by John S. (arizona)
Member since:
February 8, 2006

Digital Camera Opinion Needed for Rookie

March 21, 2009 01:52 PM EDT
views: 144 | rating: 10/10 (16 votes) | comments: 57

Help....

I have been wanting to get a small digital camera for some time to just carry around for spot of the moment shooting etc., but don't know squat about them really.

All I've used for years is my old 35mm Nikon with nothing automatic at all... a real dinosaur, but works great.

Anyway, I haven't really had the money to get anything expensive, but came across this today online. It is a "Nikon Coolpix L19 Digital Camera" and it caught my eye. The price seems right at about $100 bucks I think, but not sure if it is any good. I love my old Nikon, so the brand sounds good. I also don't know if I need a card reader etc. either, or what to go with? There is quite a list of accessories I'm not sure if I would need to upload pictures into my computer? 

I just want to click away and post to Gather at times, and be able to do close-up macro type stuff as well.

What do you think..? My credit card is getting itchy to order something in this price range, LOL. Your comments or insight would be appreciated.

Link below to camera and site...

http://www.abesofmaine.com/item=NKCPL19~item.htm

Thanks,

John S. (arizona)

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Comments: 57

Chris E. Mar 21, 2009, 1:54pm EDT
Sorry John I really don't know anything about it.
Marci M. Mar 21, 2009, 2:12pm EDT
If you want a really small camera this looks like a good one. There isn't much zoom on it. 3X optical is standard in small cameras. Don't count the digital zoom in your decision as you wont want to use it. Images taken with the digital zoom are all blurry. 8mp is a good number.
Jodi W. Mar 21, 2009, 2:17pm EDT
I've got a small Canon PowerShot A520. I've had it about 3 years though and it's a little outdated, I'm sure. It's a 4.0 mp is all, but it does take the 3 minute videos which are great to have. I did buy a bigger memory card for it so I can take about 250 pictures without erasing anything. I don't know much about what's out there now, but I like my Canon.
John S. (arizona) Mar 21, 2009, 2:18pm EDT
Thanks guys. I hadn't given much thought about the zoom angle actually? I did want to be able to take some close-ups though. I know I can't get it all in this price range... which seems pretty good for what I have seen in stores around here.
Thanks again, I appreciate it.
John S. (arizona) Mar 21, 2009, 2:20pm EDT
Jodi- what size card do you think I should get? Also, do you know what that card reader accessory is for?
Gul Dixon Mar 21, 2009, 2:28pm EDT
I am not familiar with Coolpix L19. I looked it up in Nikon Website. It is 3X optical, 8 megapixels, 1600 maximum ISO. Doesn't say anything about a macro calpability. Now it is a decent camera for the money for sure but I'm not that sure about close-up capability. If you want to go a bit higher, you can get something with macro capability. Good luck. Buying a camera is not an easy decision.
Tanya P. Mar 21, 2009, 2:31pm EDT
This page addresses a lot of what you'll need to search for in a camera:

Buying the Right Digital Camera
Gul Dixon Mar 21, 2009, 2:35pm EDT
If you take a lot of pics, get as big a card or chip as you can afford. 4 gigs come to mind which is 80 bucks but takes l125 pictures. You put the chip in the card reader and put it in the computer soooo it is essential if you are going to load them in your computer. Did I butt into your conversation with Jodi? Sorry. I thought this was an open forum like.
John S. (arizona) Mar 21, 2009, 2:37pm EDT
Gul- it says this in the product description about macro below. I was wanting to be able to take pictures of my arrowhead collection, and other smaller collectibles, etc. I have besides just general pictures.

