Question on Camera Shopping

[Quixon]

I'm looking for a digital camera for my g/f in the $150 Range. The point&shoot digitals are what I want.

Anything past that I am clueless on. There's a couple 10 Megapixel cameras in the price range I was looking into. Going by the customer reviews on Bestbuy.com or CircuitCity.com is basically worthless. So I was wondering if anyone who posts here has any experience with the cameras below, or can point in the right direction.

First one is by Samsung:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsu...oductDetail.do
Again I don't really like to go by the store reviews alone. But the main complaint on this one is that the battery life is terrible.

Next one is a Kodak:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Kodak...oductDetail.do
Didn't look at the specific reviews for this camera yet. But a few other people I know that have Kodak Cameras say they are crap.


Those are basically the 2 ones that keep popping up in the 10 megapixel range. We use the camera for more recreational use at parties and when we go on vacation and what not. Not into serious photography really.

If you have any suggestions on cameras or websites post em here so I can take a look :bagel: . As far as cameras go I only know of the big box websites like Circuit City/Best Buy/Walmart etc.

[Kooldac]

From what I can gather with limited research, I would choose the Samsung because of more Optical Zoom. You won't be losing resolution like you will with digital zoom as it is acting like a traditional SLR camera. But, like you said, the battery life is crap? I cant help much with that. That is a relatively bad feature, however you can see what type of battery it is and maybe find a cheap replacement? Samsung also has the Face Recognition, which sounds nice. I can't prove how nice it really is, but for the use you are getting it for it sounds worthwhile.

[Evex]

First thing I'd like to ask is if you really want a 10 megapixel camera. The number of megapixels is not incredibly significant unless you like HUGE XBOX pictures. A high megapixel count can also detract from the camera takes blurry pictures... Most cameras have at least 3x Optical zoom, and I personally don't care much for digital zoom, as it will make the pictures a bit "fuzzy" at larger resolutions. I'm gonna assume you want something that's compact or ultra compact. Out of the two that you had listed though, I'd say go for the Samsung S1050.

I visit Newegg a lot since they carry a lot of cameras that you don't find in large chain stores, and they usually give you bundle deals with memory cards or accessory packs. Not always the cheapest though, but of course you know to shop around right? Some other suggestions for cameras in your price range would be the Canon Powershot SD1000 or the Samsung S85B.

If you want to do more research into certain cameras, a few sites I used to frequent on a weekly basis when I was looking for a camera last year are:
Steve's Digicams
Digital Photography Review
Digital Camera Resource

[Fhqwghads]

First thing I'd like to ask is if you really want a 10 megapixel camera. The number of megapixels is not incredibly significant unless you like HUGE XBOX pictures.

The more megapixels, the more detailed a picture is when you print it out. Having a high def image gives you the option to downgrade for a lower one.

[Semitry]

Women prefer Kodak over all other brands, so you might consider that.

I'd personally get something Canon for the P&S.

Megapixels don't matter too much. unless you do massive (11x17+) prints. You'll just use more space/longer transfers and images will have more noise. So don't stress it.

[Quixon]

Ok cool. I'll keep looking around then. There are some 8 Mega pixel units that look a lot more appealing.

Thanks for the help.

[Tyche]

My fiancee has had a kodak for a couple of years now. Has worked wonderful, but it's just not that great of a camera by today's standards. It's super easy to use, they make docks for them that prints pictures directly to photo paper (and the pictures look pretty decent). They definately win in ease of use. None-the-less, she has done a lot of research on cameras in your price range for this christmas, and I think she decided on a canon. Im not sure of the model number, I'll ask her when she gets home.

[Evex]

First thing I'd like to ask is if you really want a 10 megapixel camera. The number of megapixels is not incredibly significant unless you like HUGE XBOX pictures.

The more megapixels, the more detailed a picture is when you print it out. Having a high def image gives you the option to downgrade for a lower one.

You're half right in that you have lots of room to crop with large resolution pictures; you're wrong in that megapixel count has nothing to do with how detailed a picture is, unless by "more detailed," you mean "larger picture that fits more background into it." 10megapixels only means that the maximum resolution of photos you can take is something like 4000x2500 pixels. To imagine how big the images actually are, just compare it to your monitor's resolution. Not to mention the actual file size of the photos will fill the memory card fairly quickly.

Some cameras actually do take somewhat blurry photos even if the megapixel count is high, it's the kind of thing you'd have to look at photos taken by users under different conditions to really notice. You also get issues like barreling and purple fringing in ultra compact cameras that try to cram a whole lot of megapixel into one tiny machine. But like I said, it's not -incredibly- significant, seeing as how the OP is asking for just a Point&Shoot camera.

