Digital Camera
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Look at this comparison review:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408budgetgroup/
These guys are more nerdy (nerdier?) about cameras than thee or me ever will be so I trust them.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408budgetgroup/
These guys are more nerdy (nerdier?) about cameras than thee or me ever will be so I trust them.
- Location
- the post-brexit wasteland
i've got the lumix, great little camera.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
What do you want the camera for? Yes, I realise that you want to take photographs with it! 
Do you want to use it for special occasions when you are prepared to carry about a big heavy lump? Do you want to print big pro quality pictures? If you are going for maximum quality, you aren't going to get it new for £100. Maybe something off eBay?
Do you want to carry the camera about with you at all times, on foot and on your bike? Are you just going to take snaps to email to your mates, to post on t'Internet, and print out for the family photo album? There are plenty of cameras suitable for that at under £100. For example, I got a Fujifilm Finepix F50fd plus 2GB memory card for about £95 at Christmas and it is perfect for that kind of thing. It is so small and light that I carry it in the palm of my hand when I'm out walking and hardly notice it is there. It has very rapid startup and shutdown so I can stop, take a picture and set off again in less than 10 seconds. On the bike, I carry it in a lightweight waterproof (sweatproof!
) bag in a pocket - again, I can forget that I'm carrying it. My old Olympus was too big and heavy so it always got left behind when I went out.
Do you want to use it for special occasions when you are prepared to carry about a big heavy lump? Do you want to print big pro quality pictures? If you are going for maximum quality, you aren't going to get it new for £100. Maybe something off eBay?
Do you want to carry the camera about with you at all times, on foot and on your bike? Are you just going to take snaps to email to your mates, to post on t'Internet, and print out for the family photo album? There are plenty of cameras suitable for that at under £100. For example, I got a Fujifilm Finepix F50fd plus 2GB memory card for about £95 at Christmas and it is perfect for that kind of thing. It is so small and light that I carry it in the palm of my hand when I'm out walking and hardly notice it is there. It has very rapid startup and shutdown so I can stop, take a picture and set off again in less than 10 seconds. On the bike, I carry it in a lightweight waterproof (sweatproof!
) bag in a pocket - again, I can forget that I'm carrying it. My old Olympus was too big and heavy so it always got left behind when I went out.
The DPR review mentioned on page 1 is well worth relying on, and you'll get a hell of a lot of camera in that Lumix. That said if you want brushed aluminium credit card sized bollocks with inch thick CAs and really soft edges I recommend my retired Canon Ixus 40!!!
As a carry around I purchased a sony cyber shot DSC S730
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?quicklinx=4XT2
Basic but easy to use and I have been well chuffed with it
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?quicklinx=4XT2
Basic but easy to use and I have been well chuffed with it
Mr Pig
New Member
- Location
- North Lanarkshire
One thing that's seldom mentioned is shutter speed. Ok, it's not a shutter as such, but many digital cameras are very slow. You click the button and by the time the thing takes the picture the subject is half a mile away! We had a Kodak camera which was hopeless so we made sure the next one was better.
At the time the two fastest, as tested by The Gadget Show, were Ricoh and Sony but things change. Best to check up on the spec of today's hardware but do not assume they're all ok now. My brother-in-law has an Olympus which he raves about but the shutter speed on it sucks! He obviously just thinks it's normal, it isn't. Our Ricoh is miles better.
It's also great on batteries. When we got it we assumed we'd need to get a rechargeable battery pack but it runs so well on two standard AA batteries there's no need. It takes literally hundreds of pictures, even using the flash liberally, on a pair of AA's.
Sony use four different changers and connecting plugs on their range of cameras! And, as a friend of mine found out the other week, won't sell you a replacement charger. They want to sell you a whole camera!
All I'm saying it do your homework. They are not all the same. Also, if a particular camera is heavily discounted, there might be a good reson for it.
At the time the two fastest, as tested by The Gadget Show, were Ricoh and Sony but things change. Best to check up on the spec of today's hardware but do not assume they're all ok now. My brother-in-law has an Olympus which he raves about but the shutter speed on it sucks! He obviously just thinks it's normal, it isn't. Our Ricoh is miles better.
It's also great on batteries. When we got it we assumed we'd need to get a rechargeable battery pack but it runs so well on two standard AA batteries there's no need. It takes literally hundreds of pictures, even using the flash liberally, on a pair of AA's.
Sony use four different changers and connecting plugs on their range of cameras! And, as a friend of mine found out the other week, won't sell you a replacement charger. They want to sell you a whole camera!
All I'm saying it do your homework. They are not all the same. Also, if a particular camera is heavily discounted, there might be a good reson for it.
Mr Pig said:
I've got a 5 megapixel kodak pocket cam which I bought a couple of years ago.
Cost me about £60 at the time and absolute rubbish TBH. Fixed focus lens which always seemed to take blurred pics, and will allow you to take one frame every 5 seconds on a good day. I wanted a still cam which could capture moving objects with a reasonable degree of clarity without too much faffing around and offer a zoom so I could frame a pic without having to actually be right up there with the objects (showjumping, racing, etc)
The only way to do this is to have a larger diameter lens to capture the light to offer faster shutter speeds, and a fast CCD. This is why I opted to go for 'proper' SLR which can take pics as quick as you can hit the shutter in daylight in sport mode (3 frames per second on the EOS1000D). Fully automatic apart from a manual zoom ring on the lens which offers far more accurate and faster framing of the subject than a powered one.
It doesn't have the bulk of the pro range being only slightly bigger than the Fuji Finepix on MrPs post, but does offer the ability to swap out to more expensive lens. The Fuji Finepix is a bloody good cam for what it is and I did seriously consider it, but is regarded as a compact camera by those in the business and will not give the frame speed of a bona fide SLR which I was after (it offers 3 frames in the 1st second and then additional frames are 1 second apart, as opposed to continuous shooting at 10 megapixels on the EOS1000D)
It depends on what you want it for at the end of the day, as as I've played a lot with film SLRs over the years, i really knew what I wanted from the camera for the purpose I have in mind and sod the size penalty. Mind you the Pro series SLR camera body is mahoosive in comparison to mine and not something you'd want to carry in a bag over your shoulder.
The battery on my EOS1000D is a lithium ion rechargeable and gives anything from 500 to 750 pics on a charge (inc using flash)
I recall reading somewhere that 8 megapixel was the equivalent of 100ASA film for clarity, so provided the CCD is up to it, and you have a reasonable lens, then it is all gravy to what I used to use.
A
another_dave_b
Guest
Mr Pig said:
I find the customer reviews on Amazon UK / Amazon USA a good resource.
Aperitif
Meme bar
- Location
- ...I don't have much idea - really.
www.pcpro.co.uk also have an A list for compact cameras.
Often has a Canon - and my Ixus 55 goes everywhere with me - back pocket of sweaty cycletops, front pocket of jeans for boozy rugby weekends - always easy to use and to 'download' too.
I bought my son a later model with 11mp - obviously over the budget but for compactness and reliablity I would go for Canon everytime.
Often has a Canon - and my Ixus 55 goes everywhere with me - back pocket of sweaty cycletops, front pocket of jeans for boozy rugby weekends - always easy to use and to 'download' too.
I bought my son a later model with 11mp - obviously over the budget but for compactness and reliablity I would go for Canon everytime.
