Reccomend a digital camera?

Ok, so the birthday is coming up soon and I have requested a digital camera to replace the 1.4MP floppy based Sony Mavica I have yet to break (and I have tried!). I know that MP's are not the only factor in determining a good camera but I am stumped by so many seemingly good cameras out there.

Here are my limitations and requests;
~$250 (trying to keep the cost down because of some trips coming up.)
Don't really need any video recording capability.
Something able to withstand my Klutzy ways...
Zoom would be nice.
interchangeable lenses would be good, but due to the cost limitations, I don't expect this.

Not too restrictive except for the cost...

These are examples of what I am looking at, but since I am _really_ a noob at digital camera's I am not sure if I would be wasting my money on them or not;
(LINK DEAD, LOOKING FOR A BETTER ONE)
EDIT: Or this one... http://newspaperads.mercurynews.com/...14623830&type=

the second one looks really nice. I reccomend abything cannon, they are nice and really easy to use. BTW are you really gonna need that much zoom? I used to have a 10x but to take a picture at that level you need a tripod.

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Originally Posted by public_eyesore

the second one looks really nice. I reccomend abything cannon, they are nice and really easy to use. BTW are you really gonna need that much zoom? I used to have a 10x but to take a picture at that level you need a tripod.

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Thanks I have always like Cannon too. I will be replacing a SLR and point and shoot 35mm film camera with this digital one, so the zoom would be nice for those nature shots (yes I occasionally get out of the house :glasses: ). I do have a tripod (3 in fact), so that is not a biggie.

BTW how's the weather in So-cal? Heading down to Irvine in the next few weeks for a customer visit.

I know squat about cameras as well. I use CNet.com as a litmus test for most consumer electronics. I trust their reviews and have had good experiences in the past from there. Give them a shot, maybe they can recommend something.

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Originally Posted by nil8

I know squat about cameras as well. I use CNet.com as a litmus test for most consumer electronics. I trust their reviews and have had good experiences in the past from there. Give them a shot, maybe they can recommend something.

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Thanks, heading there now.

BTW the link expired as it was a comparison and they empty the cache every 5 minutes

Hey AB :)

I've got this Kodak Z7590.
I'm no camera expert, but I really like this one.
I don't treat it "that" good, and it has lasted for over 2 years now.
Great pictures.

My only gripes would be that it's 5.0 mega pixels, and that I bought it for a little bit more than what it costs right now. :(

Other than that, it's a great piece of equipment.
Get the camera dock, it makes life easy for recharging the battery, as you only place the camera om top and go.
There's a button you can press on front of the cradle, and it "activates" the USB connection... and the camera pops up as a removable drive.
I suggest you don't install the Kodak software... just copy/paste/move with explorer...
I dunno.

Hope that helps! :)

I agree with the Canon recommendation. I've had two of them so far, and love them to death. Picture quality is awesome, super easy to use, and they hold their value too.

They are especially sharp in daylight, but like most digital point and shoot cameras, they can be a little bit dull in lower light situations. If you are going to use it for pics of mods and stuff, make sure you get a tripod, or learn to use the timer and set it down for maximum sharpness. :)

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Originally Posted by Lukifer122

I agree with the Canon recommendation. I've had two of them so far, and love them to death. Picture quality is awesome, super easy to use, and they hold their value too.

They are especially sharp in daylight, but like most digital point and shoot cameras, they can be a little bit dull in lower light situations. If you are going to use it for pics of mods and stuff, make sure you get a tripod, or learn to use the timer and set it down for maximum sharpness. :)

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Thanks for the info, I am looking at the canon A710 now. I do have a tripod (a mini for traveling, a midrange wobbly tripod for easy stuff and an aluminum reversible (mounts on top and bottom of the slide)) and some lights for low light pictures. Not real photo lights but I have diffusers to take the edge off.

After a trip to the local electronics store to hold a couple of these camera's I really like the feel and features of the following camera's;

Canon A710
Olympus SP 510
Fuji S5200

Still looking though...

The top three brands are Canon, Nikon, and Fuji. I found a really good camera though that is also quite cheap. The quality isn't super great, but you can't beat the price for what you get. Here's the link. You can get it for about $150-175.

http://www.norcent.net/main/product_....asp?prodID=84

I have a buddy that is HEAVY into the whole digital camera scene, whether it is the compact point and shoots or the Pro SLR's. So when I have questions like that I always check with him. There are 2 things that he has always stressed to me, beyond good optics, good optics, good optics. The first thing is not really an issue now a days, but I will say it anyway. Find a camera that doesn't need proprietary software to retrieve the photos. Today most camera are designed to be a plug and play storage device so they just show up like a USB flash drive. The second thing is, a camera that uses good old fashion batteries like a double AA or so. You can always get lithium ion rechargables to use. The reason behind that is if you are ever out and about oh lets say some place like Disney World, and your batteries go dead. You can most likely track down some AA batteries, whereas if its a proprietary rechargable battery you pretty much out of luck. Also I have had pretty good luck with Olympus digital cameras. Just something to consider.