OT - Digital Camera Question

[newmexicuse]

My wife would like a digital camera.

3 simple criteria:

1. Some sort of a zoom lens - doesn't need to be too powerful as it would be used mostly for grandkid pictures.

2. She wants a viewfinder

3. It needs to be as small as possible.

Plus my criteria of it being less than $ 100 if possible.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[JJReddawg]

My wife would like a digital camera.

3 simple criteria:

1. Some sort of a zoom lens - doesn't need to be too powerful as it would be used mostly for grandkid pictures.

2. She wants a viewfinder

3. It needs to be as small as possible.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Although it's totally against what she's looking for, I recommend you get a Digital SLR camera. I've always had smaller "point and shoot" cameras, but since getting my Canon EOS Rebel T2i, I would never go back. Especially great for getting pictures of my kids who are never still for more than a second.

As far as your criteria, I would recommend the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W530. Good camera and runs for about $100 on amazon. However, it only has the lcd screen and no view finder. Most of the decent "point and shoots" don't have view finders anymore. This cuts down on both size and cost.

 

[stumpy78]

Any of the major brand cameras, Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, etc. are all excellent compared to 5 years ago. Just select the feature set and price that you want. Anything over 5 mega pixels is fine for a point and shoot.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Although it's totally against what she's looking for, I recommend you get a Digital SLR camera. I've always had smaller "point and shoot" cameras, but since getting my Canon EOS Rebel T2i, I would never go back. Especially great for getting pictures of my kids who are never still for more than a second.

I have to disagree. I have always had SLR cameras but frankly they are far too big and bulky and have far too many complicated features that would go un-used and mis-understood by grandma. Plus they are way more expensive than the P&S. The point and shoot digital cameras these days are incredibly capable for most uses. If grandma intends to get seriously into birding, macro photography, landscapes, or fine art photography, get a DSLR. Otherwise, P&S is absolutely the way to go.

(sorry replace "grandma" with "wife" (no offense intended to "wife"))

 

[JJReddawg]

I have to disagree. I have always had SLR cameras but frankly they are far too big and bulky and have far too many complicated features that would go un-used and mis-understood by grandma. Plus they are way more expensive than the P&S. The point and shoot digital cameras these days are incredibly capable for most uses. If grandma intends to get seriously into birding, macro photography, landscapes, or fine art photography, get a DSLR. Otherwise, P&S is absolutely the way to go.

(sorry replace "grandma" with "wife" (no offense intended to "wife"))

I agree, the DSLR's aren't for everyone. I did recommend a decent "point and shoot" at the end of the post though.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[stuckinbig11]

If you want to take good photos of kids, you definitely need an SLR because it takes the photo as soon as you hit the shutter button. The non-SLR cameras wait about half a second, after which the scene has changed, the smile has disappeared, or the kid has moved out of the frame. You have to be very lucky or have very inactive kids to get many satisfying photos.

 

[HoustonCuse]

If you want to take good photos of kids, you definitely need an SLR because it takes the photo as soon as you hit the shutter button. The non-SLR cameras wait about half a second, after which the scene has changed, the smile has disappeared, or the kid has moved out of the frame. You have to be very lucky or have very inactive kids to get many satisfying photos.

The newer ones I have used have much better reaction times although I definitely agree that DSLRs are still much faster.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

My wife would like a digital camera.

3 simple criteria:

1. Some sort of a zoom lens - doesn't need to be too powerful as it would be used mostly for grandkid pictures.

2. She wants a viewfinder

3. It needs to be as small as possible.

Plus my criteria of it being less than $ 100 if possible.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I have used SLR's and now DSLR's for about 40 years. Truth be told, for the average person, a Canon or Nikon point and shoot with a zoom lens is all they need. They are probably going to use it in the automatic mode anyway.

They're smaller, they're not expensive and I think they are the way to go for someone who merely wants to take snapshots.

I even use my Olympus point and shoot as my walking around camera and save my Canon DSLR and all of its lenses for my serious stuff.

She wants a viewfinder and I agree that's the way to go. Problem is, most point and shoot cameras don't have them anymore...they just have the live view on the back. That's fine as far as it goes but you have to hold the camera out in front of you. Not nearly as stable and you'll have more out of focus photos.

DSLR's will have both a viewfinder and live view. I use live view for 90% of my photos, but then I shoot largely landscapes and macro and my camera lives on the tripod.

Truthfully, if you stick with the big names, it's hard to go wrong. Canon and Nikon make great small cameras, they have excellent optics, and they are packed with features the average person will never even need.

Doug mentioned the shutter lag with point and shoots, but DSLR's have it too unless you push the shutter button down halfway to autofocus first...same as you would do with a point and shoot. They might have less shutter lag, but it is still there to a degree and you have to take it into account with moving objects.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

The "under $100" is a problem... I'm a 'serious' photographer, and although i stopped considering digital P&S cameras a long time ago, if i needed one now, with your criteria, i'd rather have a used/discontinued/refurb camera with a higher spec than a new, cheap camera. A camera with a viewfinder is the sticking point these days. All of the low-priced cameras seem to eschew optical viewfinders, as the manufacturers are convinced rank amateurs aren't interested in them when they can view a scene on a 3" screen...

With all THAT said, i'd also probably rather use an iPhone 4 than anything i could get for under $100. But, if you're otherwise convinced, look into a Canon G10. The G11 and G12 are more current, but the G10 will do the job fairly well. It's not tiny, though.

Lastly, it should be said that if the user/photographer is particular enough about the camera she will be using, she might also find it objectionable to use a camera that just isn't 'right.' If she's demanding a viewfinder, she might also be demanding about other issues which crop up when using cheap P&S cameras, such as shutter lag, lack of resolution, dynamic range, and AF speed/lock. I would actually prefer to NOT have a camera than receive the wrong camera as a gift. Maybe you should rethink the gift or the price restriction, rather than end up with an unhappy recipient.

 

[A Clockwork Orange]

Don't listen to any of these guys. Yes DSLR's are nice, but it sounds to me like she's looking for a point and shoot. Lumix is just about the best point and shoot out there. Have a good friend (Pulitzer Prize winning photographer) who almost always shoots with this camera. It has a Leica lens (probably the best lensmaker in the world) and takes just awesome photos.

Here's a link

If you're looking for something more expensive go for a Canon T3i.