***Focus Range: Approx. 1 ft. (30cm) to infinity, Macro close-up mode: 2 in. (5cm) to infinity.Approx. 1 ft. (30cm) to infinity, Macro close-up mode: 2 in. (5cm) to infinity.***

Tanya- thanks, I'll check that out now.
John S. (arizona) Mar 21, 2009, 2:43pm EDT
Gul- you didn't butt into anything... comment away please, LOL.
In the accessories tab to the link here at Abe's of Maine, it says a 4gb card is $15, and an 8gb card is $25 depending on brand... a lot less than 80 bucks!
So if I get you right, I have to buy the card reader to upload to my PC?
~♥~ Kim ~♥~ Mar 21, 2009, 2:43pm EDT
This is another good site to look over camera reviews:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/best_cameras.html

Good luck. :)
Gul Dixon Mar 21, 2009, 2:53pm EDT
John - You have two choices ongetting your pictures into the computer. The camera comes with a USB cable to connect the camera to the computer. You can download with this cable. Or you can buy the card reader and put the card into the reader and the reader into the computer. I use the card reader because I don't have to have the camera turned on and wasting it's batteries to unload the camera. Your choice. As for the chips buy the biggest you can.
John S. (arizona) Mar 21, 2009, 2:54pm EDT
Thanks Kim!
John S. (arizona) Mar 21, 2009, 2:57pm EDT
Gul- OK, I see the difference, and that makes sense on the reader to me now. Thanks.
Ariel Storm Mar 21, 2009, 3:00pm EDT
Looks like I'm late to tell you what little I know.
Ruth Luce Mar 21, 2009, 3:01pm EDT
I have a Canon also, and I bought an extra card with an extra 1GB of space. All I do is take the card out of the camera and put it into the computer and it reads/downloads it. Didn't need to buy a cardreader? Maybe it depends on whether or not you have the ports in your computer I guess
John S. (arizona) Mar 21, 2009, 3:02pm EDT
Thanks Ariel, if you see something not mentioned... go for it, LOL.
John S. (arizona) Mar 21, 2009, 3:04pm EDT
Ruth- ha, my son built this PC and I don't have a clue what ports it has... I do know that a camera can plug into it though. My daughter has done it before when she is over. Thanks.
☀ Aunt Shanny Mar 21, 2009, 3:37pm EDT
I would talk to Doyle C. or Gayle. They both have helped me.

(And remember the old adage: "You get what you pay for" when it comes to electronics.)
John S. (arizona) Mar 21, 2009, 3:54pm EDT
Thanks Shannon. I know, if I want to take any really good photos etc., I'll turn to my 35mm; but right now I just want to be able to throw some pics on here. It's buy a new scanner, or get a less expensive camera that is a good buy for the price range.
Dana W. Mar 21, 2009, 3:57pm EDT
very great camera to have!! GO FOR IT!!
John S. (arizona) Mar 21, 2009, 4:01pm EDT
Whoa Dana, thanks... ;-) Do you have one of these?
Sue M. Mar 21, 2009, 9:32pm EDT
Sorry I can't help... I'm not familiar with the Coolpix, John.
Toni V. Mar 21, 2009, 11:55pm EDT
I'm not familiar with the Coolpix either. Good luck, John.
John S. (arizona) Mar 22, 2009, 7:14am EDT
Thanks anyway Sue and Toni... ;-)
Lisa M. Mar 22, 2009, 1:25pm EDT
I want a nice camera really bad. I say go for it!
John S. (arizona) Mar 22, 2009, 1:30pm EDT
Thanks Lisa! I think I will...
Pretty bad when you want to buy a camera primarily to post stuff in here, LOL. Guess I've got the bug bad... ha!
Heidi S. Mar 22, 2009, 2:33pm EDT
Sorry I can't help you either John. My Kodak died after only 2 years, so I don't recommend that. I've been using Joie's Sony Cybershot. Good luck!
John S. (arizona) Mar 23, 2009, 3:11am EDT
Thanks Heidi!
Morgan W. Mar 23, 2009, 12:18pm EDT
I can't help you either. Mine is a Kodak easyshare MD853 - it was a gift so I don't know what it cost - but I'm sure it wasn't a whole lot. It came with the USB cable to download pics as well as charge the battery - and, it worked on the old computer :-)
John S. (arizona) Mar 23, 2009, 12:37pm EDT
Thanks anyway Morgan. Yours doesn't work on the new computer?
Lori Cee (rest in peace, jJack.) Mar 23, 2009, 2:02pm EDT
i just got a new camera for Christmas. an upgrade, actually. and more expensive isnt always better. pffft.
John S. (arizona) Mar 23, 2009, 3:15pm EDT
Hi lori... Thanks for your input there... you're tooo cool.
Μόףףý ● ķ ~ Mar 23, 2009, 5:10pm EDT
That looks like a pretty decent camera for the price to me, John. The macro says you can focus up to 2 inches away, that's pretty close. My camera cost more than 3 times that and my macro is only 1.5 cm so for the difference in price that's not much difference in function.

