Excuse me, I have a few questions about cameras. Help?

Question

I have been using my aunt's Kodak Easyshare (I don't know the exact model, but I've been told that Kodak isn't a very good camera brand) at my local venues, and I'm not very happy with the pictures.

I am now on the search for a nice camera of my own for taking nice pictures in dim lighting.

My questions are:

What should I look for in a camera for taking pictures at concerts?

Would the Canon PowerShot A580 or Samsung NV30 be good options?

If not, do you have any camera suggestions?

I'll be buying this for myself for my birthday, so cheaper options would be nice, but I'm willing to pay more if it means better quality pictures.

Answer 1

Some things to consider:

Kodak was the first company to design and produce a viable professional DSLR

http://kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.ht...

Pixel count concerns:

http://kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htm

Look to your skills as a photographer ... "Buying a Bösendorfer doesn't mean you can play the piano. Buying a great camera doesn't mean you can create compelling photographs. Good pianists can play on anything and a good photographer can make great images with a disposable camera."

* Try using your best skills with your aunts camera.  

* When shooting in low light (dim), brace the camera so it does not move, causing image blurring.  

* Avoid using the cameras digital zoom at all costs.

* When you have mastered her camera and all of its features, then look for a camera that has a few more features (WiFi connectivity is a good feature to have).  

Knowing what features your want and need will assure you buy the right camera for you.

* Since you probably have at least one SD memory card, you will want to find a camera that uses SD/SDHC cards.

Look for cameras that have the features you desire on this site:

http://www.dpreview.com

Answer 2

You may not be satisfied with any point and shoot if your main criteria for buying a camera is for concerts. You have to be extremely still when taking a shot in dim light, you also have to catch the performers at the peak of motionless which is not easy. Luck does enter into it also, you have to be somewhat lucky. For a concert you may want to set your ISO setting to 320 or 400.

You picked a fine camera in the Canon A580 which is 8 megapixels and 4X optical zoom. Beach Camera has it for $133-

Without going into super zoom cameras I'd look at the Canon A720 IS

It's 8 megapixels, 6X optical zoom, and has an image stabilizer which may help you at concerts. B&H Photo has it for $190-+ shipping.