digital camera's

[hannah]

I'm going to break down and buy a digital camera, can I get some direction in what to look for, I would like a 3" LCD, what brands should I look at and what feature's, mostly family use, I generally will buy more than I need, like to spend between $300 - $400 before tax, if I have to spend more because of more memory that's okay, within reason, thanks guy's and girl's for your input. Tom.

[bythehour]

Are you looking for a compact camera? In that price range, I assume that you are.

Best bang for your buck is probably the Panasonic Lumix line now. It's got Zeiss glass and image stabilization through its whole line. The FZ and FX line are good choices (I have a FX30). Unfortunately, most Panny's sport 2.5" to 2.8" screens.

Fuji also makes good shooters. I prefer their skin processing algorithms; very accurate and lifelike. (In contrast, Canon tends to be too warm and Nikon too cold.)

Canon digicams are ubiquitous. You see them everywhere. My wife is on her third SD camera and she swears by them. Good news is that the new SDs have 3" screens...at the expense of an optical viewfinder.

You can also get good superzoom cameras in your price range. If this is going to be your only camera, I would go with a compact. You will be more likely to take it out with you. If you are buying a camera for a vacation, you may consider getting a more versatile system, with wide to superzoom coverage.

[hannah]

Are you looking for a compact camera? In that price range, I assume that you are.

Best bang for your buck is probably the Panasonic Lumix line now. It's got Zeiss glass and image stabilization through its whole line. The FZ and FX line are good choices (I have a FX30). Unfortunately, most Panny's sport 2.5" to 2.8" screens.

Fuji also makes good shooters. I prefer their skin processing algorithms; very accurate and lifelike. (In contrast, Canon tends to be too warm and Nikon too cold.)

Canon digicams are ubiquitous. You see them everywhere. My wife is on her third SD camera and she swears by them. Good news is that the new SDs have 3" screens...at the expense of an optical viewfinder.

You can also get good superzoom cameras in your price range. If this is going to be your only camera, I would go with a compact. You will be more likely to take it out with you. If you are buying a camera for a vacation, you may consider getting a more versatile system, with wide to superzoom coverage.

Thanks, I been looking at the canon sd 750 with 3" lcd, someone else said panasonic line, 2.8" would be just fine with me, I guess Henery's would still be a good place to buy, they seem to know their stuff?? Tom.

[XQSmi]

check out www.stevesdigicams.com and www.dpreview.com to give you a good idea of their performance and controls. Then make sure you try them out at henry's or vistek before you buy.

[iyell4]

I'm going to break down and buy a digital camera, can I get some direction in what to look for, I would like a 3" LCD, what brands should I look at and what feature's, mostly family use, I generally will buy more than I need, like to spend between $300 - $400 before tax, if I have to spend more because of more memory that's okay, within reason, thanks guy's and girl's for your input. Tom.
Canon S5IS ... best thing short of a digital SLR. with 60fps video!!:)

[sharkhark]

canon. love mine.

[Desi2007]

For the average point and shoot person...I would highly recommend Canon sd cameras. The best bang for the buck...compact and versatile....take em anywhere....anybody can take good picks........uses sd cards which are cheap enough........I am really happy with mine.........only drawback........they seem to be made from cheap material as per construction and durability is concerned.

[Big Shooter]

dpreview.com is great, I used their forums in helping me to decide on a recently purchased Fuji F20 which I'm LOVIN':)
(I had a Fuji previously, so I already had the XD card)

The camera cost $249 at Shoppers Drug Mart (I used my Optimum Card to get $200 off 'cause I had 75000 points and they had a 'bonus day', but if you do decide to buy from them, wait until they have a 20x points day, like they did last Saturday, and you'll save even more);)

p.s., they also carry Canon, Sony, Olympus

[Haps]

I used to have canon sd's(been thru a few models over the years). I finally ditched those and picked up a Canon S3 and love it. Downside is it doesn't fit in your pocket. But it takes beautiful pictures. And the 10x optical zoom makes so many things possible I never thought before. Whether it's being able to properly frame a photo at a distance. Or being able to take natural shot sof people without them becoming self concious because you are standing 3 feet in front of them.

[bythehour]

Henry's guys are very knowledgeable and helpful, but I wouldn't go to them for pricing.

If I'm buying locally, I go to Aden Camera. There are two locations on Yonge st., north of Dundas (around Elm?). If you go there, as for Swell. The third location is at Pacific Mall.

Aden's sale prices are usually the lowest in the city, and they will negotiate on their regular prices.

[ondadl]

Gonna agree with the Lumix line. The only company with OPTICAL image stabilization at that price. Really helps with such a small camera. I'll be getting one myself in July. I've been using the 4meg FX-10 with 12x internal zoom for 5 years now, and absolutely love it!

[Big Shooter]

Gonna agree with the Lumix line. The only company with OPTICAL image stabilization at that price. Really helps with such a small camera. I'll be getting one myself in July. I've been using the 4meg FX-10 with 12x internal zoom for 5 years now, and absolutely love it!

Fuji has the image stabilization now as well (since their mid-2006 cameras came out). I was leaning towards the Panasonic/Lumix line up until I saw that Fuji(whom I think have better lenses) introduced their own "anti-blur mode" :cool:

[hannah]

Fuji has the image stabilization now as well (since their mid-2006 cameras came out). I was leaning towards the Panasonic/Lumix line up until I saw that Fuji(whom I think have better lenses) introduced their own "anti-blur mode" :cool:

Thanks for everyone's comment's, I decided to go with the Canon SD750, 7.1 meg. and a 3" lcd, with a:) 2 GIG. mem. From what I read and people's comment's it doesn't look like a bad choice. Thanks again for everyone's feedback. Tom.

[ondadl]

Fuji has the image stabilization now as well (since their mid-2006 cameras came out). I was leaning towards the Panasonic/Lumix line up until I saw that Fuji(whom I think have better lenses) introduced their own "anti-blur mode" :cool:

Yes, Fuji has image stabilization, along with most companies now, but I don't believe it's optical or achieved in the same way. The only other company that I know of is the higher ended Sonys, as of last fall.

[bythehour]

Yes, Fuji has image stabilization, along with most companies now, but I don't believe it's optical or achieved in the same way. The only other company that I know of is the higher ended Sonys, as of last fall.

All the majors have optical/image stabilization. Sony acquired the capability when it bought Konica/Minolta's imaging division. Nikon and Canon SLR's achieve stability by mechanically adjusting a lense element. Sony/Minolta adjusts the imaging sensor. The benefit of the latter is that you get stabilization with all your lenses, whereas with Nikon/Canon you have to buy the feature with each lens.

Having said that, Fuji is not a "major". Its version of stablization is called "anti-blur", which simply forces the camera to use a higher ISO, ergo faster shutter, ergo better motion freeze. It is not image stabilization and will not have the same effectiveness. (However, the Fuji SLRs use Nikon lensmounts, so you can buy Nikon IS lenses for real stabilization.)