Everyone is right, all you need is the cable to load the photos to your computer and you'll definatley want the memory card.

I personally like more of a zoom though, but that's because I like to take a lot of shots of birds and such and its hard to get to close too them w/o spooking them. I have an 18x zoom but again, big difference in price and the camera won't fit in my pocket.

8 megapixels is good IMO.
Μόףףý ● ķ ~ Mar 23, 2009, 5:12pm EDT
Oh did you notice what kind of batteries it takes? If its not rechargeable and it takes special camera batteries it can get expensive and be very inconvenient too. If its not rechargeable and it takes standard batteries like double A's or such then its not as big a deal. My small Kodak camera takes a special battery and they cost anywhere from 13-18 dollars a piece depending on where I buy them, and they're not always easy to find.
Μόףףý ● ķ ~ Mar 23, 2009, 5:13pm EDT
Okay, I checked, it takes AA's.
John S. (arizona) Mar 24, 2009, 7:40am EDT
Moggy- thanks so much. Yeah, the batteries thing was important to me too and if it took special ones I wouldn't get it. The zoom will suffer I guess, but I can still take good zoom pictures with my 35mm if needed, just no way to post them on here currently without a working scanner. I did want a semi-decent close-up/macro type function though, and I guess we'll see how well this one works. This "Abe's of Maine" has the best prices I've found for most on the web, and usually beats Best Buy by a lot. I've used them before as well for things.
Thanks again!
Lori A Mar 25, 2009, 11:18am EDT
Hi John
you know I love my Nikon cool pix camera its fast and easy with a good interface and you can do small video with it I use to use my Nikon for video before I got my video camera and it worked fine I even have some of the Nikon videos up on you tube still . for the price I think the Nikon camera is a fantastic deal My DH has a much more expensive camera and I really dont like it at all . hope this helps
John S. (arizona) Mar 25, 2009, 12:14pm EDT
Lori- thanks so much, it gives me some confidence I did the right thing. I ordered it and now have to wait... standard shipping, LOL. I can't wait to try it and post something here from it. I've been wanting a small pocket camera for some time anyway.
Thanks again.
John: I don't have any experience with this camera you have shown. I don't know anything about their brand either.

I do have experience with the following camera:
http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-locale=en_US&pq-path=11580

