sMoRTy71.com: Picked up a new digital camera this weekend

Picked up a new digital camera this weekend
Last Christmas, I bought Amy a Canon A540 digital camera. Some time in the past couple of weeks, the camera was lost (with a nice 2GB SD card inside). We searched everywhere in the house, but couldn't find it. We even offered the kids a $10 reward if they found it. Nothing.

With some trips coming up and with Maddox doing so many things for the first time, I figured it was time to grab a new one.

My criteria were:

1. At least 8 megapixels
2. Very small
3. Very inexpensive
4. Good reviews
5. Could be purchased locally

I basically wanted something that takes decent photos, can fit in my pocket and could be cheaply replaced if it were lost like the Canon. Plus, I needed it next week for a trip to Columbus and the Twitter meetup, so I couldn't buy online. Figured it would be a tall order , but it was worth a shot.

After a couple hours of research and a trip to Circuit City, I ended up getting the Samsung L200. It is an ultra-compact, 10 megapixel with a 3x optical zoom. I didn't have the Samsung on my short list of cameras when I entered the store; however, it had more features, higher resolution and a much more intuitive UI than the others I was looking at.


Samsung L200 through the lens of our ancient Kodak 3MP camera


Samsung L200 next to my Moto Q9h

The best part was that I got it for $127 by pricematching to Best Buy plus Circuit City threw in a $100 Epson photo printer. And, to top it off, I've got 30 days to try it out with Circuit City's ridiculously flexible return policy.

So far, I am very pleased with it. To my totally untrained eye, it takes great photos out of the box. It's also got a ton of manual settings that I haven't begun to explore yet.


Sample photo taken with the L200