Best Digital Camera

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cab5f

Member
Original Poster
Hey everyone. Me and my family will be taking our 15th straight summer vacation to Disneyworld this June for two weeks. Let me get down to it, I'm in the market for a new digital camera. I work at Best Buy, but wanted input from actual Disney World regulars. I'm looking for something that will give me excellent pictures. I have a Kodak that is about four years old, and I like it for the most part. Only thing, it doesnt take good night pictures, especially if something is lighted like the castle at night. Any recommendations? Thanks!
 
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cab5f

Member
Original Poster
I don't know much about digital cameras outside of megapixels and basic zooms, but I don't want anything big and bulky because they tend to be expensive. I really want the best bang for my buck, but if there is a top of the line camera at a decent price, I'll take it.
 
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DivineMadness7

New Member
I bought this a few months ago and have been very happy with it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NK8EWI/ref=cm_cmu_pg__header

I have quite a bit of experience with cameras. Used to work at a photo lab, own this and a 35mm SLR, and always do research before I buy. I've had the best luck with Canon and it always gets top reviews. This model is very small and compact yet sturdy. I bought mine at a Best Buy and got the additional $30 protection that covers everything because, well I use it a lot and I'm accident prone. Worth the money, I think. Takes great night shots, just a great overall point and shoot camera.
 
CleveRocks

CleveRocks

Active Member
If your current camera takes pics that satisfy you, then your problem with night pics isn't the camera but rather your technique. There's no such thing as a camera that specializes in taking good night-time pictures. No matter the camera, the two biggest problems with taking night pics are camera shake and not leaving the aperture open long enough (and yes, these are related to each other). Both of these are corrected by technique, not by a special type of camera.

The best thing to do is find a good website or a good book to learn proper low light technique, and then practice practice practice before you go to WDW.

Good luck!!!
 
SnowWhiteMomma

SnowWhiteMomma

Member
CleveRocks said:
If your current camera takes pics that satisfy you, then your problem with night pics isn't the camera but rather your technique. There's no such thing as a camera that specializes in taking good night-time pictures. No matter the camera, the two biggest problems with taking night pics are camera shake and not leaving the aperture open long enough (and yes, these are related to each other). Both of these are corrected by technique, not by a special type of camera.

The best thing to do is find a good website or a good book to learn proper low light technique, and then practice practice practice before you go to WDW.

Good luck!!!
Click to expand...

I agree. I could not take a night picture to save my life and I am married to a photographer. He is always saying "take it off of automatic". If I do it it blur junk.

He has Cannon and Nikon SLR cameras. I use a Cannon point and shoot. do some research on particular cameras and the best settings for night.

You do have to keep your camera STILL. Tripods are good for night. Tripods and Disney,... Not so much
 
C

cab5f

Member
Original Poster
I've eliminated the idea of keeping my camera because its time to get a new one. My camera now has just 5 mega pixels and the average now is 7. This camera has been through four Florida trips.
 
ssidiouss@mac.c

ssidiouss@mac.c

Well-Known Member
cab5f said:
Hey everyone. Me and my family will be taking our 15th straight summer vacation to Disneyworld this June for two weeks. Let me get down to it, I'm in the market for a new digital camera. I work at Best Buy, but wanted input from actual Disney World regulars. I'm looking for something that will give me excellent pictures. I have a Kodak that is about four years old, and I like it for the most part. Only thing, it doesnt take good night pictures, especially if something is lighted like the castle at night. Any recommendations? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Okay before my trip in march I did a lot.. and i mean a lot of research on this very topic. My issue was.. while i had a few digitial cameras that took decent pictures during the day.. most had problems at night and in low lighting situations. The problem I had was that a lot of cameras that I used tried to brighten up dark pictures and the results were that the pictures came out too bright and didnt naturally reflect what I saw with my eye.

Im all about the ambiance. If i take a picture in Liberty Tree tavern.. i want it to look rustic and have the place look like its natural lighting.. i dont want SUPER BRIGHT LIBERTY TREE! Same thing for Ohanas. Ohanas is beatiful inside but most cameras totally over brighten the place. Again, i wanted a camera to capture the natural ambiance of the place. Lastly, i love Disney World at night. Nothing is more special than main street, the castle, and epcot countries at night. But some cameras were totally destroying my pictures by trying to make the picture too bright. Small lights became big blurs of mess etc. I wanted to capture the natural feel of main street at night.. with all its little lights and such.

Anyway, I registered on a bunch of forums and asked around. I got a lot of responses but only a few really understood what I wanted. And a few of them agreed on a Fugi camera.. the F50SE. Some website even hailed it the low light king or something.

I bought that camera for my march trip and it was incredible. Beyond my wildest expectations. If you do a search you'll find a my thread on here when some guy was recommending it on here to me. I mostly used either automatic lighting or natural (no flash) lighting.. i forget which.. but it had incredible results. I was beyond happy. The pictures in Ohanas were the best ive ever seen of the place.. perfectly capturing the low lighted ambiance and main street along with the castle shots at night came out amazing. I really cant reccoment the f50se enough. Especially if your looking for night or natural lighted indoor shots. It has a really good video capture mode too.. so stock up on some sd cards and record a few movies while ur at it.

I think it costs around 300 bucks.. well worth it. Tragically near the end of my trip my wife left the camera on a bench during a pirate party (still cant believe that happened but she was over exhausted) and it was lost along with my memory cards. Anyway, i loved the camera so much that after we got home I bought it again a few weeks later and will use it again for our next trip in 2008.

