Any Camera Geeks Out There?

[ChicagoFF]

I'm looking for the best point and shoot digital (compact) and a video camera (are sd card storage cameras the best, meaning the easiest to transfer to the computer?). I hate the pos camera I currently have and I've never owned a video camera. I'm not a photographer, just looking for a camera to take pics with that come out right (brite and colorful) without having to use the software to fix them every damn time! Looking at the fujifilm finepix f50fd but don't really know. C'mon, I know you camera geeks are out there!!! :D

PS I HATE that trigger lag that always makes you get the pics of the kids that make them look stoned with their eyes half closed. I've noticed this problem on a friends Cannon (maybe 2 yrs old) - very annoying.

[lutan1]

Talking of pointing and shooting with geeks and nerds....:cool:

[jbrescue]

As a former photgraphy major and photojournalist, I think I qualify. There are a couple fo issues here. First, the Kodak point and shoots are some of the better ones for the money. You will not need anything over 5 megapixels, ever. Look at the optical zoom as the most important zoom feature. The digital zoom is the computer taking over. Look for good quality lenses, Panasonic uses Leica lenses. Figure out what you want to spend. If you can answer these questions for yourself, you can get a pretty decent point and shoot. Now, the lag issue is separate. Most point and shoots, if not all have lag. The only way to completely avoid this is to buy a digital SLR. I am sure that you are not looking for something that fancy, expensive and not rugged. So you are going to need to go play with cameras at the stores or ask friends what they like. My wife has a Kodak that she beats the hell out of, cost about $120. Hope this helps.

[KyleWickman]

Chicago,

I have alwyas found this to be a good website to help me pick things that I want/need.

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/?tag=glnav

[Dayhiker]

http://www.dpreview.com/ Is an online source for camera reviews and prices...I do not do much with video but my wife shoots a canon sd750 which is small with some control over exposure and high res images, The video is small but works well for websites and youtube or my space.the camera is literaly the size of a credit card and takes Sd cards....