<p>I am looking for a camera that works well on automatic. So far I have bought and sent back to Amazon a Canon Powershot and a Sony Cybershot. Both came with lots of features (video, zoom) that I would trade for a clear photo. The Canon especially was blurry, blurry, blurry. And the Sony was especially bad at color–blues were grey, and everything was very dark.</p>
<p>I do have a digital SLR and sometimes enjoy using it on manual. But I would like something portable that I can just turn on, set to automatic everything, and end up with decent photos. I am starting to think that such a camera does not exist.</p>
<p>Not sure why you had such bad luck with the Canon Powershot. We have 3 of them. The oldest isn’t great, but the SD1100 and the SX120 take really good pictures with very little effort. S just took the SD1100 to Europe for a semester and took some really amazing pictures. The only thing that disappointed him about the camera was that it didn’t take good pictures at night. But for a very small, fairly inexpensive camera it did a terrific job. And the SX120 D got for Christmas is even better. It has a really nice zoom. She took some good pictures for her AP Studio Art class with it.</p>
<p>I really like my Cybershot. The colors look great. Not sure why yours came out poorly. Perhaps something to do with the lighting? Did your flash go off? I do sometimes have to put the flash “on” because the light detector is so sensitive it prevents the flash from going off when the flash is in “automatic” mode. There is also a “low light” setting that may be useful to you. Try the Cybershot again and work with the flash settings and low light settings. I think you’ll be pleased with the results.</p>
<p>Happykid and I were looking at digital cameras yesterday at Target, and saw several point-and-shoot models in the $30 to $50 range. However since we are stuck on having a viewfinder, not just a screen, we decided to wait until we can afford a DSLR. Until then, we’re using an older point-and-shoot film camera that has red-eye protection for flash photography.</p>
<p>We recently bought a Nikon Coolpix. It’s easy to operate. I’m not a great photographer so need a camera that makes it easy for me. The Nikon Coolpix does that and takes really nice pictures.</p>
<p>I absolutely love my Samsung TL225. It’s a little pricey because it has a gimmick (front screen), so it may not be for you. In my opinion, the image quality is stunning for a point and shoot.</p>
<p>I love my Kodak Easy Share or something like that. It has a viewfinder. Easy to use, great pictures, can generally be found on sale. I have one, D has one, Dh has the complicated one…</p>
<p>My D just got back from spending 10 days in Croatia and took 1300 photos on her Samsung ST60. The quality of photos blew me away, they were incredibly crisp, clear, and solid colours. I would definetly recomend this camera.</p>
<p>How are you viewing the pictures? If you have a cheap monitor, pretty much all the cameras will produce bad photos. How do the pictures look when printed? Have you tried some color manipulation using one of the photo editors, like Photoshop Elements?</p>
<p>Amesie, re-reading your original post I think that maybe you had the settings on the Powershot and Cybershot wrong. Our two Powershots will take great pictures fairly automatically if you have them set correctly. But I’ve been known to bump a button or knob accidentally and suddenly all the pictures are blurry, or over-exposed, etc. Take just a few minutes to learn what all the little symbols mean and how to set the camera for what you’re doing, and the Powershot at least should take some really nice pictures. (The one thing it doesn’t do well is action pictures in low light - those are blurry.)</p>
<p>I’ve got a Canon Power Shot SC970 and with an auto setting (you just move a button on the top of the camera) and an image stablizer. I have been quite pleased with the photos. The User Guide is pretty straight forward and easy to follow.</p>
<p>The Canon powershots get top ratings from most professionals in the under $300. I have an SD880 with an underwater housing that is amazing. My husband & daughter have the next year’s model (900?) and both love them. My only gripe is that it does not take great pics past 15’ in low light. </p>
<p>one of the cheapest places to buy camera equipment is B&H. If you ever visit NYC, a trip to the store is a must, otherwise, their 800 number is staffed by competent people. </p>
<p>Another vote for Kodak EasyShare. In my opinion, often the most important feature is the ability to immediately have the photo taken when you push the button! I’ve tried a lot of cameras - even more expensive ones - where the reaction time is delayed. So I’m already moving the camera by the time the photo is being taken. My S has a fancy camera he loves, but the delay drives me crazy! You have to train yourself to hold the camera still a moment or two after pushing the button, and anticipate perfect shots a moment or two before they happen. ESP has never been my strong point.</p>
<p>My sister-in-law is very picky about her cameras, and has quite a fancy one. Her 11 year old son was trying to take an action shot of some complicated race track he’d built - with a jump in the middle. He was trying to get a shot of the car in the air. Took picture after picture, and couldn’t do it. I offered him my cheap little Kodak, and he took three perfect pictures in a row. Every bit as clear as SIL’s camera, but the immediate response made the difference.</p>
<p>My S doesn’t like my camera because it uses the expensive rechargable battery. He wants regular batteries that he can replace. But I take a lot more photos than he does, and I’d go broke! I have several batteries, and an extra chip, because I use it to document cemeteries, among other things. The battery tends to fade after 500 pics or so.</p>
<p>The one thing I don’t like on my camera is the video. It takes nice video, but uses up the battery, and is a huge file when uploading. So I only record 10 seconds or so at a time.</p>
<p>Thanks for the recommendations. I think part of the issue (maybe the whole issue) was that I was expecting “auto” to really mean automatic. I have gone back and read more of the reviews on Amazon (both cameras were rated very highly, with lots of raters) and I think perhaps there is no real automatic. There is automatic for inside shots, and automatic for close-up shots, and automatic for action shots, but no plain automatic.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure that both cameras had image stabilization but that was not the issue. Even taking pictures of the trees in my backyarrd, in the middle of the afternoon on a sunny day, produced bad pictures.</p>