Best digital camera for under $250?

RioT'uS · 28th September 2003, 5:05 PM

Whats the best digital camera u can get for under $250?

plz post examples of pics from them if possible.

thanks
Geoff

zebu · 28th September 2003, 6:21 PM

i recently got a kodak cx4200 its 2.0MP and features a nice macro mode. Its somewhere between $200 and $220 from dick smiths

heres some pics (about 650k each)

http://home.iprimus.com.au/zebu/salt.jpg

http://home.iprimus.com.au/zebu/van.jpg

as you can see from this next picture they can be a little grainy if theres not enough light. however in good lighting conditions they turn out nicely.

http://home.iprimus.com.au/zebu/room.jpg

Webmaster_Zeus · 29th September 2003, 12:54 PM

Fuji A205, I recond its the best bang for your buck. Its a bit slow to take a pic ~3 seconds but for 2 mp and 3x optical doesn't get any better then that.

At melbourne our kmart have them for $269, with staff/shareholders discount u can get it for 255.55, pretty sweet if u ask me.

Onyx · 29th September 2003, 1:41 PM

Hewlett Packard Photosmart 320xi - $199 from Broadway Hardley Normal... (other places ~$299) I am pleasantly surprised by the pic quality and feature set for such a cheapie.

"Good" (ie. worst) image quality:

Click to view full-sized image!
Hosted by UGBox Image Store

"Better" and "Best" image quality:
(can't do - Ugbox has 400kb max file size, and I ain't got to webspace).

Typical outdoor pic (cropped) -

Click to view full-sized image!
Hosted by UGBox Image Store

Indoor with flash (reduced filesize 50%) -

Click to view full-sized image!
Hosted by UGBox Image Store

Indoor no flash - (blurr = operator error

)

Click to view full-sized image!
Hosted by UGBox Image Store

Bundy · 29th September 2003, 2:41 PM

If you can find them, the Canon A200's are pretty good. They should be sub $250 by now, seeing as the A300 is out. Try big W, they were the cheapest sellers I have found so far.

Sample

RioT'uS · 29th September 2003, 4:10 PM

Some of these look pretty good.. thanks guys. Has anyone had any experience with BenQ cameras? (thats Acer right) Gamedude has the 2 megapixel one for $209 .. just reading thru the specs it sounds alright but ya never know.

btw, Webmaster_Zeus got any pics from the fuji?

Willybomb · 29th September 2003, 4:29 PM

I'm pretty happy with my Olympus C-150 (~$220 kmart, down from $259). Digital zoom is a waste of time though. That fujitsu one came out on special the week after I brought it. Might have put the extra $50 down on that instead.

Took this the day I got it, just buggerizing around, default settings, 1600x1200 HQ. Hadn't worked out how to lower the res at that stage. Stuff the manual!

Click to view full-sized image!
Hosted by UGBox Image Store

Willy.

chrisrv · 29th September 2003, 6:18 PM

Just got a Kodak CX4200 as well, very happy with it specially for under $250, got it from an ebay shop, won the auction for $205 which was pretty good I thought for a brand new 2MP digicam (I already had a 256mb SD Card that I wanted to use).

RioT'uS · 29th September 2003, 6:46 PM

Willybomb, is the C-150 fixed focus, auto focus or does it have some kind of focus adjustment? What sort of memory does it take?

Webmaster_Zeus · 29th September 2003, 8:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RioT'uS
Some of these look pretty good.. thanks guys. Has anyone had any experience with BenQ cameras? (thats Acer right) Gamedude has the 2 megapixel one for $209 .. just reading thru the specs it sounds alright but ya never know.

btw, Webmaster_Zeus got any pics from the fuji?

heh I just bought it n posted it, had no time to test it.

I also had to fix a computer problem for the family, took the whole day

Anyway I'll post pics up asap, until then goto www.steves-digicams.com and there is sample pics of just bout any cameras there basically is.

Willybomb · 29th September 2003, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Willybomb, is the C-150 fixed focus, auto focus or does it have some kind of focus adjustment? What sort of memory does it take?

