camera recommendations?

[scojos]

ok, before anyone suggests going onto the photography boards - i have and was waayyy out of my league

having had a look at some of your trippies (ok deb and kenny im talking to you here) you obviously have good cameras, and need something simple and easy to use... any recommendations?

anyone else is welcome to chip in well anyone who knows more than i do....
thanks
tracy

 

[2Tiggies]

Are you looking towards DSLR or a bridge camera? Also, bit personal, but what is your budget? The range of prices between the amateur ones and the professionals run into the thousands!

Oh, by the way, it looks like I'm stalking you now!

Lee

 

[iluvtot]

ok, before anyone suggests going onto the photography boards - i have and was waayyy out of my league

having had a look at some of your trippies (ok deb and kenny im talking to you here) you obviously have good cameras, and need something simple and easy to use... any recommendations?

anyone else is welcome to chip in well anyone who knows more than i do....
thanks
tracy

Hi,
Novice here aswell. I asked Wayne last year and he said Matt had the panasonic luminaire (well I think that was what he said!) I think it's the one they advertise on the TV thats like a SLR but isn't! Anyway, it takes good pics, or is that down to Matt???! (I'm sure it is)

Jules x

 

[scojos]

Are you looking towards DSLR or a bridge camera? Also, bit personal, but what is your budget? The range of prices between the amateur ones and the professionals run into the thousands!

Oh, by the way, it looks like I'm stalking you now!

Lee

thats ok lee, stalk away

whats a bridge camera? its for dh as a gift, point and shoot for me honey!!!
dslr?
couple of hundred £300-400 not too much as still paying for hols, but want something nice, that in between bit, kwim?

 

[2Tiggies]

There are various terms for it but a "bridge camera" is just that - between a compact and an SLR.

I love my photos but aside from birthday parties and Disney holidays (the only kind I take ) I don't really take many pics. I have a "bridge" camera. It is only a 10 m res, but it has a 12 optical zoom. Resolution wise you can do better with a compact but unless you want billboard sized prints , it's a bit of a waste. The quality of the photos and extra features on this is like day and night compared with my higher resolution compact (which I take with on selected days). The auto function features mean it works like a point and shoot but gives you something to build on if you want to play with manual settings. I have never had the time to do this though.

With your price budget you could get an entry level DSLR which is going to be a superior camera and you can build on it with extra lenses. I would recommend you read reviews first though - ones on decent websites, not Argos and the like. If your DH likes photography it is well worth the investment IMO. What I did when I bought mine a few years ago was to list all the features I wont' compromise on and used that as a starting point for looking to weed out what wasn't suitable.

 

[Claire L]

I love my Canon Ixus 750 since I got it in 2006 and then last year bought the Canon Powershot D10 waterproof camera. So now I have two great cameras, the Ixus 750 is nice and small for taking anywhere and the Powershot D10 is ideal for water and the rougher rides

 

[london75]

I personally vote for bridge cameras and would advise against DSLR.

I have the Canon IX20 IS.

This can take photos from wide angle (ie the whole room when indoors) to super zoom at 20x. Even at zoom the image stabilisation makes photos clear and crisp.

The two sites I used for expert comparisons were
http://www.steves-digicams.com/
and
http://www.dpreview.com/

Both have excellent comparisons of various cameras at each price range.

My reason for staying clear of DSLRs are, they are heavier, you need numerous lenses to capture the range of shots a superzoom can capture and at the end of the day, a super zoom easily provides the quality for poster sized prints, a DSLR is just extra weight, expense and inconvenience.

All in my humble opinion of course. I'd love a DSLR if I had the time to take 1 minute over each shot but with toddlers, that won't happen.

 

[scojos]

thanks guys for your rapid responses, ill have a look at the sites tomorrow when im awake
i think a point and shoot is more appropriate for us, light and easy to use, dh has a very expensive "real" camera, which is amazing (its am old piece of kit but has all the lenses, tripod etc.
what i need is an easy "hand held" camera to use on hols...
sorry didnt mean to start a camera war
ta
tracy

 

[2Tiggies]

Gee, this was a quick thread - I went to watch Meg & Mog , came back and you're all sorted! Good for you. Let us know what you decide.

 

[scojos]

Gee, this was a quick thread - I went to watch Meg & Mog , came back and you're all sorted! Good for you. Let us know what you decide.

oh what an exciting life you lead
hardly sorted , dh is now on ebaychecking out the luminox, seems to be he wanted one of those but was hoping a disser would persuade me

i ll let you know
tx

 

[Natasha&Matt]

I just bought a Panasonic Lumix TZ6 it had great reviews and very easy to use great camera

 

[rpbert1]

I have a panasonic, but have it a few years, and it takes great photos, not that i know anything about them. Need a new camera, and will be purchasing a Panasonic TZ7 for our hol in the summer.

 

[london75]

On a tangent, I'm a photo geek but just got a Panasonic HDC-SD60 Camcorder and it's flippin brilliant both at Full HD video for which it was designed and for still images.

It does some really cool things like 25 x optical zoom, 3 second pre-record so it captures video the second the lense is open (and remember any video can be made into photo's at reasonable resolution)

The coolest though is the face recognition, you tell it who your family are and it will remember and recognise them in video favouring them as points to focus on. Then, and here is a super cool bit, when any of those recognised people smile, it can take an automatic photo, while it continues videoing at the same time, how cool is that!!!

It's around the same budget, very lightweight and great fun.

 

[2Tiggies]

On a tangent, I'm a photo geek but just got a Panasonic HDC-SD60 Camcorder and it's flippin brilliant both at Full HD video for which it was designed and for still images.

It does some really cool things like 25 x optical zoom, 3 second pre-record so it captures video the second the lense is open (and remember any video can be made into photo's at reasonable resolution)

The coolest though is the face recognition, you tell it who your family are and it will remember and recognise them in video favouring them as points to focus on. Then, and here is a super cool bit, when any of those recognised people smile, it can take an automatic photo, while it continues videoing at the same time, how cool is that!!!

It's around the same budget, very lightweight and great fun.

Best place to buy? I am still toying with getting a camcorder. Can't really afford a top brand right now and the only reason I haven't bought one yet is because my camera takes brilliant quality videos. Still, it's usually better when using something for its designated purpose.

 

[london75]

Best place to buy? I am still toying with getting a camcorder. Can't really afford a top brand right now and the only reason I haven't bought one yet is because my camera takes brilliant quality videos. Still, it's usually better when using something for its designated purpose.

I got it from Amazon but the price went up £45 about an hour after I bought it so might have had the last one.

Bestbuy have it for around £300 if you fancy taking a chance on NTSC vs PAL. I don't think it's an issue these days but didn't want to risk it.

 

[2Tiggies]

Hmm, I might do some midnight bidding on eBay. Got my camera like that 2 years ago - nobody else was bidding so I picked it up for about a third of the retail price.

 

[TCO]

I'd recommend a Panasonic Lumix, I've had a couple now and they are easy to use and produce great pics. This one is great value if they have any near you:

http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/641154/panasonic-lumix-dmc-tz65-digital-ca

12x Optical zoom as well

 

[scottish mum]

I just bought a Panasonic Lumix TZ6 it had great reviews and very easy to use great camera

I bought this one a few months ago and I love it

 

[amackay]

I'm a keen amateur photographer and use a Canon EOS 40D with a plethora of lenses, however i've just purchased a Sony HX5 as a point-and-click.

It's got some great features including sweep panorama, a great low light mode and GPS tagging. I'd definately recommend it to anyone looking for a great quality point and shoot camera.