I’ve decided to invest in a digital camera, hopefully this weekend, but I’m absolutely clueless on what to look for. Anyone got any recommendations? I have only three requirements, it must be compact not SLR, it needs to be good quality (4-5m px?) and it must be cheap! Any ideas?
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I have a Nikon Coolpix 5200. It’s small, light and is 5.1 megapixels. It takes great photos in natural light, less so in artificial light (but that’s a general problem with digital camera, afaik.) It also has movie capability. I got it for €259 from the Apple Store.
Just looking at the Nikon site, they have a new one called the P2, which enables you to connect wirelessly to your computer via WiFi. It’s also 5.1mp and has a bigger screen than the 5200. I saw it in Amazon UK for £230 so you would be looking at around €330-350, I’d imagine.
Make sure to get a memory card as well, as the internal memory in most digital compacts is pretty meagre.
I have a Sony DXCP200 which is 7.2 megapixals. I think you can get it from Pixmania for around 330E at the moment. But Gerry is right. You’ll be buying memory cards too.
Thanks for the recommendations guys! I’d like to stay under €300 inc. memory card if possible for the sake of my relationship!
I was checking some options on the net this morning, the following seem pretty good, just need to check the prices in Finland:
Sony Cybershot DSC-W7, Kodak Easyshare Z730, Canon Powershot SD20 or A610. Ever used them?
I have a Kodak DX3700 3.1 megapixel bought refurbished three years ago for about US$100. The pix it takes are, for me, “good enough”. When I want exceptional quality, I use my 35mm. The DX3700 has been perfect for stocking my son’s photo website with loads of interesting photos for the far-away relatives, and I occasionally take the files on disk to get hard copies made. Quality for hard copies is good up to about 8″x10″, so I won’t be making any posters from these files. But we’re happy enough with it, we’ll keep using it ’til it breaks. (I can send you a sample image if you’d like).
Complaints: lag time between click and shutter sometimes allows my son to wriggle away before capture.
And I wish the power button were a bit bigger, as I have big clumsy fingertips.
I’d say I’m 90% satisfied with the DX3700.
I could recommend you to buy a Canon PowerShot.
I have the PS80 which I bought on pixmania.com in last August. Paid with VISA and got on my front door after only 22 hours!
It’s 4 MPx, CF memory card, can do short movies, has different photo options, has a tiltable lcd display (very handy in several situations) and can handle ISO from 50 to 400
My good advice is to choose a camera that uses standard AA or AAA batteries, rechargeable or not. This way you can always find a spare set of batteries if you they run down when you’re out.
But with what camera did you get the shots of the snow in the parking lot yesterday?
Go raibh maith a Chionaodh. The lag time might be a problem for me. I take a lot of pictures of my son, he moves like the roadrunner so i’d need to be quick to catch him. It’s a problem I have with my camera phone and it drives me mad
Thanks Antonio. I have 2 Powershots on my list, the SD20 & A610.
I was checking the Finnish Pixmania website but they don’t seem to have a 4Mpx S80, they only have a 8Mpx. Do you think something like the A520 would be good?
Here is the A530, sorry it’s in Finnish but you can see some details there.
Btw, the snow pix were taken with a camera I borrowed in work.
I saw the A530. But I don’t find it in the italian version of the site nor can I find it in official Canon website in UK.
I found the A520, but I can’t determine if it has the tiltable display. I find it a good thing because you can close it and protect the surface when not in use.
The A520 is much similar to mine so I can say it could be a very good choice.
In my opinion, though, nothing cat beat the quality of a good film camera. In fact I will still use my faithful SLR for precious pictures
I bought a Powershot SD450 (a new model) from ebay in the states – $340 including shipping (just under E300) and includes a carry case and 512mb memory card (memory cards are essential). 5.1 mp, uses rechargeables, which last a reasonable length of time too. I think it’s class. Has an optical zoom, which the SD20 doesn’t and is nice and slim and feels to be built better than the A610. It also has a 2.5 inch LCD, which is very useful.
