Best for £200

[fezly]

After Christmas I will be looking to purchase a camera for approximately £200, does anyone have any suggestions for the best value for money model I can buy? I will be wanting to use it for general wildlife photography.

Thanks.

[carlj]

Your budget is going to restrict you badly. 3 options are film (still some bargains out there - but the lens could be sticking point), second hand (but again, pushing it) or Panasonic FZ range - 5,7, 30 or 50 should all be considered. Long lenses, great handling and at a push, could be found within budget.

Carl

[Chris_Johnstone]

It depends on how serious you are about your photography.

Lots of the poeple on this forum are enthusiasts and spend £1000s on cameras and lenses etc.

I'm sure you can pick up a nice camera with your budget but if you want to take it seriously you're looking at a camera body starting at around £500-600.

Don't want to dash your dreams here but I think it many of the others will agree with me.

Everyone one has different aspirations, just find out what you want to do what you need to do it.

Chris

[Words]

Like others have said, you'll struggle on that budget for wildlife. If you can squeeze up a bit, the Canon S3 IS may be a decent choice. I've used the previous model extensively and you get very good zoom, image stabilizing and reasonable focusing speed. I've plenty of examples in the gallery

And be aware of extra costs for data card and spare rechargeable batteries and charger (it'll save a fortune in the long term). So I know it's a big stretch but for about £300 you'll get a lot of use out of it.

[speckled wood]

You may find secondhand Fuji S602 or if you are really lucky a Fuji 7000 (secondhand) within that price range. For just a bit more I have seen Canon 300D DSLRs with the kit lens going for £249 at London Camera exchange, the canon kit lens is not brilliant but it would be enough to get you going and you could then start saving for a decent lens.

[honeybee]

Obviously I know NOTHING about photography but my dad does and you can find some good DSLR cameras on ebay that are last yrs models for under £200 with big memory cards inc. Should think they're good enough to start off with.

[Oy]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Obviously I know NOTHING about photography but my dad does and you can find some good DSLR cameras on ebay that are last yrs models for under £200 with big memory cards inc. Should think they're good enough to start off with.

Last year's DSLR's for under £200? Show me!

A 2nd hand Fuji S7000 would be a great buy. Or maybe a S5600 - lesser camera but a bigger zoom.

[honeybee]

Don't know if there's any decent ones on now but there were a couple of not bad ones last time I looked.

eBay.co.uk - SLR, SLR Photography, slr camera, digital slr, digital items at low prices

[nightshade]

Hello fezly,welcome,what exactly do you want in a camera?,what are your interests?give us a clue
start with a pocket camera wide to 100 Sony w30 good close up facility £127
bridge camera Panasonic FZ50 (price hike) £364
DSLR around £450
keep your powder dry look in amateur photographer classifieds or similar bargins do happen especially after Christmas as people change kit

[fezly]

Thanks there are some good pointers there being quite new to photograpy its given me something to think about, I think the best plan is to do some research and try and pick myself up a good deal on one of last years models on ebay. I will keep you posted on my results, can't wait to get snapping...