moved: Digital Camera Recommendations

[sizemic1]

Hi All,

I'm looking to purchase a digital camera probably in the $300-$400 range.
The only 2 features i'm looking for is a decent optical zoom and a timer feature or perhaps remote control capability.

Thanks for the help! :)

[AlpineJay]

Belongs in the Hardware forum. But anyway..

Look at the new Canon Powershot S2 IS. 5MP, 12x zoom, "true video" mode, where you can zoom back and forth while shooting video (that's the only camera I know of that does this), and around your price range on a good Dell.com coupon days.

Here's the DPReview link: http://dpreview.com/reviews/canons2is/
It's highly recommended by those guys - and I generally tend to trust what they say.

Just about every camera has a timer, but very rarely do they come with remotes. This one has a 2- and 10-second timers but no remote.

Should be good for what you want as long as you don't mind the size.

[thekidrocks]

My vote is for a used (yes, used) Sony 'F707/717. They were $1000 new, and most 1st owners were older folks who take care of things... yet resale is in the $300 - $400 area. The 'F707 broke the 5mp point ('717 is a slightly upgraded version) and you can't beat the Carl Zeiss lens. Actually you can MISS the Carl Zeiss lens - a unique camera.

Reason for the low price - 1) it's a used digital camera and 2) many of the people who ran out and bought this model, ran out and bought the 'F828, which as fate turns out is a turkey. Never the less, the used market is somewhat flooded with them.

[glockness]

.."true video" mode, where you can zoom back and forth while shooting video (that's the only camera I know of that does this),..
hmmm.. every camera I have used to shoot video does that. or am I misunderstanding you?

[AlpineJay]

hmmm.. every camera I have used to shoot video does that. or am I misunderstanding you?

No. Were you able to use your zoom in your digital camera as it was shooting video? If you were thinking camcorders then absolutely that's the case - but once you start shooting video on your digital camera, the zoom settings get locked in and you can't change it unless you stop recording.

Perhaps I'm a bit outdated on this subject as I haven't done a whole lot of product research recently but as far as I know, even as of ~6 months ago, the Canon S1/S2 IS were the only models that were able to zoom while recording. Since then I've been researching the smaller cameras for purchase - eventually landing on the SD400 - so I haven't looked into the big stuff but I could have been sure that it's one of the few.