Have a look at http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com – it’s good for reviews (if you ignore the muppets who complain that a camera breaks when they dropped it!)
Thanks for the link Dealga. I was surfing through that the last few days, making my shortlist.
Antonio, I was checking the A520 here, they have it in a shop just down the road from me so I might go for that one
Thaks again guys.
I have a Canon S200, about 2 or 3 years old now. It’s a 2 megapixel and takes much better pics that any of my friends 3 or 4 megapixel cameras. This site does pretty decent reviews of cameras, with good sample pics taken with the cameras:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html
But, the layout on the site is kinda crap and U can’t really search based on any features (except megapixels).
My advise, go to the shops with a pen and paper. See what looks nice in your price range, then check reviews. Don’t just get a camera just because it’s cheap, or it’s cute or small or rugged looking or whatever, make sure the optics are good and the digital processor is good (check reviews).
I’d recommend Canon, but check the reviews!
PS: Did I say check the reviews?
Oh, one more tip (or tips). Don’t get caught up in the whole megapixels thing. If the optics are shite it doesn’t matter how many megapixels you have.
When U get the camera, make sure U get the biggest memory card/stick U can afford too, and take your pics at the highest settings on the camera. U’ll be surprised what use U’ll make of your pics once U get a decent camera.
On my Debian desktop, I have a screensaver that loops through all my digital pics. Beats keeping them in a shoebox …
Gosh, I’m really rambling on tonight …
Away with that digital shite…the lag will drive you mental.Spend those bobs on a old school 35mm.(My wife works for National Geographic and is a bit of a purist..in fact she’s threatening to pitch the lovely digital camera I bought for meself into the fire if I didn’t say that.I thought I had it well hidden under the lino in the jacks…….)
Daithi,
please don’t remind me of the lag!
Just tonight I missed two “maybe” wonderful pictures due to this crazy thing!!!
I can’t stand it and I don’t know why the engineers don’t work it around
Thanks again lads.
Mick, reviews, got it!
Daithi, I have a 35mm SLR for the special pics. Don’t have a clue how to use it though. Your wife give photography lessons?
‘Fraid not Maca.She’s a bit on the tempermental side being all arty and shite.I can say that because she in the bathroom practicing-wrestling some Amazonian man-eating octopus that she brought back from her last expedition.Seriously though a lot of “operator error” with 35mm can be cut by getting your pics properly processed in a lab with human beings.The National Geographic lab is open to the public and even though it’s a little more expensive the quality of their work is top notch.Then again the flight to DC would be a bit pricey.Whatever you do DON”T drop yer stuff off at the Mega-mart variant store with 1 hour photo.They are nothing but a pile of arses waiting to bollix up your film.
PS we go through cameras in our house like a transvestite goes through tights.By the time I get around to looking at the manual for (what I think) is our current one we’ve moved on once or twice.
Daithi, no amount of expert processing could do much with my photos.
A few lessons would be nice all the same, just to understand a bit more about the whole thing. I’m not very arty at all. Bit farty though.
National Geographic though, i’m very impressed!
Maca,Go to http://www.nationalgeoraphic.com and go to the Focus on Photography section.There’s even a review of digital cameras if you’ve not aleady bought one.I’m hopeless with technology so it’s fitting that I work in a museum.I can just about grasp 1940′s tech and buttons clearly marked “On” or “Off” on a particularly daring day last week I experimented with “Pause” and had to have a bit of a lie down afterwards.
Daithi: Missing the second G in geographic in the URI you posted. Should be:
http://nationalgeographic.com/
Here’s the link for the digikam review there:
http://nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0511/gear/digital_cameras_gallery.html
Cheers Mick.Mi advechur wid de “Paws” buton left me unabel too spel.Dokter haz given mi pilz dough.Shud be fyne in a wile.
The National Geographic site is gifted, the photography is outstanding!