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Anyone have any recommendations for a low end (cheapish) digital camera that takes quick pictures?
Useless information/rant follows if you're bored (all I have is free time at the moment):
My mom has one that is ready to snap photos just a few seconds after it's turned on, but requires nearly 15 seconds to take another. I borrowed that one because my wife's camera takes 10-15 seconds to power up, and also takes too long in between photos (I have gone through different modes and settings). Then, my camcorder takes decent photos as quickly as you can take them, but there is no flash and it's something I don't want to always carry with me.
I never realized how slow they were until I tried taking spur-of-the-moment pictures of my baby ("I formed babby").
I hate this need for splash screen startups, or automatic picture review after one is taken (I also don't like how people, especially my wife, feel they need to review every single photo immediately after. You were just there!), and know I don't need a 30 megapixel camera with three displays and YouTube, Facebook, or other built-in fad support.
@madog: They may not literally take 10-15 seconds, but when you're trying to take pictures of a babys smile or something, 7 seconds can feel like an eternity; and the moment may be gone by then.
I also don't know anything about cameras so I don't know if they specifically rate that or have categories for a digital camera that works as fast as one from 15 years ago that took pics as fast as you could wind the film.
Any information about it would be greatly appreciated!
@madog: i bought the kodak easy share m1033 for like 130 bucks if not less.
really good for snapshots and keeping in your pocket. i like it. i keep it in my car. has a good battery life. if i need it i got a usb car adapter so it will charge on the drive to the event. it holds up pretty good. takes good photos.
@madog: oh! and it does start up fairly quickly around 3 seconds. and if you are taking regular snapshots, no long exposure and all that bull. its pretty instant.
@madog: There are a couple options but specifically I'd look at the Canon SD 1200 IS. It's got the digic IV processor, a fast lens, and it runs around $150 right now. Not too fancy in the spec department (3x zoom range, 10mp, SD movie ability) but it's a solid little camera.
@Gene @LatimerAnaxibia @che-che @FigNinja: Thanks for the info guys! I appreciate it. I'll definitely check out that site/forum and that Canon/Kodak. And yes, while $30 for one would be awesome, I'd expect to pay around $150 for a decent one these days.
With all of the different models out there with bonus novelty features and smile recognition and volume knobs that go to 11, it can be confusing to find a decent, simple camera that does what it's supposed to well.
(tried to promote all replies in case this multi-reply doesn't work as I'd imagine it to. Hopefully others find this useful too!)
@madog: Canon A1100. On sale for $129 if you look around. Amazing photos. I bought 10 for a photo class I teach to school kids and I've been blown away by the results.
These descriptions sound like something Rod Roddy would say while running down the items on the Showcase Showdown..."all this and more could be yours on the Price Is Right!"
@John_001: same... remember his insane outfits? and how red in the face he use to get? Lets hope he's doing tons of blow off strippers asses in heaven... thats what he deserves
This is exactly what I wanted to see going into 2010. A new company finally stepping up to offer all the features we want in a phone that no one's been courageous enough to give us. Like 3G. And multitouch.
Not to mention Samsung is leading the way into next-generation technobabble. Flash control? WEB control?! Baby, sign me up! Oh, and not to mention, with the Oceanic theme they're going for, teens and young adults the world over will never be without an excuse to sing "I'm on a boat!" The possibilities are endless!
And as if that wasn't enough, they'll be including the TouchWiz interface! As a young man who grew up in the tech generation, I can't tell you how cool TouchWiz sounds. I can't tell people about my phone's TouchWiz. And the multimedia cube! Man, kids are all about the cubes these days. I mean, I saw a Rubik's cube the other day at Wal-Mart......and also there was that cube in the first Transformers. See? They're everywhere!
I'll reserve judgement until I've seen it but it seems to me the last thing the mobile community needs is another "open" OS. This is a contrarian move by Samsung.
I picked up a 40" Sony Bravia S-series for $598, and I love it. There is a slight trail but hardly noticeable, you have to really try to look for it. I was surprised because this was suppose to be the chief complaint about the TV. It is offers great video and audio customization in the built in Menu system. The contrast is only 30,000:1 but after playing with settings is better then I had anticipated. This TV is bright, with the backlight cranked up you could watch this outside on a sunny day (no joke). The sound quality on this TV is without equal in its price range. I have an older model Sony amp and so I run all my audio into TV out into the Amp. (Another Sony bonus, tons of input ports). I probably could have spent an additional few hundred for a new 7.1 sound system, but like I said the quality now is already great. So Sony has its ups and downs, but if you are looking for a beautiful TV to pair with your PS3 and don't have an entire grand to slap down - the Bravia is a good bet.
Can Samsung come out with a decent, respectable smartphone WITHOUT this TouchWiz crap? Every time I see it it screams "dumbphone" and every time I see it in action it screams "put me out of my bloody misery".
