Which digital camara should I get??????

My first digital camera was a Kodak one, and it did a fine job.
I've gotten 2 others since, and I have to say that the little Kodak one had a brighter flash for indoor photos than my other two.

A zoom feature is a good thing to have, but make sure that it is an 'optical' zoom. Some cameras advertise 'digital zooms' but all that does is enlarge what you are photographing the same way you would do on your computer, so the quality declines a little.

Someone told me that Walmart is pretty good for getting digitsl photos printed although I havent tried them myself.. I think you just send them in on line. They charge 26 cents a photo. Most other places charge 50 cents.

Originally posted by Gothic_Amethyst
Stupid Question:
With a digital the only way to print out/develop the photos is to have a printer right?

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Not a stupid question. You can certainly do that if you have the equipment, but there's no need to go to that expense. There are photo printing services available on the Internet. Probably Walmart has one -- if they don't, they're missing out on some good bucks!

I suspect that my experience with London Drugs here in Canada is pretty typical. You go to their web site, upload your images, tell them what you want (and there's quite a range of products they offer with your image printed), tell them whether to mail your prints or hold them for pickup at a designated location, given them your credit card info (secure site -- no more risky than handing your card to the waiter), and you're done.

I regularly pick up prints in less than 24 hours. The quality is excellent, and the price is reasonable, especially given that you upload only those images you want printed -- unlike prints from film, where you get the whole thing developed, and get prints of everything -- even the garbage.

You can still have a good image with a ~1 megapixel camera. I got a lot of good pictures with my HP C200 before my GF got her more expensive ones.

I don't have any cat photos taken with it online, but you can see what pics with it look like below:

I bought this one, and it takes great photo quality pictures and it very easy to use, plus has a macro lense for extreme close ups. I think it's a great bargin. You'll find it at the address below, and at about $40 less than I paid for it.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...A3959%3A124473

EVERYONE WHO POSTED:
Sorry it took me so long to reply. I have been busy. I'm gonna reply to everyone in this post.

Originally posted by brocken
The Canon A300 that you linked to is a good non-zoom digicam, consider the Canon A60.

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Thank you! I didnt even notice that camara and according to an old friend of mine I run into in WM, the A60 is much better. Sofar (thanks to you)I'll be getting the A60.

Originally posted by Lucia
My first digital camera was a Kodak one.
Walmart charges 26 cents a photo.

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My current 110 is a kodak I've had since 5th grade. It's soooo old but still works. Its all I have to use and the reason I want a new camara.

Originally posted by rapunzel47
Probably Walmart has one....prints from film you get the whole thing developed, even the garbage.

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I found out they do for only a few cents!
That's yet another reason I wanted a digital camara. It also helps cause I wont have to always be so scared to get my film back and to have had them mess it up or something go wrong.

Originally posted by Louse76
You can still have a good image with a ~1 megapixel camera.

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Those pics are good! I guess they prove you can! Oh and nice motor.

Originally posted by HopeHacker
I bought this one,http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...A3959%3A124473

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Thanks that cam looks cool, but I've never used anything by samsung. I tend to stick withthings I've used. I will remember that though and give it a try if I cant afford the one I want with my christmas money.

Were buying one at tax time

I have to wait untill I get my christmas money. Hopefully I'll have enough to add to what I have now to get one end of Dec or early Jan.

I would strongly recommend the A300 Canon. The truer color and better picture quality is worth the sacrifice of the zoom. Most of those cameras you can buy a much better zoom later on anyway. Even my little Kodak 3.2mp I bought for $140 I can buy a zoom later. But mostly I find I don't need it. This is the color and quality of a 3.2mp camera. To me there is quite a difference especially in the color quality. Also wanted to mention that you can send your digital pictures via the internet to have them developed no matter which digital camera you end up getting. Most sites do it for around .25-.29c per picture.

Aww Mzjazz2u...now I'm confused again!

I have the same camera as Mzjazz. I think its pretty good. Im still having problems loading my pics on the comp. though, so I don't know if its related to the camera.

Peace,
Brandon

Brandon, My camera is the Kodak cx4300. Is that what yours is? I really like it. The Canon A300 is probably just about the exact same thing.

