I have need of a digital camera. I’m fairly gadget-savvy, and yet I find myself overwhelmed by the range of choices. Has anyone come across a good on-line buyer’s guide for these? I’ve learned that I want something in the 3 - 4 megapixel range and that I need a 3x optical zoom.
Dale
Dale - Try http://www.imaging-resource.com/
PhilO
Yeah, Dale try going to:
They have an incredible amount of information, including test pictures takew w/ all the cameras they have reviewed.
If you are interested in Digital SLR’s you may want to look at the Canon Digital Rebel and the Canon EOS 10D… or if you a famous psychologist raking in the big bucks, you could look at the 1D 
Also, I’ve owned one of the Canon Powershot series for a while now and have been very happy with it. (My brother and father also own one in the series and do some nice things… here’s my brother’s website with lot’s of pics from his camera http://www.kellyandian.com/ and all of the ones on my website are taken with mine.)
All very nice cameras.
Erik
I was amazed, but I believe I saw Gateway now has 5 megapixel camera.
And I thought my Sony FD95 took nice pitures. I don’t even think that has a 1 megapixel.
Good luck.
Mike
I would 2nd the suggestion of a Canon. They produce very nice images. The Canon G2/G5 are great (the S50 is nice too in a smaller package). I haven’t tried any of the Canon SLR’s but I’m sure they’re even better. The www.dpreview.com site is where I go for info.
Many people like Nikons too, but I’ve not tried any of them (probably like comparing Copelands and Abells…).
-Brett
Don’t buy until after thanksgiving if you can wait that long. There will soon be some major price wars starting then. http://www.nyip.com/tips/breaking_news1003a.php
Alcona
It sounds as though you need a digital camera for other than computer/internet use with the higher magapixel range. And, everything is getting better, so I’d consider it a wise choice anyway. I have to second what someone said earlier…Canon Powershot series for a small, quick, point and shoot camera.
BTW, I shopped all over the internet for prices, etc., and found that the local Bi-Mart store had as good or better prices than the same camera online. Plus, you get to see it hold it, try it out, and bring it back if you don’t like it! 
And besides, many online retailers are pretty bad to deal with.
Don’t know if you subscribe, but I just got this months Consumer Reports which covers digital cameras. SOmetimes I find their ratings don’t reflect what’s important to me, but, in summary:
3-megapixel top three are Fujifilm Fine Pix 3800 (6x optical zoom), $340
Olympus Camedia C-740 Ultra Zoom (10x), $450
Fujifilm Finepix F601Z (3x), $450
4-megapixel top three are Canon PowerShot G3 (4x), $520
Nikon Coolpix 4300 (3x), $390
Konica Digital Revio KD 400-Z (3x), $450
5-megapixel top three are Nikon Coolpix 5700 (8x), $890
Olympus Camedia C-5050 (3x), $620
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 (5x), $730
The “best buy” is 3-megapixel Fujifilm Finepix A303 (3x), $220
PhilO
Thanks For all the great resources. That Consumer Reports best buy may be a good match for my needs. Thanks again.
Dale, try e-mailing or pm-ing Tom Dowling for some advice. He used a Nikon digital for all those great NYC photos of the last 2+ years. I can’t remember the model number (cause I zone out when technical details start flying around).
Dale, http://www.cnet.com usually gives pretty good reviews and comparisons.
Hi Dale,
have a look at http://www.steves-digicams.com/
IMHO, don’t even consider a digital compact no matter how many pixels it has if you’ve been used to a 35mmSLR. I bought a digital compact, 2.9 mp, 3x opt. zoom, £200 and it can’t compete with a 25 y/o Olympus OM10!! I have tried a friends Canon 10D, really impressive, trouble is I couldn’t afford one. I also had a look at a Canon Powershot G3, seemed like a nice camera although I didn’t get a chance to really try it out. FWIW, the Olympus C5050 seems to get good reviews.
Good Luck, Mac
Hm.
I’m liking
Fujifilm FinePix 3800
Holy cow. If we reviewed whistles like that…
I’ve never seen anything quite as thorough.
Dale
Yes, but…Were Jim Mc to turn upon the world of cameras his laser-like gaze, adamantine intellect, ferret-like research abilities, not to mention his bulldogish tenacity, then we would for sure see some fine reviews. For the time being, however, I’ll wager his attention is focussed on Jimmy Hogan’s Reel. And for that, we can all heave a (momentary) sigh of relief.
Good luck on the camera hunting.
Tom D.
Gotta Nikon 4500. Love it. Battery lasts forever. Lightweight. Better than old 990. Found a place in NY that sold it to me for $549, I think. Very cheaper than stores.
If I could only figure out color management tho, to get a decent print from my Mac, thru Photoshop to my C80 Stylus, I would be happy,. Very frustrating, the nomenclature and workflow. If anybody has exact same situation and answer about all the settings, let me know.
Dale,
I am partial to the Olympus Camedia line myself (although I would have gotten this if I had the $$$ http://www.leica-camera.com/digitalekameras/digilux1/index_e.html). And as for many other things, there are deals to be had on EBay.
PT