I need a little help from my friends.
I am looking to make two major purchases between now and January. The first is a printer. Preferrably, I would like an all-in-one (printer, scanner, copier... fax is unnecessary, but could be fine, too). I would like the quality to be fairly decent as I will likely be using it in my proofreading business, but it doesn't have to be as crisp and perfect as a professional office printer would be. I would really like to keep this purchase under $200 if at all possible. Picture printing is not terribly important, but it would be nice to be able to print pics that look at least as nice as those that I can get if I buy a funsaver camera and wait a few days for developing.
The second purchase is a digital camera. I am not a photographer, so I don't need anything with a ton of bells and whistles. I have been using disposable fun-saver cameras for the last four years or so, and I have always been happy enough with them in the past, but now that I am well into this century on the computer/internet front, I would like to step up my game a bit, bite the bullet, and get a digital camera. So preferably, it would be something that's easy to use but that takes good pics and has the capacity for a fair amount of memory. A zoom that doesn't make everybody look out of proportion and ghastly fat would be nice, too.
Thanks for the help in advace, all.
Posted by LoWriter at November 11, 2006 01:58 AMYou didn't say a price on the camera... I just bought a Canon SD800 IS (a week and a half ago), and am happy with it. I settled on that model because I really wanted something that could easily fit in my pocket so I'd always have it with me. I originally was looking at the A540 which is a couple hundred cheaper, which is a good choice if you don't need the smaller size or want the extra features (schdav has it and likes it). I don't have personal experience with it but the A530 is that same line (so should be good) but an older model and is getting to be pretty cheap (like $130). Hope those help.
Since whatever camera you're getting probably will use an SD card, I highly recommend Sandisk's Ultra II plus USB line (model SDSDPH-1024-901 is an example). Basically they fold in half and you can directly plug them into the USB port on the computer, so you don't need a reader. They are the same price as the equivalent speed regular cards at Newegg too.
Posted by: Jeremy at November 11, 2006 05:19 AMHey, thanks for the camera advice, Jeremy. Yeah, I wasn't sure on price because I haven't done that much research... $130 seems really reasonable to me, though. I was thinking it would cost much more than that. Thanks again for the tips!
Posted by: Lo at November 11, 2006 10:40 PMHi Lo,
I, too, need a digital camera and know nothing, so you should share with me what you find out.
However, I do recommend the Lexmark brand of printers. I had a low-end lexmark laser printer for about 5 years and was very satisfied with it. In fact, it still works just fine, but I must have dropped it in a move because it's loud now. Mine was not an all-in-one, and I'm not sure how much those cost, but I think the brand is very good. Check 'em out.
Posted by: Jill at November 12, 2006 12:29 PMbrandi got her shweet camera on craigslist. keep an eye out there.
Posted by: dr gonzo at November 13, 2006 11:17 AMI have no suggestions, but Jeremy is probably the smartest one . I'd agree with him, no problems.
Also I reccommend Consumer Reports, I think you have to subscribe, but they always have great feedback!
Posted by: 10lees at November 13, 2006 01:48 PMOne thing I'd note is I have a Canon bias. First because their cameras are good and neutral (Nikon, Pentax, and Olympus meet that point too), and second because I've gone that route on the SLR side, so it's consistency. Figured I can be up front about it if it wasn't obvious by all the models I listed before being Canon...
Posted by: Jeremy at November 14, 2006 12:48 AM