Digital Camera Advice - Please Help a Non-Techie

[scfr]

The only digital camera we own was a freebie hand-me-down from a friend. It holds about 4 photos in the memory, batteries die in a shockingly short amount of time, and I cannot read many of the buttons because they are written in a foreign language.

With a big house-hunting trip in the not-to-distant future, it is time to bite the bullet and buy a digital camera. I need suggestions. I am looking for specific brand names & models. Neither my husband nor I are camera buffs ... We do not need a lot of bells and whistles. We just need something that can take a pretty good picture, is easy to operate, has TONS of memory (for all of the house pictures), and is a good value. If there is a feature where we can make notes on the pictures as we take them (to help us keep track of the houses ... for example "foreclosure house that smeels like cats") that would be perfect ... but I do not even know if such a thing exists.

Please also offer advice on how we can store more pictures that are not on the camera itself ... I am a total non-techie, so please use plain English! Thank you!

[Snave]

I would suggest going to a camera store for advice. I would not go to Best Buy or someplace like that. They just do not know there stuff as well as those at the camera store. There are so many models and you can tell them exactly what you are looking for. Since you have no idea, I would tell them that. I have a really good camera for photography, but when I started, I had no idea what I wanted/needed/etc... Believe me, they have heard that a million times. At least go get your advice there. It may be cheaper to purchase the camera elsewhere, but use the pros for the advice.

[disneysteve]

Snave's advice is good, to ask questions in person from someone who knows what they are talking about. No need to buy there.

To address some of your questions, though, I recommend a camera that runs on AA batteries. Many, especially the smaller ones, have a special rechargeable battery that only fits their camera. Stay away from those. It is much easier and cheaper to be able to use regular batteries. You can buy a 4-pack of rechargeable AA batteries at Walmart for about $12 that will last you a couple of years depending on how many photos you take. Plus, if you ever find yourself somewhere with dead batteries, it isn't hard to find a pack of AA at a convenience store, supermarket, etc.

As for memory, cameras use some type of removable memory card. SD is probably the most popular format. It is a thin card about 3/4" square and can hold hundreds of pictures depending on the capacity of the card and the resolution of your photos. Once you take pictures, you can transfer the images from the memory card to your computer for storage, printing, etc.

[kork13]

I'm personally partial to Fuji and Canon cameras (admittedly more for performance than anything else), but I've heard that Kodak's cameras are very easy to use as well. However, pretty much any camera you can pick up at walmart or local camera shop will do the job for you. As DS mentioned, AA capability is handy, and with removable storage media, you can have as much or as little as you think you need. For most purposes, 1GB is plenty, 2GB if you take more than ~200-300 photos at a time. ....or 8GB, if you'd like to follow my lead and take most/all of your photos is a 10MP raw format.... but somehow, I don't think that's your goal....

[artimeg]

All good advice so far. I personally am a big Canon fan; Nikon's are very good as well. I have the Canon 720IS (ran me about $150), which I really like as just a point and shoot. (I also have the Canon Rebel XT.) I work at a photography studio and we only use Canon.

If you are gonna be house hunting, then I would suggest a camera that can take very wide angle pictures. This allows you to get a lot more into the pictures in smaller areas.

Some point and shoots have adapters to go on the lens to allow for wider shots, for example that is what I can do for my Canon 720IS, the adapter only runs about $10-15.

For storage SD is probably the most common format for point and shoots. These cards and getting cheaper all the time, you can get a 2GB card for $20 or less these days. For an example, I can get over 900 shots on my 2GB card.

Sony's arn't bad, but they usually use their own kind of card, a memory stick, which are usually more expensive and only work with Sony's.

Hopefully that all made sense. I definitely think your best bet is heading to a camera store for advice.

Also check out dpreview.com they are a great resource for camera reviews and they have forums where you can look up info and ask advice.

[project15]

I just bought a Canon SD1100 IS + 4GB memory card off Amazon for around $190. I've had 3 canons and they have all taken great pictures.

I disagree with disneysteve about the AA batteries vs proprietary batteries. I have found that AA batteries don't last as long as the proprietary batteries. Of course, my experience was with a digital camera 5 years ago so the technology for that may have gotten better. However, I still won't buy a camera that uses AA batteries.

[project15]

Oh yeah, and as for keeping track of houses with notes, I normally take a picture of the address as a starting point then take pictures of the rest of the house. New address means a new house in my photo album. I write any notes on a notepad with the address listed. I don't think there's any features out there that let you write notes directly to the camera/image.

[scfr]

Thank you for all of the great tips and things to think about. And thank you for keeping it simple too.

[Broken Arrow]

Here's Cnet's recommendation on budget digital cameras.

You may have noticed that both Canon and Sony come highly recommended in this field. I think Canon has the slight edge on picture quality and manual control, but if you prefer simple point-and-click, I think Sony has the edge on that.

Budget-wise, you're looking at about $150 new, and $100 or less used. If you shop around.

As for batteries, I'd say that's a personal preference and usage. The proprietary batteries are made of the same stuff as today's cellphones, and I do think they last longer and work better than AA types. They are also recheargeable, so you don't have to constantly throw batteries away if that's a concern.

