Help me find a 'Compact' Digital Camera

[Mediocre]

Hey All,

I already have an 8MP SLR digital camera, it's great for sporting events and such, but I'm going on a cruise next week and need something a little more compact for the 'everyday' photos.

I know VERY little about cameras.

I could go to walmart/best buy/circuit city, and just pick one up off the shelf, but I hate paying sales tax and have only had trouble with those stores (return = store credit WTF)...


Anyway, I'm looking for a MAX $150 (shipped), prefferably from newegg (I'm leaving a week from tomorrow so quick delivery is a must).

It has to be small enough to fit in my pocket to carry around.
Looking for one that takes AA batteries (or a unit with 2 packs so I don't miss any pictures)
I would like it to use SD or micro SD, so I don't need to buy new memory cards, but if not, not a big deal...


I'm looking at these:
Kodak Easyshare Z885
Panasonic DMC-LS80S
Nikkon Coolpix L18


Any opinions/suggestions?

Any insight yields a +1...much appreciated!

THANKS!

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

my sisiter had that very easyshare and it dies 3 mths into ownership ... needless to say it was a gift from cananda = no returns ..

[das müffin mann]

my sister has the kodak, from what ive seen it takes pretty decent pictures, and it can take a bit of a beating (i've droped it a few times) i know very little about cameras myself but from my expereinces with it its a nice camera for the price


edit: i believe we use the coolpix ones at our school if i remember the image quality isn't that great

[GJSNeptune]

Canon's PowerShot SDxxxx IS line.

My girlfriend and I have a Canon PowerShot SD800 IS and it's a great camera. There are a few revisions out now. At the time there was also the SD870 IS, but we chose the 800 because we felt it had a better interface and larger power button. These are great "Point-and-Shoot" cameras.

Seems the latest is the SD1100 IS.

EDIT: Oops. I didn't see your budget at first. I don't think you'll find any of these IS PowerShots around your budget, but if you can spend a little more, it'll probably be worth it.

[Triprift]

An canon powershot one would be a good bet i got an old one a530 wich is an excellent compact. Not sure what tha latest is but id recommend the a series.

[GJSNeptune]

The SDxxxx IS line means SD memory cards and image stabilization.

[Mediocre]

Thanks All, I guess I could spring for the

Powershot A 570 IS

Its a lower MP, but if its easy to use (point and click) and the wife can use it (technically inept ) it might be worth the slightly smaller image sizes.

Thanks to all, hearing from actual owners helps my decision quite a bit...I'm a little partial to the coolpix line (had a few in the distant past), but I'm guessing its not what it used to be (or they have better competition now)..

Any other thoughts??

thanks again



Edit: Nice new avatar FBI funny stuff...Love that scottish accent - Get in mah belly LOL

[erocker]

I absolutely love this Cannon here. Plus, it's a little "old school" looking.

[Mediocre]

yeah that one looks pretty sweet, love the style and its a great size, but the battery pack worries me. I don't want to miss any shots because the battery is dead.

It would appear the only options it has over the 570 is smaller size (ultra compact v. compact), but it doesn't appear to have as many video modes, and less optical zoom (3x v 4x)

Thanks for the insight though....still a little partial to that coolpix...love the blue body...seriously looking at the 570 though, ease of use, power-up time, and an actual optical viewfinder...might be a little bulky though

[erocker]

Yeah the 570 has more options for sure. The SD1000 being a very simple camera is very easy on the batteries, but I guess it's not the greatest for close-ups from my experience. It's a shame it's priced what it's priced at, it should be a hundred bucks less. I carry mine with me everywhere. I believe the 570 will deffinitely give you better quality shots.

[Mediocre]

Cool, THANKS everyone. I'm going to shop around for the 570 now, make sure the 'egg has it at a resonable price...that coolpix is calling my name, but you can't buy a camera just cuz it has cool navy blue trim LOL

Next step is to find it the cheapest (with shipping)...I'm guessing the egg is pretty darn close to the lowest price.

thanks again

[GJSNeptune]

Check out B&H Photo. They like to offer bundles with stuff.

[Sasqui]

Good thread - I'm kinds in the market too... my Olympus is too big for a pocket. Looks like the Kodak and the Panasonic have 640x480 video modes - one thing I'm looking for myself is a good video mode, of course on top of a good camera.

More MP doesn't mean better quality pticture - it really only helps with a good lens - which you won't usually find in a compact.

Macro or Super Macro shooting is a huge bonus (one thing my Olympus shines at). That is if you want to capture close-ups, like take pics of electronics or anything cool and small.

Here's a great site for reviews and comparisons: http://www.dpreview.com Unfortunately, they were purchased by Amazon and seem to have gone downhill since then.

Also, Amazon itself tends to be a good place to look for user reviews. Luck!

[Mediocre]

Originally Posted by GJSNeptune

Check out B&H Photo. They like to offer bundles with stuff.

Yeah, B&H is a huge joke here at my work.

We ordered $50,000 worth of linescan cameras (industrial applications) and lenses... When they didn't show up on time, it took a whole bunch of bullshit to even find out what happened.

It really really really pissed the president of my work off...BTW we paid 50% up front....

I swear the corporate department over there is completely clueless...

[GJSNeptune]

What happened with the cameras?

[Mediocre]

we ordered them elsewhere. Sux when you need to find 64 camera-link linescan cameras in a week or less...I don't even remember where we ended up getting them from.

When our purchaser went back to college, part of her parting gift was a white t-shirt with the B&H logo on it. Got quite a kick out of it

[technicks]

Look for the Casio Exilim S770. I own one and it's a great little camera.

[ktr]

I have the SD1000, and its a great little camera. I also bought it a 2gb OCS 150x memory, and save and reviewing pics are ultra fast. The IS is slightly pointless for this camera for it only has 3x zoom. Its a tad over your budget, but well worth it...canon technology, and all metal case.

[technicks]

This one is refurbished. I also have a refurbished one and really don't care.
Comes with factory warranty btw. Very cheap.

Oh yeah battery life is great.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CASIO-EXILIM-DIG...QQcmdZViewItem

[twicksisted]

I can highly reccommend this camera: Sony Cybershot DSC W80



My girlfriend and I bought one for our holiday to Cape Town, South Africa... fantastic pictures and video... with a 2GB card you can take 1h30mins of video and it looks great... also the pictures are fantastic too

Heres a random pic from the holiday sized down (its 7.2MP originally) and I think photobucket add compression and degrade the quality somewhat:


its small enough to fit in a pocket, the fastest digital camera on the market... literally press the button and 0.5 of a second later the pic is taken... can highly reccommend... cost us £120 but im sure its cheaper in USA... also the lithium ion battery is great... you wont be dissapointed