digital camera

[ssv]

I am planning to buy a digital camera. my budget is between $300 to $600.
I am not sure what are all the features i need to look for. Any one can give me some idea. which brand is better. I read some where saying that better to buy cameras with 4mega pix.

[mrtristan]

Unless you plan on doing professional photography, something in the range of 3 megapixels should be sufficient. I wanted to buy a Sony, but I ended up going with Canon.

I compared the models on Canon and Sony's pages and made my decision from there. I've heard from photography enthusiasts that Canon and Nikon are the two best brands to get, in terms of picture quality. In my personal opinion, Sony cameras take good pictures, too.

Anyway, you probably want something that can jack straight into your computer via USB. That way, you don't have to buy a media reader/adapter. One feature that I don't like about my Canon is the ac adapter interface. You have to stick this fake battery into the camera and then jack the power cord out of there. The Sonys will let you jack straight into a dedicated power port. Sony also has the infolithium batteries, that tell you exactly how much power you have left. I think they're the only ones who use that technology.

Another feature you might want to look for is direct print. A lot of cameras are equipped with onboard software that allows you to jack into a compatible printer and print photos without using a PC.

As for price, the big names are pretty competitive. You won't find more than a $30 price difference between similarly equipped models. An advantage to a non-Sony model is that most of them use compact flash, instead of Sony's memory stick. Of course Sony is a big enough company so it's not like the technology is going to dissapear overnight.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Sony makes a line called the cd mavica. It burns the pictures straight onto a mini-cdr, which is kind of cool. I think the newest model offers something like 4.0 megapixles.

Happy hunting.

Edit:

I suggested something in the range of 3 megapixels, because that will leave you with some change to buy accesories, like an extra battery, spiffy carry case, etc.

[snowmoon]

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

Has the best fairly non-biased reviews. Full and complete review with sample pictures from each camera. He tells you exacly what the shortcommings are and everything.

[mrtristan]

I forgot to mention that the model I own is the Powershot S30. Other than the ac adapter interface, I'm happy with it.

One cool thing with compact flash cameras, is that you can use IBM's microdrive. They're a little pricey, but they can hold more than any flash card or memory stick out there.

[Faustus]

My rule of thumb, by digital cameras from Camera manufacteurs, not computer manufactuers, but thats just me.

I'm partial to Canons personally.

[vitualis]

If your interest is more in the art of photography, don't look past getting an SLR camera + scanner. For the price of a nice digital camera, you can get yourself a basic SLR with one or two lenses as well as a top model flatbed scanner with film adapater...

Regards.