Help!!!

[stitch&ariel]

Well I am looking to buy a new digital camera so I have been looking on loads of sites and I am getting lost!!
Basically I want the following:

1, A faster shutter speed (mine is too slow and the flash goes about three times before it takes the picture which is frustrating!)
2, To be able to take better night pictures (fireworks, bands on stage etc)
3, When I zoom in on my camera often the photos turn out blurry so I want to be able to zoom in and the picture still looks clear.

Now I don't want a super expensive camera mid range would be good.
Can anyone recommend a camera that may be good for me?
Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[MarkBarbieri]

1, A faster shutter speed (mine is too slow and the flash goes about three times before it takes the picture which is frustrating!)

When you say that your shutter speed is too slow, does that mean that it stays open for too long and your pictures are blurry or that it takes too long from the time you press the button until your camera actually takes the picture. The former is shutter speed and the latter is shutter lag.

The flash going off several times is a feature used to reduce red-eye. The first flashes cause people's pupils to shrink and then the final flash is used for the photo. If you turn off red-eye reduction, it will quit doing that.

When I zoom in on my camera often the photos turn out blurry so I want to be able to zoom in and the picture still looks clear.

That could be from two reasons. First, if your camera has a "digital" zoom feature and you are using it, that will cause your pictures to look awful. It doesn't really zoom. Instead, it just cuts out the center of your picture and blows that up. You could do the same thing better with your computer.

The second possible reason is that your camera is shaking. The more you zoom in, the more you magnify the image. That means that the more you zoom in, the faster you need your shutter speed to be.

Now I don't want a super expensive camera mid range would be good.

That's a bit vague. Mid-range for a typical consumer point and shoot is probably around $400. Mid-range for a DSLR is probably around $1,300. A DSLR would do the most to solve your problems, but they are relatively expensive, more complicated, and bulkier.

I would suggest reading the reviews of the popular mid-range point & shoots to see which one best meets your needs. Canon is replacing the very popular S3 with the S5 (there was no S4). I'm not sure what else is in that range.

 

[AndrewWG]

Well I am looking to buy a new digital camera so I have been looking on loads of sites and I am getting lost!!
Basically I want the following:

1, A faster shutter speed (mine is too slow and the flash goes about three times before it takes the picture which is frustrating!)
2, To be able to take better night pictures (fireworks, bands on stage etc)
3, When I zoom in on my camera often the photos turn out blurry so I want to be able to zoom in and the picture still looks clear.

Now I don't want a super expensive camera mid range would be good.
Can anyone recommend a camera that may be good for me?
Any help would be much appreciated!

I would probably recommend the Canon S3 IS. Here is why:

1. Very fast shutter. No lag at all. This problem will be completely solved for you.

2. Night shots may still be a bit of a problem, but most likely greatly improved. You would need to get down to a real low number aperture which you can really only get with a DSLR (big $$) or high ISO which will create image "noise" (grainy pictures). Overall, the S3 will do a good job, but not perfect.

3. Blurry zoom will happen no matter what camera you use as when you zoom, the camera is much harder to hold steady. The Image Stabilization on the S3 will help tremendously with this, but I would also suggest you use a tripod to stop all camera shake. Also, the S3 has a 12X optical zoom which is simply awesome.

That would be my suggestion for a mid range priced (around $300) camera that will do alot of what you want to have done.

Good luck shopping around. I hope you get what you want.

Andy

 

[stitch&ariel]

Hi Guys Thanks for that!!

With the Canon S3 IS, how big is it actually? Is it very bulky to carry around? I looked on a few sites but they didn't seem to say

 

[Master Mason]

Hi Guys Thanks for that!!

With the Canon S3 IS, how big is it actually? Is it very bulky to carry around? I looked on a few sites but they didn't seem to say

You won't be throwing it in your pocket most likely, but it would fit easly in a smaller purse

113.4 x 78 x 75.5 mm are the dimmensions from this site

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/06022111canons3is.asp#specs

 

[stitch&ariel]

Thanks it doesn't look too big for me as I have quite a big bag with me anyway!

Last question (I Promise LOL)
Is the Canon is it fairly easy to use I am not a big camera wizz but I am willing to play about with it..........
I have looked at the photos people have taken with it on the Canon S3 IS thread and they are great but do they take a lot of setting changes to take?
I want to take it with me when we go to Disney so I want to get one soon and play about with it so I know how to get better pics, but I don't want to spend my holiday changing settings all the time!

 

[Groucho]

I would suggest the Fuji long-zoom cameras (I'm not even sure the current model numbers... S6000 is one, I know.) They have significantly larger sensors than any other long-zoom PnS cameras so the image quality is always better, and especially so in low-light situations. They don't have image stabilization, however, but the improvement in low-light ability is debatably enough to outweigh that feature (I think it is.)

To get really good low-light ability, though, you have no choice but a DSLR. You can get a good one for around $450 now, but you won't have long zoom unless you buy an additional lens... and ideal low-light performance is with a different lens. If you want long zoom and really good low-light performance, you're looking at a very big, expensive, and heavy lens.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

1. Very fast shutter. No lag at all. This problem will be completely solved for you.

DPReview rates it as having up to 0.5 seconds of shutter lag. That's good for a P&S, but it's still an eternity for taking some action shots.