Which digital Camera?

[Jinkster]

Wanting to pay about £100 to £150, preferable with 2M pixels at least.

Any ideas?

Jinkster

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Jinkster,

Do not go less that 3MP. 3MP is worth the little bit extra.

Some options: (Although not all in your price range.)

Finepix A303 (http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quicklinx=244K) £194.99 inc VAT

http://www.dabs.com/images/uk/products/Digital_Cameras/244K_large_150x150.jpg

Powershot A300 (http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quicklinx=2GCW) £161.99 inc VAT

http://www.dabs.com/images/uk/products/Digital_Cameras/2GCW_large_150x150.jpg

Digimax 420 (http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quicklinx=2GZM) £194.99 inc VAT

http://www.dabs.com/images/uk/products/Digital_Cameras/2GZM_large_150x150.jpg

Digimax 360 (http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quicklinx=2GZN) £159.99 inc VAT

http://www.dabs.com/images/uk/products/Digital_Cameras/2GZN_large_150x150.jpg

(All Prices and Links from a quick search of Dabs.)

Take Care,

Richard

P.S. The camera I have been selling the most of lately is the Kodak DX4530. Everyone has really liked it and the 5MP makes crisp pictures. (I know it is out of the price range you mentioned.)

[AIRWAY]

Hi

I agree with Naples.

I have a Sony P71 3.2m at the time it was £300 but i believe they are around £250 now.

I bought it with the intention to use when flying, the camera is very good and relatively small, so it wont disturb me too much if all of a sudden i want to take a picture in the cockpit etc...

If you want to see some examples of the quality of the image, just let me know, and ill send you some links of pictures that i took ( Aviation related ).

JP

[fobotcso]

Always good to review this subject - especially at this time of the year.:)

As always, what do you want to do with it? These two posts give the message. Your price range is too low for serious photography. Even a "toy" costs £40-£50.

Which? in September reviewed Digicams. You may be able to read it in a library or borrow.

Best buys, both £280, closest to your price range were:

Nikon Coolpix 3100
Sony Cybershot DSC-P72

But don't be put off if all you want is a point and shoot device to supplement the "real" photography. There are decent models about. Jessops will advise.

At this time of the year there are about two new cameras a week so its very difficult to keep up to date. A proper shop is the best place to find out the latest.

[Cornish Jack]

I hesitate to take issue with Richard at N A C Inc, but the Mp value is NOT the be-all and end-all of digicams. I have a 1.3Mp and a 6Mp Minolta and recently bought an Oregon Scientific 2Mp. The 1.3 Minolta produces SUPERB pictures which will blow up to A4 with excellent results. The 6Mp Minolta gives (obviously) better quality in most areas. The OS 2Mp is credit card sized and a 'point and shoot' which gives reasonable results but far less quality than the 1.3 Minolta.
The real criteria are the quality and size of the CCD and (more importantly) the lens.
The OS 2Mp costs £99.95 but you may find stocks are low.

[Jinkster]

I was wondering myself if the amount of MP made any difference - my sister has a fujifilm A202 2Mp and it works a treat.

thanks for all the replies

[PPRuNe Towers]

If you only produce output with an A4/letter/legal sized printer ignore the blandishments for going super mega pixel unless you consistently and savagely crop your shots.

In this situation the wise buyer goes for the ancient (18months old!!) top of the line camera from the manufacturer providing top quality optics and ccd and which was an award winner at the time.

Your monitor and printer cannot resolve, display or print the number of pixels in your files. Everything else is techno willy waving.

There's a pretty good chance I've got more full colour magazine covers in my portfolio than anyone else on this forum. I've used digital for more than 13 years. I've used ccd based equipment since 1974 - that is not a typo!!! 29 years of digitally produced images. Not braggging - just putting my comments in context.

If you want the latest toy that's fine - as long as you know it's for bragging rights only. You will never use all the facilities or resolution unless you win the lottery and print A3+ format.

Regards to all

Rob

[FJJP]

I asked the same question last year. I was advised to look at

I took the advice, went to Jessops and bought the recommendation. Awesome! Still haven't use all the features yet.

Interestingly, when I mentioned the Steves Digicam site, the sales rep (who was exceptionally knowledgeable) knew of it and agreed that it was the best he had come across.

[fobotcso]

These are the two most recent threads on this topic. Worth a read if you haven't found them for yourself.

Digicams 1 (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=75729&highlight=camera)

Digicams 2 (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=63876&highlight=camera)

The red highlights are because I searched on the word "camera". :cool:

I'll always endorse the view that good photography starts with the lens. And the larger the diameter the more light and the more you can do with the subsequent image.

With respects to Rob, with lots of pixels (and a wide lens) you can enlarge detail better and this can be useful for anorak work at airshows.

[Front_Seat_Dreamer]

Have owned quite a few cameras and always end up going back to Kodak cameras.

Try internetcamerasdirect (http://www.internetcamerasdirect.co.uk) as the prices are usually more competitive and they also do some good bundles, also I know a few people who have bought from here with no problems.

[spekesoftly]

I like the look of that Pentax Optio S4 - even smaller than the Optio 330 (http://www.steves-digicams.com/2001_reviews/pentax330.html) that I bought a couple of years ago ...... bu**er! Never mind, in a few months time no doubt Pentax will launch an Optio XXX that you can hide behind a postage stamp! ;)

Mrs speke is delighted with her new Canon PowerShot S50 (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons50/); an early Christmas present.

The flash cards for both cameras are a doddle to download using the integrated card reader slots on our HP psc 950, mentioned earlier on this thread (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=110174).

