Good Beginner Camera

[bing3]

Hi guys
Sure this has been asked 100 times before but here goes.
Am looking for a good digital camera reasonably priced for a total beginner.
Will primarily use it for Insect close-ups and to a lesser extent medium range bird shots (from about 20ft or so). I know that these are probably mutually exclusive but I am hoping someone has some good reccomendations. Have been looking at the Canon A640 as it seems to have good macro capabilities but not sure about the zoom??
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My budget is around 200 -250.
Cheers
Simon

[mh68]

Hello Bing3 welcome to the site

If you want to shoot the likes of birds at distance,as well as closeups, one of the bridge type cameras would probably be your best bet...most of these have a 10 to 12x zoom and decent closeup capabilities.They can be used as a basic point and shoot ( ideal for a beginner) but also have various modes and settings so as your photographic knowledge increases,you can experiment with different settings etc, and have more control over the shot the camera takes.
Lots of people on here use various Panasonic FZ series cameras,which,if you went for one of these models, may be of use later on as there would be plenty of advice and help on hand if you needed it.
Other good bridge cameras with a large zoom are the Canon S3IS,the various Fuji S models,and various Nikon Coolpix models.It`s really down to personal choice though,as they`ll all produce good images once you get the hang of them.

Mark H

[David Hyde]

Can't add more to the excellent advice given by Mark.
I just wanted to say Hi and welcome to the site. If you opt for one of the popular cameras mentioned there will be plenty of advice available from many members use bridge type cameras with excellent results.
Good luck, David

[bing3]

Thanks for the welcome guys. I think am going to plump for the Fuji s9500 so i'll probably be picking your brains for tips at a later date
Cheers
Simon

[mh68]

Good luck with the new camera then Simon.Havent tried one personally but the S9500 looks a nice bit of kit,i`m sure you`ll be happy with it

Mark H

[mark frain]

Originally Posted by bing3

Thanks for the welcome guys. I think am going to plump for the Fuji s9500 so i'll probably be picking your brains for tips at a later date
Cheers
Simon

if you goto the fuji uk website they sell fully refurbished cameras with warrantys and im sure there was an s9500 on there a bargain i got mys5500 off there and its greata few years old now though
mark

[Blackdog]

Good morning Bing and Welcome to WAB.

My immediate reaction when I read your first post was to suggest a Fuji as the other posters have done. I have had a Fuji 6900 for a few years now in addition to a whole pile of professional standard Canon kit, and I am still very pleased with the results I get from it.

The range has been updated since I bought mine, but I am sure they will be every bit as good.

Warehouse Express seem to have a good range at sensible prices.

Happy Snapping

[bing3]

Just like to thank everyone for their advice. My Fuji s9500 is winging its way over the Irish Sea as we speak, just in time to (hopefully) catch some decent snaps of some of our Winter migrants. Will post results for critique and advice as soon as i can.
Thanks
Simon