| A good site for reviews can be found at http://www.dpreview.com. That said, it can be a bit daunting and targeted to people who are really into photography. My recommendation would be to go to a reliable camera shop in your area, tell them what you want as far as features go, then look at the reviews. That said, if you know nothing at all, it might be helpful to read a couple of reviews to familiarize yourself with some of the terminology.
Once you've done that, go back to your reputable camera shop, armed with any further questions, and once they're answered to your satisfaction buy the camera there! They deserve your business for helping you get a camera that meets your needs. As a general rule, they'll be able to answer questions more knowledgably than say, Worst Buy or Circuit Megalopolis.
As far as specifics go, if you're just making snapshots and sharing online, 4 megapixels is probably enough. That will be adequate for prints up to 8x10. See here: reference.
Other things to look for are fast start-up time which helps capture spontaneous moments. If you like shooting in black and white, it's nice if there's an easy and fast way to switch back and forth. Another thing that's nice is manually settable ISO/ASA settings and exposure compensation. This gives you a little more control over what the camera is doing. Exposure compensation can be indispensable if the camera is a little dumb about the metering (mine is in bright sunlight).
As far as a specific camera recommendation, I own the Casio EX-Z850, and I'm quite pleased with it. It has proven itself to be robust and versatile. I used it all summer, shooting in temperatures from over 100F down to 20F and the battery kept going like a tank (more than I can say for my iPod). I charged it maybe 4 times all summer, the battery life is astonishing. It uses a rechargeable battery pack and charges through the dock. It comes with a separate wall wart so you can charge even if you don't have a PC around. Also I dropped it onto rocks and/or pavement a couple of times and it still works perfectly. My only gripes are the aforementioned metering issue in bright light, and that switching to B&W involves more menus than it should. The UI is nice other than that, the screen is huge, and I'm pretty happy with the pictures I've taken with it I've gotten great photos out of it even in pretty challenging low light. That said, it's an 8 megapixel camera, which is way more than most people really need. (I shot at 6 MP all summer long because I only got to dump photos off of it 3 times).
Sample pics with that camera (at full 6 megapixel res for comparison, about 2MB each)
Self portrait at arms length (maximum wide angle)
Extremely low light B&W
At the top of the continental divide (note that the blinding yellow/green doesn't have any halos)
Shooting sunrise into the sun, the highlight detail is lost in the sky, but the foreground is exposed correctly
My parents' digital is a Kodak EasyShare CX7430. It runs on alkalines, is a little bulkier, is 4MP, has a smaller screen, but still takes excellent pictures. Samples can be found at http://photos.case.edu/user/moped. Everything but the last two pictures there were taken with the Kodak digital. My only real complaints about that camera are that the battery life blows, and it's a little slow to start up. I would still recommend it though.
I think what this goes to show is that short of getting a really BAD camera, most of the stuff on the market is good for consumer needs. I like my Casio, but my parents' Kodak takes great pictures too. Mostly, it's in the hands of the photographer. |
