I'm very irritated at the moment, so here goes a vent! Our 4 yr. old Kodak digital died about 3 weeks ago. I was bummed because we have LOVED that camera since day one. Then I got excited because I thought I would find that the new camera would be so great and such an upgrade from what we had, even if we did think it was wonderful.
WRONG. First bought the Olympus 740...BEAUTIFUL clarity in pics, when they're not blurry for no apparent reason. No viewfinder and such a dark LCD outside nearly impossible to get the right shot. Terrible videos...pink with scratch marks throughout. Final note, that I could have gotten over, low battery life. Returned.
Then we buy the Canon Powershot SD1000 yesterday. Like the feel of it, BEAUTIFUL videos and sound, mediocre pictures, dark, fuzzy on corners on some pics, hard to use menus. I was more thrilled with the Olympus stills but you just never knew if it was going to be fuzzy for why no one knows.

Now I'm considering returning this one. Sam's Club does NOT want to see me again I'm sure. I'm very disappointed. We researched a TON for the Canon and my review would not be the same as those I've read. I definitely must have a viewfinder, and many Kodaks don't even have those anymore.

I thought it would be fun to get a new camera but it's NOT. I would like to combine the outstanding Olympus photos possible and ease of use with the Canon movie mode and styling. We really don't know where to go from here. It gets very old reading so many online reviews, espeically when they don't end up matching what you really think once you buy the camera.

Frustrated. No camera that I'm happy with so far. GRRRRRRR....
Thanks for listening!

By Kate on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 - 09:32 pm:

All the Kodaks we looked at last year had viewfinders...I have found with the two Kodaks I've had that the pics are always dark, but we just use our own settings and make them lighter, we never use the auto feature on the Kodaks. I have a Canon too that is similar but I prefer the Kodak. The Kodak is right here and it is an Easy Share Z730. No idea what the Canon is. But neither have video and it sounds like you want that. Good luck! It's certainly frustrating!

By Andi on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 - 10:26 pm:

Again..we have the Cannon Powershot SD600 and I love it Beautiful pitures and so easy to use.

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 - 10:32 pm:

Andi- According to our research, the 600 you have has been replaced by the 1000 (the one we just bought). ???? I remembered your post about how much you loved it, but on camera review sites and major stores online, they all said it was replaced by the 1000.

Kate- Yes, the Kodaks tend to be a bit dark I agree completely. I always fixed it in my photo editing if necessary. I think we're going to try a Kodak next, just because we liked ours before and not sure what else to try. The Canon we have got rave reviews and I totally disagree, and the Olypmus got fair reviews (read those after buying it) and I agreed with the problems. The Kodaks don't get good reviews generally, but we've decided to blow off the reviews! It hasn't helped us so far, LOL!!

By Marcia on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 - 10:47 pm:

I have had to replace my Kodak twice, and the second time they refused to honour the warranty. They haven't heard the last of me!

I now have an Olympus DSLR, and I LOVE IT!!! The pics are fabulous!! It only has an LCD screen for menu and review, so you have to use the view finder. I didn't think I'd like that after using the LCD for a few years, but I really don't mind at all.

Before my Kodak, I had a Fuji. It took excellent pics, and I only replaced it because I burned it out.

There is no video on my Olympus, so I also bought a Sony hard drive handycam. It's great, too.

Good luck with your next purchase!

By Amecmom on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 - 10:57 pm:

We have a Powershot G3 which has a viewfinder. The clarity is good, but sometimes the delay is too long for my taste. I think we have too much camera for my knowledge. When I put it on Auto the shots are good. When I put it on program which our friend who is a photograper set up for us, there is no delay and they are great.
We had, before that, another littler Cannon that took great pics.
Play with it some more, maybe it needs finessing.
If not, return it and keep looking until you are happy.
With a little one in the house, you want the best quality pics you can get.
Good luck,
Ame

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 12:01 am:

We love the Canon Powershot S3 IS. Sarah gets good videos and great pictures from it.

