Camera Ca-Poot

I've mentioned in a previous post that I am not a photographer.  In all actuality, I'm probably the complete opposite.  The camera can be nestled snuggly into my purse at an event, and it will never emerge from it's spot to capture a moment that could be remembered visually for a lifetime.

Effort is being made on my part to reverse that way of behavior.  As why yesterday, while at Jake's Track and Field Day at school, I packed my camera ... with full intention of using it.

And I tried.

I really did.

It was pulled out.

Turned on.

Aimed.

Nothing.

It was then fiddled with.

Prodded.

Banged upside the flash a time or two.

No pictures.

Nada.

Zilch.

Zero.

And to think today's post was going to be all about how Jake did not place in his 100m dash.  How he had the slowest kid in school on his team for the 400m relay.  And how Molly fell and scrapped her face all up so we left before we could see him do the softball throw, standing jump, and running long jump. 

While I could still blog that (and I guess I just did) ... it's just not as exciting without visuals, don't you agree?  Either that or adjectives.  But let's go with the visuals, as life is all about getting Big Daddy to open his wallet and spend money.  It's fun watching his face go pale, and seeing his knees start to shake as he hands over his hard earned cash.

Just think, he'd been better off just buying me my chair, eh?  God is punishing him.  I'm completely convinced.

Anyway ... I'll get to the point.  I don't know the first thing about cameras.  I can just tell you what I want to use it for. 

• Random shots of my kids.
• Some baseball shots of the boys during their games.
• Random shots of my kids.
• Zooming in and spying on my neighbors, then criticizing their behavior.
• Random shots of my kids.

So!  What do you recommend?  What kind of camera do you have?  Do you like it?  Do you wish you had something different?

HELP ME!

It's only in your best interest ... as if I don't get a new camera soon ... all the posts you read of mine in the future will be about as exciting as this one.

Oh yeah ... let's be nice to Big Daddy and keep the cost of your suggestions below $500.  If I have to get a new camera, I won't be able to afford funeral costs when he faints, hits his head on the sidewalk, then gets run over by the UPS truck when retrieving the bill from the mailbox.

Comments

[nicheplayer]

For starters: Canon, Canon, Canon. Trust me on this.

Next: You sound like a good candidate for something in Canon's A series, which'll run you MUCH less than $500. Consider the A650is:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_a650is.asp

or the A720is:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona720is/

I have an A620 that I love. The real benefit of it is its size (although it takes really nice photos). No camera bag required; drop it in your purse or backback, and you'll always have it on you when you need it. The movie mode on these models is really handy, too.

Google talk/mail me if you'd like any additional details!

[Cindy S]

I just a kodak camera it works pretty good.
I am no experts though.
I read this site a lot http://thepioneerwoman.com/
she has a really nice camera and takes great pictures and even tells you how to improve them. She just gave away one of these One Nikon D80 SLR Digital Camera Kit; it may be over 500.00 though. not sure.
good luck.

[Kellyn]

I agree with nicheplayer. Cannon is the best! I have had mine for almost three years, and never a problem, and it was less than $200!

Good luck!

[Hannah]

I have an Exlim and love it! It's digital, takes video and you can see the pictures right away. http://www.amazon.com/Casio-Exilim-EX-Z75-Digital-Optical/dp/B000MXMP4O/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1210871143&sr=8-1

[Jeni]

I have an Olympus Camedia something or other. It's great for your basic point & shoot, and the picture quality is good enough for more professional-looking shots, too. I got mine a couple of years ago, and it was right at $400.

[Sarah]

I second the CANON recommendation. You can't go wrong with any Canon.

[RC]

So funny. I just blogged about this and received several recommendations in response -
http://hillsmithfamily.com/2008/05/06/new-digital-camera-recommendations/

A lot of people said Canon, so as a result my new Canon is in the process of being shipped to me. Oh, and we found a Web site with a deal. Email me if you are interested. (And before I entered the digital world, I was a Minolta fan and didn't like Canon cameras, so I may be converting...)

[In the Trenches of Mommyhood]

I'm totally partial to my Kodak Easyshare. The whole entire system (camera, printer dock, online) is VERY user-friendly and low maintenance for those of us who are amateurs.

[Minyo]

Count me in among those recommending Canon. I have the A530 (had it 1 1/2 years) and love it. The advantage of the Canon A series, is that they take AA batteries, which are very easy to change out. I highly recommend using rechargeable batteries. You can get a great camera in this series for under $200 and perhaps... if you're lucky, you can get that chair from Target, too, since you're getting a less expensive camera :) In fact, you could get the chair and the camera for less than $500.

[Nikki]

Casio XLIM Or the Canon that's the same size.

Everyone else in my family (mom, sis, aunt)got the Casio after we'd had ours for a while. Then I dropped it & dd inherited until it quit working this past fall.

And then we bought the Canon. Small enough to slip in your pocket & forget. At the Hannah Montana concert dh took dd to at the MGM Grand in January - it took better video than stills. We haven't figured out the best way to capture action shots on it, like we could on the Casio (and our Nikon CoolPix 4800, which is large, slow, but very reliable also).

All are under/around $300. Good luck with your decision!

[misi]

canon powershot less than 300- and you can do so much with it and im horrible w cameras so if i figured it out thats saying something!!!

[Jody]

Love, love, love my Canon Elph. Tiny, easy to use, fool proof. And some really fun features like continuous shot and color swap, if you want to use them. It has a fireworks setting, too.

[Sally]

I don't have any useful advice, because I am one of those terrible Moms who ALWAYS forgets to bring my camera!!! (You would think with my girls being teenagers now that I would have gotten over this problem by now.....) My girls are involved in many of the same activities as my cousin's girls, so I am thankful for my cousin's husband who ALWAYS has his camera along and always takes pictures of my girls for me...