Best website for reviewing digital cameras? Not exactly travel but - most fodorite take pics while traveling...
 

I know this is not exactly a travel question but I respect a lot of the opinions on here and know that many avid travelers are also avid photographers. I'm starting my search for a digital camera (yea, a couple years behind the curve) and am overwhelmed by the amount of info! Is there a best web site for comparing brands and models? All I know is that I want something in the 3 megapixel range under $400 if possible. Thanks for any input you might have!

epinions.com

I find www.steves-digicams.com to be about the best overall site relating to digital cameras<BR><BR>That said, I don't believe there is a charter there showing a quick comparison of cameras, features and prices.<BR><BR>However, his reviews are superb. And he also tells you what models are discontinued. And the forums are worth checking.

Also check www.photographyreview.com.

i shopped for my first digital camera a few months ago and found http://www.dpreview.com and http://www.dcresource.com/ helpful for narrowing down my choices... i believe both have buying guides that let you pick features... <BR><BR>fyi, found both through fodor's threads... you might want to try doing a search on the forum for messages with "digital camera" or variations of those words and skim through the messages...

Thanks for your replies. Vivian, what did you end up with? I did check out dcresource.com and found it interesting but still overwhelming. I never thought to check past threads on this site. I just figured I'd be ridiculed by the critics for even posting a non-travel question such as this!!! Thanks again.

Maybe someone can learn from my mistake.<BR><BR>I usually use a 35mm but took a digital camera on vacation last week.<BR><BR>I found some subject matter that would make a great frameable print...lighting was right, etc.<BR><BR>I forgot that the normal picture quality setting for my camera is High Quality.<BR><BR>When I got home, I realized that although the photos look great, I won't be able to enlarge them much because I had forgotten to adjust the photo quality setting to "tiff"( the highest quality.<BR><BR>I hope I'll know better the next time I take a picture that I know I'd like to enlarge and frame.

hi karen...<BR><BR>i ended up with a sony dsc-p31 which i like very much... good beginner camera in my opinion that met all my non-fancy needs (only annoying thing is that it doesn't come with optical zoom, but i knew i was trading off on that to stay within my budget)... <BR><BR>fyi, it doesn't meet your 3 megapixel criteria... <BR><BR>as i said before, i found that the buyer's guides on the 2 sites were helpful, and you can punch in 3 megapixels and other features you want.... also, a cool unexpected benefit was that as i was prompted to pick other criteria, i ended up learning a lot about various camera features that i otherwise wouldn't have learned... <BR><BR>good luck... hope you find the right camera for you!

dcresource had lots of information on it but I ended up using cnet's editor's choice to decide which camera to purchase. I ended up buying a Canon Powershot A20 which has been out for a year or so (so price has dropped on it) but when it came out it was rated as an excellent camera (cameras with more bells and whistles have come out since it). I'm happy with it. Its a 2mega pixel point and shoot and if you want to fiddle with the focus stuff you can. It doesn't do the movie thing. Also, try ebay for getting a good price on a new camera.

look at yahoo also <BR>I found lots of reviews there.<BR><BR>I have a Nikon 885 and LOVE it! I think I'm in heaven.<BR>

I selected mine (Ricoh DC-7) after reading the reviews (and "user reviews") on zdnet.com. Before making the purchase, however, I searched the web for other forums and message boards for additional reviews on that particular model. I LOVE that camera. Everything is automatic, and it's user friendly enough that you don't have to haul out the manual to figure out new things, or refresh your skills if you haven't used it in a while. And, it takes fabulous photos. I wish I had switched from 35mm to digital earlier. You may want to consider getting a camera with media that can be read by a good photo-printing printer. It's so much easier to transfer your pictures to your PC!

karen<BR><BR>I use www.cnet.com for reviews on different computer related products, including digital cameras. <BR><BR>Look for a camera that has an editor's choice designation and you'll probably get a great product. You can also quickly compare prices from various internet merchants with a single click. This is very helpful.<BR><BR>Below is a link to an article about their top five 3 megapixel cameras.<BR><BR>http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/0-6733264-8-7943013-1.html?tag=prmo<BR><BR>Check it out. <BR><BR>I bought my digital camera on line after reading a review on it at CNET.com. It was an editor's choice selection 2 years ago and I use it all the time. It takes great pictures. Good luck.

ttt

Karen<BR><BR>One thing you'll want to do after buying your new camera is upgrade your compact flash card. <BR><BR>The camera will come with a relatively small compact flash card for storing the pictures, usually 16 MB or 32 MB.<BR><BR> Taking pictures with a 3 megapixel camera will use a lot of memory per picture, so, you might want to buy a larger compact flash card, ie, 128 MB or 256 MB. <BR><BR>Otherwise you will use up all you space on a smaller compact flash card after just a few pictures.<BR><BR>I just upgraded to a 128 MB compact flash card for $79. I shoot at 2.1 megapixls and this allows me 200 pictures on one card.