Sarah's Flickr Pics

By Kaye on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 12:22 am:

I have had two sonys that i loved. My latest one I don't love as much, but only because it is big. I liked having the smaller one to carry with me, instead of the new camera bag that is my purse thing.

Good luck, as much as I love cameras, i hate camera shopping!

By Tsa on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 12:42 am:

We love our Nikkon. I have yet to take a bad picture with it. The video is awesome too. I know it is spendy, but it is soooo worth it, especially if you are a scrapbooker.

Good Luck.

By Reds9298 on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 07:43 am:

We're a little down on Canon at the moment, so I don't think we'll try another one too soon. None of the Kodaks seem to have the right combination of features, and my parents' new one really does not take good pictures so that makes me nervous. We've been playing with the settings on the Canon for 2 days - constantly - and nothing seems right. Quite honestly if I have to change something in the menu everytime I need a shot, that's just not feasible with a little one around. I just want to point and shoot and get great pictures. That never was a problem with my Kodak and it had ZERO features. I thought 4 years later would bring a great upgrade but so far it hasn't. The Canon photos are really no better than my Kodak photos. (I can still get about 4pics at a time out of my Kodak, so we've been taking identical pics and comparing!) The Olympus, definitely better, but other issues there.

Yes Kaye - I've learned I hate camera shopping, too!!

We're thinking of trying a Sony this time. I have a Sony Handycam that I've loved, but never a digital. Dawn- The pics from your site are really great. Just not wanting to return another Canon.

Thanks a lot to everyone!

By Reds9298 on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 07:51 am:

Tsa- Which Nikon do you have?

By Reds9298 on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 07:51 am:

Also, I'm sure DSLR's are wonderful, but out of our price range right now and probably has too many options, too!

By Bellajoe on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 08:23 am:

I know you are down on Canon right now, but thought I would put my two cents in.

We bought our new Canon PowerrShot SD750 a few months ago. It does not have a viewfinder, which makes it difficult to take pictures when it's dark. But we do love it. It's very light, and skinny enough to put in a pocket.
It has a lot of options, but if you are taking pictures of Natalie, there is a "kids and pets" option. Which is good for things that move around a lot. Theres a foliage option for taking pictures of flowers, and even a fireworks option. We tried to take pictures of the fireworks last week, the pic came out cool but it didn't look like fireworks.
The video feature works great!

Good luck finding your dream camera!

By Karen~admin on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 08:49 am:

Deanna, I'm sorry you've had problems with the Olympus. Perhaps you got a *lemon* camera? We and Jen have had NO problems with our Olympus cameras.

What about Sony? I know a lot of people don't like them, but I've owned 3 - nothing wrong with any of them, just kept upgrading. They take beautiful pics.

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 10:42 am:

The Canon S3 IS has a viewfinder.

By Reds9298 on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 - 08:46 pm:

Karen- I think we're going to get a Sony tomorrow. At this point we're like "What the he**? What's one more?" LOL I took several bad pictures with my new Canon today during a visit to my sister's. I look back at the Olympus pics we took at the zoo last week. Some really terrific pictures, several blurry ones, and bad movies. It's literally nearly impossible to see what you're taking in the sunlight outside without the viewfinder, and definitely not for a quick shot of a 3 year old.

After taking about 50pics today with the Canon, it's definitely BAD. White spots throughout photos, grainy, just poor quality pics. If the Sony doesn't look good, I'm going to cry and then call Kodak and see if they can repair my large old broken camera!

Bellajoe - I want the 2 cents anyway! The Canon we bought, I have to say, takes the absolute BEST movies. The picture quality is outstanding and so is the sound. We're just so turned off by this one it's hard to think of trying another Canon right now. I would take the Olympus over this Canon anyday.

Thanks girls! I'll be off buying another camera tomorrow!