Need New Camera Advice

[Reelholder]

I dropped and broke my Sony Cybershot point and shoot camera. I really liked it... but now the exact camera I bought 4 years ago for $450...is now $900? I thought for certain it would be discontinued.

Prices always go down on technology, so I looked for some new feature on the $900 version, if there is one, they are not making it known.

Anyway...does anybody have a recommendation for a new camera?

Thanks for ANY help.
Wayne Jansen
***email address removed***

[Steve]

It depends mostly on what you expect to use it for. My old Sony is used almost exclusively for reel photography, and the most important feature is its macro setting, which allows for pretty good sharpness down to 1 cm or so.

Most of these cameras have a lot of features I hate paying for, like video. I want one that takes formats like tiff and raw, for publishable pics. But if you can live with just jpgs, the camera will be cheaper.

These two sites have pretty good reviews:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/
http://www.dpreview.com/

[OCauto]

I have found this Camera to be a superb device. I have carried one for several years and it takes great pictures. It is affordable and with a 20x wide-angle zoom, the 12.1-megapixel PowerShot SX20 IS offers intelligent, versatile shooting power. Switch to Smart Auto mode for effortlessly great results, or shoot stunning HD movies.
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera - Black

[nomdeplume57]

I dropped and broke my Sony Cybershot point and shoot camera. I really liked it... but now the exact camera I bought 4 years ago for $450...is now $900? I thought for certain it would be discontinued.

Prices always go down on technology, so I looked for some new feature on the $900 version, if there is one, they are not making it known.

Anyway...does anybody have a recommendation for a new camera?

Thanks for ANY help.
Wayne Jansen
***email address removed***

I probably hold some sort of record for breaking cameras.
Usually I send em back to the manufacture to get them refurbished if reasonable or buy one on e-bay now.
I recently bought a Cannon Power Shot A 560 with box paperwork and wiring for @ 60 bucks and it works flawlessly on just 2 AA Batteries . My Sony takes 4 .
I have much more expensive cameras but for 60 bucks and my History around my shop this used Cannon is a bargain...

[jimbofish]

the exact camera I bought 4 years ago for $450...is now $900? I thought for certain it would be discontinued.

I looked for some new feature on the $900 version, if there is one, they are not making it known.

Anyway...does anybody have a recommendation for a new camera?

Considering that it's still current, costs twice as much now, and isn't an improvement, I'd at least get an estimate to repair the broken one, especially if you like it.

As for recommendations, I tend to favor Canon for two reasons. They take excellent pictures and their customer service is outstanding, IME. Canon repaired our P&S camera that had a bad LCD at no charge several years after the warranty had run out. They also repaired two others that I bought for a few $ at a thrift store at no charge.

Santa brought the Fishwife a new Canon Elph 115 this year because she wanted a larger display and she needed 'steady shot', as most of her shots are blurry. I can always tell who took a particular snap because she tends to 'punch' the shutter button. So far it seems to work well right out of the box. Haven't really had a chance to play with all the settings yet.

Canon cameras seem to sell everywhere for the same price. Even the website has the same prices. They also sell refurbs there too.

[john elder]

I've paid a lot more for cameras and been pleased much less than with the Nikon Coolpix camera I've used for the last three years or so...12 megapixels (I'm sure they have more res now, but this is fine), macro feature for closeups and it weighs nothing...3 1/2 in x 2 1/4 in., so fits in your pocket. It can be adapted to a stand, but I've never used it that way. I think when I bought it, it was around $150 at Circuit City/Best Buy/Fryes.



Pic taken with my second best camera...10 meg I-phone 4...not the most flexible for sizing, etc, but you can't beat the convenience...would still hate to have it as my only camera.

[Don Champion]

I have a Nikon Coolpix 4100 that I've had for many years. It is only 4 megapixels and has a great macro. If I remember correctly I paid about $400 for it a long time ago but that was with a case, batteries and charger. It doesn't look anything like John's and they have really gotten cheaper since then. But so have I so I am not going to rush out to buy the latest thing as long as this one works.

[Reelholder]

The Canao "oCauto" shows...looks almost exactly like the Sony I dropped...I'm going to investigate that Canon (I like their out of warranty policy...Shimano is the same with reels and Loomis with broken rods).
I'll ask Sony if they refurbish and then investigate those pocket sized Nikons if necessary.
What is the meaning of more or less Megapixels?
Thanks so much for very considerate help to all.

[OCauto]

megapixels: one million pixels, used as a measure of the resolution in digital cameras.

10 megapixels = 10,000,000 pixels. for most practical purposes, anything over 10 MP is really a waste as far judging a Cameras value. It seems to be a selling point but Optical Zoom should be the target for a higher quality camera. Don't be fooled by "Digital Zoom" it actually decreases quality.

[Don Champion]

I'll try to answer your question although I probably know enough about megapixels to be dangerous. A digital photo is made up of small dots called pixels. Megapixels refer to the number of pixels per square inch or whatever. The more it has the better quality and sharper the photo. A camera with higher megapixels would have a sharper photo and one that could be enlarged quite a bit and still have a sharp image.

[Reelholder]

I did some research...one advantage...more megapixels makes cropped pics just as vivid as pics taken on a camera with fewer megapixels. Thanks for the help gents.