Camera Labs

Hi Everyone,

In the market for a new camera. Our present one is a Kodak EasyShare DX7440. It's several years old. It still works good but we are looking for a smaller and better camera.

Our criteria are: Good point and shoot, 10X zoom or more, good for indoors and outdoors, good at vacation pics, small size.

We don't need a lot of bells and whistles. We take photos while on vacation, at family functions, and with friends. We're not photographers, we don't care about f-stops, aperture settings, or ISO settings. We are most likely to let the camera choose the best settings.

An example of a camera that we like for size is the Olympus SZ-12.

I have read dozens of reviews. Being that the people doing the reviews are serious photographers, I find it hard to decipher what is a good camera for us. Hopefully some of you can help us narrow our choices down.

Thanks in advance for your help.

The range and choice is huge. A good place to start is probably your budget.

There are very expensive compacts and there are plenty of very good cheaper alternatives to fit your budget and style.

The Olympus is i think a $200-$250 (US) bracket ??.

A good guide on good all round point and shoots is here:

http://www.cameralabs.com/buyers_guide/ ... mera.shtml

Whilst this is "another review" it enables you to compare at a snap what the best outcomes have been from Gordons reviews.

Personally i have always been a fan of Canon and have for many years used the Ixus range and the Powershot range, but thats me, i know that Nikon, Sony and Panasonic do just as good these days and all have market equivalents out there.

The best advice i have is go to a camera shop or electrical store with a couple of cameras in mind, handle them, play with them, take some photos with them and see how they fit in your hand, ease of use to you and what you get for your money...does it come with an SD card, charger..does it need batteries or does it have a rechargeable battery.

There are some great "bundle" deals out there so be open minded and as i said the bracket i think you are looking to spend within is massive so there is plenty of choice - you would be wise to look at some good review websites before you buy.

Most of the cameras in your price range will quote similar performances, megapixels, digital zooms etc. Simply look to see what each of them offer and level out what you are getting for your money.

Use the reviews here to assess whether having all the gizmos and gubbins really cut the mustard when it comes to how happy you are with the end result, the quality of the photo and wha tyou want to do with it.

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Canon 550D, Canon EFS 17-85 IS USM, Canon EF 75-300 IS USM, Canon EFS 10-22mm USM, Canon EF35mm F2.

Got some of the gear but really still no idea...