best camera.

[stirling]

What in your opinion is the best all round camera for a total none technical beginner.
Help! from mike.

[kshotton45]

Originally Posted by stirling

What in your opinion is the best all round camera for a total none technical beginner.
Help! from mike.

No camera at all.
A ' none technical beginner ' needs to have a rough idea of the various types of camera that are about.
They then need to decide on what they're going to photograph. Take into account the amount of money they have at their disposal.
So the question should have been. 'What's a good photography book for beginners' ?
Whilst they are reading the book, they can be posting questions on this site for advice.

They should save their money until they have at least a rough idea of what they need.
Is it you Mike who needs the info ?

Keith.

[Words]

Mike,

I generally agree with what Keith says. Budget and usage are key questions here. Even with the most basic digitals you benefit from learning what the buttons and settings do. But fair to say some are easier than others.

If you could provide a bit more info (how much approx you have to spend and what are the main things you want to photograph) then I'm sure you'll get plenty of good/helpful advice.

[stirling]

Thank you both for your advice,i just thought by some miracle there might have been a point and shoot one! I would just love to take wildlife photos,will have to get some mags.
Best from mike.

[Words]

Stirling, ok that helps actually. What you should look at is what's called a 'bridge' camera, that is something between a compact point-and-shoot and a full blown DSLR. These will have automatic settings (so you can point and shoot), but a good set of advanced settings you can learn on.

For wildlife you want a good zoom, so look for a camera with at least 10x optical zoom (ignore any info about digital zoom... it degrades the picture). Also try and get something with image stabilization. This will help in low light and for long zooms.

Price will be between £200-300. You'll need a large data card (at least 1GB), two sets of batteries and a battery recharger (will save a small fortune very quickly).

I got started with the earlier version of the Canon S3, and others here have frequently recommended the Panasonic FZ30.

[stirling]

Thanks for the advice words,iwill do a bit of research and go window shopping.
Best from mike.

[mh68]

Something else worth considering....if you go for something like a Panasonic theres plenty people on here who`ve used/are using them so you`ll be able to get plenty of help as you progress with the camera.

Mark H

[Maccattack]

I have a non technical friend using the panasonic Fz7 I assume similar to the Fz30 , she is now taking pictures most days and is now wanting to change the settings .The best camera is one you will use lots and want to find out what all the options do ( the panasonics seem to have most options ) .

Just get out there and take pictures.

Malcolm Mac

[stirling]

Thanks mark,what sort of prices are we talking about malcolm?.
Best from mike.

[Maccattack]

Seen fz7 for 200 most places or 179 from pixmania . Fz30 probably a bit posher .

malcolm