Digital Camera - Elk Grove, CA

Cannon Powershot! We had a camera fiasco over the holiday and bought a "cheaper" camera a Kodak (same features) and found it took the poorest quality pictures. The Cannon has amazing quality!

Another vote for Canon. We have had 3 powershots (2 we still have) and they take great pictures and the cost can't be beat.

I had lost my camera it was a Sony and thought I wouldn't find a better one, but my husband bought me a new one for Christmas. I love it. It is easy to use and takes great pictures. It is a Canon Power Shot SD790 IS. It has 10.0 mega pixels, it is small and it has a large screen and makes it easy to see what your shooting. Good Luck!

I also have a digital ELPH. I was happy with it until my son grew into an active toddler who refuses to pose for a picture. Even in the "kids and pets" mode the shutter speed is too slow. It can take up to two seconds from when I press the button to the time it actually takes the picture! These days, 9 out of 10 shots I take of my son are "a moment too late" If your son is willing to stop or pose for pictures it might be ok for you, but if you will mostly be taking action shots I'd skip it and go for something higher end.

Another great resource is www.epinions.com

i like the kodak easy share

I LOVE LOVE my digital my husband got me. It's a Casio, Exilim, 8.1 mega pixels and it fits in my purse EASILY, or my pocket for that matter.
There are a lot of different settings, the photo's are excellent, and it does videos. :) oh and the shutter speed is fast enough to get the BEST goofey faces.

Oh and it's not so complicated that I can't figure out how to use it, VERY important to me.

Good luck
K.

I had really good luck going to a small camera shop. (on 25th Ave in San Mateo). A mom and pop place. I was getting so overwhelmed with all the options, brands, gadgets at target, costco, best buy, etc. I was able to speak with someone and talk through the options. I wasn't thrilled with one feature of the one I bought, so I brought it back within 2-3 days and exchanged for the next level up. ( I felt like the piece you move to take out the battery was weak. Weird I know, but I felt like I was going to break it and I just wasn't comfortable. No problem for them.)

I was able to get one I really like for about $125. I recommend a zoom and video capacity. Don't worry about getting the highest level - 5,6,7 are all fine for snapshots. I also liked one with a little bit of grip - but that's just me.

I'd check out Yelp.com for camera shops in your area. Good luck.

I am still using my old Kodak EasyShare (3.1 mp!!! now 6 years old) and last summer when I didnt get a new camera for mothers day, I took matters into my own hands and got hubby an early fathers day present of a camera (Sony CyberShot) to use on the trip & for my son's birthday that month. Well, used the Sony CyberShot for a month on the trip and when we got home and downloaded all the photos, we were somewhat disappointed with many of the pictures - they were not as clear and sharp as I expected them to be. In other words, having more megapixels meant NOTHING if the picture itself was going to be blurry. So I returned it to Costco and am back to using my Kodak 3.1 megapixel camera. Love it, but do want an upgrade. No $ now for "extras" so will stick with it for a while longer....

I dont know why the Sony Cybershot didn't take good pictures for me. I checked around on the reviews and tried them out in the stores (as far as I was able to anyway) and it was the most recommended one but ... bleah. I want a point and shoot camera (esp with kids!) NOT a camera to fiddle with. My 2 sisters both have a Sony camera (different types) as they got theirs with sony credit card points or something like that. I am not impressed with theirs - my sister's bigger one is a few years older (5-7mp?) and is not easy for me to pick up and figure out how to take a picture with. Picture quality is good tho. Uploading the pictures is cumbersome (or must be, it takes my sister forever to finally upload a bunch of pictures!). My other sister has the smaller sleeker one, Cybershot I think. Both of them used her camera for Christmas pictures (my other sister's camera battery died as they got there) and ALL but one of the pictures were slightly blurry! (same problem I had with most of my trip photos)

So now I am eyeing (but not seriously looking at buying at this time) the Kodak (my brother has and loves, on his 2nd now as he sat on his camera and cracked the screen, silly boy!) or Nikon CoolPix (brother in law has two, not sure how well it works for them but they seem happy with it)

With kids, you want something that turns on and focuses quickly. Long battery life. Ability to keep on clicking multiple pictures instead of long wait time in between snapped photos (usually a sports feature option will allow you to do this).

I am not sure about all the other fancy features if you sacrifice speed, maybe quality, to wait for the camera to find smiles and eliminate red eye and stablize picture, I dont know about that. I think I'd rather have a camera that can take a number of pictures in minutes rather than wait for it to find smiles for me or stabilize the picture. Sometimes pouts are cute too! With digital, you can take as many as you want, then delete all but the few that are good. It is also fun to have a series of pictures (esp with a bunch of kids trying to sit together for a photo, hilarious!) rather than just one or two of kids with most of them sitting. Anyway, that's my opinion/experience. I'm curious as to what you decide on, and how happy you are with it after having it.