However, some people such as hikers and mountaineers prefer AAs because they know there won't a convenient outlet where they are going. Some semi-professionals also argue that AAs will give you instant power so you don't miss critical shots, whereas rechargeables are all but useless once they die. I think you can get around that by buying extra rechargeables and being prepared in advance, but if you're going to be out for long shoots and power is an issue, then I agree AAs would probably be a better fit. (But then, you can also use rechargeable AAs.)

If you decide to go to a camera store and ask for advice, please mention your budget AND that you're not planning to buy. They are knowledgeable people, but they may also try to sell you more camera than you need. Truth is, not many normal consumers need more camera than is typically available out there today.

Memory-wise, I prefer the Canon. Most Sony cameras use their own proprietary format which is more expensive and is less supported in my opinion. Oh wait, I think someone already mentioned that.

Personally, I like the Canon's Powershot series. I have one and love it, and a modest but more than adequate one can be had for less than $100 if you shop around.

[disneysteve]

I disagree with disneysteve about the AA batteries vs proprietary batteries. I have found that AA batteries don't last as long as the proprietary batteries.

As for batteries, I'd say that's a personal preference and usage. The proprietary batteries are made of the same stuff as today's cellphones, and I do think they last longer and work better than AA types. They are also recheargeable, so you don't have to constantly throw batteries away if that's a concern.

I use rechargeable AA batteries. A 4-pack is about $10-12. When I go out, I put 2 rechargeables in the camera, 4 more in the case and 1 pair of regular AA batteries just in case.

With my camera, depending on flash usage and stand-by time and such, I usually get about 80 pictures from a pair of batteries. So with 3 pairs of rechargeables with me, I'm good for about 250 pictures. I almost never shoot that much in one day, and if I do, I've got the pair of alkaline batteries for another 80. And if I still need more, it isn't hard to find a place to buy a pack of AA batteries, but just try buying a proprietary battery while you're out somewhere (which you would then need to charge).

[LittleGopher]

I have a Canon 720IS, and love it - very simple to use, as I too am a non-techie. This is a recent upgrade from an older digital Canon. I have a 2GB memory card, and can take hundreds of pictures. My two older daughters have enjoyed using under $100 Poloroids also. My inlaws have a Kodak, and it doesn't stumble them up too bad (they're even more non-techie than me!)

Now, I'll admit to being very non-techie (which works for me as I have a husband who is.) I also admit to being a tad paranoid at losing any of my (thousands!) of precious photos. So this is what I make my husband do for me...I have him burn DVD+R discs with every last one of my pictures (CDs can be used also, but hold less pictures.) I may not have this quite right, but I think he's told me that memory cards and jumpsticks have a lifespan, which is not forever. So he patiently burns discs of everything. I still find it easier to print pictures and email them by using the memory card or jumpsticks, so I keep them too, as they are both very inexpensive. Probably overkill, but as I said my husband is a very patient guy (as I am patient with all the stuff he needs to keep around to be a truly certified/certifiable techie!) Anyway....

I think given the difficulties with your current camera, you will really enjoy what a new one has to offer. Good luck in your search!

[Broken Arrow]

I may not have this quite right, but I think he's told me that memory cards and jumpsticks have a lifespan, which is not forever. So he patiently burns discs of everything.

Yes, I don't remember the details anymore, but most flash memory have a write life-span of like 1000 to 2000 passes. It's a good thing they've come down in price significantly.

Another option I recommend is to simply use online storage. They're easy to use, and could be found for free I think. That or an external USB hard drive.

RAID is kind of oldie but goodie, but if you want transparent redundancy, that's worth looking into. You don't have understand RAID. Just bring it up to your techie hubby and he can configure it for you. But really, probably the online storage option is the best. Not only can you have it stored online, but you can have it available for access anywhere on the net and friends and family can look at it anytime when you provide a link.

Come to think of it, NAS is another option your techie hubby can look into... but again, I would start with online storage first.

[LittleGopher]

Oh my, BA! I have heard of online storage and the external USB hard drive, but the only RAID I know is the kind you spray on bugs, and as you can imagine, I'm clueless about what NAS would be. Good thing I have my handy husband to pass this info along to! Thanks!!

[Broken Arrow]

Not that anyone would probably even care, but RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) in its simplest form is something call "mirroring". Basically, instead of the computer to writing to one hard drive like it normally does, you're telling it to write to two hard drives at the same time with the exact same information. That way, if one hard drive fails, you'll still have the other one. The cool thing is, once it's set up, you won't even notice any difference. It works magically in the background, and you get the added benefit of insuring your PC against hard drive failures. That's one of several flavors of RAID anyway.

NAS (Network-attached storage), in its simplest form, is an external hard drive with a built-in network card. So, not only can you copy all your photos to this external hard drive like any other, but if you have a static IP, you can make it available, instantly accessible anywhere for anyone on the internet.

But I'm sure hubby will just want to go all-out with a dedicated file server. Haha. Ah, geeks love this stuff. But as a fellow fruggie, I recommend looking into online storage first. Like maybe Google's Picasa. I haven't tried them yet, but it's neat because I believe the storage is free AND it can be used to share the pics with anyone. Flickr and Photobucket might be likely candidates as well, but I can't access them right now to be sure. They're blocked at work.

[safari]

I recommend the Digital Photography Review website. They review and rate a lot of different cameras. They also have user forums where owners talk about their cameras and share their experiences.