If companies like Canon, Nikon, and Olympus are the first to pop into your head when you think about digital camera manfuacturers, that's a normal reaction. Those types of companies have been among the leading camera manufacturers for decades, and they remain among the leaders in the migration to digital photography.
However, there's a relative newcomer to digital photography -- General Electric -- that deserves some consideration, too, especially when you're thinking about beginning cameras.
I recently had an opportunity to write a GE A1250 review. The A1250 is one of the latest digital cameras from General Imaging, which is the digital camera division of GE. It's a really nice camera for beginners at a very low price.
The A1250 might not grab your attention with its looks and design, but it is a very solid camera aimed at beginners. I was especially impressed with its speed, both in lack of shutter lag and in its quick start-up times. Shot to shot delays are minimal in the A1250, too, which is impressive in a camera with a $129 MSRP. It is extremely easy to use as well.
You might even be able to find the A1250 for less than $100 if you shop around. (Compare Prices) At less than $100, the A1250 would represent one of the best digital camera values for beginners currently going.
Photo courtesy GE
Comments
Don’t remember which GE model I had but it had excellent images and was well made. I returned it because it’s movie function was .mov. As a result, video was unusable without first downloading the right software which for me, at least, can’t be removed/uninstalled. Also, you could not share the video because of the damn software needed to view it.
I agree that this camera is a contender. It is responsive, with excellent optics (without observable edge fringing) and an impressive feature list. The batteries can be out before the camera at least a minute before it loses its time-of-day and date, (there is no spec for this in the manual). I have not had mine long enough to determine how good it is with rechargeable batteries. It is replacing a Kodak Z712 IS, which was a dog.
Here are the downsides to the camera for me:
1) Do not expect the pix to be completely artifact free, like the Canon SX100 IS– there is some obvious JPEGging even in the highest quality. Sadly, the image sensor does not match the quality of the optics. The GE A1050 also has artifacts, but they are ‘painterly’, whereas the A1250 ones are just ugly. Also, there is a cost to the larger pixel area: the camera is not as sensitive to light and the colors not as vibrant as the A1050, which in my opinion is a better unit, but also $20 more costly! The shutter times are approximately twice as long as the Canon SX100 for the same shot.
2) You will need to practice a bit to be able to open the battery hatch without inadvertently mashing the power button and turning the camera on. The contacts on the hatch actually scratch the battery contacts with this action — may be a rust issue longterm.
3) Rated as 5X optical zoom, it is actually 4.78X. Unlike the Canon SX100, which is greater than its stated 10X. Also the pixel counts are a bit on the thin side (5MP is actually 4,915,200).
4) Printed in 4 languages, the 23-page paper user manual can’t be pared down to the language you want without destroying the binding. It also throws around a lot of terms without explaining them. The 100+ page manual on CD is actually quite good, and in many languages.