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View Full Version : Picking the right one..


unrthdxdream
08-05-2006, 08:54 AM
Alright so I'm gonna be buying a camera here in the next couple days... I would like to have it delivered by next friday so I need to order soon. Any help will be much appreciated.

Budget

$250 - $300

Size
Compact to ultracompact. I want something I can carry everywhere. After all there is never a dull moment in college so lets catch em all :)

Features

6 megepixels will do. I want to be able to take pics and have them fill up my 1920x1600 laptop screen after they've been cropped a little.

Standard zoom will work fine I guess. I like the idea of a wide angle (28mm) ability.

I want the best image quality I can get really.. doesnt everyone? ill give it a 9

I can take or leave manual controls. I would like to learn how to fiddle around with them but once I get it taking pics the way I want I wont change em before every shot.

General Usage

I will want a camera thats small and durable so I can take it everywhere. I really wanna take it snowboarding some with me this coming year and around the mountains of Colorado when I go camping. I will also use it inside at parties and random night shots. So there will be indoor shots, sports shots and panoramic shots.

I probably wont make big prints but I want great looking pics at 100% cropped to fit my 1920x1600 monitor.

Miscellaneous

Had an old fuji but dont like its xD memory card. It would be great if it had SD so I could pop the card out of the camera and right into my laptop (Dell XPS2).

Right now I am sort of looking at 3 models. Casio Exilim Card EX-S600 (like the image stabilization and small size, heard it has build quality problems though), Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX01 (like the burst mode, wide angle and image stabilization), and either the Canon Powershot SD550 or similar.

Image stabilization would be nice, I know I have messed up many a photo before because of moving the camera a little while taking the picture. And short shutter lag would be nice too. Weatherproof isnt necessary I will take good care of it when I do take it snowboarding.

bascom
08-07-2006, 12:50 PM
The SD550 and FX01 are above $300 at most stores, but not much. I was going to suggest Sony W50, Fuji F20, F650, or Z2. They are < $300 but none of those use SD. What don't you like about xD cards?

unrthdxdream
08-07-2006, 08:21 PM
well im gonna buy online so that cuts cost pretty good.. i can get the panny for 280.. the cannon right at 299 with a 1gig SD card... i dont like xD cause its a little more $$ and i can plug the SD straight into my laptop. just makes things easier i dont like clogging my computer with software that i dont really need from the camera...