I too have a Canon Powershot (which model, I have no clue off the top of my head!)
Some features mine has that I really appreciate:
red-eye reduction
good optical and digital zoom
Large screen, that is turnable, so no matter the angle you put the camera you can see what your getting.
Kids/pets setting: stabilizes to take clear, not blurry pictures of moving scenes!
Mine takes non-rechargeable batteries, I use the lithium kind. I take hundreds of pictures and haven't changed the batteries since the summer.
However, as much as I like this camera, some things I will look for in my new camera.
This one is a little bulky. Yes, I can put it in myn pocket, but it will pull your pants down!
Also, newer ones (mine's 3 years older now)will take a picture faster. With little ones if there is too much of a pause as the camera focuses, by the time it takes the picture you have missed it!
No matter which one you choose, make sure you play with it in the store for a while. Hold it, take some pics, try different settings. Don't get one you haven't had the chance to try out a little!

Our camera is a Canon SD 850 IS, and we love it. Our previous camera was a Canon also. The only reason we replaced it was to have something smaller and newer--it still worked great even after nearly 5 years. I am partial to Canon cameras--the photos seem to come out with great color and quality.
We used cnet.com's reviews to help us choose the camera. So any model you are interested in, I would suggest you look it up on cnet first to get a review on it's performance.

Hi S.,
I have also have a Canon Powershot - SD790-IS Elph with 10 mp.
It replaced a three year old Canon SDIS that just stopped working - but my sister has the exact same one purchased at the same time mine was and still loves hers.
The biggest difference in the two was the battery pack, the old one took 4 AA batteries that would NEVER last more than a day - using it or not. I tried rechargeable and disposable batteries both, with no difference.
My new Elph has one of those square battery packs (rechargeable) and it lasts for weeks->months depending on usage. This has made ALL the difference.
I picked the old camera mostly because it had optional lenses and the screen display was mobile like a video camera. I liked that because I worried about the screen being damaged when not in use, and with this I could just close it up. As it turns out, I never really used the extra lenses and the screen on my new camera is very durable. I bought some of those screen protectors you can get for a PDA and feel confident as it gets scratched, I can replace the film and have a smooth image again.
Canon takes great quality photos all around and my Elph actually takes better video than the digital option on my brand new video camera (I haven't viewed the tape quality). The convenience of being able to switch from still shots to video without changing equipment is very handy and the Elph is very compact - fits in a case and then in my pocket too.
Finally I also find that Canons have very user-friendly functions and options.
I purchased my Elph from Costco – we may have found a better deal had we really shopped around, but I was without a camera and anxious to have it replaced.
Best wishes and happy shopping…

I'd like to second the Casio Exilim. It's been the best camera I've ever used. With two kids and a dog that never stays still, I've yet to take a bad picture! It has taken some amazing shots that have done the Californian coastline proud. The video function is always very high quality, too.

It's also very easy to use, which is always handy...you don't want to spend hours reading the manual before you use it :)

If you want small and easy, I highly recommend my Fuji Finepix (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=fuji+finepix&amp...)

Even my 4 year old daughter takes great pics with it! Very easy to tote around and take out for a quick pic. Lot of options, and you can take videos, too.

I so love my Sony Cybershot. It's small, so it fits easily in my purse or coat pocket and I'm always ready when a photo opportunity arises. (My husband has a big SLR and it's a pain to lug around.)

It takes great pictures and videos, which are easy to upload and share. The controls are pretty easy. My kids (3 and 6) have no problem taking good pictures with it.

Hi S.,

I have a Canon Power Shot 880, and I love it. It's compact, easy to use and it takes great pictures. It also takes video which is great too!!! The best thing about it is the speed...you don't get much delay when you shoot like you do with some cameras. Even my husband who is a Nikon guy and uses the big SLR cameras is very impressed. The only negative is the price...it costs about $300.

A.

Hi S.,

There's a great review on Amazon (read the top one):
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Optical-Sta...

I have the one from the review that is "3RD PLACE: SD770 IS" ...and I love it. Small and handy, nice-sized view finder, I love that it takes video clips... I have to admit I've barely scratched the surface of what all the functions are, but the basics are serving me incredibly well!

Cheers, Deborah

The Canon G10 is an amazing camera. It takes pictures like a big camera but it is significantly smaller. It is not as small as a powershot but I love it because it doesn't get lost in my diaper bag. The pictures it takes are AMAZING and really do my kids justice :)

another vote for Canon here! I have the Canon Powershot A610. It is around 3 years old but still works great! it is a bit bulky, but I can still throw it in my purse when we go to the park or zoo, etc... It takes 4 AA batteries, but they last forever! I put new batteries in in in August when i went to visit family in CO and TX, I took close to 500 photos and a few videos and the batteries lasted until December (they were still good, but I replaced them just in case so I wouldnt miss a picture at Christmas due to a battery change!). We love this camera, and my little girl has no problems taking pictures with it!.

The Kodak Easy Share takes great pictures and videos. Has great clarity and is easy to use. I am in a band and have gotten some great videos with good quality from it. The sound not so much since it is live, but it looks good!

I recently got a Cannon Power Shot as a gift, but not sure how to use it yet. I did hear it is easy too. the picture has yet to be seen.

Hope that helps.

R.