Best digital camera under $200?

S

Surfingbull

Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Hi,

My 2 year old Kodak DX4330 stopped working all of
a sudden last week (screen went blank, lens won't
move). So I'm out shopping with very little money again.

What do you think is the best digital camera with a
price less than $200? Here are my criterias:

1) use SD memory
2) 3 meg pixel or greater
3) 3X optical zoom or greater
4) can carry in your pocket

I hope I'm not asking for too much with the money
I have. Maybe I have to wait for next Christmas.
Well, with the way it's been raining in CA, I guess I
may not need one for a year :)

Thank you very much for any suggestions!

- Surfingbull
 
See if it's still under warranty, even if you have to pay a little to get it fixed (around $50), it might still be worth it to you. I gave my sister my old Kodak DX3600 which still works, but it's a pain with the AA batteries.

I tend to be a big fan of Canon. My girlfriend bought me a Canon Powershot S410 which is a great camera. They just came out with the S300, but mine works well.

I know Canon makes some lower end models in your price range (SD200) that were just redesigned, so I'd take a look for a good price on that.

Also, you lucked out, because Canon just switched their cameras from using CompactFlash memory to SD memory.

Buydig.com has the Canon SD200 for $228 with no sales tax. I don't think they have free shipping anymore. My girlfriend bought my S410 from there and everything came in well, so I'd recommend them.

http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=CNPSSD200

Welcome to Spoofee by the way! :)
 
Last edited:
i really like my olympus d-580 which im pretty sure is under $200 now
 
Kodak tries to make $ from repairs

Hi, I went to Kodak.com and went through their product support. I got a quote of $135 to repair my DX4330. Also, they offer to "trade-in" for one of their refurb'd camera if I'm willing to pay $200. I think it's a big rip-off. So I'll be taking my businese elsewhere. Thanks for the replies! - Surfingbull
 
Yeah, I agree. If you pitch in an extra $75, you can get the new camera. Definitely go Canon.
 
I just bought a Nikon Coolpix 3200 and I like it alot. Takes very nice pictures. I think they retail for $179 or so. It takes nice mpeg clips.
 
I recommend Canon too. But for under $200 with your requirements might take a bit of searching.

You can get the Canon Powershot A400, it uses SD memory, is 3.2 MP, has a 2.2 optical zoom, and is definately small enough to fit in you're pocket.

I just recommended my friend to buy it and she did, and she loves it.

You can find it for $200 anywhere and Target just had it for $149. I found it for my friend bundled with a free Pixma i3000 printer for $200 with no rebates. They're are selling it at some places in the bundle for $200-$300 but some have rebates.
 
just got a canon a400 for my sister and it works pretty good, really good for the price. im a fan of fuji cameras though. the e510 they came out with is awesome its just a little over 200 though. fits all your requirements except it uses the new xd memory cards.
 
A client of mine just bought a Canon S200 today. Retail at BestBuy is $299. Considering you can get it online for $230 or so, it's a great deal. I played with it a little as I was helping him hook it up and it seemed like a fantastic camera. However, I think I like the more classic style buttons on my S410. The form factor on the S200 is incredible, I thought my S410 was small. The S300 and S200 are the same size. The screen on the S200 is really big compared to my S410. I believe it's two inches. The camera seemed like a great choice.
 
Another fan of Coolpix 3200

I just bought a Nikon Coolpix 3200 and I like it alot. Takes very nice pictures. I think they retail for $179 or so. It takes nice mpeg clips.
Click to expand...

I too, have had a Coolpix 3200, for about four months, and like it very much. Ads in PC Magazine have these for $149 plus shipping.

It's not for pro photographers, but it's good. I'd like a little more optical zoom capability, but for the price it packs in a lot of features.
 
Nikons 3MP camera is very good for the pricepoint. You should also know their model scheme is logical in that 3200 = 3.2MP.. Canon makes nice cameras as well. Both of course are the mainstays in photography. But don't let other brands detour you if they seem too cheap. Fuji makes great stuff as well. As does Olympus. I'd also recommend Minolta as well. I would not suggest HP, Sony, and other 'non' camera companies. Granted Sony has been making Camcorders for years, they didn't start still camera until the digital age.

These days there's a lot to choose from. My suggestion would be this:

Take a look at what the above companies have to offer in a 3-4MP camera since thats all 90% of ppl actually would ever utilize. That also leads to a perk, those are cheaper these days when companies are pushing insane MP camera.

Once you have one or two from each company, pick the ones you like the look and feel of. Considering this is a major thing you can't edit and must live with.

That should narrow you down to a couple camera, maybe 3 or 4, probably 2 or 3. Then compare them feature wise.. Which ones would you most make use of. Useless features only add to cluttering menus and buttons.

Now your down to 2.. Head over to DPReview.com and compare actual photos between your choices.. Digital cameras all have their pros and cons of their sensor chips and firmware. One camera may be great outdoors and good indoors, the other one could be great indoors and okay outdoors. What your actually more apt to see is a difference in low light performance and correct coloring. Fleshtones are something most camera have a bias either for or against. Also watch for noise in the images, unless the camera supports a raw format, there ain't jack you can do about it postprocessing so make that a consideration as well.

Basically, know what your most likely to use the camera for, be it landscape, portraits, indoors or outdoor and pick the camera with the performance bias towards what you want.

Yes this is a long and methodical approach, but you'll be happy in the end if you follow it. Remember, you may end up picking a camera that cheaper, or you may end up with one thats a lil more. If that's the case, don't compromise because of a few bucks, it's not worth it. You'll end up kicking youself in a month or so..
 