Amber, don't be confused. Just go by what you think you'll use the camera for most. And to be honest... I've never known those built in zooms to be very good. So you'd be paying more for a lower quality picture and a zoom that may or may not work that great. So now are you really confused? Sowwy

I want to be able to take closeup images...cause some things I want to photograph I cant get as close as I want....and considering the price difference is only a couple of dollars between A300 and A60...It makes it harder to choose! Yes I am confused! lol...mainly annoyed. This is an area I dont know much about yet and it bugs me.

Well let's see.... my experience with built in zooms is that they take blurry pictures. And with a lower MP I'd be concerned about that. I'd see if the A300 has a lens as an accessory and maybe buy that later. Because really, it's going to give you a better quality picture. And you might find that you don't need a zoom as much as you want. Then again, maybe not! But that's just my opinion. When you think about it you're paying more for a zoom but sacrificing picture quality.

I know it's confusing. I had a hard time when I bought my camera. Ultimately, you're the one that will be using it so you need to get what you want.

Luckily my current camara is still working so I dont have to rush into this. Hopefully by Jan I can decide.

You can set up a features comparison here: www.dpreview.com/reviews/sidebyside.asp
(The results page will also link to user's opinions on the respective digicams.)

This is an extensive review of the Canon A70 which is identical to the A60 except for having 3MP vs. 2MP: www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona70/
(The A70 review has a gallery of sample shots at the end. Although the pics are 3MP vs. 2MP, the lens quality on the A60 should be the same in terms of sharpness, distortion, and color rendition.)

You might also visit dpreview's Canon Talk Forum to search for threads on the A60. Many A60 & A300 users have also posted samples - cat photos are not uncommon : www.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1010

WOW! You did some good research! Thank you! I'll be reading the links. The A70 just gave me another option. Thank you!

Sofar the A70 looks good. Since the main reason I was stuck between A300 and A60 was the mp...then that makes the A70 better.

*tears* I cant get the A70...At Walmart it's $274.66 and can only be ordered online!!! I'll have to get the A60 now ($193.97 and in the store).
Maybe by Jan when I have the money the A70 will be there or will be marked down.

I saw the A70's pics...are the A60's the same even with less mp?
They didnt have pics from it...

Hi GA,

Try the search results here for A60 image samples:
http://search.dpreview.com/forums/se...fields=subject

Check out these threads for specific A60 vs. A300 discussion:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...essage=5119563
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...essage=5205545

Since the A60 has the same lens as the A70, when you look at the A70 samples, just imagine a 1600x1200 grid instead of a 2048x1536 one. Color quality should be the same, and the A60 should actually have less noise in dark shots.

The A60's 1600x1200 resolution should be fine for onscreen use, as relatively few people use 1600x1200 displays at this time. I usually resize to 800x600 for screen use, and even smaller (400x300) for website use.

Printing is usually done at 240dpi optimum on home inkjets or at 300dpi optimum on the typical Fuji Frontier minilabs at WalMart, K-Mart, etc. This means that 1600x1200 is generally OK for 4x6" prints from either home inkjet or WalMart minilab. The A60 at the highest quality settings will yield a quality image file that can sustain 50-100% upsizing for bigger prints. So with upsizing, you could feasibly go to 8x10" prints that will still look good.

One way to look at 2MP vs. 3MP is to think of how 3MP would translate as zoom factor over 2MP. If 2MP is 1600x1200 and 3MP is 2048x1536, then the zoom factor of 3MP over 2MP is 2048/1600 = 1.28x. This is not even 1/2 of the 3x zoom factor of the A60's lens.

As you'll see in the "sidebyside" comparison page, owners have rated the A300, A60, and A70 at 4+ out of 5 stars - you probably wouldn't go wrong with any of the 3.

Best,
b

Originally posted by mzjazz2u
Brandon, My camera is the Kodak cx4300. Is that what yours is? I really like it. The Canon A300 is probably just about the exact same thing.

Amber, don't be confused. Just go by what you think you'll use the camera for most. And to be honest... I've never known those built in zooms to be very good. So you'd be paying more for a lower quality picture and a zoom that may or may not work that great.

So now are you really confused? Sowwy

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MzJazz, sorry I misinformed you On closer inspection mines a 2.2MP DX3500. I could have sworn it was a 3.2, but apparently not.
Oh and sorry for the delayed response too

Take it easy,
Brandon

wow! Yet again you amaze me with your technical research! Thank you! Sofar I'm going with the A60 using most of what I found on that site. These links were helpful too!