christmas

[dave]

I'm thinking of getting for a digital camra and just wondering what models you all recommend? what do features are desirable and what would work great for close up pics
thanks

[SilverTongue]

if you can afford it do not get anything less that 3.0 megapixle Zoom is a must for those cool closeups!. My favorite brands are Olmpus, and Sony but Sony too dang overpriced

[Pixie]

I recommend a minimum of 2 megapixels for nice quality shots. More is always better but with 2 you'll be able to take some really nice pics. I bought my digi cam this summer and got a decent price for a new one. Sony DSC-P31, 2 megapixels, 3x digital zoom, bunch of options, batteries & charger, small memory card all for 399$ new. Not too bad and it takes really nice pics. One suggestion I would make is to look for optical zoom cause digital zoom pretty much sucks! I can still take really nice close ups but I don't use the zoom for it. Had to get a bigger memory card for the camera and that set me back 80$ plus extra batteries 15$. I still am quite happy with my choice :)

[Jeff_Favelle]

Only thing that sucks about Sony is that they use their OWN memory cards. I'd stick with a camera that uses CompactFlash (pretty much every other camera out there) as its more versatile and its here to stay. Plus, 128MB sticks are like $65 now!!!!

[Syst3m]

Here is my technology 2 cents.

Screw sony, Over priced and their memory cards are too.

1.3 megapixel is just fine for anything your going to do. Good close ups are done with macro lenses.

Nikon coolpix cameras are good. They come with everything. And the 2.0+ megapixels are very affordable.

look for things that have higher actual zoom vs Digital zoom.
This is where your Megapixels come into play. A camera that has a low focal zoom, vs a digital zoom will take a poor closeup. But if you but a good set of macro lenses its not a big deal, that is if your interested in taking a good closeup.

Extras extras extras. Make sure the camera has everything. if it doesn't come with a Lithium ion batter, charger and memory card thats worth a crap. Don't buy it. your 300 dollar camera could turn into a 500 dollar camera VERY fast.

I'm going to ask liquid mage what camera he is going to get soon. He has a good nikon picked out that has all the wistles and bells. Plus comes with everything you need to start.

[Bryan Self]

It depend on how much you want too spend. If you have a nice regular camera with multiple lenses and price is not that big of a problem. I would buy a SLR digital camera. The prices have come down quite a bit and they have all the advantages of SLR cameras.

[dave]

thanks for all the great tips i do have a limit its 300 tops.

so dont go with sony and get a good actual to digital ratio and the more mega pix the better

what is SLR? taking a shot in the dark i would think Single Lens Reflection?

Anyone have one single model they would recomend?

[PoiSoNouS]

CANON RULZ !!!!!! :)

[Kathy]

I have an Olympus D5 Zoom, its got 2.1 megapixels with 3x optical and digital zoom (but dont buy something for its digital zoom, basically all it does is crop and enlarge your pictures, making them fuzzy and appear pixelated). It uses compact flash and comes with an 8mn storage disk, which can hold about 15 pictures at high resolution (1600x1200 pixels). It also can take 15second quicktime videos (no sound) whick would be awesome to catch a snake lunging at a mouse or something. It's pretty easy to use and can take pretty decent closeups with great detail. Easy to operate and uses a USB cable to attach to the computer so transferring pics is really easy and fast. I think it came with software too but that wasn't all that great. Olympus has the best lenses for quality and durability, I've dropped my cam on the floor many times and the lense is still great with no cracks or scratches (and the outer case is awesome too, with all my rough handling it still looks brand new).

A bit of warning though, digicams eat batteries like CRAZY. With an average set of batteries (4 AA for the olympus) it can take about 10 pictures if your using the viewfinder on the back pannel and the zoom. Buy yourself a good set of rechargable batteries and a charger, I recomend the LEAP brand, a set of 4 AA batteries runs about 15$, and the charger I believe was 30$. They last a lot longer than traditional batteries, and pay for themselves in about a month . Plus they only take about 3 hours to charge from empty.

Heres a pic I took, cropped greatly and scaled down by 50%, and it still has pretty good close up detail
<img src="http://www.thepetzwarehouse.com/~barnett/kahlan9.jpg">

[sophia]

We use an HP Photosmart 612... 2.1 Megapixel.. 2x optical, 2x digital zoom... 64 meg flash card.. 8 meg internal... we love it. Bought it at walmart for $158... got it home {it was a display model} and it was broke... called HP... they sent us a NEW camera no questions asked... and a shipping label to ship our old one back. I had the new camera in 4 business days... awesome company... awesome service... and it takes great pix...

Walmart has some great deals if you catch them... like everyone else has said... it is the OPTICAL zoom that makes all the difference and an extra mega pixel does not hurt! And yes... those rechargables will pay for themselves... we use the LEAP brand as well... seem to be doing the job quite nicely.

And Silver... it ain't just the camera taking those good shots... your good 'eye' has a whole bunch to do with it...

Kathy... that is without a doubt one of the all time kewlest shots of that BP... {G}

Jon & Tay

[Jeff_Favelle]

The LEAP batteries are great!! I agree. Get the highest mili-amps that you can. Mine are 1600mAh, but I know they make 2200mAh now. Its crazy. Technology rules!

[Lisa]

I like my sony Mavica CD-300, but it's above the price range you want to spend. the nice thing is that it doesn't use compaq flash, it uses 3" cdrw which are cheap as heck (like 2-3$ a cd)