Looking for camera recommendations About This Page:

[PamelaK]

I have a pretty basic point and shoot camera that I purchased back in 2007. It is still a really good camera, but I am thinking about getting something newer. I would give the current camera to my DD (15) so that she has her own camera. I want something fairly simple, but something that I can do cool stuff like color accent, sepia tones, and black and white photos with. I would like to stay under $200.

Any recommendations?

[EddieCVS]

Just purchased the canon powershot elph 300 HS. Paid $229 at Best Buy on sale and it works great. I researched on cnet.com for best point and shoot cameras and it is rated in the top five. A little over $200 but worth it.

[GoofyMom]

I'd recommend an Elph as well. We've owned 2 and obviously liked the first one enough to buy a 2nd one when the first one wore out. Currently DH has an Elph 1400 (orange!) and it's a pretty nice little camera that does everything you mentioned and it's under $200 (barely). It's on Amazon.com for $192. The only thing DH doesn't like about it is that it's slow between pictures. You can set it to take rapid sequential shots, but if you just want a couple shots, it'll take a few seconds to get ready again. Something that frustrates me is that it's only a 4x optical zoom, but it all depends what you want to use it for if it'll work for you. I think if you want a better zoom option or a little faster recovery time, you would be looking at a bit higher $$. Even though it's a little over your budget, that 300 looks pretty good.

[ilovedisney247]

I really like my Canon S95, but it was pretty pricey. I'd definitely look into some of their other models. Canon Direct Store - Cameras They have lots of options!

[Colexis Mom]

I have a Canon Elph SD1100IS. I think they are up to SD1400 or 1500 by now (it's a couple years old). I paid less than $200 and I think they are still around that price.

[jennie622]

I'm on my third Canon ELPH (no reason other than to have the latest a greatest). i have the SX230 but it's over $300. My previous Canons were $239 and $179. I just took a photography class yesterday and my little point and shoot had as many bells and whistles as the SLRs (I don't have the range they do or the interchangable lenses).

I've always gone on the Canon website to compare models.

[MichaelF]

Nikon and Canon both make good cameras. If you stick with one of those brands you should get a good camera that will last you a while.

[WillCAD]

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

I have a Canon Elph SD1100IS. I think they are up to SD1400 or 1500 by now (it's a couple years old). I paid less than $200 and I think they are still around that price.

Originally Posted by jennie622

I'm on my third Canon ELPH (no reason other than to have the latest a greatest). i have the SX230 but it's over $300. My previous Canons were $239 and $179. I just took a photography class yesterday and my little point and shoot had as many bells and whistles as the SLRs (I don't have the range they do or the interchangable lenses).

I've always gone on the Canon website to compare models.

Last October I wanted a P&S that could record video, to use as an everyday camera. I bought a Canon SD1400IS and was very pleased with the image quality and the video quality, but the thing that impressed me most was how small and lightweight it is. It's smaller than my cell phone, fits in my pocket, and can be carried around every day.

But being something of a photo enthusiast, I missed the greater exposure controls of an SLR. SO when I stumbled across the Canon SX230HS, which has a mode dial and controls interface very similar to an SLR, I was instantly enthralled, and bought one.

The SX230HS has a built-in GPS, which is nice if you're into geotagging your pics, and handles low light situations much better than the SD1400IS. At 12mp, it's fie size is smaller than the SD1400IS, but it more than makes up for that with a tremendous zoom range, more than twice the zoom of the SD1400IS.

Either of these cameras is a terrific step up. They both have some specialty modes like selective color, miniature effect, color replacer, and fish-eye, but they also shoot well in plain old P mode. But if you think you might want to learn a little more about photography, you can't beat the SX230HS. It has better controls, more modes, and way more zoom than the SD1400IS.

I highly recommend either camera.

[WDWHarpua]

I've always found the reviews and suggestions at steves-digicams.com to be very helpful.

For under $200 I got myself a Panasonic DMC-FX700 used from Amazon based on reviews from that site.

Personally it all depends on what you want to take pictures of. For pictures at the parks in the daylight, any camera will be fine. If you want to take pictures inside the rides, you're not going to get great photos with anything as inexpensive as $200. I know, I've tried. The technology to make those kinds of photos is not offered in the less expensive cameras.

The Nikon s8100 was listed as a very good camera with nice features, and I think you can get that for under $200 now if you shop around.