Shopping for a new camera

[mousme]

Since I plan on taking pictures in the next few weeks, and my brand-new HP camera bit the dust inexplicably, I have to get myself a new camera. HP has told me that they can't fix my current one for a low enough price that would make it worth it.

So tomorrow I am going to head out to Best Buy and get myself a new camera. I am going to give them back my lemon to dispose of.

Any suggestions for a reasonably good camera for a total point-and-click n00b?

Comments

[mellybean71.livejournal.com]

I can tell you that the Kodak we have is decent but the way it tries to autofocus drives me nuts. It sort of zooms in and out a bit if the camera is at all moving and we've missed some pictures that way.

We got our camera marked down at Bureau en Gros and if you aren't in a hurry it's work waiting to see what they're liquidating. Just remember that the OPTICAL zoom is more important than the digital zoom which gives you a poorer picture quality when zooming.

[ladyiolanthe.livejournal.com]

I have a Nikon Coolpix which I bought a couple of years ago. It is quite awesome.

[shovel-bum.livejournal.com]

I got an Olympus FE-280 for Christmas and absolutely LOVE it! It's one of those teeny tiny cameras that fits in your purse. And it was reasonably priced.

[ai731.livejournal.com]

IME, HP are generally pretty good, and it's Best Buy / Future Shop that are crap. I would try someplace other than Best Buy, if you have that option. I've had very good luck buying HP products (printer, scanner, camera) from Bureau en Gros.

[chibipunkdemon.livejournal.com]

Check out http://www.dpreview.com/ for lots of good camera reviews. The reviews are quite detailed, so I'd just skip to the Conclusion page.

I've always used Canon cameras, which are really good, but are generally a bit more expensive then similar cameras from other brands. Other good brands are Nikon and Olympus. My impression of Kodak is to stay away from them.

[owldaughter.livejournal.com]

Wherever you do buy it, it's probably worth the $10 to $20 dollars to get an extended warranty on it if the shop offers it. Heaven knows I've lost enough small electronic devices, and it's saved me a couple of times.

I preferred the Olympus the gang bought us when Liam was born to the equivalent Canon I replaced it with.