[Saphirea]

Checkout http://www.dpreview.com they have a very good userbase and can usually find links to flickr accounts with pictures from the camera you were looking at. Something for you to try and get a better base of what you're looking for.

[Fhqwghads]

First thing I'd like to ask is if you really want a 10 megapixel camera. The number of megapixels is not incredibly significant unless you like HUGE XBOX pictures.

The more megapixels, the more detailed a picture is when you print it out. Having a high def image gives you the option to downgrade for a lower one.

You're half right in that you have lots of room to crop with large resolution pictures; you're wrong in that megapixel count has nothing to do with how detailed a picture is, unless by "more detailed," you mean "larger picture that fits more background into it." 10megapixels only means that the maximum resolution of photos you can take is something like 4000x2500 pixels. To imagine how big the images actually are, just compare it to your monitor's resolution. Not to mention the actual file size of the photos will fill the memory card fairly quickly.

Some cameras actually do take somewhat blurry photos even if the megapixel count is high, it's the kind of thing you'd have to look at photos taken by users under different conditions to really notice. You also get issues like barreling and purple fringing in ultra compact cameras that try to cram a whole lot of megapixel into one tiny machine. But like I said, it's not -incredibly- significant, seeing as how the OP is asking for just a Point&Shoot camera.

I never said that megapixel count and detail weren't related. They're very obviously related. What I said is that the higher the resolution, the more detailed (less granular) a printed image will look (more DPI.) Most cameras have different settings for how detailed/large an image is when taken, so don't think that because a camera is a mammoth 10 megapixel behemoth that you're stuck only snapping huge pictures.

[Evex]

I never said that megapixel count and detail weren't related. They're very obviously related. What I said is that the higher the resolution, the more detailed (less granular) a printed image will look (more DPI.) Most cameras have different settings for how detailed/large an image is when taken, so don't think that because a camera is a mammoth 10 megapixel behemoth that you're stuck only snapping huge pictures.

I never said that you can't shrink a large picture either lol I was just trying to say, "Do you really need 10 Megapixels?" because I know that a lot of people don't really understand the significance of the number attached to the camera descriptions. If it's just for casual use, why buy 10MP if you don't need to crop photos and just want it for casual/recreational use?

[Fhqwghads]

I never said that megapixel count and detail weren't related. They're very obviously related. What I said is that the higher the resolution, the more detailed (less granular) a printed image will look (more DPI.) Most cameras have different settings for how detailed/large an image is when taken, so don't think that because a camera is a mammoth 10 megapixel behemoth that you're stuck only snapping huge pictures.

I never said that you can't shrink a large picture either lol I was just trying to say, "Do you really need 10 Megapixels?" because I know that a lot of people don't really understand the significance of the number attached to the camera descriptions. If it's just for casual use, why buy 10MP if you don't need to crop photos and just want it for casual/recreational use?

Not to continue the derail with our exchanges, but the italicized statement was not directed at you, but to anyone who's interested and unfamiliar with digital cameras.

In my opinion, there's no reason to not get a large megapixel camera given that they have options allowing size to be selected, which precludes the need for resizing and/or cropping. I'd always rather over-purchase in case features that might infrequently be used at first are found to be needed later on down the road. With the relative minimal cost of large megapixel cameras, it seems better to buy something that can be useful for a fairly long time, but that's just my approach to purchases.

[GraveRobberX]

I was watching Discovery HD Theater

They had a show called It's All Geek to Me (good host, very entertaining/educational)

They did 1 on digital cameras, good read very informative

http://science.discovery.com/fansites/g ... meras.html

http://www.mugsnj.org/Pogue2005/headshot.jpg

[Exoduso]

tablebreaking much?

[sb]

Sensor size is more important to detail and resolution than megapixel count. But then, that irrelevant to the topic and price range.

[GraveRobberX]

tablebreaking much?

I know, I know

was trying for an overall joke...the guy who did that show by using a nice Pixelated picture of him..roffles

[Semitry]

I was watching Discovery HD Theater

They had a show called It's All Geek to Me (good host, very entertaining/educational)

They did 1 on digital cameras, good read very informative

http://science.discovery.com/fansites/g ... meras.html

Nice link. It's what I found researching Digital cameras as well and ended up opting for the D40 (6 MP).

In my opinion, there's no reason to not get a large megapixel camera ...

Cost, lower picture quality, and more noise.