Topic: Looking for a good digital camera for ~200

[J.Maye]

My digital camera finally died and I need to replace it. Im looking to spend ~$200-$250ish, more if there is a compelling reason. Don’t need anything too fancy. I need something that works with Flash memory because I already have a few gigs worth of that memory with a card reader and I dont want it to be useless. I would love to get a weatherproof camera because I will be taking it to outdoor shows/camping/hiking as well as indoor shows. Something small with a reasonable display screen and enough settings to turn off the flash and still get good shots in dark clubs. That’s about all I need. Anything more with options and it would be lost on my. Video isn’t important, but Id take it if available. 

Ive seen a bunch of the cameras in this price range and none of them really seem to stand out as a “must have” or a “stay away from this”. I have been checking out the deal websites, and I have found some cameras that fit my needs, but I would like to get some feedback on what other people are using in this price range. I don’t have the $$ or the interest to go all out with a digital SLR. Im basically looking for something light, small and simple to toss into the gear bag for shows and the backpack for hiking.

Thanks in advance.   

[sabre]

I need something that works with Flash memory because I already have a few gigs worth of that memory with a card reader and I dont want it to be useless

What sort of Flash card?
http://www.steves-digicams.com/flash_memory.html

[kuuan]

If it is CF cards you are having I'd try to get a used Minolta A2, an amazing camera, arguably the best socalled 'bridge' camera ever made. 28-200mm lense range, host of manual features, stunning natural colors. Cost a fortune when it came out, nowadays you can get one for abt. 200 at ebay.
If it is SD cards I'd get a Ricoh R3 or R4 used at ebay. Very small but amazing 28-200mm lense range, also known for it's more natural, less plastic colors.

A new cameras for only 200 bucks? I don't know if there is any one to recommend.

of course my opinion is biased. Just recently I was looking for a new, small camera and inquired at dpreview.com. For me 28mm at the wide end is a must, therefore the choice was limited to some Panasonic cameras ( FX30 and FX07 with 28-105mm lens, the bigger TZ3 with 28-280mm lens, all very good cameras! ) but ended up buying a Ricoh R3 which I prefer for various minor reasons. I was amazed of the decent quality fotos that can be made so easily, got hooked on taking fotos and soon upgraded to a Minolta A2, a different beast, bigger but much more versatile, I eyed when it came out some years ago, check out this review: http://luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/konica-minolta-a2.shtml

Please have a look at my fotos made with these two very good cameras: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8003463@N03/

[J.Maye]

If it is CF cards you are having I'd try to get a used Minolta A2, an amazing camera, arguably the best socalled 'bridge' camera ever made. 28-200mm lense range, host of manual features, stunning natural colors. Cost a fortune when it came out, nowadays you can get one for abt. 200 at ebay.
If it is SD cards I'd get a Ricoh R3 or R4 used at ebay. Very small but amazing 28-200mm lense range, also known for it's more natural, less plastic colors.

A new cameras for only 200 bucks? I don't know if there is any one to recommend.

of course my opinion is biased. Just recently I was looking for a new, small camera and inquired at dpreview.com. For me 28mm at the wide end is a must, therefore the choice was limited to some Panasonic cameras ( FX30 and FX07 with 28-105mm lens, the bigger TZ3 with 28-280mm lens, all very good cameras! ) but ended up buying a Ricoh R3 which I prefer for various minor reasons. I was amazed of the decent quality fotos that can be made so easily, got hooked on taking fotos and soon upgraded to a Minolta A2, a different beast, bigger but much more versatile, I eyed when it came out some years ago, check out this review: http://luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/konica-minolta-a2.shtml

Please have a look at my fotos made with these two very good cameras: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8003463@N03/

Thanks for the recomendations.

I have CF cards, which are now apparently worthless unless you are doing digital SLR. Im going to have to give up on trying to find a camera that fits my media and go with the SD cards instead. Theyre cheap anyways. Ive had my eyes on a few Olympia cameras that look pretty versatile and are in my price range. 

[phanophish]

For the P&S style Digitals I'd look at the Canon and Olympus.  Nikon has some nice stuff as well.  One of the best digital camera sites around is http://www.dpreview.com/  They have very good and complete reviews, I'm far from an authority on the P&S world as I'm pretty DSLR focused.  But I have an older Olympus P&S and it does fairly well.  My brother has a Nikon that I have seen some great images out of and I know I have seen a few posts with nice images out of the Canon S series cameras.

[kuuan]

......to turn off the flash and still get good shots in dark clubs.

for that, low light capacity, there is only one that stands out:
Fuji Finepix F31fd ( or the previous model, F30, not the latest F40! ), rivalling any dSLR at low light, unmatched by any other P&S by a big margin,  ( check: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf31fd/ )
Picture quality also is VERY good, but not as heavily in camera processed as do Sonys, Panasonics, meaning less 'plastic', more natural looking colors, but also that sometimes postprocessing e.g. tweaking up contrast a bit might be required if so desired.

cheers,
kuuan