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Woody's Workshop

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Guy's, many of you shoot vids and pics, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask here.
Research online is getting me no where fast.
I don't have a cell phone, so no camera there.
What I have is a HP M305. 3.2MP w/ 9x zoom/3x optical zoon (what it says on the front.
It also takes movies, but they are really grainy. Definitely not 3.2 mp there. It's always been like that.
When I try and do a close up it doesn't focus (auto focus) so I don't think it was made for close ups.
They turn out really blurry. Again, it's always been like that.

So I'm thinking about getting a new one, since the old one is about 15 years old.
I only want to spend about $50, or should I say...all I will probably have is $50 max.
Probably not in the normal price range of most of you guys.
So any suggestions would be helpful, except negative ones.
 
I don't think you'll be any happier with whatever you can find for $50. Just sayin'.
 
I don't think you'll be any happier with whatever you can find for $50. Just sayin'.
I disagree. Digicams have come a -long- way in 15yrs, thanks in large part to the smartphone competition.

A used smartphone, for example, could be just the ticket.
 
To bad it's on back order...
Smart phones are extremely expensive unless you get one for free with a contract.
I can't afford a contract, so that is out.
It was the first thing I considered, and looked at.
And, it would provide gps tracking when I get there.
 
To bad it's on back order...
Smart phones are extremely expensive unless you get one for free with a contract.
I can't afford a contract, so that is out.
It was the first thing I considered, and looked at.
And, it would provide gps tracking when I get there.
While I think an inexpensive camera (not smartphone) is the way to go, I will point out that used smartphones can be had cheaply. Sites like swappa.com offer a good way to pick up tech from two or three years ago, filtering out blacklisted devices.

But even a three year old smartphone with a decent camera still goes for more than $50.

Check Craigslist in your area. You may find something decent.

Best of luck to you!

Marc

Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk
 
Find a used smartphone. If you can't find one, check Craigslist for used point and shoots. I'm willing to bet a lot of people aren't using theirs anymore since the phone cameras are getting so good now.
 
Shooting pictures and Video at a launch - NOT on board the rocket - just want to capture some memories of the launch. I Think I know what you need. :)

Woody - I have a 3.1mp camera too. When I bought it in 2003 it was "refurbished". That one doesn't get much use any more. (still takes great pictures)


Over the years I shopped around online and found a nice Fuji Fine Pix J110w Point and Shoot (P&S) camera that was refurbished - 10mp and 5x zoom it was around $50 bucks. that was several years ago. I also picked up a bargain at Target a couple of years ago. I scored a Nikon Coolpix S3500 on clearance for $50. This one is my every-day camera. It makes very nice pictures and does 720P HD video.

That's what you'll want to do. Look for nice P&S - something with a name brand. Look for something on clearance (discontinued model for example) or something refurbished.

Shop around - a nice P&S is defiantly in your price range!!!

In my picture below - The Kodak Easy Share CX6330 (3.1mp referb $110 2003), Fuji Fine Pix J110w (10.0mp Referb $80 2009), Nikon Coolpix S3500 (20mp Clearance $50 2013) Pentax K3 (24mp New $800 2014)

2017-04-23 12.53.06.jpg
 
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I've been using a Canon A520 Power Shot camera for all my build's photos. I don't know what they are going for nowadays but I don't think it was outrageously priced either.
 
A used smartphone, for example, could be just the ticket.

This. A two-year-old used Android smartphone can be picked up on Craigslist for $50 or less, and will have perfectly reasonable still and video camera capability. It will also offer a wide range of other capabilities that a traditional camera lacks, assuming that you have wifi access.

James
 
I own a Canon A520 and it's my favorite compact camera. Have used it for most of my rocketry photos and videos.

New I think it went for about $100 on sale at Office Max or Staples. Was a very good sale for that time.
 
If you want I have a Canon Elph 300hs that I never use. I think I used it once or twice if you research the camera you can see that it shoots decent 1080p video and takes good pictures.

I can sell it to you for $50.00 as my GH4 is used a lot more than the Elph.
 
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