Cameras

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Tricia

If you are looking at P&S cameras I would advise you to steer clear of any which only have a screen. I have a Canon IXUS which has a viewfinder and is small enough to pop in your pocket. I had a very nice Kodak camera but gave it away because when the sun hit the screen it was a case of point and hope!

mine only has a screen and I have really bad eyesight and I find mine great I love it.

[nightshade]

Originally Posted by RobAtkinson1

Well I'll definitely take them into consideration. But I will also take a good look around the electrical shops to see what's available.

Sony Cybershot DSC-W50 my notebook camera

[The Woodman]

I'm not a photographer but take a lot of photos for my work...

My out and about pocket camera is a Pentax W90 - purchased because it can take underwater photos and is pretty robust with an internal lens bellows (if that's what you call it. No lense that pops out at the front.). It's not brilliant because it doesn't like poor light and the digital zoom is poor. However as a lightweight, it does what I want and is particularly robust.

My older Nikon Coolpix 5100 is my better camera. Taken on field trips, holidays and the like for those better high resolution shots. Pocketable within reason and a good performer.

The DSLR Canon 350 is rarely used, only when I need 70-300 zoom for that bit of distance or telemacro. The latter feature is very useful. It allows me to photograph small insects etc without having to get really close to them and potentially disturbing them.

That's what I use!

[freiston]

Originally Posted by Tricia

If you are looking at P&S cameras I would advise you to steer clear of any which only have a screen. I have a Canon IXUS which has a viewfinder and is small enough to pop in your pocket. I had a very nice Kodak camera but gave it away because when the sun hit the screen it was a case of point and hope!

The problem here is that current models in the price range almost always do not have a viewfinder (keeps down size and cost).

You might be able to find an older model that has a viewfinder - a friend of mine picked up the Canon Powershot A1100 last year. It has the viewfinder but is a very 'automatic' camera - no option to choose your own settings.

I recently bought a Canon SX120 (cheap on account of being replaced by the SX130) as my pocket camera. It was a 'compromise' purchase (would have bought the G12 with a viewfinder otherwise) but I'm happy with it. It doesn't have a viewfinder, but as well as having the usual shooting modes, it has aperture-priority, shutter-priority and full manual, exposure-compensation, image-stabilisation (anti-shake) and manual focus amongst other features. It is 10MP & 10x zoom (36-360mm equivalent) and the image quality is not bad but it doesn't perform too well in low light (noise is bad at high ISO).

Personally, I would only buy a [pocket] camera that has aperture-priority, shutter-priority and manual settings (even if I do use it on auto or 'P' mode most of the time) because sometimes having that control is the only way I can try to get the shot I want.

[Endrick]

I won't advize on a camera as at the moment I have no knowledge of cameras at that price point. I will say that for most compact cameras more megapixels equals worse picture quality! Manufacturers decided that megapixles = sales so went over the top and exceeded the optimum for the sake of sales.

Most compacts use a really tiny sensor and best results come with quite low megapixels - especially in low light. Howver rather than 6MP which is just about perfect, some models now have over twice that and that is why pictures from most compacts have got worse over the past 4 years or so.

There are exceptions like Panasonics DMC-LX3 and Canons s90/95 and G11/12 which have larger sensors but restrict themselves to just 10MP. These are expensive however at between £300-£400.

You may like to ask yourself why a 10MP camera like these produces such fine pictures and costs so much more than a £50 14MP job - it's not just the lens!

[eeyore]

I'm currently using

Canon 300D (now Obsolete)
Canon 20D (ditto - but still worth picking up second hand)
Canon G4 (also ditto - but a useful backup as it takes the same memory card and batteries as the DSLRs)
Canon eos 30e (film Slr)
Canon Eos 3 (also film slr - once very high spec nw cheap as chips second hand)

Fuji F10 (now superceded by the F11 and F12 - but all are a nice pocket camera with 3x zoom and high endurance batteries)

and

Mamiya 645 (medium format film)

[nightshade]

Originally Posted by Endrick

I won't advize on a camera as at the moment I have no knowledge of cameras at that price point. I will say that for most compact cameras more megapixels equals worse picture quality! Manufacturers decided that megapixles = sales so went over the top and exceeded the optimum for the sake of sales.

Most compacts use a really tiny sensor and best results come with quite low megapixels - especially in low light. Howver rather than 6MP which is just about perfect, some models now have over twice that and that is why pictures from most compacts have got worse over the past 4 years or so.

There are exceptions like Panasonics DMC-LX3 and Canons s90/95 and G11/12 which have larger sensors but restrict themselves to just 10MP. These are expensive however at between £300-£400.

You may like to ask yourself why a 10MP camera like these produces such fine pictures and costs so much more than a £50 14MP job - it's not just the lens!

I agree about the sensor size the Nikon D70s produces excellent photos with a good sensor.
If I was buying a compact today the list (in no particular order) would be;
Lumix Lx3
Samsung WB600
Nikon Coolpix P6000
Lumix TZ10
LumixDMC LX5
and to add to the mix
LumixDMC G2
Lumix DMC FZ45

[barnbear]

I've been more than impressed with my Panasonic Lumix FZ18 that I can just get in my pocket. With a couple of screw on filters and tri/monopod the results are good. Battery life is excellent and the SD card pops out and into my laptop for getting the all important pics downloaded. It has enough adjustment to be useful and I even managed to operate it with gloves on overwinter (-20) and in Iceland. I keep looking at the new 4/3 and DSLR but can't quite be bothered to haul around extra lenses, or bulk! Not now my chair hide has arrived....

[Meta menardi]

Still searching for something that improves on my Nikon coolpix 4500. Just trying the Canon G12, the screen is so good, but it lacks the simplicity of the Nikon for the macro.

[hank]

First, I'm a Canon man! So this is genuine advice. I've just spent about a month looking at bridge cameras with a view to getting a 'throwabout' one to keep with me at all times ( my first camera is a Canon 50D).

A super camera which averages £180 second hand on Fleabay is the Panasonic FZ38 - check it out!

H.

( I finally settled on a Canon 20D ) !!