Camera Cheap options?

[Old Plodder]

How do you intend looking at the pictures you take? This fact will help you decide how many MegaPix you need, 2MP is good enough for viewing on a computer screen, more pixels if you want to print larger than about 7x5.
It is always useful to have a zoom, optical not digital (quality difference), a 3x zoom is useable, but I tend to go for around about a 10x zoom for a pocket camera.
Picture storage is something else to consider, does the camera use a standard SDHC card (?) or does it 'only' have internal storage.
If you are not too fussy about the looks &/or specs, try asking on Freecycle. (People tend to just chuck their old ones in a drawer.)

 

[slowmotion]

If you want a camera to take on bike rides, small size and light weight are pretty useful attributes. I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC SZ7. It has a 10x optical zoom and loads of other features that I know nothing about. I just keep it on Auto and let the smart guy inside it do the rest. It cost about £80 last year plus £5 for a small zip case.

 

[ColinJ]

Cheapest option? Assuming you have one in your phone - use that!

(I discovered that the camera in my phone is better than the camera in my camera so I just carry the phone now! The pictures it takes in reasonable light are fine for web use. Maybe not good enough for printing posters, but I do not want to do that.)

 

[Gravity Aided]

Very fine camera,Slowmotion. I had one like it before some galoot bumped into me at a street fair and it broke on the pavement.

 

[slowmotion]

Very fine camera,Slowmotion. I had one like it before some galoot bumped into me at a street fair and it broke on the pavement.

"Galoot"? What a fantastic word! Thank you.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Like an oaf, just add alcohol.

 

[Chris Norton]

Used to be a Fuji can man. Converted to Panasonic lumix. The zoom is excellent and the shaking assist actually works (really important for me as I have the shakes).

 

[Gravity Aided]

The wonders of modern technology.

 

[smarr5]

I have bought 2 mini dash cameras, the front one has a GPS mount and the rear one just a power mount.

I bought these cameras 2 months ago, what I like about these small camera's is the mounting system. This is a small block that the power cable plugs into, you can get GPS and NON GPS mounts, these stay fixed on the screen (the camera slides off the mount for easy removal) leaving all cables and mount in the car. The camera also has it's own internal battery.

I paid £74 Each but they go from £70 to £120 depending who you buy from and some come with memory cards and some without.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

How do you intend looking at the pictures you take? This fact will help you decide how many MegaPix you need, 2MP is good enough for viewing on a computer screen, more pixels if you want to print larger than about 7x5.

This is a little bit misleading as sensor size also comes into play. A larger sensor @ say 5megapixels will usually give a better image than a smaller sensor at the same resolution, and anything over 10mp is a little over kill for everyday use, as this will print up to about about 16"x12" without to much trouble.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I would agree with Nigelnaturist, After 10-12 megapixels, sensor size and lens quality become more important.