OK, read around, learned a bit...Sony DSCP73, Canon PS A85, or Kodak CX7430?

[pasmommy]

My priorities are under $200. With my budget, I know I can't be picky. The cam is for having in diaper bag for quick shots of the kiddos doing cute random things out and about, in the house, or at Disney World. I've narrowed it down to those three. I want something with minimal shutter lag, and if it isn't too much to ask for under $200, good indoor quality. I really want something with manual features as well as auto. Which of those three?

Thanks

Lisa

[pasmommy]

Also found in my price range the following:

Canon Powershot A510
Cybershot DSCP41
Kodak Easyshare CX7530

I'm a complete novice, so I appreciate any assistance. Let me know if this list is too long.

Thanks

[Rex914]

The A75 is the "older" (I say that in parentheses since it's still sold in many stores) version of the newly announced A510. If your budget is important to you, you can pick up an A75 easily for $150 now and get 99% of what the A510 offers save the 4x optical zoom. If you prefer compactness, the A510 is the strongest of those choices. Both Canon models offer the strongest feature set of the choices mentioned.

[pasmommy]

Read a few mentions of A510 having longer shutter lag than A75...can anyone verify? With my primary subjects being two objects in motion who tend to stay in motion, that would be a deciding factor. Can't seem to find A75 online. Looking for A80 too.

I think I'm pretty much decided on Canon. It's just between A75 & A80 (if I can find them,) A510, and A85.

Thanks

[Rex914]

Read a few mentions of A510 having longer shutter lag than A75...can anyone verify? With my primary subjects being two objects in motion who tend to stay in motion, that would be a deciding factor. Can't seem to find A75 online. Looking for A80 too.

I think I'm pretty much decided on Canon. It's just between A75 & A80 (if I can find them,) A510, and A85.

Thanks

The A75 is readily available in brick and mortar stores like Best Buy. I believe I even saw a newspaper ad that had a clearance of the A75's at Best Buy for $150. That's a pretty good deal I'd have to say.

Jeff (owner of this site) will be releasing his reviews of the A510/A520 in a few days, so we'll see if the shutter lag problem is really true. If you do have time to do down to the store, try these cameras out and see if they meet your expectations. They're a whole lot different on paper from what they are in person.

[pasmommy]

Thank you!!!! I am SO grateful! I started out at Fry's today with nary a clue, and now I feel much more confident. I'll hit Best Buy tomorrow and see if I can find an A75 there. Will be waiting for Jeff's review as well.

Out of curiosity, and I may sound like a total dolt here, but I've noticed that the A75 gets lots of mention around here but the A85 does not. Am I wrong in assuming that the A85 is a better camera than the A75? Or is it just that the A75 is simply a better buy?

Thanks for the help!

[Rex914]

I think the A85 does get a little shafted in recognition. From what I know, it's just a 4 MP version of the A75 and not much more. It's still a great camera, but I guess that it might not be worth the extra $50 or so unless the megapixels really matter. People rave about the A75 because it's just about the best $200 camera you can get with good images, decent performance, and a very good set of manual controls. The A95 ($300) also gets a lot of attention because it adds in more frills like the swivel screen and for $300, it's also a great buy.

[pasmommy]

Thanks. If I can't find the A75 B&M and Jeff confirms shutter lag issue, then I'll go with the A85, which I have found on Amazon for $229, free shipping. I'd rather find the A75 though and use the extra $$$ for batteries, etc.

Thanks again for your help.

[Rex914]

Thanks. If I can't find the A75 B&M and Jeff confirms shutter lag issue, then I'll go with the A85, which I have found on Amazon for $229, free shipping. I'd rather find the A75 though and use the extra $$$ for batteries, etc.

Thanks again for your help.

Don't forget to factor in the cost of the card if you don't have one on hand. For 3/4 megapixel, 256 MB would be a good starting point. Don't worry about high speed cards. I don't think the A75/85 takes advantage of them.

If you have a Costco membership, you can get a really good deal on the memory cards and some excellent nimh batteries. Just a heads up in case you are ordering those online.

[housewolf]

The A75 is on sale this week at Office Max for $150. I just bought the A85 from Beach Camera for $189 ($202 delivered, no tax). Call them to see if they have any in stock. They seem to be reputable and very fast.

And.....if you need the little extra push for the Canon A series, go to this site:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech.htm

Ken believes that if you put a mediocre musician on a $1,000 piano or a $10,000 piano, the results will be the same. He feels the same about camera quality vs picture quality (within reason, of course).

The one fault of these camera's is the mediocre movie mode. But, each brand at this price range has trade offs.

[pasmommy]

Ah, bummer, missed the A75. Just called every Office Max in the lower part of my state. About three stores said they just sold their last one today. Looks like the A85 for a teensy bit more.

THanks all!

[EAP]

When I played around with the A510 at Best Buy I found the camera didn't have a shutter lag issue so much as an issue with the time it took to take the next photo if the flash was being used. Not sure what this is called. Without the flash, the camera shutter performs well. If I was using the flash, it took about 8 seconds until the camera wrote to the card and was ready to take another photo. I am intensely curious what Jeff says in his review on this camera. Other than that, I loved the camera; very small and light, all the bells and whistles of the A75 it's replacing, and only 2 AA batteries to worry about. But if you're taking a lot of indoor shots, the flash issue could be an issue. I would absolutely wait until Jeff's review comes out if you can; this should be pretty soon.

[EAP]

Ah, bummer, missed the A75. Just called every Office Max in the lower part of my state. About three stores said they just sold their last one today. Looks like the A85 for a teensy bit more.

If you purchase the camera online you can get it for less than in the store, and you should be able to find it in stock. Check out the "Where Should I Buy My Camera" thread if you haven't already.

[housewolf]

For some reason, the web sites are selling the A85 for equal or less than the A75. Go figure.

[gary_hendricks]

My priorities are under $200. With my budget, I know I can't be picky. The cam is for having in diaper bag for quick shots of the kiddos doing cute random things out and about, in the house, or at Disney World. I've narrowed it down to those three. I want something with minimal shutter lag, and if it isn't too much to ask for under $200, good indoor quality. I really want something with manual features as well as auto. Which of those three?

Thanks

Lisa

I've put up a a review of the Kodak CX7430 here (http://www.basic-digital-photography.com/kodak-easyshare-cx7430-review.html). Read it for more info.