I lost mine on my birthday last year and have been settling for using my iPhone. However, the in-laws are coming to town and so we need one now. I had the Sony Cybershot N1 model, the original 3 inch LCD touchscreen digital camera. It was 8.1 mega-pixels and I’d like to think it was cutting edge 3 years ago. The thing with Sony is that unless you purchase its top of line models, their items are very mediocre. From television sets to digital cameras to laptops; this runs true. Another thing with Sony besides it being quite stylish in aesthetics is that it packs way too many fun/uesless features that you’ll never use.
I am now looking for another digital camera which my main goal is to have it as compact and portable as possible. One thing is for sure, since Circuit City closed down; there really aren’t many places to go check out electronics besides BestBuy or Fry’s Electronics. I wouldn’t buy anything from BestBuy after reading this article though, which is almost as bad as Fry’s little HDMI switcheroo scam . So to the net I go, cruising through Pricegrabber, Amazon, eBay, etc.
Features are not important and neither is mega-pixels. Mega-pixel size tends to be misleading because even though a digital camera can take 12 mega-pixels; the image quality can be crappy because of too much noise or discoloration or glare from the flash. What is important to me is ease of use, fast shoot time and good image quality. I can settle for an 8.1 or 10.1 mega-pixel as long as it shoots great casual photos in the day or night time. My tip is if your shopping for a digital camera, don’t be fooled by the mega-pixel size or all the features you won’t be using. Also, why spend more than $200 or even $300 for a ultra compact digital camera when it WILL never take photos as well as an Digital SLR. I’ll invest heavily when I decide to get one of those. However, a compact camera is still useful
I was about to buy the heavily reviewed Canon Powershot SD1100 because it is quite affordable, under $200 and has great reviews. However, among all the great reviews, theres also reviews of the dreaded fatal “lens error” problem. Also, how can different colors of the same model not have the same cost? I am looking at their newer model, the Canon Powershot SD1200 because hopefully they resolved those error issues. So far, no reviews and I cannot seem to make up my mind.
Another interesting selection is the Nikon S610 because rarely do you see a compact digital camera come with wide angle lens. From my experience, having wide angle lens captures images better. But then I am skeptical about the Nikon brand, as I am reading that people experience yellow imagery on photos taken as well as image quality when loaded onto a computer. Reason I am mentioning this is because Costco currently has a promotion on of the these models with a $50 coupon. This model can be had for less than $200 as well.
Other choices for me have been the Casio line of Exilim compact digital cameras; however, there is just way too many models to keep up with what is top of line, what is middle, etc. I am almost just giving up on them as well. Regardless, I’ll be picking up either a Canon or that Nikon in the next two days and may write a review of it.
If you happen to read this, let me know which point and shoot compact digital camera your using and share your experience as I am in search of a compact digital camera!