title about covers it.
I would love to buy my first digital camera..
(so I can take car pictures)

Is there anything out there that would be decent in the 200 range?

(I'll have to justify it with the wife, that we can use it for trips and non car pictures too)

what should I look for?
-#'s of pixels?
-powers of multiplication?

thanks for humoring a computer and camera newbie.
brant

I had a Sony DSC-S50 for a long time. It's been discontinued now, but they're available cheap on ebay. Great cameras, and they do 1600x1200, which is plenty for the casual user. It also has a swivel screen that's great for taking undercar and engine compartment pics. It has a super-spiffy macro mode, better than alot of the newer high megapixel cameras. Everything else I'd reccommend is outside your stated price range.

IMHO, the biggest difference is in the lens.

Nikon's lenses are nice, the Karl Zeis sony lenses are good, too.
Leica makes some nice cameras (have to find it used though in your price range).

buy.com has some nikons in your price range.

Don't let anyone on the list know, but you might try ebay. I found a great deal on a Sony Mavica, but I dropped it and broke it to the tune of cost more to fix than camera was worth. So, I ended up getting a Kodak EasyShare DX 6490. It has the docking station so it charges and you can download pics. I love this camera.
CCLINAKODAKMOMENT

I'll start surfing ebay then...
should I specifically look for some of the above mentioned units... or should I try to learn what the features are all about..

do I need to worry about memory?

craig, what are the benefits of a docking station ? (I guess you already said that it charges it, so it would save on the battery expense), but when you say it will download pics, do you mean straight to internet or for memory purposes?

thanks all.
brant

Check out the Nikon Cool Pixs 3200. 3.2M pixels, 3x optical zoom. Don't get one with only a digital zoom. 3.2M pixels will give you all the quality you need. Look for the best price on the internet. Look for shipping included. Start with CNET. I think this link will work:

CNET Nikon Cool Pixs 3200

EBay is OK too.

-Jeff

As far as pixels a 4 or higher megapixels will give you good quality. If you can't find any in your price range, I've seen 2.1 megapixels that have good quality. For memory there are cameras that have built in memory and there are those that use removable media. Thing about the removable media is you can take it out and go to your nearest photo processing place and they can print out all your pics.

Nikon.

For digital cameras I'm huge Canon fan. The Canon A85, A80, or even a discounted A75 (3MP) should be close to your price range.

Brand name used to be important when they made mechanical cameras. i.e. you could drop a nikon down a hill and it would still work. Name brand optics used to be important, until they started computer designing and grinding the lenses. In the business we used to talk about lines per millimeter, chromatic and aspheric abberation. That stopped long ago, then we started talking about whether a lens had SS ball bearings. For a long time now optics have been capable of more resolution than film can record, let alone digital. Your main consideration is megapixel/dollar. Second is the optical zoom range. Docking isn't a big deal, most are USB or firewire. Check Ebay item #3844333744 , falls in your price range. I personally prefer Canon, but this Olympus looks like what you want.

After 10 years with an old Mavica (handy recording on floppies, just slip 'em into any floppy drive equipped computer and awaaaaaaay you go!) I bought a Canon A75. Has many of the features of my Nikon 6006 film camera, and Canon has a great history and reputation in the digital field. It's pocket sized, makes good images which do well at 8x10 or larger, takes AA batteries (I use the Duracell "Ultras"), has an optical zoom, and was on sale at Best Buy cheaper than anywhere on the net. You WILL need to buy a memory card, 'cause the one that comes with it is really small. I was out the door for around $280 with the card and a spare set of batteries. HTH, The Cap'n

I picked up a Canon A75 this summer at Best Buy for 250. 3.2 megapixels, lots of settings to choose from.,
Great camera for the price.

I also picked up a 512 mb memory card for 60-70 bucks at Costco. Never will have to worry about how many pics with that. I think around 1000+ on the highest res setting.

I prefer cameras with lithium battery packs (rechargable).. Check reviews for battery life ratings. Also price how much a new pack costs, as they don't last forever. If you want to do lots of reading, my favorite review site is http://www.dpreview.com

I have to recommend the Nikon Coolpix 3700 which is now selling at Butterflyphoto.com for $253 and has a $100 REBATE so it only cost $153.
I took this camera all over Holland and to Crete in August and loved it. I gave to my son and also got one for my 82 year old dad.
Killer camera...3.2 mpixels, movies with sound, just sound recording, etc.

Geoff

P914, put the arm down.


Please.

I'm not going to recommend a specific model because there are plenty out there.

But my one suggestion is to look at FACTORY REFURB models. Often you can find them on eBay or directly from manufacturers.

They usually come with the same warranties, and you can get a bunch more camera for your money.

Otherwise, my only advice is look for one with an optical zoom, as opposed to a digital zoom.

-Rusty (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smoke.gif)

Fry's has one on sale right now till Tuesday, its a Kyocera 5 MP for $199.00. Doesnt sound bad at all to me.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) Factory refurb. More for your money. Optical zoom range. Digital zoom is nice but degrades image quality. Mpeg is a great feature, 30sec. movie clips. Stick with the top 4 Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Minolta.

Get atleast a 128 memory card with it and I agree that the lithium battery packksare better vs the AA ones. Bought along another digital camera on the trip that used AA batteries for the kids to use and those are a pain in the ass.

optical zoom atleast 3x as the Digital zoom is a joke unless you want all your pics to look like Andy took em.

Geoff