It has an auto focus. You hold the button halfway down, wait for the lights to stop flashing and the focus to stop going "whirr", and then press the button the rest of the way in, where it will sit for a bit (half a sec or so) and then fire the flash if needed, taking the photo. Good for happy snaps, maybe not so good for action photos, but I haven't given them a real go yet.

If things are quiet, you can hear the camera focusing, you can feel it too. If anything, having to press the button the rest of the way in tends to throw my shots off a bit. Just practice I guess.

The camera comes with a 16meg card, it uses the Olympus xD-card. They come in 32, 64 and 128 meg flavors and seem to be pretty reasonably priced, generally cheaper than the others.

I'm getting 32 shots from 16meg at 1600x1200, HQ. Also has 1600x1200 SHQ, 1024x768 SQ1 and 640x480 SQ2 (whatever that means. Maybe Standard quality?).

Goes through the batteries when the LCD is used as a viewfinder... 13 from a set of alkaline batteries. I've put some lithum ones in there, and the results are much better.

Also has USB, quicktime movies (15 and 30 secs I think at varing qualities.. haven't tried) and a timer. All the mod cons I guess except for optical zoom.

HTH,

Willy.

cvidler · 30th September 2003, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bundy
If you can find them, the Canon A200's are pretty good. They should be sub $250 by now, seeing as the A300 is out. Try big W, they were the cheapest sellers I have found so far.

Sample

I've got an Canon A100 (1.2MP) (succeeded by the A200 and A300) and it is/was excellent, as a result of this camera I recently upgraded to a 4MP Canon S45 (just a bit out of your price range though at ~$900). I love the fact that they (canon) still CF cards, so I can exhange cards between my cameras, iPAQ, and PC.

Webmaster_Zeus · 30th September 2003, 1:18 PM

The canons will beat the fuji a205s by a mile, the only thing I don't like about this (fuji a205s) is the fact it requires a steady hand, and it takes a lot longer to capture the picture (about 3 seconds all up without flash).

Battery life usage is not too bad, u can get respectable times with lcd on and flash (I used a 1.2volt, no rating as I bought these in Malaysia about 3 years ago) and got a good half an hour with lcd on and about 60 photos in the process before it started beeping itself at me.

But it requires a REALLY steady hand, just a jerk in any of the 3 seconds will send the photo all blury.

Moose · 1st October 2003, 2:19 PM

http://www.orite.com.tw/vc3110/vc3110-e1.htm

Not bad cameras at all

~$215, a bargain

Unix-Unix · 1st October 2003, 8:13 PM

Where can you buy that camera in ustralia moose?

28th September 2003, 5:05 PM	#1
RioT'uS Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 31337 Posts: 445	Best digital camera for under $250? Whats the best digital camera u can get for under $250? plz post examples of pics from them if possible. thanks Geoff __________________ *may contain traces of sarcasm.

29th September 2003, 1:41 PM	#4
Onyx Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: NSW Posts: 4,264	Hewlett Packard Photosmart 320xi - $199 from Broadway Hardley Normal... (other places ~$299) I am pleasantly surprised by the pic quality and feature set for such a cheapie. "Good" (ie. worst) image quality: Click to view full-sized image! Hosted by UGBox Image Store "Better" and "Best" image quality: (can't do - Ugbox has 400kb max file size, and I ain't got to webspace). Typical outdoor pic (cropped) - Click to view full-sized image! Hosted by UGBox Image Store Indoor with flash (reduced filesize 50%) - Click to view full-sized image! Hosted by UGBox Image Store Indoor no flash - (blurr = operator error ) Click to view full-sized image! Hosted by UGBox Image Store __________________ Q9300@3.0Ghz, Asus P5Q-E, Kingston HyperX DDR2-1066 4GB, Gigabyte GTX560Ti, 2xWD 500GB RAID-0, WD1002FAEX 1TB Caviar Black, WD20EARS 2TB Caviar Green, Seasonic S12+ 550W PSU in CM 690-II Case. Dell E248WFP 24" monitor. MBP 13" C2D 2.4G/4GB/250GB.