Speaking from a neutral standpoint, I totally get it when Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone in 2007. He was doing that 'business chart' that showed how complicated dumbphones were and how even more asinine some smartphone developers, ending up with even more inconsistent and convoluted interfaces.
Some manufacturers really (and I mean REALLY) need to go back to the paper napkins to draw and map out user interfaces that are simple, effective, contagious, and universal.
Can't say I disagree with anything in this review. Samsung needs to take a good look at their phones and realize that nobody with a functional cerebral cortex considers their UIs as intuitive.
It's a shame because their hardware is top notch. The other day, I bought a Sammy F400 B&O edition as a backup phone. Brilliant sound output, but I can't for the love of god; figure out how their menu system worked.
"It gives you a headache to use, like reading tiny text in the dark, or reciting the alphabet backwards when drunk"
Whenever I see Cops where they make drunk people recite the alphabet backwards, it scares me. I don't think I could do that sober without having to think a lot.
With respect to the review, for some reason I couldn't stop laughing as I was reading it. The tone of your writing just seems like you are genuinely frustrated and it's quite funny. The first two lines summarized how the review was going to go and everything after that was just a bonus.
You guys can tell that a phone is going to suck. Why do you review phones that look like crap? I mean, you couldn't smell the sweet scent of [insert disgusting smell] from a mile away? I know I could.
12/14/09
12/11/09
Useless information/rant follows if you're bored (all I have is free time at the moment):
My mom has one that is ready to snap photos just a few seconds after it's turned on, but requires nearly 15 seconds to take another. I borrowed that one because my wife's camera takes 10-15 seconds to power up, and also takes too long in between photos (I have gone through different modes and settings). Then, my camcorder takes decent photos as quickly as you can take them, but there is no flash and it's something I don't want to always carry with me.
I never realized how slow they were until I tried taking spur-of-the-moment pictures of my baby ("I formed babby").
I hate this need for splash screen startups, or automatic picture review after one is taken (I also don't like how people, especially my wife, feel they need to review every single photo immediately after. You were just there!), and know I don't need a 30 megapixel camera with three displays and YouTube, Facebook, or other built-in fad support.
12/11/09
I also don't know anything about cameras so I don't know if they specifically rate that or have categories for a digital camera that works as fast as one from 15 years ago that took pics as fast as you could wind the film.
Any information about it would be greatly appreciated!
12/11/09
[www.dpreview.com]
They often give list how long all those things take for a given camera. The forums are really helpful, too.
12/11/09
really good for snapshots and keeping in your pocket. i like it. i keep it in my car. has a good battery life. if i need it i got a usb car adapter so it will charge on the drive to the event. it holds up pretty good. takes good photos.
is that cheap enough.
12/11/09
12/11/09
12/11/09
12/12/09
With all of the different models out there with bonus novelty features and smile recognition and volume knobs that go to 11, it can be confusing to find a decent, simple camera that does what it's supposed to well.
(tried to promote all replies in case this multi-reply doesn't work as I'd imagine it to. Hopefully others find this useful too!)
12/12/09
12/11/09
12/11/09
12/11/09
12/10/09
12/10/09
12/08/09
Not to mention Samsung is leading the way into next-generation technobabble. Flash control? WEB control?! Baby, sign me up! Oh, and not to mention, with the Oceanic theme they're going for, teens and young adults the world over will never be without an excuse to sing "I'm on a boat!" The possibilities are endless!
And as if that wasn't enough, they'll be including the TouchWiz interface! As a young man who grew up in the tech generation, I can't tell you how cool TouchWiz sounds. I can't tell people about my phone's TouchWiz. And the multimedia cube! Man, kids are all about the cubes these days. I mean, I saw a Rubik's cube the other day at Wal-Mart......and also there was that cube in the first Transformers. See? They're everywhere!
This is a good idea.
12/08/09
who are they going to choose as their search Partner?
12/08/09
12/05/09
12/03/09
12/03/09
Some manufacturers really (and I mean REALLY) need to go back to the paper napkins to draw and map out user interfaces that are simple, effective, contagious, and universal.
12/02/09
It's a shame because their hardware is top notch. The other day, I bought a Sammy F400 B&O edition as a backup phone. Brilliant sound output, but I can't for the love of god; figure out how their menu system worked.
...and It's a dumbphone.
Sufficed to say, I sold it within a day.
12/02/09
Windows Mobile is shit. I worked with it for 3 years. Over at XDA chefs do all they can to make it better but at the end of the day, it's shit.
Most of the disguises that phone makers use to cover this shit known as WM with turn out just as bad.
I seriously don't understand how people still stick to WM. Freaking symbian functions/looks better, crashes/freezes less.
12/02/09
Whenever I see Cops where they make drunk people recite the alphabet backwards, it scares me. I don't think I could do that sober without having to think a lot.
With respect to the review, for some reason I couldn't stop laughing as I was reading it. The tone of your writing just seems like you are genuinely frustrated and it's quite funny. The first two lines summarized how the review was going to go and everything after that was just a bonus.
12/02/09