Camera's and Where to Buy (Cana: real estate, buying, live)

[ShannonMilligan]

Not sure where this would best fit on here, but thought NOVA since we also need a store.

We are in need of a new camera but have no idea what kind to get. A few years back we bought an Olympus and it just broke. Never seemed to take great pics either. There are just so many brands...Thoughts?

We DON'T want to pay an arm and a leg either...We want to stay under $300 so we are looking for the best in that category.

Then, where is a good place to buy here in Nova? We like to use Costco as much as we can, but is there anywhere else to get a good deal?

Thanks!

[slduvall]

I really like my Canon, it takes really good pics. The supershot or something like that. It isn't a tiny one, but not huge either. Try bestbuy as well as Costco.

[weezycom]

Nikon and Canan both have good cameras in your price range. You can check out reviews on www.cnet.com to help narrow your picks.

[Margery]

I have been using the Nikon Coolpix for 3 years to take real estate photos and it is idiot proof. You can get a good one from $150 to $300, depending on what features you want. I don't remember where we bought it, but you can google it and find stores.

[CaliTerp07]

Product reviews and prices, software downloads, and tech news - CNET

I am guessing you're looking for a point and shoot as opposed to a dslr type camera (with the removable lenses)? My favorite P&S cameras are canons. I really like their usability, their image stabilization (so you don't get blurry pictures), and I think the picture quality is fantastic. For under $200, you can get a really nice P&S camera. I'd look at the 940IS, 1200IS or the 780IS to start. All of them hang around the $200 price point.

Sony and Panasonic make some good p&s cameras as well, but I'm not as familiar with them.

I wouldn't buy a camera in a store, unless you want to pay more (or if there's a small business you want to support). When I was looking at DSLRs, I went to best buy, costco, and Ritz to try them out, but the prices were a good $200 more than I could buy it from Amazon.

[bmwguydc]

For a good site that has reviews and buying guides, I would check Steves-Digicams.com in addition to CNET.

I have a couple of Panasonics and my go-to camera for running around (prosumer) is a Panasonic. The lens is made by Leica, and the cameras are manufactured on the same chassis, though you will pay at least double for a Leica-branded camera. Now, I have Leicas that are not part of the twin series from Panasonic, but you cannot beat the value for some of the Panasonics.

I would always buy a camera with image stabilization, which some of the more value-conscious cameras eliminate on zoom. And, don't be too focused on megapixel counts, as higher numbers are good only if you routinely crop and zoom, or make large blow-ups of your pictures (and I mean large -- poster size).

Canon, Sony, Pentax, Panasonic, and Nikon all make some great cameras, and some less than stellar ones. The key is to find one that meets your needs. Olympus has a few good cameras, too, but I had a couple of bad experiences with their tiny pocket cameras.

Where to buy depends upon whom you ask, but I find that the New York camera superstores, B&H Photo Video, Adorama, and J&R all have excellent service and depth of stock. You can get it delivered if you don't want to take a road trip to New York, but locally I would go to Penn Camera.

Costco can have good deals, if they have what you want, but I find the selection at any warehouse club, or any big box store to pale in comparison to a camera store. And, sometimes, Penn has better prices than the New York stores on some camaras.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by bmwguydc

For a good site that has reviews and buying guides, I would check Steves-Digicams.com in addition to CNET.

I have a couple of Panasonics and my go-to camera for running around (prosumer) is a Panasonic. The lens is made by Leica, and the cameras are manufactured on the same chassis, though you will pay at least double for a Leica-branded camera. Now, I have Leicas that are not part of the twin series from Panasonic, but you cannot beat the value for some of the Panasonics.

I would always buy a camera with image stabilization, which some of the more value-conscious cameras eliminate on zoom. And, don't be too focused on megapixel counts, as higher numbers are good only if you routinely crop and zoom, or make large blow-ups of your pictures (and I mean large -- poster size).

Canon, Sony, Pentax, Panasonic, and Nikon all make some great cameras, and some less than stellar ones. The key is to find one that meets your needs. Olympus has a few good cameras, too, but I had a couple of bad experiences with their tiny pocket cameras.

Where to buy depends upon whom you ask, but I find that the New York camera superstores, B&H Photo Video, Adorama, and J&R all have excellent service and depth of stock. You can get it delivered if you don't want to take a road trip to New York, but locally I would go to Penn Camera.

Costco can have good deals, if they have what you want, but I find the selection at any warehouse club, or any big box store to pale in comparison to a camera store. And, sometimes, Penn has better prices than the New York stores on some camaras.

I agree big time with the Adorama site. What a great group of people to work with. Their customer service has always stood out when I needed them.

[bmwguydc]

One of the best cameras around in a compact version, with a street price of $329 (but with a $50 rebate at some stores) is the Canon SX200 IS, with 12MP and 12X Zoom. For a point and shoot, it's a good option. It's due to be replaced by the SX210 IS, in the $300-$400 range, hence the rebate on the existing stock at Adorama. B&H Still has it at $329, however. The major change is going to 14MP and 14x zoom in the SX210. The 200 is still a great camera for the money.

3509B001 Canon PowerShot SX200 IS Digital Camera with 12.1 Megapixel, 12x Optical Zoom, 4x Digital Zoom, 3.0" TFT Color LCD Display, Black

There have been problems reported with a fatal "Lens Error," so I would not buy the Canon without a warranty agreement. I have bought both from B&H and Adorama, and when I have had a problem, they took the camera. Because of the potential hassle, you might not want to take risk with that Canon.

http://www.e18error.com/

Another good camera is the Panasonic DMC-FX580K, which is under $200 in many places. It does not have the zoom capability of the Canon, but it offers great image quality, and a pretty user-friendly package with a touch screen. The main thing with Panasonic is that they tend to have many more options than a Canon, so if you like to fine tune shots, it can be a blessing. However, if you don't, it can be a curse, and you only use a few major shooting modes.

[SomeGuyInFairfax]

Essentials:

Good Lens (i.e., Nikon; Leica and similar quality)
Wide Aperture (For low light conditions.)
Largest possible/best quality image sensor/CCD

[GoHokiesGo]

I always use dpreview.com for my camera reviews and recommendations.

Best Buy and Costco tend to have good deals, also look on Amazon as well (plus they have all the reviews on there).

I shoot with a Canon dSLR and always use B&H and Adorama for all of my equipment; I mostly prefer Canon equipment, but that boils down to personal preference. I think the previously mentioned sites tend to have better prices on Point & Shoot cameras.

Locally, you have a few Penn Camera locations in fairfax and tysons, as well as Ace Photo in Ashburn.