Best Digital Camera for...

[diskids2]

I'm so happy this new board opened up. MY DD age 15 wants a digital camera for Christmas. It will be her first. What would be a good one to start off with. She has a fairly new (less than 1 year old) Dell computer with plenty of USB Ports a printer that prints photos (with photo paper loaded) and something called Photo shop (I think).


If there are other questions you needs answers to for a recommendation, let me know.


Oh my price range is (I hope) under $350.

 

[xder345]

So I can recommend the Canon Powershot A610 or A620. They are the contemporaries of the A80, which was my first serious digital camera. Then run from $300 to $400. (A620 is on sale right now at Best Buy form $360.) If you can afford to spend a little more, the Canon S2 IS is a GREAT camera with a 12x zoom and an image stabilized lens (reduced hand-shake bluriness). It runs around $500 or less...

 

[ndelaware]

I would advise you to check out this link: http://reviews.cnet.com/Digital_cameras/2001-6501_7-0.html?tag=cnetfd.dir

Their reviews are fairly thorough and they break up the camera listings by price or quality or by megapixels. Lots of good info about the world of digital cameras. The main thing to consider if it were me is picture quality. There are lots of bells and whistles on many of these cameras but it is the pictures that matter.
For someone just starting I would recommend the Kodak line. They are not always the favorite of the digital elite but the people who own them love them. My sister and sister in law both have one and the pictures are excellent and have beautiful color. Hope this helps, I know it can be pretty overwhelming at first.

 

[Memaw2Wm]

So I can recommend the Canon Powershot A610 or A620. They are the contemporaries of the A80, which was my first serious digital camera. Then run from $300 to $400. (A620 is on sale right now at Best Buy form $360.) If you can afford to spend a little more, the Canon S2 IS is a GREAT camera with a 12x zoom and an image stabilized lens (reduced hand-shake bluriness). It runs around $500 or less...

I second the Canon Powershots ... if the A610 or A620 are a bit too pricey go for the A510 or A520. So far my family has owned the A40, A60 and A95 ... all of which take great photos!

 

[AbbysFamily]

Make me a third for the Canon cameras. I have moved up to the S2 IS, which is an amazing camera, but any other the 'smaller' ones are well worth the money too.

Well worth the money is a slightly older model - for example BBuy has a A510 for < $200, which means you could add a gig card and some good rechargable batteries and still be under your budget.

 

[MissionMouse]

I would recommend a Canon or Nikon model.

Now you need to define your DD life style. Would the camera be for just fun with her friends or is this the beginning of a hobby (interest in Art)? This might help you define the size and type of camera features which DD you have an interest in using. You have three categories of cameras to choose from:compact, subcompact and advanced compact. They differ in functions and size.

Overall, you should be looking for a camera with at least 5 megapixel images.

 

[Marypoppinsiam]

We just bought the Canon SD550 Elph and love it! The camera is small and you can carry it in a small purse or even a pocket. The bigger the camera sometimes at that age is something they won't carry it around because it is too "touristy". Good luck on your hunt.

 

[salmoneous]

Note that you can get a great camera for under $200 that will almost certainly meet all her needs. You can go crazy reading reviews trying to get the perfect model, but all the major brands (Canon, Kodak, Sony, Fuji, etc) will have something that will work out well. When budgeting, be sure to add in for memory cards, recharable batteries, and printing supplies.

But here's the kicker if I remember anything about teenage girls; fashion is important. And while things like megapixes and lens quality are the key factors to the folks on this board, the camera's size, shape and color may be far more important than any of that to your daughter.

If that sounds like her, here's my advice (which I will probably get flamed for). Stick to the major brands, stick to your budget, and focus on the fashion. (Unfortunately, smaller and cuter cameras are pricier than similar less-cute models.) Pretty much any camera from a major brand in your price range is going to allow her to take excellent pictures. So get the camera she is going to take out with her, rather than the (slightly) better technical camera that is going to sit at home on the shelf.