What DigiCam Brands are best?

I'm looking into getting a new Digital Camera for Christmas, but I dont know what brands to get. I currently have a Samsung that is two years old and seems like its ready to die any day now. Ive only ever used a Samsung and a Sony, and dont really know what I should be looking for.

I kind of want a Sony, but I wish they used SD cards, as thats what I have for my Samsung. I'm looking for something semi-thin (at least thin enough to put in jeans pocket) and around 100-175.




I was also thinking about getting a laptop, but dont know anything about computers either. I have a shitty emachines and I thought maybe Dell or Sony were good brands but I really dont know.

Get a Casio Exilim and a Mac.

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yup! he said it all

IMO Canon makes the best consumer (and pro) digital cameras. From their pocket cameras to their dSLR's, for my money I'd only buy a Canon.

[quotee5490b9c62="dmorris68"]IMO Canon makes the best consumer (and pro) digital cameras. From their pocket cameras to their dSLR's, for my money I'd only buy a Canon.[/quotee5490b9c62]

Canon SD600 and up or Fuji F30 are what i'd look for. MIght need to stretch outside the price range you have to get it though.

Don't buy a Casio. Would you buy a car made by AOL? No, because they wouldn't know what the fuck they'd be doing.

As David said, Canon would be my pick, whether it's a cheap entry level or an expensive DSLR, they make far superior cameras to most other manufacturers (besides Nikon and possibly Olympus or Kodak).

Go here and put in the specs you're looking for and this will give you the top 10 cameras that apply to your search criteria. This site is one of the best to find information about cameras as well as in-depth reviews about them.

http//www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp

Oh I forgot to mention I personally have a Kodak EasyShare V530 =P

Okay, thanks guys. I need to just go and look around and see what the local stores even have in.

As far as the laptop, I thought about a Mac, but they are so much more expensive, and I've never used a Mac so I dont know if I would like it/know how to operate it.

You can get a refurbished Macbook (1st-gen) for about $850 for the lower end White model and $899 for the higher end White model.

They're really easy to learn.

Kay, so, update

For some reason I'm drawn to the Sonys more than anything else. I was looking at the Sony Sony S500[=http//www.amazon.com/Sony-Cybershot-Digital-Camera-Optical/dp/B000FQCFUC]Sony S500 which would cost me about 130-140, and the Sony W50[=http//www.amazon.com/Sony-Cybershot-DSCW50-Digital-Optical/dp/B000EGLXTW/sr=1-1/qid=1166407257/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-0030584-3649270?ie=UTF8&s=photo]Sony W50 which is on sale at Best Buy for 200.

Obviously the second one is better, but I can't really tell why. I know that the second one is slimmer, and has a rechargeable battery, but they have the same megapixels, the same zoom, just different menus/features, which I'm not too concerned about.

I havent really been using the camera I have a lot lately, so I guess I'm just concerned on spending 60 extra dollars for a camera thats just a little thinner. What do you guys think?

Haven't heard much about the S500 but the Sony W50 looks pretty good in this review[=http//www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/dsc_w50-review/index.shtml]this review, especially for the price. I'd take a look to see if you can grab the Canon SD600 because I know a lot of friends with that camera and they seem to like it a heckuva lot. I'll try and dig out a review for the sony s500 too.

I agree with dmo and tsj, canon is the best. However, Sony does make some decent cameras too. My old 3.2 MP Sony cam that I gave to my gf still takes surprisingly great pictures.

However, Sony customer support sucks, and they've been having a lot of probs lately. They even had a big digicam recall recently.

Read up on some reviews to make up your mind. I would really focus on getting the camera that takes great pictures instead of little features you might never use.

I like the reviews here
http//www.megapixel.net/[]http//www.megapixel.net/

I also like steve's digicam reviews.

Alright thanks. For some reason I never really cared for Canons, but I havent tried them out really.

For those of you with cameras with a rechargeable lithium battery, do you like it or would you prefer to use AAs?

The camera I have takes AAs and I have rechargeable ones. I like it because I can have one set charging while I'm using the other so I always have batteries. I'm afraid of getting a camera with a camera battery because then you only have one, and if your using it you cant charge it at the same time.

My Canon G3 has a Li-Ion battery, but you can buy extras as well as external chargers for them. Most Canon's, and I think most digicams, allow you to buy extra battery packs.

AA's can't often handle the voltage or current necessary for some cameras, particularly larger ones. My Canon G3 for instance, has a battery pack about the size of 2 AA's, but it supplies 7.4v, nearly 3x the voltage of 2 AA's. So it would take 5 AA's to power my camera -- there goes your compact size and light weight. )

I too have a couple of chargers full of AA/AAA's and use them all the time, but with higher end cameras they just aren't practical.

Trust us Canon beats Sony hands down in the still camera market. I'm a big fan of Sony products, and I prefer their video cameras to Canon's (although Canon's are nice too), but IMO they've got Sony easily beat in the shutterbug market. I know of several hobbiest and pro photographers in my area that use Canon digitals almost exclusively. A few have some high-end Nikon dSLR gear, but most use Canon. Nobody I know of uses Sony anything when it comes to photography.

[quote8bc0cfd88c="hilaryfanatic09"]Alright thanks. For some reason I never really cared for Canons, but I havent tried them out really.

For those of you with cameras with a rechargeable lithium battery, do you like it or would you prefer to use AAs?

The camera I have takes AAs and I have rechargeable ones. I like it because I can have one set charging while I'm using the other so I always have batteries. I'm afraid of getting a camera with a camera battery because then you only have one, and if your using it you cant charge it at the same time.[/quote8bc0cfd88c]

Most people prefer to use AA batteries for just the reason you mentioned, you can buy spare ones at the nearest 7/11 or walgreens if you run out. Personally, I like the proprietary batteries better because there's plenty of people out there who make really cheap generic ones that work just as good if not better than the original. AA's tend to hold less shots unless you get a really high quality NiMh's. It really depends on which camera you get because some camera's come with batteries that hold a lot of shots. The 240 shots (relatively low) amount of shots that my Canon SD700 is quoted for hasn't been a problem for me yet mainly because I charge my camera daily. Really depends on usage and camera. Sony tends to make batteries that hold more charge than Canon's though.