Need Advice!

[yoyoyoyoyoyoyo]

My girlfriend's birthday is coming up in about a month. She takes a lot of pictures with her cell phone, so i thought i would get her a camera. The only thing is I dont know a lot about them. I was looking on best buy and saw these ones:
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http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8942665&type=product&id=1215217300156

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http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9266466&type=product&id=1218071906962

Are these good cameras? If you can think of any better ones please let me know. Please keep in mind that im on a $200 budget. Thanks for the help!

 

[PoisonedV]

I don't claim to be an expert on digital photography, but I enjoy the canon powershot series

 

[Chip]

Kodak makes very easy to use cameras, but to keep things simple they tend to skimp on features.

Sony cameras force you to use their overly-expensive memory sticks, and should be avoided.

I did a bunch of research a few months ago and the best camera I found for under $200 was the Casio Exilim Z250. I bought one, and it's been great. Pictures are good, it's fast, and it takes widescreen 480p h.264 video.

www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=209122952

 

[BackAssward]

I would avoid Sony (not just because they treat their customers like shit) but because they use their own proprietary memory stick.

 

[WarmFluffyUK]

One thing to consider, make sure it is light and fits easily into a handbag.

 

[PokeParadox]

Try to go for microSD/SD as they are cheap as chips to buy cards for.
Don't be suckered in by too many MegaPixels, around 6MP is plenty for home photography, higher than that is only useful for hi-res poster print-outs.

 

[yoyoyoyoyoyoyo]

Thanks for the help! I am planning on getting a camera that could use sd cards. I forgot that sony had their own format. Im looking at the Casio EXILIM cameras and they look pretty good. Im deciding between these 2 for now. Still open to more suggestions.

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http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9107487&type=product&id=1218024212176

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http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9277917&type=product&id=1218073195504

 

[BackAssward]

I'll agree with Chip on the Exilim. I've held one in my hands, great size, good LCD. I would have bought one but I also want RAW mode. Very sleek though.

As for Chip's post, not sure how he beat me in (I wouldn't have posted if I saw he had already mentioned the memory stick), I don't think it took me 3 minutes to write one sentence :/ Oh well

Btw, I can't follow your links until I remove the sku from the URL, not sure why (forum bugs aside).

 

[yoyoyoyoyoyoyo]

i tryed to fix the links but no luck. I just put them in a code box instead. With the 9.1 megapixel Casio, it says that it doesnt have a viewfinder. Will it display a preview on the lcd screen before you actually take the picture?

 

[Chip]

With the 9.1 megapixel Casio, it says that it doesnt have a viewfinder. Will it display a preview on the lcd screen before you actually take the picture?
Yes. They just mean it doesn't have an optical viewfinder (the little glass window that older cameras have).

 

[yoyoyoyoyoyoyo]

With the 9.1 megapixel Casio, it says that it doesnt have a viewfinder. Will it display a preview on the lcd screen before you actually take the picture?
Yes. They just mean it doesn't have an optical viewfinder (the little glass window that older cameras have).

ok, thats fine then. Im probably just going to get that one then. Seems like a really good camera. Thanks for all your help! Ill need to get her a memory card too. Do you think a 2GB card will be enough?

 

[gaterooze]

My wife's a pro photographer, and she swears by Canon for digital (also the Panasonic ranges with Leica lenses). Like PokeParadox said, at consumer level go for ~6 megapixels - trust me, even if you have a 10MP camera, you will end up leaving it at 6MP or under - anything higher is just a waste of SD space for 99.9% of people.

 

[WizardStan]

i tryed to fix the links but no luck. I just put them in a code box instead. With the 9.1 megapixel Casio, it says that it doesnt have a viewfinder. Will it display a preview on the lcd screen before you actually take the picture?
The LCD is the biggest eater of battery. When I take my camera out for an extended period, I would shut off the LCD and use just the viewfinder; it starts the LCD long enough to show you the picture you just took so there's no worry about that. I could leave it on pretty much all day, ready to take a picture at a moments notice.
My dad picked up a nice newer one last year. It doesn't have a viewfinder. The only way to take a picture is to use the LCD. The batteries are dead within an hour. He has to shut it off to conserve power, and has missed more than one good shot. Think about that.
Also, 2 GB is enough for about 1000 pictures at 6MP