Thanks a lot for those sites. I spent like 2 hours browsing the forums ^_^
And I think I may look into a fuji f20. I dont think Im gonna jump on the HP just cause its cheap. I'm gonna go out tommorow and just go take a look around. Thanks again those sites were really helpful!
You're welcome.
I'd stick to brands that have experience making actual cameras. Canon, Fuji, Olympus, Sony, et cetera. I've heard good things about Casio and Panasonics, but I have no experience with them. For that Fuji camera, xD picture cards tend to be more expensive than the more popular SD cards used by almost everyone (including Nintendo Wii's).
If size is truly an issue, I'd stick with the Canon PowerShot SD series. They're often reviewed to be the best ultra-compacts available in terms of image quality. Be aware though all ultracompacts have weak flashes, so don't expect miracles indoors.
That being said, I have a Canon PowerShot SD200 for sale if anyone's interested. =)
Most digital cameras (the good ones) come with charger and a rechargeable battery pack (left side of pic).
It's not "the good ones" because many digital SLRs do not come with lithium-ion battery packs, and digital SLRs are the highest quality segment of the market. Ultra-compacts are the main types of cameras that use proprietary batteries, primarily to allow slimmer construction.
The proprietary batter are not better, it all depends on what the person using the camera needs. If you get a digital camera that accepts AA batteries, you will want to also get Ni-MH rechargeable batteries. When your camera runs out of batteries while your are out somewhere, the camera that takes AA batteries is the camera that you can actually go and find batteries from a store.
Yes, perfect explanation. Additionally, lithium ion batteries can only take a few hundred charges (typically 300-500) after which you need a new battery. A replacement first party battery typically runs $30-50 dollars. For $20, I can get 8 AA NiMHs which are four sets of batteries for a typical AA camera.
What camera do you have? It sounds kind of inefficient if it can drain the batteries in just 10 pictures. It would be wise to invest in some Ni-MH rechargeable AA batteries.
I agree with you. But if he's running on regular alkalines, he'll get much worse battery life on alkalines than running on NiMH's. Additionally, older digital cameras (from like 2001 or so) had serious battery drain. These days power consumption technology in digital cameras is much improved.
I don't have these, but I believe they are supposed to be pretty good. Normally Ni-MH batteries lose their charge pretty fast over the course of a week or so, but these are supposed to hold their charge around as good as alkaline batteries.
These are the new hybrid NiMHs. They're excellent but they do suffer from a low mAh rating compared to other NiMHs (typically 2000 compared to 2600 or so for a decent size AA). These are good for low drain devices used over a long period like remote controls. For the casual photographer though they're perfect.
These is the NiMH charger I have and is probably the best one in terms of cost effectiveness:
http://www.amazon.com/Crosse-Technology-BC-900-AlphaPower-Battery/dp/B00077AA5Q/ref=sr_1_1/102-7444867-8892920?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1183067532&sr=8-1
It can charge at different speeds and "revive" batteries that seem dead. It won't overcharge batteries either, unlike most $10-$20 charges you see in stores.