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2003 HOLIDAY SHOPPING GUIDE PART 1 The 2003 Holiday Shopping Season is here. The time has come for a record number of digital camera sales, as they remain one of the hottest items at the top of many shoppers this year! It is likely that you or someone who you know is in the market for a new digital camera to fit specific needs, as well as perhaps a fairly tight budget, and yet finding something just right is a high priority in your busy schedule. As one of the major Digital Camera web sites, we of course have been looking at cameras all year and we now have an opportunity to provide you with some of our thoughts regarding your potential holiday purchases.
In this, Part 1 of our 2003 Holiday Shopping Guide, we set out to discuss what will probably be the most popular and best selling category of cameras, which is the under $300 compact point & shoot style digital camera which has a 3 megapixel CCD for very good quality resolution images. While this is not meant as a tutorial on digital cameras, there are a few things we would like to suggest to new buyers. We firmly believe that you should set your sights on a digital camera that has at least 3 megapixels. We have long been proponents of skipping the toy cameras, as well as the 1 and 2 megapixel CCD cameras, as we feel strongly that buyers will have less remorse in the long run over starting with at least a 3 megapixel camera.
Previously the price difference remained a major factor and thus there were certain uses such as web sharing only and occasional small print sizes where we would suggest a 2 megapixel camera. However, this year the 3 megapixel cameras we prefer are now mostly under $300.00 dollars, and so we see less compelling reason for anyone to buy a camera with less than 3 megapixels. Those who still see some price difference and thus are not convinced let us just say this, we have used over 100 digital cameras extensively in the past few years, and it is our strong preference to recommend that new buyers of digital cameras get at least a 3 megapixel camera from a reputable company. While the extra megapixel is not strictly needed for those who primarily share pictures via e-mail or posting on the Internet, most of you will from time to time want to print out at least some of your shots, and for that we much prefer you had a 3 megapixel camera or higher. We feel that you can see a difference with even 4 by 6 inch shots and certainly 5 by 7 and 8 by 10 inch prints will greatly benefit from having at least 3 megapixels. And as many of us have been pointing out for years, with extra megapixels in your CCD, you have some increased flexibility to crop the image for better results. With that bit of advise and reasoning, let us now explore some of the best 2003 Holiday 3 megapixel digital camera choices, at prices under $300.00 which are not necessarily in order of best performance, but include our perception of popularity and findings of other reviewers and owners!
1. One of the first cameras that comes to mind in this particular category is the really fine Canon Powershot A70 Digital Camera selling at around $299.99. We have been very impressed with the image results from this camera in a wide variety of family type shooting at this price range, and overall it provides some of the sharpest images & best colors from what is apparently a very good quality 3X optical zoom lens. Furthermore, it uses four AA batteries and we found it to take nearly 200 shots per set of batteries, a performance second to none in this group. We liked the 3X optical zoom, which most in this group have, and we strongly recommend that most of you do in fact select a camera with at least a 3X zoom lens for good flexibility in framing your shots. Another major plus for the Canon A70 is its ability to connect directly with several major printers including a nice portable unit from Canon for very good 4 by 6 inch prints. The only slight concerns about the A70 are its design makes it a bit more difficult to fit into tight pant pockets, as it is not exactly square like some others, having the hand grip stick out some. The pocket ability is not bad, and it fits in purses just fine. However, there are some who will want to look at our other choices below for that reason alone. Now the grip is great for when you take pictures, so it really is a trade off, and a decision you will have to make. Like most of the point and shoot cameras out there, the A70 does have the usual tendency to have some red-eye creep into flash shots, although there is a built-in red-eye reduction which helps a lot, and as many of you know, most major software aimed at new users now includes auto red-eye removal features. The A70 uses Compact Flash memory cards and can work with a host of Canon accessories. Overall, the Canon A70 compares very highly with all the rest, and is clearly a camera you should at least look at and consider in this category.
2. Next we have a very good competitor for the Canon in the Nikon Coolpix 3100. We have used this camera extensively and found it to be a very good choice for those who want an even smaller camera then the Canon and it is very quick in many areas of performance. The Coolpix 3100 also features a 3 megapixel CCD, a 3X optical zoom lens, and it also is priced at 299.99. One of the unique features of the Coolpix 3100 is the extensive set of pre-programmed Scenes that can be set in the camera's scene mode. We found the CP 3100 to take very well exposed shots, the colors were well above average and the images were nearly as sharp and nice looking as the Canon. Some people will really like its smaller size and pocket ability, others may find it slightly too small for their hands and thus opt for the A70 with its hand grip. Like the A70 the Coolpix does suffer from some Red-Eye issues but the software will easily resolve those occasional flash images where that occurs. Also like the Canon A70, the shot to shot cycle times were great, with the exception of a several second delay after each flash shot, a finding pretty typical in this group or category of cameras. We felt the battery performance was not as good as the A70, but it was not a major problem either. Overall, the image results and practicality of this little camera are right up there with the Canon A70 as there is not a major performance difference, more so just size and form.
3. Another excellent choice in this category is the Sony DSC-P72 camera. Once again we used this camera for months and found it to be a great performer for most family point and shoot style photography. The P72 also features a 3 megapixel CCD, and a 3 X optical zoom lens. It is light weight and fits very nicely into a pocket or purse. The Sony cameras as most of you know by now use their own Memory Stick cards to store images on, an issue some people had some problems years ago when prices were higher. We are pleased to see that Memory Stick prices have come down considerably and thus we do not see this as a valid concern any longer. While battery performance once again was not quite as good as the Canon A70, it was about the same as the Nikon 3100, and image quality was very similar to both, being well above average. We obtained very nice web shots and 5 by 7 images from all three cameras we have mentioned so far. Sony does have slightly different colors, with saturation a bit stronger then the Canon and perhaps even a bit more then the Nikon, however many users like this look, and for prints it results in very colorful pictures many have come to really like. Many of you are also aware that Sony is still currently the number one digital camera seller by volume, and most of those sales come in this point and shoot category including the P72. If you must save 50 dollars, which we don't think you should, there is the Sony P52 for just $249 which is a similar camera but without the 3X optical zoom. Get the zoom!
