Any advice on digital cameras?

[livingfortoday]

Okay, I'm looking to get a new digital camera to replace my ailing Kodak CX6330. I was wondering if you guys had any tips or advice, or good camera recommendations. Here's about what I'm looking for:

- Decent quality, doesn't have to be great. My Kodak is a 3.1MP camera, and it's been pretty decent. I really don't need anything much better, though I wouldn't mind it.

- Size! I want something smaller and lighter. This thing weighs in at around 75 pounds, give or take a few, and I'd love to have something I can actually carry around with me comfortably. Oh, but it'd have to be somewhat resilient, as I'm not known for being gentle on my electronics.

- Fast shooting speed. The one thing that really bugged me about the Kodak is how if I take a picture, it'll take a loooong time to get ready to take another one. I don't know if it's the SD card I have or what, but even with the built-in memory it's slow as heck. I don't need to be able to instantaneously take the next photo, but a short waiting time would be sweet.

- Price! SO important. I'm not made of money. I'm actually pretty strapped for it, but I need to have a digital camera in my life, so I need to replace this soon. But please, if you recommend anything, don't be like "Well, it's fast, it's a million MP, and it's only $1,200!!" I'm looking at under $200, if possible. And the further below that we can go, the better.

- I don't need much memory. I have 64MB on mine now, and it's fine. I load everything on my computer quickly enough.

- And, finally... uh. Oh yeah! It has to be 100% Mac OS X and iPhoto compatible. The only camera I've ever seen that wasn't was my friends Gateway camera (though Tiger apparently fixed that problem!), but since I only use my Mac for personal stuff like photos, it has to play nice with it.

Thanks for your help!

 

[katie ta achoo]

I have an A520 and it's great. I got mine for $180.

Yeah, I have already had to send it in because the shutter has been sticking, but they have taken care of it quickly. I'll get her back on tuesday.

It's incredibly easy to use, and even has nicer features that I love to play with. Manual focus, ISO, etc. I refuse to read a manual, so I'm playing with all of it, and learning a lot as I go along.

the search on dpreview.com is really helpful if you know what you want, which you seem to do.

 

[livingfortoday]

Thanks, that's a great site! With their little search engine I quickly found that the Casio Exilim EX-Z57 seemed to suit my needs, but... reviews seem mixed. I mean, they're overwhelmingly positive, but the negative ones really focus on the fact that if you don't have *perfect* lighting, the photos are crap. has anyone used this camera? Can you verify?

Any other camera suggestions, or reasons why maybe this Casio isn't so great? It retails around $180, which is a bit high for me, but it looks pretty decent for that price...

 

[katie ta achoo]

here's another review that may help you with that decision.

 

[prostuff1]

heres another site. I like this one and it is the one i used to fine my Canon A95 a while back.

 

[CorvusCamenarum]

I have an A520 and it's great. I got mine for $180.

Yeah, I have already had to send it in because the shutter has been sticking, but they have taken care of it quickly. I'll get her back on tuesday.

It's incredibly easy to use, and even has nicer features that I love to play with. Manual focus, ISO, etc. I refuse to read a manual, so I'm playing with all of it, and learning a lot as I go along.

the search on dpreview.com is really helpful if you know what you want, which you seem to do.

I'll second that, except I got the next model up (A530). I was surprised by how tiny it is. It takes great pictures for being a lower-midrange model, and the 512 MB memory card (purchased from Crucial) holds around 200 shots on best quality. The only gripe I have, and it's a little one, is that the screen is just adequate at 1.8". Other than that, it's a good value for the $200 price tag.

To the OP: do yourself a favor if you haven't yet and invest in a good set of rechargable batteries. A 4-pack of Energizer 2500mAh plus charger will run you around $30.

 

[livingfortoday]

Wow, thanks everybody. I'm really feelin' like I might get the EX-Z57 now. I do have rechargeable batteries (Energizer 2500mAh ones, actually!), but since it comes with a built-in rechargeable battery I won't need those for it anymore. Those reviews seem pretty good overall. I do take a lot of indoor shots, and so that quality is important to me. I also have a lot of OTHER people use my camera at get-togethers, so it's nice to see that it's user-friendly and not easily breakable, by, say, drunks.

So... where would you recommend I get such a camera? A place that would provide me with a warranty if it breaks, if possible (not eBay, in other words).

 

[jeff127]

I have had the EXZ57 since around June last year and it has been great camera. I think the main selling point is the huge display and it has loads of manual options that you can tweak. There are also loads of pre-set modes on there which help to get the most out of the scene that you are capturing.
Last year I had to send the camera back to get it repaired (it had nothing to do with a defect) and received the camera back, free of charge, less than a week later! (I am in the UK though BTW)
The picture quality is awesome (as can be seen in one of the linked reviews) and it has great shutter speed.
The battery is great and I have never run out of juice whilst out taking photos (which I sometimes do for several hours at a time).

All in all it is a great small camera.