Camera advice

**HipGnosis6** · 10-23-2006, 10:02 AM

Hey, y'all. I know tons of you have digital cameras, as evidenced by all the great photos of the rides you've been on and of your beautiful bikes! I'm asking the parents for one for Christmas, but I need to be prepared to tell them EXACTLY what camera I want. I would like to know what cameras you all have and like.

I'm specifically looking for a camera that takes OK pictures without tons of fuss and isn't gigantic or horribly expensive. Can you ladies put me on the right track?

**mimitabby** · 10-23-2006, 10:05 AM

try the canon elph. that's what i have. I love it. it's great on the bike because i'ts the size of a pack of cigarettes and fits anywhere (and you can lose it in your jersey pocket because it's so small you can't tell it's there

)

**snapdragen** · 10-23-2006, 10:07 AM

I've got a Canon SD550 - nice and tiny. Any of the SD cameras are small and great for taking on the bike. One thing I wanted for sure was a semi-large LCD screen, and an optical viewer (some don't have them).

Canon USA

**Bluetree** · 10-23-2006, 10:18 AM

I have a Sony 6.0 megapixel Cybershot. Very small (2' x 3-1/2" x 3/4" deep), lightweight and easy to use, about $250. Unless you plan on doing pictures larger than 8x10, you don't need much more than 4 megapixels, 6 to be on the safe side. There are a lot of small cameras out now that do 8 megapixels, but it's really overkill and money thats better spent elsewhere... like TE!

My pro camera is a Canon 20D with interchangeable USM lenses, but unless I need my telephoto lenses, my little Sony could do the same job a lot of cases.

EDIT: It's 2" tall, not 2 feet tall... feel like I'm in Spinal Tap.
"The problem is.. Stonehenge was in danger of being trampled.. by a dwarf!"

**DeniseGoldberg** · 10-23-2006, 10:22 AM

The first thing you really need to do is decide what you want from your camera. The camera that is ideal for me (or for anyone else out there) may not work for you.

I wrote an article on selecting a digital camera for touring that is published on crazyguyonabike.com. The article was written in 2002, but I have been updating it since then. And although my focus was on touring, the article is more general than that. You can read it at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/DigitalCameraOnTour.

If you are comparing cameras and would like a side-by-side comparison, take a look at Digital Photography Review. They have lists of features for cameras, a side-by-side comparison, and detailed reviews that I have found to be very helpful.

Have fun shopping and deciding!

--- Denise

**li10up** · 10-23-2006, 10:30 AM

I second the Sony Cybershot.

**light_sabe_r** · 10-23-2006, 03:27 PM

I have an olympus 6.1 megapixel. I bought it two years ago (1.5 years before I bought my bike) It's small enough to fit in my saddle pack. It's no fuss too, easy to turn the flash on and off and the screen is huge. I went with Olympus because I've been using Olympus microscopes since university and hardly anything goes wrong with them (The one at work is 15 years onld and only now needs it's first major service) So I'm quietly confident their cameras are the same quality.

My boyfired bought his mum a 7.0 cannon camera recently. BIGGER screen. Very nice. and it's HALF the size of my olympus.

If you're a happy snapper I HIGHLY reccommend getting a big memory card no matter what camera you get. They're very cheap on ebay.
I've got a 126 and for weekends away it's great but for week long holidays it's starting to get a bit small.

**7rider** · 10-23-2006, 04:31 PM

If you're looking for something to just shoot snapshots, the Sony Cybershot also gets my vote. It's not overkill and does a decent job.
(But, geez, are the 6 megapixel versions down to $250 already?? Geez, I have a 3.2 version (I got it in late '02 and paid over $300 for it!)

**snapdragen** · 10-23-2006, 04:58 PM

I forgot, here's a great website:

dpreview.com

All kinds of reviews etc. on digi cameras.

**bcipam** · 10-23-2006, 05:07 PM

I'm a fan of Canon Cameras and have two: the A75 (my old camera) and the A540 (my new 6 mp). The Elph is also an excellent camera.

Big decision you need to make - do you want a camera with a proprietary battery (such as the Cybershot or Elph) or do you want a camera that takes AA batteries? I opted for the camera that takes AAs. Just in case, I can always carry spares and can alway purchase AAs if the batteries die. If you are good about recharging your battery then the other is OK. It's really personal perference.

I really like the A540 - it is very easy to use, has many features and a large LCD screen. Price is reasonable (check out Costco.com). It fits easily into my Bento Box!

**snapdragen** · 10-23-2006, 05:11 PM

Good point about the batteries bcipam. I bought an extra battery, and always travel with a fully charged spare.

**Xrayted** · 10-23-2006, 05:24 PM

I just got a Canon Elph Powershot SD600 last w/e as an early b-day gift. Loooove it! It's 6.0 megapixels, 3x optical zoom and like mimitabby said, it's small and will fit into your pocket easily. They all tend to come with pathetically small cards that hold like 8 pics. So I got a 1 gig card with it that holds around 445 pics at 6 meg each. I got a small case by Tamrac for $10 that fits it perfectly and I can velcro it to my handlebars for when I'm out on the bike.
I checked out lots of reviews ahead of time and found that overall, people seemed to like the whole Canon line a lot. (Sony was the other brand most liked.) I picked this one over the 630 version. Same thing but mine has a slightly smaller view screen than the 630. I found that when holding the 630 or similar cameras with one hand, as I would be doing on the bike, I had no where to place my thumb/fingers where they wouldn't be over the screen. There are some with less megapixels like the 450 which take great photos too and are cheaper.
I really liked how easy mine was to use. I pretty much figured it out right there in the store. I also liked how quick it was to respond before and after the shot compared to many of the other brands. No more fuzzy pics.
If you like to shop at Circuit City, check out the prices online too. Many times they run web specials that aren't in the stores. Print out the online prices, go play with them in the store and then make them match the lower price. They will also match online package specials too. Also, they tend to run extra low discounts on the w/e's compared to during the week.

**CyclChyk** · 10-23-2006, 06:38 PM

If we are talking small enough to bike with I also vote for the Cybershot. Sony is super easy to use, takes great pics, and is priced right.

**light_sabe_r** · 10-23-2006, 09:27 PM

Originally Posted by snapdragen

Good point about the batteries bcipam. I bought an extra battery, and always travel with a fully charged spare.

Same here!

**7rider** · 10-24-2006, 03:32 PM

Does the Sony take special batteries??
My (older) Cybershot just takes regular AA's. I have a bunch of NiMH that I keep recharging and reusing, just fine.
Wasn't aware newer ones have special battery needs.

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