4. Next we have what is really a favourite of ours, primarily because we really enjoy the practicalities of the form factor. The Minolta Xt is a flat, thin rectangular shaped compact camera which despite its tiny size, still features a 3X optical zoom lens, which does not stick outside the body of the camera, and it has our requisite minimum 3 megapixel CCD. We have taken this camera all over the place, it just is one of the best cameras to take along when size is important, and keeping your hands free a must. The Minolta Xt starts up very fast and can be operated easily in one hand. This is the camera to take hiking, horseback riding, skiing, and everywhere that it is more difficult to carry or get out a bigger sized camera. In our opinion, that covers a lot of places and situations! While the Xt does require a special flat/thin rechargeable battery that cannot be found all the places you can find AA batteries, we got very good results in excess of 100 shots per charge, and while we found a second battery a must, we bought one for just over $20 dollars on the internet. The Xt images may not be quite as sharp as the first three choices, but the difference will be hard to tell for most, and once images are resized for the Internet or when printed out up to 5 by 7 inches, we see absolutely no issue. We have obtained very good print results from the Xt, and no one looking at them would know which camera above they camera from, as they are colorful, sharp and well exposed just like those choice above. The Minolta Xt uses what will now be the 3rd type of memory card we are mentioning in this guide, the smaller SD cards. The prices are comparable to Sony Memory Sticks and just slightly more then the cheapest Compact Flash cards out there. We highly recommend the Minolta Xt for those who want a $299 camera that is extra thin & portable, yet still has a unique 3X zoom lens capability and very good results.
5. Another good company out there making very good cameras for the masses is Fuji. Our next two cameras we suggest you consider this holiday season are the $199 Fuji A210, and the $249 Fuji A310 cameras. Both of these economical choices have 3 megapixels and 3X optical zoom lenses however the A210 uses a conventional CCD, and the A310 uses a new 4th generation SuperCCD by Fuji, which is somewhat higher in quality. Fuji like Olympus has gone to the use of a newer storage card called xD Picture Card, which work just fine, but they do seem to be somewhat more expensive compared to the Compact Flash style memory cards used in the Canon and Nikon cameras, and even still more expensive then the Sony Memory Sticks from what we generally see. The Fuji cameras do have an overall advantage in price compared to the others, however they are a bit bulkier then the others, even though they remain fairly small and compact, and they are a bit more plasticy. The build quality is not quite as nice as say the Minolta Xt, however it is not much different from the Nikon 3100. We did not note any major issue with the battery life, and the image quality was similar to the other cameras, although we still favor the Canon A70 compared with the A210, with the A310 coming in with slightly nicer, more colorful results.
6. There are a few other cameras to look at in this category. The Olympus Stylus 300 performed very well as did the D 560 Zoom. The fact they are later on this list or not talked about as much should not deter you from looking into these cameras. Olympus point and shoot cameras are excellent performers and these cameras have very good reputations. We did not use these cameras as much as the others, but we did handle them and liked them quite a bit. They are very compact, and easy to use. These cameras also take xD Picture cards, but the Stylus 300 price might be a bit higher then the others at over somewhat over $300. However the D560 Zoom, comes in at a low price of approximately $199. It is not built as well as the Stylus 300, and like the Fuji cameras is a bit cheaper feeling, but it is capable of pretty good results for $200 and it does have a full 3X optical zoom.
7. We should also mention the fairly nice Panasonic DMC-LC33 which is a 3 megapixel camera with a 3X optical zoom selling for $269. We know little about this camera or its performance as Panasonic for some reason has never attempted to really have the online web sites review their cameras until more recently.
8. We would have no problem with buyers getting the Casio EX-S3, a 3 megapixel camera selling for $299, but due to its ultra-thin body it has no zoom lens. Casio does have a tiny 3 megapixel, 3X optical zoom lens camera
9. Pentax also has a fine choices in the Optio 330R, and interestingly Pentax makes a really amazing collapsing 3X optical zoom lens that it uses on both its Optio brand 3 megapixel camera as well as the Casio brand camera. We also really liked the Pentax Optio S which we did get to evaluate earlier this year. However, while it has excellent image results for its unique tiny size, the images are a tad bit lower in quality then the top choices above, and it is a bit more expensive. Still, its small, tiny size is very very attractive and if that is a major factor to you, then be sure to check out the Pentax Optio line, including the Optio S.
Finally, we have seen Kyocera come up with some nice results in their Finecam line including the current LV3 selling for 249.
Well, that should be enough choices for now in this category. Stay tuned as next week we will explore 4 & 5 megapixel point and shoot style cameras. As you know, we do have an affiliation relationship with Ritz Cameras Online, and so while we do provide our recommendations from among many cameras, not all of the cameras are on sale with Ritz. We do hope you will at least check out our links to Ritz where you will see many of the cameras mentioned above on sale. Here is the link to Ritz.
Please help this site by using our links and buying from Ritz Online directly from our links this year! RITZ OFFERS AFTER X-MAS IN STORE EXCHANGES AT OVER 1,000 STORES IN THE USA!
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