Recommendations for digital camera?

[Guest BooYah]

I need to get one, but I've never bought one before. Where should I start? What do you guys recommned? I don't need anything too fancy just one that can take a beating, so I could take it hicking/backpacking/snowboading/etc. with me.

 

Which companies offer the best support for linux?

 

thanks for the tips,

Your Friendly Neighborhood BooYah

[treeg]

Most newer digital cameras connect to PCs by USB so you can mount them as a storage device. IMO, cameras with removable storage are even better. I looked a a lot of them and chose the Nikon CoolPix 3500 that uses CF cards for storage and has an easily replacable battery. It has a 'scene' menu with 'snow' and 'landscape' settings to compensate for brightness of scenes, giving you a huge improvement in pictures under other-than-normal light conditions. It does macro down to two inches, too.

 

The CoolPix 3500 is NOT supported by gPhoto but it mounts as a 'removable drive.' I copy the jpg's to my laptop's HD directly from the camero when I'm traveling or put the CF card into the reader in my home PC. I know of no camera manufacturer that distributes software to run on Linux and gPhoto is the only libris+gratis software specifically designed for digital cameras.

[ramfree17]

if i had the money and if it was available then, i would have gone for the coolpix too. instead i bought a kodak ls420. looked spiffy and is adequate for my needs but not what i would recommend a friend.

 

an officemate brought his canon camera when we were deployed in finland during the winter. the pictures that he took with it are fabulous when it comes to light settings and such. it ran circles around my kodak. :(

 

ciao!

[Glitz]

Have a look around. There are (were) ruggedized cameras that are water resistant and pretty sturdy. I don't know if they are any good in terms of picture quality though. I know that Kodak made one.

 

At any rate, if you can't find a ruggedized one, then go for something compact that you can put in your pocket. The smaller and smoother the case, the less likely it is to get damaged and the easier it is to keep it away from the elements.

 

Glitz.

[mtweidmann]

I've used three different Olympus Camedia cameras (2 mine, 1 my sisters). All 3 have been simple to use, reliable, have produced decent photos.

[Gowator]

Well same as everone else but its worth an extra opinion.

For me the main choice is size and carry ability. I still have my SLR for the 'real' stuff but Its a pain when skiing/snowboarding etc.

 

I got a Nikon Coolpix (something, not the current one).

Its USB mass storage so you don't need any software which is why gphoto or gphoto2 don't support it.

 

I use my archos MM to archive photos when travelling ..

 

I'd go with 3 Mpxiels and optical zoom but the rest is up to user experience. My Nikon is nice to hold with the handpeice but the sticking out lens and handpiece mean its harder to slip into a back pocket when going out at night or whatever. Its also a bit plasticy compared to an old Canon IXUS I had. Image quality is about the same IMHO.

 

Overall the Canon was smaller and shaped to fit into a pocket. It wan't USB mass sotrage either. When I went to look for another one last Sept the shop didn't have it but had the Nikon in stock so I bought the Nikon.

Battery life is MUCH better on the Nikon, I had 2 batteries with the old Canon but I can usually get through a 128MB CF on one charge!

 

The Canon was slightly more robust and smaller and a neater shape.

 

I'd be very happy with either! Ive taken something like 9000 photo's with the Nikon since last Sept. When skiing it fits in a pretty small camera case (I have a Lowe one) and doesn't really get in the way but when on vacation and trying not to look like a tourist it isn't small enough to go into my back pocket line the Canon.

 

I think its important you actaully go and play with them in a shop. Theyre all small so the buttons can be fiddly , its a personal choice.

Also go to a good camera store where they let you actually take pictures and play. You don't need to buy it there, you might find it cheaper elsewhere but I think its important youre comfortable with it.

 

Finally, in the end I allow myself to be swayed by what extra's you get. CD cards are coming down rapidly but a free case or something might make me decide between two close contenders!

[Crashdamage]

So you want something small and rugged, eh? Well, I've got a Canon PowerShot S100 I've used for over 3 years and nearly 20,000 (!!!) photos. It's dented, scratched, and most of the markings have worn off. It's been used in 110F heat and -10F cold, but it still works perfectly. You'd probably have the same luck with one of the newer versions since they're almost identical except for the pixel count. The Canon is very small, has a metal case (glad of that) and uses CompactFlash cards. My old S100 is just 2 megapixel, but it really does take nice photos, better than my brother's $550 Olympus or a couple of Kodaks I had. I first realized just how cool it was when right after I got it we went to San Diego, rented bikes and pedaled all over Coronado Island with it stuffed in my pocket out of the way, no hassle to carry along. Very handy little thing. You can even get an underwater case for them.

 

FWIW I'll never buy a camera that uses anything but CF cards. They're plenty small enough for even something like a PowerShot, but far more durable than SmartMedia cards, friggin' MemorySticks, etc. Rugged little pieces of plastic with no exposed contacts, so they're tough enough you can stuff 'em in your pocket, walk on 'em, whatever, then stick 'em in and they'll work. I've used them for probably 40-50,000 photos, poppin' 'em out of the camera into a card reader every day and never had one fail. I still have the 1st 2MB CF card I ever bought. Always as cheap or cheaper than other types of memory, too.

[Peep]

I'm not sure if the PowerShot S100 is an elph, but i think it is... I have the Powershot S200 and carry it EVERYWHERE. the elphs are small enough to stick in your pocket, tough enough to put up with anything, and take great pictures. My experience sounds exactly like crashdamage. I've looked at other cameras and I still think the elphs are the best cameras out there if you want a point and shoot to take with you all the time. Ours has been hundreds of miles on my bike, to the virgin islands, hiking all over the place.

 

I do kind of wish I could afford a digital SLR... but I don't have $6000 sitting around at the moment :wink:

[Crashdamage]

Yeah, mine is a Digital Elph, I forgot to mention that. In fact, my S100 was the original Digital Elph. There's been several updates since, but they're all basically the same. The newest ones are like 4 megapixel now. Of all the gadgets I've had, the S100 is one of the best.