Thanks for all replies, here are my current choices ...

Hi, thanks for all the generous replies. I am still researching and
would like to share my thoughts on a few camera that people have
mentioned just in case it's helpful to some readers:

HP Photosmart M407: people complaint of 1) bad video; 2) short battery life.
Nikon Coolpix 3200: great picture, but some people complain of 1) short
battery life (use 2 AA); 2) long delay between shots (2-3 sec).

Sony A400: the lense is rated f=3.8, when most cameras are at f=2.8
Sony SD200: slightly above my price point (low $200 and up)
Sony SD300: still too expensive for me ($300-$400)

I think the HP and the Nikon are my top choices for now. Anybody here
use the HP PS R707?

BTW, does the HP and the Nikon need docks to charge and/or upload photo
to a PC?
Thanks!
 
Surfinbull:

I don't think I'd choose a Sony camera, but that's just me.. You never mentioned anything by Canon which is surprising to me.

A buddy of mine called me up asking the same question as you. His camera went out and he wanted a new one. I told him the same thing and we went thru a quick search at places he could pickup something from. Well, ended up being me who picked it up from my local camera shop no less. I got him the Canon A75 for $180 plus tax and I deliver it later tonight. I asked the guy at the shop which was a better camera, the Nikon 3200 or the Canon A75. Now granted this guy wasn't my usual goto guy and he didn't hook me up with a better price (argh!) but he said the Canon was better between the two.. After looking at it and everything, it's quite a nice lil pocket camera and even includes a CF card to start you with.

For the price and feature set of the camera, it's a great deal.
 
Thanks CozKramer

Hi CozKramer,

I appreciate you taking the time to write.
Well, I guess the CF card excluded many
Cannons from my list. I'm not sure that is
a completely wise decision on my part,
but I'm reading great reviews of this HP r707
from DPReview.com. And Buy.com is selling
it pretty cheap ($60 MIR). So I'm very tempted....

I saw it in store today. The form factor of
the r707 is great!

I think I'll order it tomorrow from Buy.com.

Thanks!
Surfingbull
 
Surfingbull:

Well, here's my last attempt to change your mind.. HP goes on namesake alone for everything with the exception of printers and scanners which actually aren't too shabby.

So, more spec comparisons then... Hard facts...

The HP doesn't have as wide an angle as the Canon. 39mm vs 35mm
The HP does have a longer telephoto vs the Canon. 117mm vs 105mm

The Canon has an extra ISO Level of 50 for outdoor sports shots.

The Canon has a larger sensor compare to the HP. 1/2.7" vs 1/1.8"

The Canon has a 9point TTL AF, The HP just lists TTL with no point count.

Normal Focus Range is 46cm (Canon) vs 50cm (HP) (distance the AF works)

Macro Focus is 5cm (Canon) vs 14cm (HP) (this one is important if you want good closeups like for eBay)

Now the HP has +/- 3EV and the Canon has +/- 2. However, this doesn't mean as much if the cameras ability is accurate.

I could make a few others, but my last one is this.

HP uses it's own LithIon battery whereas the Canon uses AA's... Your at Disneyland with your kids, pleanty of storage space (cheap enough these days) but you've just run outta juice and it's only 1pm.. With the HP, your screwed.. With the Canon, walk into any of the shops and pickup a pack of AA's and your back in business..

Now some explination of the above info in relavent terms.

Wide angle and Telephoto should be obvious.. 35mm is Wider, 117mm is Longer.

ISO Level, this is 35mm equivalent and is the same for both camera with the exception of ISO50 for the Canon, which like I said above would be good for high light or outside shots.

Sensor size.. Isn't bigger always better? Just ask the wife.. lol (kidding!) Seriously tho, larger sensor = more data..

The AF System.. The 9 Point AF system will take light measurements and focusing info from 9 different points yeilding more clear and accurate shots. The HP just lists TTL which doesn't say anything other then the camera knows what it's doing.. lol

Focus Range. This is the distance the lens can focus accurately staying inside the Infinity bounds. Now Normal Range, the HP Wins. However! The Macro ability of the Canon IMO exceeds the gains you'd get with the HP in a portrait setting. Being able to focus correctly on closeup images is a great thing and is quite usefull for eBay photos.

EV Steps.. These are Evaluative Measuring steps which will tell the camera to Over (+) or Under (-) Expose an image based on the light readings it would use. Example: Say you want a photo and the camera sets it to F2.8 Shutter of 200 and you set the EV to +1 the camera would then take the shot at say F3.5 Shutter 400. Which would over-expose what the camera says is correct. The reason I say the difference of 1 (2 vs 3) doesn't nessasarily mean much is because if the cameras ability to correctly expose photos, then this setting isnt' touched anyway.

The Battery issue should be a no brainer..

I hope this sways you some. Remember, price isn't everything...
 
Good thing about Canon cameras are Photo quality with and without flash is excellent.
 
Surfingbull said:
I saw it in store today. The form factor of
the r707 is great!

I think I'll order it tomorrow from Buy.com.

Thanks!
Surfingbull
Click to expand...
Hi Surfingbull, you probably already knew this, but I just wanted to be sure that you were able to use the $10 off $150 Buy.com coupon for your purchase, so that your camera would be $194.99 w/ the $10 coupon & $60 rebate. :)
 
Thanks for all the suggestions

Hi, thank you all for giving me helpful suggestins.
I'm sorry I may disappoint some of you if I didn't
purchase a certain brand of camera. But I do
appreciate all teh posts and read them carefully.

- Surfingbull.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top