I need a very cheap, user friendly digital camera. Could someone please answer this question for me.... which is the cheapest/user friendly (simple) digital camera to buy? I have been to many, many stores and no one seems to know the answer. I would like to pay under $200 dollars for the camera. Please Help!!!! sh

-- sh thigpen (nepal80@netscape.net), May 31, 2000

Answers

This may not be the answer you were expecting. I don't want to dissuade you from purchasing a digital camera, but like nearly any device employing technology, there is a learning curve. Every camera model and each individual user combine to create a unique combination of experience level and features that must be learned. Most(all?) have an automatic mode(most low end units have NO manual mode to speak of) and are pretty easy to turn on, and snap a picture. Downloading images from the low end units seems to be the most problematic proposition. A LOT of people have had problems getting their camera to download through the serial port. But, don't let that put you off, there are other ways to get images into your camera and you may have not have any trouble with a serial connection. There's also a serial troubleshooting faq, that I wrote, available on the Imaging-Resource that may help with serial problems.

To further complicate matters, buying based on price is probably not the best way to select a camera or really anything. Bear in mind this comes from a reasonably price conscious individual, I'm not given to spending money wildly when selecting equipment. On the other hand, if I feel the value is there I'm willing to spend more to get it, within my current budget -or maybe a bit more, if the features are really worth it.

I guess what I'm trying to impress on you is that if you could provide the forum participants with a better idea of what you want to do with the camera and what your requirements are in terms of resolution and other features we could probably use our experiences to help you. Do you need a zoom lens(tough to find under $300 with the exception of the DC215 from Kodak at 2X zoom and maybe some canon models?), will you want to print 4x6", 5x7", 8X10" or larger images or will onscreen viewing or web use(probably 640x480) be enough resolution for you? Do you need a flash? How many images do you need to be able to take between downloads? And so on...

All that said, Agfa, Largan, KB Gear, Umax and a few others make low end cameras available under $200, in some cases well under $200. Most are limited to 640x480 resolution. Will they do for what you want? Well, that comes back to the questions I mentioned above.

You might also consider older models that have been greatly reduced in price due to newer 2 & 3 megapixel models that have hit the market. Olympus, Epson, and Kodak, to name a few I saw in a catalog I have here, offer several 1+ megapixel models available for between $250 and $300. Ebay and web vendors are probably good "places" to look for them. You really have to shop around a bit and then research a model that you feel is a good deal by reading some reviews and seeing if the camera meets your expectations based on the reviews and your needs.

You might try www.computershopper.com and www.shopper.com to compare prices. Try http://www.dcforum.com/ for user reviews.

Good Luck!

-- Gerald M. Payne (gmp@francomm.com), May 31, 2000.

The above is a very good answer!

-- ted krohn (ted.krohn@fra.dot.gov), June 01, 2000.

Yes it is very very good answer in deed.

Good job Gerald !!!

-- Tanasit Siriluck (tanasit@flashcom.net), June 19, 2000.