Digital Camera ?

[Dee8197]

Hi everyone
I appologise that this is not exactly a DLP question but I need some advice.
I currently have a Kodax Easyshare camera - it isn't very good at taking night time parade shots or any action shots. I guess the night time shots is just one of those things, but I also need a camera that when I click to take the photo it takes the photo then rather than have a delay. I gather this is a problem with digital cameras. DS is a trampolinist and gymnast so you can see why I need a camera that works fast - you don't have long to capture the moves !
There are clearly some great photographers on this board, who I guess have cameras that are good too. Any suggestions on a camera that will do what I want?

 

[tennisfan]

To take action shots, try getting a camera with action/sports mode setting as this allows for a fast shutter speed. Also to get good quality pics try going to a high pixel amount if you can afford to.

As to what camera to get varies on your budget there are hundreds out there. I would recommend trying the Jessops website www.jessops.com as it is full of information and you can compare cameras, or if you have a Jessops store near you pop and ask for their advice as there is always someone who specialises in cameras.

Nikki

 

[dlpSteve]

You need a camera with a low shutter lag to take photos quickly, my old Fuji camera was awful but my Sony one is a lot better, still I wish it was quicker - that's the big problem with digital cameras.

The Casio Exilim EX-Z55 has one of the lowest lag times on the UK market.

As for how many MegaPixels - if you want pictures of 8 by 10 inches or higher then you need something with 4 MegaPiuxels or higher - for standard pictures anything in the 3-4 MegaPixels range is fine and even ones smaller will do the jopb for most people's needs. Digital Cameras have become like computers in that technology is always advancing and the cameras are always improving but way beyond the needs of 99% of the buying public.

As for a good place to buy them: http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/home.html - cheapest and best service I've ever come across for cameras and other electronic gadgets.

EDIT: This camera selector tool is very handy and the site has lots of explanations to help you decide what features you need and don't need and to wehat level you need them: http://www.cameras.co.uk/html/digital-camera-selector.cfm

 

[Salford Steve]

Depends hom much you want to spend really. I bought a Panasonic DMC-FZ20 digital SLR cam early this year after having a few smaller digital cameras in the past, all I can say is WOW. Cost was about £300 but well worth it, almost instantaneous picture taking with burst mode meaning it can take. 4 pics per second. Great menu system with more modes that an average person could ever need. 12x optical zoom too! I could go on but would only bore the pants off you all!

Go into Jessops, play with some cameras then when you find one you like trawl the net for the best deal. I got mine for around 70 quid cheaper than the highstreet plus extras too.

 

[Ware Bears]

Dee, my camera started playing up when we were at DLRP and only worked intermittently. When it WAS working my daytime shots were fine but the ones of Fantillusion were all blurred. After doing all the usual troubleshooting things like changing the battery for a new one!!!LOL, I finally took it into my local camera shop (who are excellent, both for price and advice) on Saturday. The long and short of it is that it will cost about £170 to repair and they didn't recommend it as the uptodate version of it now costs less than that! I was really annoyed, it is not even 3 years old yet, we have become such a terrible throwaway society.
So I have now bought a new camera, I asked for one that could cope with the Disney nightime parades and fireworks and the shop recommended the Fuji Finepix F10. I was quite happy to buy this one because I trust their advice and my old one was a Fuji Finepix F401 and until this summer I have never had any problems with it.
Steve, thanks for the Pixmania link, wow my shop has given me a really good deal with all the extra XD cards they gave me I have saved over £20!

 

[Dee8197]

Thanks for your replies everyone. Great help
The Panasonic looks promising and has great write ups.
The example photos on the website look brilliant

 

[dlpSteve]

This thread prompted me to go looking at cameras! I currently have a Sony Cybershot P73 which is great but I want something smaller. I've been looking at reviews for all kinds of cameras and this one seems pretty great:

Casio EX-Z55 Zoom - shutter lag is very low which is good.

 

[chrismoo]

I have a Sony Cybershot 5million pixels.

Its not the best camera and it does this really annoying focusing light trick.

I never really take any pictures in Disney, too busy riding the rides.

