Since Barbie cam only takes grainy pictures (and I am still trying to sell the old bus) I am looking for a decent digital camera that does not break the bank. Any recommendations and/or experiences with cameras from Walmart? The only one available on 30 miles radius. I guess it is time to enter the digital age and say goodbye to the Minolta 7000 and the little brother Polaroid 110 (now that might just be a collectors item).

For a point and shoot, we've been pretty happy with the Kodak easy share system with the printer dock. The pix are kind of expensive to print but if you buy in bulk it's not too bad.

quote:

Originally posted by Marvin+Doris:
Any recommendations and/or experiences with cameras from Walmart?

You need to ask yourself several questions first.

1. Budget.

2. Do you want a traditional viewfinder in addition to a screen? A screen is better for framing and composition, but not good in sunlight or action, and eats batteries.

3. Batteries. My strong recommendation is to buy a camera that uses AA rechargeables. Eneloops do not have the self-discharge that other rechargeables do. And a set of alkalines can be your spare until you get the Eneloops charged. Alkaline AAs are available almost anywhere. AA rechargeables can be recharged from the wall or a cigarette lighter.

4. Try to buy as much optical zoom as the budget and carrying mode allow. Zoom is addictive. You never know when you will get that bighorn that you wish was a little closer (true story) Digital zoom is not as good, and introduces a lot of pixellation and other digital artifacts.

5. Do you want a shirt pocket size, a jacket pocket size or a belt pouch size? The smaller the camera the less zoom and other features it will have. However, a smaller camera is more likely to be with you.

6. How about a tripod? Will you need a tripod mount on the camera bottom? A tripod is pretty handy.

7. Most cameras come with a memory card that is too small to be really useful. Plan on buying a larger capacity card as you get a handle on your needs.


Read Consumer Reports.

Once you learn what models your WM carries, check them on the web. you can Google the camera brand and model with "reviews" after it.

The last time we bought a point and shoot, I used these sites:

http://www.steves-digicams.com

http://www.dcresource.com

http://www.imaging-resource.com/

www.amazon.com has a lot of opinions, not necessarily as expert as the above sites, but quite informative.

With most camera manufacturing subbed and resubbed to Chinese factories, there isn't a lot of difference in potential reliability any more, so don't get too concerned with brand names. We have had failures and lousy backing from several of the formerly best companies. In one case, the dealer was so aghast at the camera company's lousy evaluation of a problem, they gave us a new camera.

I recommend using a card reader to download directly into you USB port. This allows simple and quick full-screen viewing as well as storing or E mailing.

For editing, some cameras include some nice software for editing. We like the Nikon software that came with a point n shoot. For example, it corrected some pictures that would not have been usable, due to shading, etc. The software was easier to learn than Photoshop, for example.
Susan is the Photoshop Queen, but it takes a while to get really good on it.

Consider using Photobucket.com for simple editing, like cropping.

Thanks, that sure will help. I learned to take pics with an old camera, measure light, set speed and ... All that is history and sometimes it seems the electronic age is leaving me behind. My 80 year old father is more computer savy than me (so is my 9 year old niece). LOL. And anyway I might come across a good Barthsighting!

quote:

Originally posted by Marvin+Doris:
I learned to take pics with an old camera, measure light, set speed and ... All that is history and sometimes it seems the electronic age is leaving me behind.

Yeah, I was dragged kicking and screaming into digital photography. For decades I dragged around an old Exakta with a meter around my neck and a bagful of classic lenses. Nothing short of a Hasselblad was better, and, with a full lens complement, they were way to bulky and expensive. Finally, advancing presbyopia forced the purchase of an autofocus SLR, so once I became reconciled to buying a new camera, it was not a giant leap to go digital at the same time.

The real advantage is that we are no longer supporting our local photo lab. They were so much better than the mass processors, but not cheap.

I like to think that the expense of digital cameras, lenses and good photo printers is offset by the saving in processing.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/...1100_IS_Digital.html

I bought one of these for Sherrie, my Mom and my brother's wife. I've used Sherrie's and I think it's a pretty good point and shoot. I use it from time to time. I like that it fits in my pocket and takes pretty good pictures, not bad video either. I use Canon dslr's for my work.

Have Fun,
Wm.

I have been using a Nikon Coolpix 5.1 MP camera and it is flawless. Here is one on EbAy: http://cgi.ebay.com/Refurbishe...?hash=item2c5225f0d8

Light and easy, won't break the bank.