okay, so we're going to Maui in a couple weeks and it may be a while before we can make it back. we're also going with our daughter and a bunch of other friends (families with kids her age she knows) so i know we're gonna be snap happy with the camera. if i could find something cheap enough, i wanted to pick up a decent digital camera for the trip.

last time, we took our cheapo Canon A310 3.2mp and my 35mm SLR film camera. (with just my wife and I last time, we shot over 400 digital pics (~40+/day) and 6 rolls of 35mm 36exp.)

the A310 actually worked fairly well, but it went thru 2AA per day and it was only a 3.2MP camera (although some of the photos turned out better than the 35mm stuff as long as you didn't use the digital zoom).

My wife wasn't super happy with it and the 35mm SLR was a pain in the butt to tote around where ever we went, so i figured if i could find something reasonable enough (>$200) i would scoop up a decent point/shoot digital camera that we can just throw in our bag as we go and pick up a couple 1GB SD cards and we'd be set.
mind you, the whole premiss here is CHEAP.

so, i came across this on geeks.com:
Vivitar 8300s 8.1MP 3x/4x Digital Camera w/$50 Rebate!!!

it's $229 before the $50 rebate.

okay, so i know its no Sony point-and-shoot (i know sonic...) and its not a DSLR, but its cheap and its an 8.1MP camera, so it "should" in theory come out with some decent shots.

Good points: Lith-Ion Battery so no more AA's, 8.1MP resolution, price, size, 1,000x better than the A310 we used last time.
questionable points: build quality, only 3x optical zoom, vivitar any good for digital point/shoot cameras?


I guess its a newer model, since i can't seem to find many online reviews on it.
my question is, has anyone used Vivtar digital cameras? adn if so, impressions?

so, what do you guys think about it?


any others in a similar price range that are better?

i'm not expecting the sky, but just something that will get used.

 

http://www.dpreview.com/

FTW.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...ssage=11393514

 

I would stick with Nikon or Canon.

 

fixed.

 

Winnar!!

 

If you're spending big dollars, I definitely agree.

One thing I wanted to point out - I was going to go to www.megapixel.net (I think the site ryball gave is "das pooper review" ) but it doesn't even look like those guys review vivitar

In the $200 - $300 range I would recommend either the Canon A530 ($189 @ circuit city) or the Sony DSC-600 ($189 @ circuit city). Unfortunately, both take AA batteries. The Sony gets REALLY high marks from the consumer reviews there though. The Nikon Coolpix P2 gets pretty good remarks, similar to the Canon, is $179 and has a rechargeable .

 

pshaw.. like you know what your talking about

 

I have a Canon S1 IS, and When I bought...two years ago :-P it was super expensive, but now its only 200$, but its "only" 3.2 MP, but incredible shot quality, and it has 10x optical zoom, and takes great video. I know you want a point and shoot, BUT, this does have full manual as well, which is nice sometimes when you want to set up a shot....

As far as the megapixel count, check this out:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htm

 

I really think that all this pixel cramming into point-and-shoots is crap. For most people, unless you are outputing huge prints (which most people are not doing), it is useless.

 

I agree. Point + Shoot manufacturers need to focus on more picture quality, and not on maximizing the megapixels.

Of course, the more MP, the larger the emails you get, because people STILL can't figure out how to resize pics.

 

lol, true.

 

Just FYI, a higher megapixel rating does NOT equal a better picture quality. A large part of what makes a good picture is the color whitebalance, (lack of) barrel distortion, chromatic aberrations, purple fringing.

Just to name a few things to look at,

http://www.dpreview.com/
and
http://www.dcresource.com/

are my favorite websites for research info.

Have fun in Maui!!!

 

hardly


Megapixel-age is kind of like horsepower, they use it for advertising

 

I think you missed the bus on that one. I believe he was inferring that Canon is a better quality camera than Nikon.

 

so since this is a camera thread..

I am looking at getting a Digital SLR.. whats good now a days ?