MCochran
04-09-2009, 10:36 PM
I am a 65 year old man and am going to buy my first digital camera. I have basic experience with an SLR, but that was years ago. I have 4 kids and 5 grand kids to take pictures of. My research so far leads me to believe that the perfect compact digital camera probably does not yet exist. I need help deciding which cameras that are available will best fill my needs.
Budget
* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.$300 to $500
Size
* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you? Compact
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you? At least 9
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify) Not sure probably 6+
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10) 9
Do you care for manual controls? I can use them but don't know if I will need them
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for? Photos of family members including lots of group photos(10 to 15 people) and scenic photos.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? Yes, but none bigger than 8 X 10
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? Yes a lot of indoor photos, maybe some in low light
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? Not much
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate? No, don't know enough to do either.
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) I defintely want wide angle and image stabilization.
Budget
* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.$300 to $500
Size
* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you? Compact
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you? At least 9
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify) Not sure probably 6+
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10) 9
Do you care for manual controls? I can use them but don't know if I will need them
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for? Photos of family members including lots of group photos(10 to 15 people) and scenic photos.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? Yes, but none bigger than 8 X 10
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? Yes a lot of indoor photos, maybe some in low light
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? Not much
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate? No, don't know enough to do either.
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) I defintely want wide angle and image stabilization.