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View Full Version : Looking for a good all purpose camera


jogoldbe
07-07-2005, 08:25 PM
I am looking for a solid all around point and shoot camera mostly to be used for pictures of family and while on vacation. Ease of use and quick to shoot once it focuses are important.


Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.

Would like to spend less than $400.

Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?

Would like it to be small but it does not need to be one of those ultra-small cameras.

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?

Probably no more than 5 as I just print 4x6 and 5x7

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)

Standard 3-4x

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)

8

Do you care for manual controls?

Not a major priority. Easy point and shoot is better

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?

Pictures of family and vacation spots

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?

Not many

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?

Probably will be shooting lots of indoor photos; not too many low light ones though

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?

Some action as we have a young child who moves pretty quick

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?

I have a sony that is a couple of year old. I do not like it at all. It is slow to focus and shoot and there is always a shadow when I use a flash

Are there particular models you already have in mind?

I have been considering the Nikon 5900 and the Canon A520 but am open to others as well.

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)

No


Thanks for the help.

jessie25
07-07-2005, 08:38 PM
The A520 is a great overall camera - I own it myself. But for your purposes it may be a bit slow in performance; sometimes it takes a few seconds to capture that shot. The main strength of the A520 is its full manual controls, which you have stressed is not a priority. A better choice for you would probably be the Canon SD300.

PhilR.
07-07-2005, 10:43 PM
Read the timing notes in the DPReview.com review for the Fuji F-10. This camera would be a great choice.

PhilR.

jogoldbe
07-08-2005, 10:30 AM
One concern I had about the SD300 was that you have to go through the menus to select any of the scene modes. How easy is the SD300 to use?