 

[Cyrano]

My favourite camera is my Canon D300, but can be cumbersome carrying everything.
Diane favors our Olympus C-50 5megapixels
Both take fairly good photos when we concentrate

Reid

 

[Miffy2003]

I was thinking about getting a Cybershot but looks like some of you would advise against it!

I like the look of the Nikon Coolpix - being a typical girlie here, I tend to go by how the camera looks rather than how it performs, somewhat similar to how I select cars

My current camera is an Olympus something or other and does that that annoying lag but the most infuriating thing about it is that it literally eats batteries. Very annoying! I have been told this is due to the LCD screen, is this correct? And if that is the case will that mean the cameras with bigger LCD screens (like the ones I like ) will use even more batteries??

 

[dlpSteve]

The main reason I want to get a new camera is because I love new gadgets and because I want the smallest one I can find that still performs to a high standard. However, my Sony Cybershot P73 is a fantastic camera and one of the main plus points is the technology that Sony have developed which means the battery life (rechargeable and comes with charger when you buy the camera) is huge. I took mine to DLRP in the summer and took 600+ photos, looked at them all the time in the evenings, used the LCD screen all the time and didn't need to recharge for the whole trip - the most outstanding battery life I have ever come across. I'll probably end up sticking with it to be honest - there are much better things I could do with £200 than buy a camera that I really don't need!

 

[marcus.ka]

I have also a Kodak Easyshare. And the camera is making great pictures. But only during the day, and in dark rooms. But not outsight at night. I just found this out during our last trip to the resort last week. I can make great pictures during the day. And if I choose the ISB 200 I can also make great pictures in PM or POTC, but the pictures I took in the evening hours look cheep! But I found out that I can make better pictures with this camera if I choose the NIGHT mode. But therefor I need a tripod. I will take a small pocket-one with me during our next trip!

 

[ukcatfan]

Depends hom much you want to spend really. I bought a Panasonic DMC-FZ20 digital SLR cam early this year after having a few smaller digital cameras in the past, all I can say is WOW.

That is a nice camera, but it is not a SLR. It is a high end point and shoot. If you can not take the lens off, then it is not a SLR. It is difficult to get a SLR for less than a thousand dollars.

 

[ukcatfan]

I have also a Kodak Easyshare. And the camera is making great pictures. But only during the day, and in dark rooms. But not outsight at night. I just found this out during our last trip to the resort last week. I can make great pictures during the day. And if I choose the ISB 200 I can also make great pictures in PM or POTC, but the pictures I took in the evening hours look cheep! But I found out that I can make better pictures with this camera if I choose the NIGHT mode. But therefor I need a tripod. I will take a small pocket-one with me during our next trip!

Do not be afraid of using a high ISO value if you are willing to do a little post processing. Noiseware has a free version called the "Community Edition" that will remove the noise.

 

[dlpSteve]

I got my new camera today! I was looking on Jessops and noticed they did trade ins on old cameras which I thought was a good idea. So, I popped down to our local store with a few cameras in mind and had a look at them. The Hewlett Packard Photosmart R817 was the runaway winner in size, price, shutter lag and had the feature I wanted the most - better optical zoom, it has 5x as opposed to 3x on my old Sony camera. It's also nice and small but with all the features I wanted - wahooo!

 

[Salford Steve]

That is a nice camera, but it is not a SLR. It is a high end point and shoot. If you can not take the lens off, then it is not a SLR. It is difficult to get a SLR for less than a thousand dollars.

Forgive me for fogetting to add the word style after SLR !!!!!!!

 

[Dee8197]

I'll probably end up sticking with it to be honest - there are much better things I could do with £200 than buy a camera that I really don't need!

Steve - That thought didn't last long then

I got my new camera today

I knew that the Panasonic that you recommended Salford Steve was a SLR "style camera " so no worries. SLR cameras are way out of my price range I'm afraid

 

[dlpSteve]

Steve - That thought didn't last long then

I got an unexpected bonus on Friday -wohoo!

 

[Ware Bears]

Well done Steve!

We'll all be clicking away like mad at christmas now!

 

[dlpSteve]

Hopefully we'll be taking a few DIS photos!

It's getting closer, the countdown only says 2 months and 1 week now - that's no time at all!