Fifty Plus (50+) - Missed Photo Ops

I've been thinking about buying a digital camera I can take on rides, but I don't really know what I want. I have a Canon Rebel SLR and I hope to eventually have a Rebel digital so I can use my SLR lenses, but in the meanwhile I'd like to get a digital that will take good quality photos and fit in my jersey or wedgie. I've noticed some very nice quality photos being posted here and would appreciate your recommendations.
I'd like to have decent zoom capability with as many pixels as I can get, but also keep the price under $200.00
Thanks, Steve

I've been thinking about buying a digital camera I can take on rides, but I don't really know what I want. I have a Canon Rebel SLR and I hope to eventually have a Rebel digital so I can use my SLR lenses, but in the meanwhile I'd like to get a digital that will take good quality photos and fit in my jersey or wedgie. I've noticed some very nice quality photos being posted here and would appreciate your recommendations.
I'd like to have decent zoom capability with as many pixels as I can get, but also keep the price under $200.00
Thanks, Steve

I use a Fuji FinePix A101. It retails for about $155.00. It's got a nice closeup lens and a 2.5 digital zoom. Its got 1.3 mega pixels and seems to take all the abuse I give it and turns out nice pics and holds a lot of images with the optional big memory chip. These are a couple of images taken with it.

http://www.pointhappy.com/gcf/MagnaBike.jpg
http://www.pointhappy.com/gcf/bicycle/BDBDSCF0068b.jpg

As with most things, it really depends what you want out of a camera. If you want good prints, anything less than 4 mg pixels is not going to keep you happy. I'm shooting with a bulky hand-me-down Nikon CoolPix with 4 mg pixel, or a Nikon D70 SLR (heavy but fits well in my trunk and takes great photos).

I'm keeping an eye out for a good pocket camera, would like 6 mg pixel, and a minimum 4x optical zoom - Canon offers several in this category, and a couple under $200.

You will find plenty to choose from if you shop the sales.

I have a FujiFinepix F31 FD. I really like it. I have twenty years as a photojournalist and teach photography. I own a Nikon D200 and tons of expensive photo stuff. And the camera i use the most? The Finepix. Go figure.
Anyway, I carry it in my jersey all the time, and even shoot with it when I ride.
Check the blog for photos (link below), I think they're all from the Finepix.

My favorite bike camera is the Canon A620 (7.1 mp). the current model is the A640 (10 mp).

Here is a recent post (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=5342655&postcount=10) about the A620.

Here is a review (http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/a620.html) of the A620.

I also use a Nikon Coolpix 995 and a D70 but they are heavy. I like the canon much better for carrying on the bike.

Any cheap basic camera that takes pics is suitable for cycling. Pixel count and I have an old 2.1 Mg pixa camera that is fine. Lightness- and size- Light and small is better- obviously. I use a Sony and the Memory Card for storing pics on was not that great in size. Got a 512 card and plenty of space- even at the highest resolution. Zoom- Great asset and the more the merrier. Battery life- should really have rechargables that last for a few hours so if you forget to charge after a ride- then it will still work on the next ride. Then the price- It is up to you.

Don't have a camera like that- Went for a sony with a touch screen and that is a 3" one. Everything else seems to be just a bit better than required- But Wanted a camera I would be happy with. It is a Sony DSC N2 and has probably been superceded again as models change quicker than DG changes his bikes. (Remember- Only two now but 4 others come and gone in the last couple of years)

I shot the Tuscany photos and others posted on here with a Konica Minolta DiMage X50 5 megapixel. One nice feature of this camera is that the lense is covered by a metal sliding door so it is more difficult to smudge the lense. This camera is ancient technology and I am sure that there are better choices. Memory is really cheap so that one can shoot a lot of pics at max resolution. I use Apple's software to sort and fix photos. On our Tuscany trip, we shot 550 high res photos. In reality, there are about 5 to 10 really good ones and 100 snapshots as keepers.

We like our Nikon Coolpix L12. It fits nicely into the small case and together they would easily fit into a jersey pocket. I don't think you can go wrong with Nikon. I was seriously close to buying either the D40 or D80 (digital SLRs) earlier this year, but the bike won. Funny, but it wouldn't bother me at all to pay for a bike what I was hesitant to pay for a D80 or 200!

I like the Olympus Stylus line. Very compact, takes nice pictures, and with a memory card, holds plenty of pictures. Also "weather resistant".

I currently have the Stylus 710. Used to have the Stylus 300. The 300's sliding door eventually got flaky, but I tended to drop it a lot. :o The newer Stylus models don't have the sliding door, so no such problem. ;)

I like my Canon A620. Price has probably dropped since I bought it. I agree that megapixels is not the thing to consider. Even 3 million is plenty enough for most uses. The 620A has 7.1 and a 4x optical zoom -- more than adequate. A bit larger than the credit card sized cameras, but still darn portable.

I have been very pleased with my Fuji F10 compact camera. 6.3 megapixels. 3x optical zoom. The current F20 model has basically the same features at a lower price. $150 or less.

But there are many good cameras. I would go to a store like Circuit City with a large selection of cameras and get a feel for what is available in the price range you want and how they feel in your hand. Then go online and do some research. There are several good review sites. Google is your friend.

Though megapixels aren't everything, they do make it easier to shoot a larger area and crop the image down to the part you want without losing clarity. Digital zoom is meaningless, compare the optical zoom. Look for a camera that has good battery life or one that uses standard AA batteries.

I rec'd a Fuji FinePix F20 for Christmas last year and it seems to be a fine camera. 6.3 MP, 3x optical zoom, and not overly large. It was around $180 on sale at a local camera store. Don't know if the image will show, I've never been very good at attaching pics!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Now I have a few actual users' opinions instead of a manufacturer's advertisement to start my search. BD, I nearly always start my electronics shopping at Circuit City...close, good prices and knowledgable staff, plus our local store has an open box sale right now. Thanks again all. Steve

The F10 will take some nice shots...
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/DSCF4577.jpg

but it will take some dumb ones, too...
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/DSCF4480.jpg

I have the Rebel XT DSLR, you will love it when you do get it. But there is NO WAY it's going on a bike.

Check Computer Geeks http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=C633-R&cat=CAM&cpc=CAMbsc
I have an Kodak easy share C703 that fits in a jersey pocket with no problem. The C633 is a 6.1Meg with zoom.