What Brand of Camera Do You Have?

My husband and I are in the market for a new camera. We are just not happy with the one we have, a Samsung Maxima Zoom. The pictures from a disposable camera seem to come out better than pictures with the Samsung.

Any suggestions on camera worth purchasing or ones to avoid?

monet1390,
i have a fujifilm finepix 1400zoom digital camera with 1.3mega pixels and 3x optical zoom and i just love it the quality and clearity of the pictures is excellent and the thing i love most about it is it has the LCD monitor to look at the picture as soon as you take it so you dont have to worry about if you got the shot you want or not. its really hard to go back to try to get the perfect picture later. i take my pictures and look at them then and there and know if i need to take it again. the only draw back is it sells for about 300 dollars and you also have to purchase smart cards(little cards where your photos are stored) and a USB port for your computer(if you dont already have one. other than that i havent found anything i dont like about the camera itself. it takes wonderful pictures and is really pretty easy to use. if you have any other questions you might like to know about the camera let me know and i will try to answer them for you. happy shopping hope you find one you like as much as i like mine.
billiejo

I have a Minolta point and shot that is capable of taking some great pictures when the operator is on the ball. LOL! I have been trying to concentrate on what I am doing (where is the sun? is my subject in the shade so I need fill flash?) and switched to 800 Zoom film because I zoom out so much and have been getting some great pics - when my DGKs don't turn their head just as I am taking the picture. Mine has a 140 Zoom lens and I really like how the controls are located and the overall "feel" of it.

billiejo-

I am thinking about getting a digital camera. How exactly do you get the pictures developed? Thanks!

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Kim S.
*Scrap in a Snap*
Area Manager
www.scrapinasnapstuff.com

I was given an old (and I mean about 15 years old) SLR Minolta. I love it! They're not cheap, but the manual focus really can't compare to any photos I've seen with any other automatic focus camera (digital or otherwise). The sharp images you get are great!! My sister-in-law just got one that you can switch. It's auto or manual focus. My advice would be to look around at a few camera shops. Get some prices in you range and find out what anyone thinks of those.

Iluvscrappin-- you can get your photos developed through several online developers. Shutterfly, Snapfish, Photoworks are a few I've used but I know there's others. You upload your images to their website and order your phots from them.

Well monet i have a Samsung Evoca Zoom 115 and I have had excellent results with this camera. But given that ypu're unhappy with your Samsung you are probably going to stay away from that brand. From other message boards here's what I hear.
Most 35mm point and shoot users are happy with their cameras, and i have not heard of any cameras that stand out, but using the right film speed makes a huge difference in your photo quality.
But for SLR cameras Canon Rebel seems to come up quite a bit as the camera of choice for those stepping from 35mm to an SLR.

What film speed works best? I've heard the faster the speed the grainier the pics. I've also heard the slower the film the better chance of getting blurry pics. What brand is better?
I have a Minolta 125 Zoom point & shoot camera. So far I really like it. It comes w/ a remote which is grreat for group pics. A lot easier than a timer.

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Brandy

I have a Pentax IQ Zoom - I don't remember the model number, but, it's a few years old and I know they have come out with newer models since then. I have been more than happy with it. In fact, it's gone swimming in a creek 2x with dh and still works as good as new.

As for film speed, I have been reading "Photography for Dummies" - one of those series of books I swore I'd never read, but a friend raved about this book and I checked it out from my library. It's all point and shoot and I have learned SO MUCH about my camera and love having it explained to me in a simplistic friendly way! Anyway, the author of this book recommends 400 speed for all purpose shooting and 800 speed for low lighting situations. He said that it used to be the case that higher speeds of film would get you grainier pictures, but not true anymore. In fact, he promises that your pictures will come out brighter, sharper, and clearer. Sometimes when you use lower speed films it causes unneccesary muddiness.

Amy

I currently hate my camera, A Canon Sureshot Owl, you have to hold down the button halfway and then push it down again to take the picture, but it gets stuck a lot. I have missed a lot of great pictures of my dogs because of that stupid camera, plus I would love a zoom which it doesn't have. I am definitely going to look for that Photography for Dummies book. I love my layouts, but I'm such a bad photographer. I hate to put my ugly pictures on my layouts. Thanks for the tips.

I have three camera's each of which I use for different things.

Minolta X300, SLR - I've had for years and still love it. This would be my camera of choice except it's hard to take along all the lenses and stuff that go with it. It's also not the type of camera I can hand to someone else and ask them to take a picture. It also provides me with the best pictures by far, but this is something you really need to take the time to learn to use.

Olympus Infinity Mini 35 mm - This one usually gets left in my car for those times when I have forgotten my carmera. It is also really small and will fit in a shirt pocket. Great for weddings and special events like that. Doesn't have a zoom, which is why I bought my third camera.

Kodak Advantix C700 - Aside from the cost of film development, I love this camera! It is probably the one I use the most now, because it's easy to use. I can drop a roll of film into it and hand it to anyone and they can usually figure out how to use it in about 5 minutes. It has zoom and red eye reduction which were two big features I was looking for. I also like that I don't have too shoot an entire roll before changing film. This is a real plus for me because I like to shoot color and black and white and this gives me opportunity to change mid roll. Then when I want to switch back, it just automatically re-loads the film to the proper place. You can also place a title on the back of your pictures as well as date and time. I've seen that the new Advantix now has the window like the digitals that displays your pictures before printing it to the actual film. I just maybe buying my 4th camera.

I haven't ventured into the world of digital yet, although I did help my sister test out a couple that she had from work and it was pretty cool!

I would suggest that you write down the features that are really important to you in a camera and take that list with you when you shop. It will make your shopping experience alot easier and you will walk away with all the features you wanted and probably be pretty happy. Also, most of the major manufactures have web-sites with information about their cameras. I know before I bought my Advantix, I went to the Kodak web-site and read the manual to make sure it was easy enough to use and it had all the features I was looking for. You may also want to look at warranty info and find out where you have to take it for repair and normal maintenance.

Good Luck on your search.

Baileys Mom - I only use Kodak film - mostly because half my family is employed there so I can't tell you which would be the best. I do know that you get better results if they use the same brand of paper when processing. In other words if you use Kodak film and it's processed on Kodak paper, you are likely to get better results. I use mostly 400 speed film when I'm taking pictures of my kids because they tend to move alot quicker and I get pretty good results. I don't notice them being any grainer than when I shoot 200 speed. Also, if you find your not getting good results, it may be a good time to try a different place for developing. Last year, I switched where I was having my film developed because I wasn't happy with my pictures. I thought it was my camera, when indeed it was the developing.

[This message has been edited by Patti H (edited 08-03-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Patti H (edited 08-03-2001).]