does not mean good, but is there an inexpensive digital camera that still takes sharp shots without all the other unnecessary features an amateur will never need??

[ndsimm]

are you looking for SLR or point and shoot? What's your price range?

[ModelMode]

SLR? What does that mean in camera terms?

[ndsimm]

Sorry, I assumed you knew....
Single Lens Reflex...the camera with interchangeable lenses
CAnon Digital Rebel, Nikon D50/D70, etc....

[ModelMode]

No, just point and click, my main empohasis is great colors and that the image comes out sharp.

[LoungeLizard]

I've had very good experiences with Olympus point and shoot digitals - but they're not the cheapest. Canon's are pretty good also.

What price range are you looking at?

[bbailey]

I've read good things about the Kodak EasyShare V530 and V550 series of cameras. I think they are in the <$300 range too.

http://www.pcmag.com/products/0,,qn=...+%24250,00.asp

[sraulers]

What are you planning to photograph? Will your subjects be mostly family members and indoor scenes, or will you want to shoot landscapes and nature shots? There are some really good P&S cameras with fairly good zoom capabilities. The reason I point this out is that you may want to stretch a little bit and buy a slightly more capable camera than you think you'll need so you can grow into it. Not necessarily an SLR; just a better grade of P&S. You could still spend less than $500 and be able to take some darn good photos.

My $.02 is up...

[ModelMode]

I am looking at around $200, yeah, I know that sounds cheap, but where I come from that is a lot of money.

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

I would stick with one of the major manufacturers. Kodak, Fuji, Canon, Nikon, Minolta, HP, Agfa, Pentax and maybe a couple others.
These guys give decent consumer point and shoot reviews
http://reviews.cnet.com/Digital_came...tag=cnetfd.dir
After you narrow it down to say 3 or 4 cameras then come back and ask if anyone here as used them and what they think about them.

So now we are picking up members in the Caribbean! WELCOME TO TEJAS!

[Rick Waldroup]

Check out a Nikon Coolpix 4300- very small, 38-114mm zoom, 4 megapixels, has one touch upload to the web, built-in flash, and extremely easy to use. I've seen them on ebay new for about 200.00 to 250.00. It is a really nice little poiint and shoot that is very portable.

[Hogleg 44]

One real drawback with the lower end cameras, to keep in mind, is 'shutter lag'' That is the time difference between when you push the button and when the image is captured. Sometimes that can be significant enough to keep you from getting the shot you really wanted to photograph. I would test the lag on any camera you go for before you buy.

[krodgers]

on the subject of cheap digital cameras.

I was thinking about giving my nephew one for his birthday. He is 5 so when i say cheap I am thinking like 50 dollar range max, even an old 1-2 meg camera would be fine for him. but needs to be some sort of point and shoot.

[ModelMode]

Thanks for all the tips. I was wondering... shutter lag only matters with movement right?

Does that coolpix 4300 give really sharp shots?

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

No shutter lag is where you push the button and have to wait for the shutter to go off, in some cameras it can be over 1 second later while in Pro Level SLR's it is measured in 1/10's of a second or faster. The cheap film throw away-film camera combos that you turn in the whole camera for the film to be processed have almost zero lag time by the way the shutter is built.

Also some of the point and shoots can take quite a while to warm up when turned on.

Also try to find a camera that uses common batteries-AAA or AA not some proprietory rechargeable-this allows you to grab a regular battery and pop it in if your rechargeable goes dead during a shoot.

Also try to find out what the flash recycle time is, flashes are major draw downs on battery power and if you have to waite 10 seconds for it to recycle you may loose a lot of shots and get frustrated.