Beginner's Camera, durable and simple

[Samilia]

Budget
- under $500, preferably under $400

Size
- doesn't matter, really

Features
megapixels: 3 or 4 is fine

zoom: something really easy and, you know, point, press, and away you go.

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
- 8

Do you care for manual controls?
- Please no, although the option would be nice, but something simple is most important

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?
- travelling

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
- probably not, though I would like the option of 8 by 10s and such

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
- Some. It has to do it fairly well, though I suppose I can always fix the pictures later on my computer.

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
- no

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?
- no

Are there particular models you already have in mind?
- no

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
- Whatever it is, it has to be durable. I'm not the most corodinated person and it will be travelling a lot, going on hikes and so on. Something that is easy to use, and won't break easily.

Thanks so much. I was nearly to tears with all the different information out there but this is wonderful. If you have a few in mind, by all means, please list them all.

Thanks again!

-Samilia

[avi777]

Hi Sam,

I have a H1 and would recommend it, but then you ought to check on a few others before you are convinced. Ask me what I like abt the H1 and I would say good flash, good IS, good colors, has manual adjustments and auto. And the auto is good. You can also add lenses

[bascom]

Reading most of your criteria you started with, it sounds like you want a point and shoot or subcompact. First, you say you want something easy to point and press, so how about the Canon A610? It's a very nice point and shoot with the swivel LCD you like. But you say you want something easy to travel. Is the A610 too big or heavy? If so the Casio Z120 is my fav small camera.

Then at the end, you say you want a bunch of other features: Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Hotshoe. These are usually found on bigger cameras like the H1 that avi777 mentions. Or the Canon S2 would have the swivel LCD. But these bigger cameras are not travelling lightly and will cost more.

As for durable, any camera could break if you drop it or aren't careful with it. If you're worried about that, spend $300 or less.

[Samilia]

Actually, I only wanted weather-proof. The rest were just from the form that is sticky. But it's good to know. You know, I was just looking at the Canon A610. I liked what I saw, and I don't mind a bigger camera. It's a definite possibility right now.

Another thought I had was the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S90. One of my friends in photography said he liked it, but he's more of a film guy if you know what I mean.

Any thoughts on theSony Cyber-shot DSC-S90? Or any more recs?

-Samilia

[TampaJim]

Take a look at the new Olympus Stylus 720SW. Waterproof and shockproof. 7MP, 3X optical zoom, 2.5" LCD and definitely fits in a shirt pocket. Just a thought!

[bascom]

The DSC-S90 was one of the top 2005 budget models but it's over a year old now and hard to find in stores. The S600 is a newer model. It's smaller, has more MP and higher ISO, but a smaller LCD and fewer manual controls. Both have 3x zoom.

I prefer the A610 to the Sony's because of the big sensor, 4x zoom, swivel LCD, and SD cards. I agree it's not too big to carry around easily. I bought one in March and like it a lot. If you decide on the A610 don't wait too long to buy it. It's disappearing from stores and seems to be on it's way out, unfortunately.

[sw2cam]

I have had a Pana FZ30, Sony H1, KODAK P850, NIKON 8700, and a CONON S2IS. If you want a great rig that has a good lens with 380mm of zoom all the maunal controls you can use, ability to add a sync flash and lenes. The KODAK Z7590 is an outstanding rig. This camera is EASY to use. It's just downright easy. One thing you'll want to do is set the compression level to FINE and your low light photo's will be very very good.

[sw2cam]

Ok instead of doing another EDIT. The Z7590 works outstanding in the auto mode. I don't think anyone could go wrong having one in the camera bag.