Camera recommendation needed.

[John Hamilton]

I need a digital camera in the $200-$300 range that is good at taking pics of aquariuams.

[thespianbob]

I really love my Sony Cybershot P200 that I got from Best Buy earlier this year. It's 7.2MP, picture quality is stellar and it runs on a rechargeable lithium battery (about 15X the charge life of standard alkaline batteries). It was also very easy on the wallet. If you are agreeable to purchasing open items (i.e. refurbs or returns) as I am, you can find one for under $200. Just make sure you purchase from a retailer that guarantees the functionality and condition of the camera, but general understanding is that Open Items are sold to perform "as new" with little or no cosmetic defects. I'm at work now, but when I get home I'll post some tank pics I've taken with this camera, so you can see for yourself. I've also posted a link here (http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product_Id=4061283&JRSource=googlebase.datafeed.SON+DSCP200-BS) to a site currently selling this camera for $199.99.

Gary

[thespianbob]

Just a follow-up to my last reply. Circuit City now has the camera I mentioned below for $210.00 brand new. This is definitely an amazing camera for that kind of money. Here's the link:

Sony DSC-P200 (http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=116669&AID=10375042&PID=404255&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.circuitcity.com%2Fccd%2Fprodu ctDetail.do%3Foid%3D116669)

Gary

[scaryperson27]

You can't go wrong with a Canon Olympus or Nikon. My sis is into photography and these are the brands she suggests.

[chessmanmark]

Consumers Reports suggests the Fujifilm FInePix E900 which sells for $360. The Olympus SP-350 goes for $280. These were the cheapest listed in the advanced compact category.

[sometrouble]

I have a Nikon D70 SLR...and love it...but it was big $$$. I recently did alot of research, and bought a Canon Powershot A540 to use as a more portable "pocket" camera. It's not that tiny...cause it has a 2.5 inch LCD screen (very nice). I bought it for $240 on St. Martin Island...it sells here in the US for a little more...but less than $300.

Check it out: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/a540.html

I love that it is fully capable of all manual settings...but that it has fantastic presets...which my husband with no camera knowledge has no trouble with. You can do color adjustment right in the camera...the "vivid" setting makes photos look great (really noticably better than the regular setting) you can adjust for darker or lighter skintones without having to know any technical camera settings. Add sepia tone or black and white to photos. It even has an underwater setting...which i used to shoot my tank last night. I did not read the manual completely...just played with it and figured out how to do it, and the pics came out pretty good for first tries. I wish the lighting in the room had been better at the time.

See a sample here: http://www.reeflounge.com/showthread.php?t=21032

Oh, and if you have a big tank and want to get the whole thing in a shot that lets you still see whats in it, the camera can do panoramas by stitching together a series of overlapping images for you, it automatically takes them all at the same exposure.

Good luck with the shopping...and let me know if you have any more questions!