It takes great outside and inside photos. Even has a option to record some videos. Let me warn you though, it is a battery eater! If you primarily use it for videos. Hope it helps.
Before you buy though, check the prices on Amazon, you're bound to get it for much less as well.
John S. (arizona) Mar 26, 2009, 8:41am EDT
Thanks Henry!
Cortney R. Mar 28, 2009, 1:05pm EDT
The last camera we got was a Fuji and it worked great until I dropped it. Oops. Anyhow, I think the price is good for the camera you are getting. I agree the more pictures you are going to take, then the bigger memory card you need to get.
John S. (arizona) Mar 28, 2009, 1:32pm EDT
Thanks Cortney! I wish it would arrive to try it out, ha ha.
Karen Irene B. Mar 29, 2009, 12:36pm EDT
Hi John, I went out and bought a small digital camera last week after joining Gather and a few photo groups. I had a four year old HP 4.1 MP. I bought a polaroid 8.0 MP. Four years ago I paid $169, last week $69. I could get 280 pictures at 2 MP on my 256 card. I can get 1100+ at 4 MP on my 1 gig card. My 4 year old card reader can't read the 1 gig card but I can download the pictures with the pic-bridge cable to my computer. The 3 zoom lens is not great for distant bird shots. I've taken several of Kites (the birds) that are just too small to share. Double A lithium batteries give you the longest life. Just found your post. Sorry my info is late, but I know you will injoy the convenience of the smaller, almost instant results of the digital. And the instant delete of bad shots without the cost of developing to find that out, as they say, is priceless.
John S. (arizona) Mar 29, 2009, 12:55pm EDT
Karen- thanks so much for the information. UPS says the camera should arrive tomorrow, so I can have some fun. I'm not expecting miracles with it, but hope it does the job for quick general use and easy carry. I still love my 35mm and will use it on trips and special occasions as always. Someday I would love to have a nice digital SLR camera though... just so expensive to me. Thanks again, take care.
Looks like you got a lot of great information here. I really do not have any more suggestions. You can get pretty good point and shoots, some do a jam up job from what I understand. Good luck. You'll have to let us know what you choose and I expect to see pics from ya :)
John S. (arizona) Apr 1, 2009, 10:46am EDT
Thanks Renda! I know you take great pictures.... ;-)
That Nikon sounds like a good deal.
One thing to do is go to a shop where you can grab hold of the cameras and see if it feels good in your hands. Some of the small cameras can be too small for guys with big hands to use easily. My other suggestion is get one that uses SD cards, they are cheaper than other memory cards and just as good, and check out the battery situation, some cameras use special batteries that are hard to find and not rechargeable and some have built-in batteries that are only rechargeable and expensive to replace. I prefer one that uses std size batteries that I can recharge at home like AA or buy a pack in a pinch if I'm out of juice.
Kevin (''The SiteWizard'') V. Apr 10, 2009, 12:26am EDT
I'm sorry that I missed this post John...but I likely would have recommended that you order it. I've owned a few in the 'Coolpix' line and they seem to be real workhorses. Have you received it yet? ...and if so, how do you like it so far?
John S. (arizona) Apr 10, 2009, 8:45am EDT
Thanks Altair and Kevin. Yep, I received it. I read the manual so far, loaded the software, charged batteries, but have yet to really get out and use it. Thanks, so far it seems OK... ;-)
Nurse Nancy S. Apr 16, 2009, 11:02am EDT
I love my Nikon Coolpix.
John S. (arizona) Apr 16, 2009, 4:03pm EDT
Thanks Nancy!
Amy H. Apr 20, 2009, 4:42pm EDT
I love my nikon D60
Mariana T. Apr 25, 2009, 1:59pm EDT
I have an Olympus 5060 and I love it - it's worn and battle-scarred but I know its properties and we're best of friends. If Olive and I ever part, I'll be sad...I do have other cameras but she's my favorite. You'll love whichever one you get John - it's so fun to just keep snapping without worrying about running out of film. Salud
debra g. May 1, 2009, 5:51pm EDT
I guess I am a camera hog.Over the last 3 years I have 3.I have a hp photosmart that came with my laptop,a kodak easyshare C713,and a kodak easyshare ZD8612IS.All are point and shot but I like the hp best.
Candice(Candy) E. Jun 1, 2009, 5:24pm EDT

I'm very Sorry,John........I'm Kinda Lost in this Area !!!! LOL"
a w Aug 26, 2009, 8:42pm EDT
I would say go read reviews. I have a canon elph which for new was 160 on ebay. Ebay has some great deals. You can even find a new camera within your price range. Just make sure the seller has a return policy to include money back.

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