29th September 2003, 4:10 PM	#6
RioT'uS Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 31337 Posts: 445	Some of these look pretty good.. thanks guys. Has anyone had any experience with BenQ cameras? (thats Acer right) Gamedude has the 2 megapixel one for $209 .. just reading thru the specs it sounds alright but ya never know. btw, Webmaster_Zeus got any pics from the fuji? __________________ *may contain traces of sarcasm.

29th September 2003, 4:29 PM	#7
Willybomb Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Ballarat Posts: 6,269	I'm pretty happy with my Olympus C-150 (~$220 kmart, down from $259). Digital zoom is a waste of time though. That fujitsu one came out on special the week after I brought it. Might have put the extra $50 down on that instead. Took this the day I got it, just buggerizing around, default settings, 1600x1200 HQ. Hadn't worked out how to lower the res at that stage. Stuff the manual! Click to view full-sized image! Hosted by UGBox Image Store Willy. __________________ Rockstarguitar - Guitar lessons in the Ballarat area Looking to teach or learn guitar? Then you need my book! 30+ successful trades and counting Offical OCAU Musicians Guild Member #15 OCAU Guitar Players club

29th September 2003, 6:18 PM	#8
chrisrv Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Victoria Posts: 631	Just got a Kodak CX4200 as well, very happy with it specially for under $250, got it from an ebay shop, won the auction for $205 which was pretty good I thought for a brand new 2MP digicam (I already had a 256mb SD Card that I wanted to use). __________________ aka Crusterminator, Crusty

28th September 2003, 6:21 PM	#2
zebu Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Albury Posts: 792	i recently got a kodak cx4200 its 2.0MP and features a nice macro mode. Its somewhere between $200 and $220 from dick smiths heres some pics (about 650k each) http://home.iprimus.com.au/zebu/salt.jpg http://home.iprimus.com.au/zebu/van.jpg as you can see from this next picture they can be a little grainy if theres not enough light. however in good lighting conditions they turn out nicely. http://home.iprimus.com.au/zebu/room.jpg

29th September 2003, 12:54 PM	#3
Webmaster_Zeus Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Melbourne Posts: 938	Fuji A205, I recond its the best bang for your buck. Its a bit slow to take a pic ~3 seconds but for 2 mp and 3x optical doesn't get any better then that. At melbourne our kmart have them for $269, with staff/shareholders discount u can get it for 255.55, pretty sweet if u ask me.

29th September 2003, 2:41 PM	#5
Bundy Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Brisbane Posts: 863	If you can find them, the Canon A200's are pretty good. They should be sub $250 by now, seeing as the A300 is out. Try big W, they were the cheapest sellers I have found so far. Sample

29th September 2003, 6:46 PM	#9
RioT'uS Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 31337 Posts: 445	Willybomb, is the C-150 fixed focus, auto focus or does it have some kind of focus adjustment? What sort of memory does it take? __________________ *may contain traces of sarcasm.

30th September 2003, 1:18 PM	#13
Webmaster_Zeus Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Melbourne Posts: 938	The canons will beat the fuji a205s by a mile, the only thing I don't like about this (fuji a205s) is the fact it requires a steady hand, and it takes a lot longer to capture the picture (about 3 seconds all up without flash). Battery life usage is not too bad, u can get respectable times with lcd on and flash (I used a 1.2volt, no rating as I bought these in Malaysia about 3 years ago) and got a good half an hour with lcd on and about 60 photos in the process before it started beeping itself at me. But it requires a REALLY steady hand, just a jerk in any of the 3 seconds will send the photo all blury.

1st October 2003, 2:19 PM	#14
Moose Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 1,239	http://www.orite.com.tw/vc3110/vc3110-e1.htm Not bad cameras at all ~$215, a bargain __________________ Quick!!….Pack your bags!!… The Elephants are coming!!…

1st October 2003, 8:13 PM	#15
Unix-Unix Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Sydney, Around Randwick Posts: 41	Where can you buy that camera in ustralia moose? __________________ ICQ : 30269375 Email : Ragerunner1337@hotmail.com