[yardman]

Being a digital camera idiot I would appreciate an assessment from anyone in the know. I saw the Pentax Optio S4 and it's size and appearance appealed to me. I therefore ordered it online for my wife in the US. However, I have no idea if this is actually a highly rated camera. My wife is a camera novice. I hope my choice was OK. Any critiques or reassurances would be welcome. Thanks

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Cornish Jack,

I agree with you, MPs is not the "be-all and end-all" but it is a good start. ;)

Take Care,

Richard

[Binoculars]

Jinkster,

As you are finding, you'll get as many different opinions as there are Ppruners, so I may as well add mine, as I think I'm probably closer to the "just tell me a camera that bloody works and never mind all the techo stuff" category than some others here.

I bought a Fuji FinePix A202, which is only 2MP, and I've had some photos printed out at the second lowest resolution, and unless you scrutinize your photos with a magnifying glass you would be hard pressed to tell the difference with a normal SLR print.

I'm being realistic here, in that if you were a professional or wanted to take photos to submit to a magazine you wouldn't be looking for a camera in the price range you mentioned.

When my daughter wanted a camera I asked for advice in this thread (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=105141) and got some splendid advice on places to shop which you may find useful.

I finished up buying her the same camera, and I think it cost just over 100GBP, and about 150GBP including a 64Mb memory card, which you will need, and a set of rechargeable batteries and a charger, which is almost an essential. I ended up buying it from Jessops, and my daughter is rapt in it.

For what you seem to want I recommend it strongly as value for money.

[Mac the Knife]

Based on the impeccable behaviour of my heavily used Olympus D-490 zoom (2.1MP) over the last 3 years I reckon that the 3.2MP Olympus C-740 ultra zoom is one of the current sweet spots at an estimated $449 - takes filters too.

If 2.1MP is enough for detailed clinical photos (and it is) then 3.2MP should be OK for almost anything apart from real pro stuff.

[Golden Runways]

As ever some excellent advice available in here. The best being from PPRuNe Towers, Dep Chief PPRuNe Pilot. Go for last years (near) top of the range model. The Sony P72 at amazon.co.uk (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008J1BD/ref=br_ce_ts_2//026-4628097-4278861) for £187. Internet cameras direct have the Fuji M603 for just £238.

Jessops are very good as a rule. Their best hidden bit is the on line 2nd hand shop. It only lists which models are available, then you have to ring the shop. They have many 'ex-demo' practically new models, full guarantee. They have beaten everyone including amazon and ICD on price. I can recommend the Rugby branch.

I liked dcresource (http://www.dcresource.com/index.shtml) for the most accessible reviews.

I bought my 1st digicam 18 months ago, never having owned a camera before. I have several now. If I had the benefit of hindsight (as ever) I would have gone straight for a 5/6 MP model. It's worth the difference, it gives you room to grow. The smaller the better, as you will take it out everywhere, and thus take more pictures.

My favourite models: Cannon ixus III/IV, s30/40/45/50. Fuji f601/m603/f410. pentax s4/550. sony p9/10. casio z3/4. Next year I will be buying this one (http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/presscentre/news/index.php?flash=6&id=1112), drool.

digital depot (http://www.digitaldepot.co.uk) cheapest storage media in the UK.

[Jinkster]

Can anyone recommend the Olympus C-150?

Binos - my sister has the Fuji A202 and works a treat.


Jinkster

[Keef]

I bought a HP/Pentax one a couple of years ago - 3MP. It's fine for casual snaps, but the quality is nowhere near as good as my vintage SLR or the Olympus "bridge" 35mm that I use most. I was disappointed with it, and decided digicams aren't "it".

Then, earlier this year, a friend of mine bought an expensive new digicam ("last year's top of the poll") - the results are stunning! We've pulled small areas out of bigger pix and enlarged them to A4, and still the definition is excellent. I'm now looking round for one similar (but not as expensive).

I think the answer lies in three things: the quality of the glass (lens); the quality of the CCD; the number of MP. You need all three.

[WeatherJinx]

Yardman

Try here (http://www.megapixel.net) for unbiased, in-depth reviews of digital cameras. Very helpful site indeed.

Jx

[Jinkster]

After visiting the local shopping centre I have decided not to bother with the Olympus C-150 and am considering the Kodak CX6230 which includes:

2.0M pixels
3 x optical zoom
3.3 x digital zoom
16mb internal memory
320x240 movie mode with sound
1.5" LCD display

Jessops have a sale at the moment which is bringing the camera from £148.90 to £129.90.

Anybody bought this model, any opinions - thanks for all the posts


Jinkster

[atco-matic]

Hi Jinkster, I stumbled across this website www.7dayshop.com (http://www.7dayshop.com) a few weeks ago. They have the fuji A210 which has:

3.2 MegaPixels
3x digital zoom and 3x optical zoom
16mb memory card (holds 19 photos on highest quality setting)

It also came with a free additional 16mb memory card; and a free fuji cradle thingy (worth £59.99) which you put camera into to download photos onto pc without fiddly wires and which also charges the rechargeable batteries that come with it. All this for just £150 inc p+p!!!!

What a bargain! It took 4 days to arrive, cost half as much as my old sony one and the picture quality is miles better! I cant believe they can sell this camera for such a low price. I can only guess that the model has or is about to be replaced by an updated version.


This is the 2nd fuji digicam i have owned and I would definitely recommend them to anybody.:ok:

Addendum: I just looked at the site again and noticed that the price has gone up to £164 but I would still buy it at that price. They also have the Fuji A310 for £191 inc extra 16mb memory card, cradle and rechargeable batteris, and free soft case.