I feel your pain with ur current camera. I bought a nikkon coolpix or something about a year ago and it takes good day shots but at night it was horrible.. it sucked to take the loss on what i payed for it.. but i gave it to my wife to use for day shots.
 
crlachepinochet

crlachepinochet

New Member
CleveRocks said:
If your current camera takes pics that satisfy you, then your problem with night pics isn't the camera but rather your technique. There's no such thing as a camera that specializes in taking good night-time pictures. No matter the camera, the two biggest problems with taking night pics are camera shake and not leaving the aperture open long enough (and yes, these are related to each other). Both of these are corrected by technique, not by a special type of camera.

The best thing to do is find a good website or a good book to learn proper low light technique, and then practice practice practice before you go to WDW.

Good luck!!!
Click to expand...

If his camera is four years old, it probably doesn't have optical image stabilization... that can definitely make a difference in night shooting!

To the OP, I am a Kodak fan as well. I upgraded my old camera to a Z812 in preparation for my DLR and WDW trips this year. 8MP and it takes video in 720p! It's a little bulky, though. If you're looking for something smaller, you might want to try the Z8612, Z1085 or the V1273. Definitely look for optical IS if you have trouble with night shots.
 
R

RissaB

New Member
Crap, just lost my post and have to start over. UGH!!! LOL

I can second the recommendation for the Fuji F50, good price, great quality photos. I did a lot of research before settling on this model and would point you towards www.cnet.com for your own research.

I would love to have a larger, more comprehensive camera but to be honest, if I need to lug around a camera bag in the summer heat for 12 hrs then odds are I would just leave it at home.

I also purchased my 16 yr old the RCA Small Wonder ( http://tinyurl.com/283goo ). Its a very cheap, very basic video recorder that it the same size as my little Fuji. She will be able to tape video clips that we can email home every evening in the hotel in literally 5 seconds. I will be taking the proper photos and in addition we plan to make full use of the Disney Photo CD program.

Good luck with whatever you decide on.
 
Laura

Laura

22
Premium Member
cab5f said:
I've eliminated the idea of keeping my camera because its time to get a new one. My camera now has just 5 mega pixels and the average now is 7. This camera has been through four Florida trips.
Click to expand...

That really is completely irrelevant. Megapixels has nothing to do with quality. More megapixels does not mean better pictures. I usually leave my SLR on the 2 megapixels setting because there is no need for anything larger than that. Megapixels is simply resolution (how big you can print). If you want to print billboards regularly, then yeah you'll probably need a 7. But if you just stick to regular 4x6 prints, then having a 7 MP is just outrageous and will eat up your hard drive space really fast.

And like others said, if you're having issues with pictures coming out badly, it's more to do with your use of the camera than the camera itself.
 
fizzle75

fizzle75

New Member
I had been using a Kodak easy share for several years, it was a great camera that took great shots...during the day, but my night and low lighting shots were horrific. My wife and I researched for a long time and decided to bite the bullet and get a Canon Rebel XTI and we absolutely love it. I'm finally getting the shots that I've always dreamed of and I've just barely tapped into the camera's potential. The only thing I dislike about the Canon Rebel XTI is that it is a much larger camera than my Easyshare and thus a little more challenging to carry around the parks. The travel case that we bought for it is ginormous and just way too bulky to carry around IMO, but I'm just not comfortable carrying the camera around without a case either.

If cost is an issue I would suggest going with a Canon Powershot. I've never used one but it gets rave reviews and if it's even half as good as the Rebel it's gotta be a great camera.
 
ClemsonTigger

ClemsonTigger

Naturally Grumpy
crlachepinochet said:
If his camera is four years old, it probably doesn't have optical image stabilization... that can definitely make a difference in night shooting!
.
Click to expand...

There are a lot of good options out there depending on what your needs are.
I use a Canon SLR, but many don't want to deal with the settings or bulk. There are then medium size or pocket size cameras. The ultra small, pocket size can be limited in function and generally cost more.

As per the quote above, focus on functions available. For the general user, I feel image stabilization is the single most important feature. Generally the cameras have 3X zoom. There are Kodak and Canon models that have 10X optical for a similar price. Some have enhanced night settings and face/smile recognition that I can't judge the extra value of. Most major brands have significant improvement over what you are currently using. The only major brand I don't know of many people using or recommending is Sony.
 
E

Erika

Moderator
DivineMadness7 said:
I bought this a few months ago and have been very happy with it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NK8EWI/ref=cm_cmu_pg__header

I have quite a bit of experience with cameras. Used to work at a photo lab, own this and a 35mm SLR, and always do research before I buy. I've had the best luck with Canon and it always gets top reviews. This model is very small and compact yet sturdy.
Click to expand...

Hey, that's my camera!

If you're looking for something very easy to use, it's a great choice. Plus it fits in my pocket which means I actually take it places vs leaving it at home.
 
Dukeblue1016

Dukeblue1016

New Member
I'm a HUGE Cannon PowerShot kinda guy...

takes excellent pictures and it's an awesome point and shoot camera... there's no delays between picture taking...

that's my two cents...
 
GoofyDadKB

GoofyDadKB

Missing my mind...
Premium Member
cooleo

cooleo

Well-Known Member
CleveRocks said:
If your current camera takes pics that satisfy you, then your problem with night pics isn't the camera but rather your technique. There's no such thing as a camera that specializes in taking good night-time pictures. No matter the camera, the two biggest problems with taking night pics are camera shake and not leaving the aperture open long enough (and yes, these are related to each other). Both of these are corrected by technique, not by a special type of camera.

The best thing to do is find a good website or a good book to learn proper low light technique, and then practice practice practice before you go to WDW.

Good luck!!!
Click to expand...

Here's a GREAT website for learning techniques: http://www.photoxels.com. Click on tutorials in the menu at the top. They cover every topic you can think of. They also have great reviews on various cameras. :cool:
 

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