ceb7369

Wow cameras have gotten complicated! I'm here again looking for advice from the knowledgeable on the most important features you consider when purchasing a travel camera. Compact, of course, but I'm unsure what some of these features are on the digital cameras. I've always taken shots with manual, film cameras (my sister's a photographer so she helps me with the f-stops & shutter speeds, but she's not a traveler), so I need advice on these digital ones.

I'm thrown by these megapixels and optical zooms, but I know from checking out the pictures posted here that I do want to spend the $$ on a camera with an image stabilizer. I do want compact, but will go for a bigger camera for a better quality picture. Can anyone explain what these things are? Specific camera recommendations are welcome, too!

frrodriguez78

try the Canon powershot series. excellent digital cameras.

ceb7369

Thanks! I've glanced at them but didn't know how to differentiate between the megapixels and memory cards.

BTW - wisc edu? What school? I went to college in WI.

CAPH52

Talk about taking this way off subject, my son, who's going to be a senior this year, is leaning heavily towards UW-Madison. Any thoughts?

And since I'm jumping in on your camera thread to ask about schools , I'll tell you that before our trip to Ireland we bought a Nikon Coolpix 5600. I'm about as far away as you can get from being an expert on cameras! But I can tell you that we're happy with the purchase. That camera kept the aforementioned son very happy on our trip. And he took some wonderful pictures!

hsv

What I consider most important is that the camera still offers a traditional view finder apart from a good display. It is hard to see the displays in the sun and the traditional way helps you to focus properly. BTW, this excludes the majority of cameras from manufacturerers not traditionally in the camera business.
Canon, Olympus or Nikon would still have them usually. Sony, Panasonic and Casio usually only have the displays.

frrodriguez78

I can't speak as an undergrad alumni, since I completed my masters at UW, but I can honestly say that Madison is the quintessential college town. Mid-sized city full of college students, plenty of entertainment, restaurants, outdoor activities, very nice people, extremely safe, close to Chicago...Your son will love it...unless he's against long, cold winters. Were it not for the winters, Madison would be amazing. I come from a tropical environment, so the winters were rough on me. Other than that, I really enjoyed my stay there. The university is one of the best in the country, with numerous departments ranked in the top 10. Very liberal for a midwestern university...think Berkeley.

frrodriguez78

regarding the cameras...don't worry about the included memory cards. Most cards included with cameras are relatively small capacity. You'll want to buy a large capacity memory card (528 MB or greater, preferably 1 GB). As for megapixels, anything above 5 or 6 MP is considered excellent image quality.

frrodriguez78

btw, what's your budget for a camera + memory card?

CAPH52

Thanks, frrodriguez! We live in the Chicago suburbs so the winters wouldn't be an issue (although I do think Madison tends to get hit worse than we do). You've pretty much confirmed what I've been reading about Madison. I suspect our son would be very happy there. And, considering that our daughter goes to school in Massachusetts, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the idea of having him closer! Madison is far enough to be really going away, but close enough to come home for the occasional weekend! The liberal bias plus a good sports program both really appeal to our son (he'd like to go into sports journalism).

frrodriguez78

only point and shoot, compact, Canon digital camera with image stabilizer:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...;modelid=13019

TylerTraveler

This is a great website that I've spent hours on learning about various cameras. Some things might get a bit more in-depth than you are looking for however.

http://www.dpreview.com/

Because of that website I bought a Canon Digital Rebel XT and also a Epson P2000 to store my digital images in so I wouldn't have to buy a dozen memory cards to store my pictures on...

95% of these pictures were taken with the Digital Rebel:

http://www.tylernofziger.com/message...wforum.php?f=9

worldinabag

Hi

Just bought this one which takes video as well - http://panasonic.com.au/products/det...?objectID=3121. They are calling it the "traveller's camera". My only reservation is the lack of a traditional viewfinder. However my previous digital had one but it was useless - you'd look through it, take a photo but it didn't match what I wanted. I'm sure I'm not going to miss this "feature' although new models might be alot better.

GSteed

Check Kodak. They are designing and building digital cameras that are 'easy' to use. A simple image stabilizer is a tripod or monopod. Along with learning how to operate your camera take some lessons about taking pictures. Your camera will have a setting that automatically sets f-stop/shutter speed. If you don't use a tripod, remember to first depress the shutter partially, check your pic and then finish pushing the shutter button. Practice!

ceb7369

Lots of good info. to go through!

Tyler - your photo tour is actually what got me researching a camera this early, your photos are amazing! I've got the Canon Digital Rebel XT on my list because of your shots, but it's currently listed at a tad more than I wanted to spend. I might splurge though my photographer sister will insist it's too much camera for me. I'm a writer, though and pictures are a great help to capture the flavor when I'm too awestruck or active to put it into words. So perhaps it's well worth the splurge. However, could you explain the Epson P2000?

FR - Thanks for the heads up on megapixels & memory cards, I'll take the memory card specs off my list of requirements. I don't have a real set budget, but I'm thinking $200-500 hoping to keep it closer to the $200 but willing to fork over for an excellent, durable camera. I haven't owned one in years so it's about time.

ceb7369

CAPH52 - said exactly what I would've about UW-Madison. A great school, a great party school. The first I know by reputation, the second I know from experience as UW-Madison was the place to go when I was a private college girl in Milwaukee.

hsv - I'm glad you mentioned the viewfinder so I could add it to my list. It also reminded me that I don't want a camera that only allows for automatic focus as it often tries to focus on certain things in frame when I'd rather focus on other things.

ceb7369

worldinabag - added your panasonic to the list (well, not yours specifically, I'll buy my own), but it is a little more than I'd like to spend, though again it might be worth it.

GSteed - Kodak is on my list to try out as well. I've got a photographer for a sister, so I've gotten some great training in manual camera use from her as well as composition, lighting, et al. However, she's become quite a busy woman, and I'm not sure how much time she'll have to help learn the ins and outs of digital, but from what I'm seeing is available I should do fairly well. Thanks!

panecott

The Canon S2 IS is a great point and shoot digital camera, with image stabilizer and 12x zoom and many other features (I don't even know them all yet), including movies. I bought one for a recent safari and got awesome photos with just autofocus since I didn't have time to learn to use it. Good battery life too. One drawback is that the viewfinder isn't the greatest but with some getting used to, it's okay.

They've just come out with the S3 but I haven't read any reviews. You can get the S2 now for around $300, compared to $550 a year ago. You'll find reviews and helpful information on the website posted by Tyler.
For digital SLR I've heard that the Canon Rebel is a good series for beginners.

ceb7369

panecott - I'm adding the Canon S2 & S3 to my list. Since my trip isn't beginning until March 2007, maybe I'll luck out and catch a great camera on a good deal. That's why I'm looking now, so I can make a decision and then wait patiently for a cheap price.

frrodriguez78

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7. It's within your budget, has image stabilizer technology, manual focus, auto focus, has image viewfinder, 6 megapixels. Not compact, however, but not a brick either.

johng

I have a Canon A610, which I like despite its slightly crappy build, for travel, and a Canon d20 for more serious stuff, though I'm lusting after the Nikon D200. For compact cameras I would just stick with Canon. Everything else is much more likely to be junk.

But -- here's the thing. I met recently with an old friend who was showing me year-old photos on her digital. She doesn't know how to upload to her computer or to camera store printer. So why have a digital? I think there are a lot of people out there who should be shooting film, but who shoot digital just because that's what everybody else is doing.