Need help - Lost on Camera purchase

waitetr · Aug 22, 2011

Ok so here is the question you've answered a hundred times but I thought I'd give it a shot and see what advice you give me.

We are tired of our old Point-n-shoot camera. The battery life is very short, the picture quality is so-so, and the speed at which we can take picture agonizingly slow. We are constantly missing pictures because of load/save time or because it is "charging the flash". UPDATE - Some of you asked my current camera which is an HP Photosmart M417, 5.2 megapixels.

Here is what we are looking for along with our budget:

Budget: Less than $400 but prefer less than $300. We are also limited to Walmart/Sam's club offerings because of gift cards we have.
Experience:I am not a photographer, and probably never will be, and while I can learn to use manual settings these will not likely get a lot of use. We will most use the auto and preset options with whatever camera we get.
Wants:

Fast, or at least faster, photos. We have one small child and another on the way and we really need to be able to take more than one picture every 5-10 seconds. Kids move and I need my camera to at least attempt at keeping up.
Decent battery life. We don't want to have to constantly change batteries every 10 minutes which seems to be the norm even with new fully charged NiMH batteries.
We use the camera for a lot of video and would like a camera that does HD even if that is 720 and not 1080. While we have a borrowed video camera it is old, saves to mini-DVD and I have trouble converting the files for editing. This makes it impractical for most of the short videos we take.
Printed picture size of 8x10 and smaller will be most common but would like to be able to go up to 16x20 is possible without a major loss in clarity.
We shoot in a variety of settings from indoors to outdoors with indoors being the most common. Often there is not optimal lighting so we're just hoping for decent photos instead of the dark blobs we seem to get a lot of the time.

I know we're probably wanting too much without spending enough but our budget is what it is as are our wants. So any guidance is most appreciated.

Thanks

Travis

KmH · Aug 22, 2011

For your requirements you'll need more than $400. Maybe the grandparents will chip in so they get nice grandchild photos.

Look at the Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens

Wal-Mart carries the D3100 kit: Nikon D3100 MD 14.2MP DSLR Camera - Walmart.com

You can save significant money by buying factory refurbished - Used Nikon D3100 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm NIKKOR 25472B

cgipson1 · Aug 22, 2011

For that money, you are rather limited. You didn't state what "Point and Shoot" you currently have.. so don't know what you are used to. The Canon G12 and SX30 IS might be in your range.. and they are much nicer than the average point and shoot.. at least they allow some creativity, and will do decent prints up to 11x14, even 16x20. I have a couple that size that look really good with the older Canon S5 (predecessor to the SX30). Amazon price on the SX30 is like $369.

Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : PowerShot SX30 IS

Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : PowerShot G12

at what you are willing to spend, if you want DSLR.. look at older used gear.. but after reading your post, I think you would be better off with the SX30. It will allow you whatever you want... and meets your battery life and speed requirements. If you can find a used Canon S5 in good condition, I would highly recommend that also.

TCD photography · Aug 22, 2011

What is your current P&S?

I agree with cgipson1, with a $3-400 budget, you're going to be hard pressed to find a DSLR and the necessary equipment. If you must have DSLR, used or factory refurbished might be an option. For your budget, I would highly recommend a higher end "bridge camera" P&S. I have the predecessor to the Canon PowerShot SX30 that cgipson1 mentioned, the SX20, and I'm very happy with it. Good with low light; great image quality; manual controls in addition to presets; slightly slower than the SX30, but more fps in auto focus continuous shooting;720p HD video; custom white balance.
Canon U.S.A. : Support & Drivers : PowerShot SX20 IS

Also, the secret to battery life is lithium batteries. The camera came with alkaline batteries and I got around 400 shots as specified, with lithium, I can easily get 2500+.

joealcantar · Aug 22, 2011

2nd the G12: Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : PowerShot G12
you may be able to find other cameras with longer ranges etc. but you need it to process the RAW images fast as well and not be waiting for the buffer to fill up.
This camera will let you shoot in Manual mode and in RAW which is a great plus.
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Shoot well, Joe

ulrichsd · Aug 22, 2011

I'll preface my comments by saying I haven't used any of the following cameras. But older generation kits go for cheap on Craigslist and ebay. Not sure the prices, but you could probably take a look for a Nikon D3000 (now out is the D3100) or a D5000 (now out is the D5100) or the D80 (now out is the D90 and D7000). Or even the D200 prices are probably within your budget. Any of these camera bodies you can throw a 18-55mm kit lens for under $100 used.

IMO, the advantage to this over a mirror-less camera for less, is you can always upgrade lenses/body as needed and reuse whatever you add.

Good luck,
Scott

waitetr · Aug 22, 2011

My issue with going used/refurbished is that we have ~$175 in Walmart/Sam's Club gift cards so we pretty much need to get what they offer. Looks like they have some of the recommended models so far. Our biggest frustrations have been missed pictures and low battery life...the camera we get we want to work well for a number of years since we won't likely have money to replace it anytime soon.

joealcantar · Aug 22, 2011

waitetr said:
My issue with going used/refurbished is that we have ~$175 in Walmart/Sam's Club gift cards so we pretty much need to get what they offer. Looks like they have some of the recommended models so far. Our biggest frustrations have been missed pictures and low battery life...the camera we get we want to work well for a number of years since we won't likely have money to replace it anytime soon.

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Nikon D3000 10MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm NIKKOR Lens - Sam's Club
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Believe Scott mentioned this model above , should get you started. I'm not sure how the noise level is on this and what is the maximum usable ISO is but go to DP Review and put the cameras available at Sams side by side and go from there.
http://search.dpreview.com/?q=D3000
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Shoot well, Joe

waitetr · Aug 25, 2011

So after reading your comments and looking at the suggestions we've decided that what we really want, Nikon D3100, we can't afford...so instead we are going with a lower Canon Powershot SX130-IS and will try to save up for the Nikon.

Thanks for all your help.

cgipson1 · Aug 25, 2011

I think you will like it.. it will definitely be a huge step up from a basic point and shoot. It will take a hot-shoe flash.. and I highly recommend that you get one. A better flash will have a lot more power than the built in flash... and will allow for a lot more creativity (especially with fast moving subjects). Any brand of flash with a Canon module or dedication will do.. inexpensive would be Vivitar 183 or similar, but you can also find some Canon speedlights used on the cheap too.