What camera should i get for <$350?

[twodoorXJ]

Im looking to upgrade from the camera on my Droid Razr. Budget is around $350, give or take a few bucks. Reccomendations??

 

[iluv83vettes]

I got an Olympus point and shoot a year ago for $200 with a 4 gig sd card. It's water/shock etc proof. I think its a 10 mgp. It doesn't have an optical zoom though. I am not a huge camera guy though. I mainly wanted it to take on kayaking and camping trips. Fits my bill perfectly.

 

[lesslimited]

Asking what camera for under $350 is kinda like asking what tires should I put on my XJ.

It all depends what you want to do with it. All-weather wheeling action? Landscapes? Portraits? At $350 you can get a camera that does pretty well for most things, but like tires, some do better at specific things than others.

 

[Vanimal]

search ebay, i got a very lightly used olympus e510 dslr with 2 lens for like $260. takes awesome pictures. this was a couple years ago, i bet you can find the newer model for a similar price. not sure if it's as good as a cannon rebel, but it's way better than a point and shoot.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

I like my fuji finepix (i believe it's an S1500). most of the functions of a DSLR without the swappable lenses and you can find them for less than 200$ all day long.

 

[tbburg]

Don't get tied up in the 10- vs 14- vs 16-MP rating.
Read all of this:
http://petavoxel.wordpress.com/category/megapixel-madness/

Nothing has changed since it was written, but the pixel count has gone up.

If you're getting a standard point & shoot, try to find one down around the 7-8MP range, with the highest mechanical zoom.(most digital zoom is useless)If you have to have something with removable lenses, don't get a point&shoot format. Save your money until you can afford a full sensor size DSLR

When I bought my first digital,.. I didn't know squat but got lucky and ended up with a pretty good camera.
Three features I did keep in mind(due to experience with the Sony line of cameras) were:
Standard(non-proprietary)memory format.
Universal cable interface .
Removable, universal(non-proprietary)battery.
(Sony cams used to use a one-off proprietary system for all three. A real pain if you loose/damage your cable)
Ended up settling on mini-USB cable(pretty much standard now) SD/SD-HD memory and AA batteries(there are much better battery options now, but I still like the idea of getting batteries at Walmart if I need them and can't charge.)

If you feel like you're going to play around with photo manipulation(photoshop, etc) find a camera that will store RAW format files. (This isn't important for snapshots)

 

[87manche]

I like my fuji finepix (i believe it's an S1500). most of the functions of a DSLR without the swappable lenses and you can find them for less than 200$ all day long.

I will second the Fuji recommendation.

We've got an S5100 (I think) that's 6 years old and still takes great pictures. It does have a proper lens adapter so you can hang things off the front.

and optical zoom is where it's at.

I think we've had about 4 of the finepix series faux SLR's now in the family and they've all lasted a long time.

 

[87manche]

http://www.newegg.com/Special/ShellShocker.aspx?cm_sp=ShellShocker-_-30-111-462-_-08282012_2

 

[Darky]

I've had a couple Fuji point and shoots, a Canon, and a Nikon or two. The Fujis and Nikon were the best. The Canon had some weird interlocking design for the lens cover that kept getting stuck. Eventually the whole lens assembly had to be changed out. When even that didn't fix it, Best Buy gave me a new camera, the Nikon we have now. The wife loves it. Good optical zoom, good quality, small and pocket-sized.

I've had two Canon Rebel DSLRs, and loved both. The first was an XT, their first DSLR, now I have an XTi, the second gen. Both take great pics, but with a DSLR, the real differences are going to be in the lens.

 

[tbburg]

Also have a Canon P+S (Powershot A560) with the sticky auto-lens cover. Mine is due to fine dust infiltration/contamination of the cover assy. (At least I thought so until I read Darky's post,.. But then he lives in a desert too,..) 'Never had it looked at. It'll open if I touch the cover once the lens is extended.

 

[sdspearo]

Consider the Panasonic Lumix LX5. I wanted a point and shoot with very little shutter lag and this one is great.
Leica lens
24mm wide angle + 3.8 optical zoom
HD video
So far it's been a great point and shoot.

 

[Djmack]

http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-hero-naked-camera/

GoPro Hero

 

[tbburg]

'Saw the Go-Pros at Costco for $200.00

 

[DrMoab]

I own a GoPro and I can't recommend one for a regular camera. They are great for what they are made for but the are incredibly hard to use.

 

[Talyn]

Consider the Panasonic Lumix LX5.

x2 I have an older Panasonic Lumix that works well. It has manual modes as well. Lecia lense too. Its also built like a tank.

 

[rockclimber]

Consider the Panasonic Lumix LX5. I wanted a point and shoot with very little shutter lag and this one is great.
Leica lens
24mm wide angle + 3.8 optical zoom
HD video
So far it's been a great point and shoot.

x3

I own a GoPro and I can't recommend one for a regular camera. They are great for what they are made for but the are incredibly hard to use.

this^