[RichardS]

I'm in the market for a new digital camera, and am having trouble deciding on a model to buy.

I'm looking primarily at the Canon A10 and the Sony P30, and I would appreciate some advice.

In short, I'm looking for a camera with good low-light pics (preferably without relying on a flash), the best image quality possible in my price range,, and costing less than $250 street (the two I mentioned are $190 and $220 US respectively).

A high resolution isn't that important because I doubt I'll do much printing, so the 1280x960 of the Canon A10 should be sufficient.

Thanks,
RichardS

[chris v]

I've got a Canon 3 megapixel (not the model you're looking at), and it's very nice. great color, and great features.

I've heard bad things about the Sonys, but have never used them.

I've heard the rule of thumb is to buy a digital camera made my a traditional camera manufacturer, and not a components maker.

CV

[G-mac]

RichardS,

I'm in the same position as you, looking for some ~$200 cameras that provide great features for amateurs and don't sacrifice quality.

I'm primarily looking at the Canon A20 and Olympus 510Z, both of which are 2 MP cameras a little above $200. I have been trying to study digital photography lingo, but it's not as easy as I thought.

First, I checked Apple's iPhoto page to make sure the cameras were OS X and iPhoto compatible (I think most Canon, Olympus, Fuji, and Sony cameras are). I've heard that the Canons and Olympus' work great with Macs and that most people like their overall price, quality, and durability.

I've been reading a bunch of review sites (very, very detailed). Here are the top 2 sites I found:
http://www.dpreview.com/ http://www.dcresource.com/

They have great reviews on almost all of the current cameras out there, including links for sample photos shot by each camera, links to sites that find the cheapest prices on the web, and even links to other sites that review. The look at the cameras inside and out. You might also want to just skip around and read the intro and conclusions as I did. It would take you hours to check all the cameras, so I would probably go to the stores first and check out the ones you like most, then investigate them online.

Hope this helps!

[G-mac]

RichardS,

I forgot to add that they test and have test photos of shots taken in the dark based on a standard image. They mention lowlight tests for some cameras too. I just noticed you mentioned that in your message! :-)

[Macfreak7]

Originally posted by G-mac:
<STRONG>

http://www.dcresource.com/

</STRONG>

great site!! just what i needed to decide between the canon S300 or S110! (i had some doubts about the battery life.)

[Macfreak7]

grrrr...double post!

anyway, might as well add.... i'd go with the canon. (dont much like sony anymore)

[ 02-12-2002: Message edited by: Macfreak7 ]

[RichardS]

Any particular reason you don't like sony?

My big worry about the a10 is that those reviews say it doesn't perform too well in low-light situations, and has a weak flash.

The sony can do very long exposures for low-light shots, but it uses memory sticks, which are proprietary and more expensive than compact flash cards...

IF the sony recored audio along with it's movie mode, that would make a big difference, but without audio, there really isn't too much reason to shoot quick movies.

[ranga]

I'm looking for a camera with good low-light pics (preferably without relying on a flash), the best image quality possible in my price range,, and costing less than $250 street (the two I mentioned are $190 and $220 US respectively).

I'd recommend the HP Photosmart 318. It costs about $200 (less if
you buy it online), and takes decent pictures. The HP uses compact
flash, has a 2.1 megapixel ccd and uses regular AA batteries. It also
works great under OS X with ImageCapture and iPhoto.

HTH,

--ranga

[Paul S]

Most people don't like Sony because of the Mavica line. They just plain suck. They used floppy disks and needed to compress pictures very much to fit a decent number per disk. The CyberShot series, which uses the memory stick only, doesn't have this limitation. I'm not necessarily recommending that, but am explaining why you may hear a lot of anti-Sony comments.

I do very much agree with a previous post, only go with a camera company. Their optics tend to be much better.

[Macfreak7]

Originally posted by RichardS:
<STRONG>Any particular reason you don't like sony?

My big worry about the a10 is that those reviews say it doesn't perform too well in low-light situations, and has a weak flash.

The sony can do very long exposures for low-light shots, but it uses memory sticks, which are proprietary and more expensive than compact flash cards...

IF the sony recored audio along with it's movie mode, that would make a big difference, but without audio, there really isn't too much reason to shoot quick movies.</STRONG>

no particular reason as such, just that my experiences with sony products havent been too good lately, and they dont quite have much 'quality'(IMO) so i'm gonna ignore it all the way (except the PS 2 maybe)

and a better reason to ignore sony is.... CANON.

i'd suggest you look at an S100 or S110. even tho they're a bit more expensive(about $100 more), you'd get more features(A/V recording), and a better battery. the batteries in the A10 are NOT rechargable...keep that in mind.

[chris v]

One reason to go with a compact flash style camera is that (at least the Canons) they'll accept the IBM 1 gig micro drive. They're 350 bucks now, which is a little rich for me, but I suspect they'll come down in price sooner or later. I think I'll nab one if and when they get down below $200.00. Thats a lot of pictures.

CV

[daimoni]

.

[climber]

I will echo the sentiments regarding batteries on cheaper cameras. I like the Nikon 775, it comes with a nice rechargeable battery. But it is closer to 400 US.

The biggest problem with the Sony’s is there memory card. low capacity and expensive. Get a camera with a Compact Flash card. Also make sure it works with iPhoto to ensure future compatibility.

[macthelastredman]

i just bought a fuji finepix for $180. i like it for what i do which is mostly take pictures of friends, family, some outdoor shots and my cat. the only draw backs about the one i got is that the lcd screen on the back is too small and its rather hard to see anything on it....and it sucks the battery power likes there is no tomorrow. but i can deal with it cause its still a nice and cheap camera....and now i can use that sweet program iphoto