Digital Camera Qs

i am thinking of getting a digital camera, my price range is 200-400 CAD

i would look up how much that is in $$ but its late, and i'm too tired

i just bit the bullet with my dad, and we split the price on a new Canon Powershot A40... i've only had a few hours with it, but i think i'm REALLY going to like it!

all the review were very good on it. one thing i can tell you is do your research, there are SO many cameras out now, and you want to get the best bang for you buck like any other normal person i'm sure.

there is a sticky here with good basic info:
http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=111073

also some sites that i really liked that helped me out were:
- http://www.steves-digicams.com/
- http://www.dcresource.com/
- http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/0-1429209.html?tag=st.cn.1.cameras.1429209
- http://www.dpreview.com

in addition to those, you'd be surprised what a www.google.com search can come up with my friend

i'd say you'd probably do best to stick with a major, tried and true brand as i did, such as canon, fuji, olympus, or nikon to name a few.

one other thing to be sure about is what kind of batteries and media does the camera use? you dont want to be stuck with a camera that uses a propriatery format, or one that wont take rechargable batteries, or only takes batteries that you have to purchase from the manufacture. those are just a few of the things to look for.

i'd say goto a store such as walmart, bestbuy, etc and get a hands on look on a few that you think look decent after reading through all those sites. pick the best one, and try it out! dont be afraid, after all you can always return it.

even if you buy online i think it'd be wise to try one out in a brick and mortar store first! let me know if i can be of any more help.

John

I dont have much to add to that but, I'd check out those sites. I have a nikon coolpix 4500 now. Its got a bunch of cool features, like 8sec shutter. I'm not sure about the currency conversion but you could check out the nikon 885 its last years model, I used to have that one two but im sure you could pick one up for between 300-400 on ebay.

dv.

Avoid ebay, they're not going to list any of the important aspects of the camera.

MY FAVORITE place for camera reviews is www.imaging-resource.com

Not only do they test every feature on the camera, but they also have picture quality comparisons, plus what features (if any) helped improve image quality under certain conditions.

The brands to keep your eye on...

- HP
- Minolta
- Olympus
- Sony

Those 4 have superior optics and feature sets (especially Minolta, I recommend their F100 model).

I've got a Canon Powershot S330 and I love it.