[Fineus]

I've discovered something of a love for photography and would like to explore this a bit more. However the camera I have - while good for partys and such - isn't exactly ideal. Let me outline what I'm looking for:

A digital camera, should be compact and managable (nothing huge and bulky).. suitable for parties and other such stuff but also have the ability to go into finer detail for actual "proper" photography... something with more control than simple point and click.

However I don't want to go into the really expensive stuff. I'm not a pro and I don't see myself becomming one just yet, so I don't want to splash out on the big bucks - just something that gives me a nice balance of features while not heading into the high-range bucks. Something like Setekhs level of photography is what I had in mind, however I think he has access to some pretty damn nice tech that I won't be able to afford (correct me if that's wrong mate )

Anyway, does anyone have any advice?

[Fineus]

Nobody? I fail to believe nobody hear has a little photographic experience

[jdjtcagle]

Not me

[Corsair]

Digital camera? Bah.
I take pictures with my 30+ year old Nikormat that I have on loan from my grandpa. If I want the pictures digitized, I get the people at the film store (I have no access to a darkroom at school or anywhere else ) to put them on a CD when they develop the film.

[Gloriano]

DSCP92



Features:

5.0 effective Megapixel Sony Super HAD CCD
3x optical zoom
MPEG Movie VX with audio
STAMINA NiMH batteries supplied
Memory Stick PRO compatible
16MB Memory Stick supplied

£299.99

and here is some more
http://products.sony.co.uk/thumbnails.asp?id=8_60_

If you want check:)

I hope it help's little:)

[Splinter]

if you give us a price range it may help

personally I was shoping around for a digi camera jsut like the one you described and I found 2 things that shocked me.

1. if you read reviews on the net for most the sony mid range digi cameras there is a firghteningly large percentage of people complaining aobut picture quality. not jsut amature photgraphers... guys who know how to use a digi camera. I was so sure I was going to get a sony...

2. dpreview has all the info you need (except price for you since its in the States.

if your wondering what I ended up with... A Kodak (to my suprise) DX6440 larger then the sony p92 but wieghs just as much 4MP 4opt zoom has plenty of manual and auto features my dad found a smashing deal on it as well WITH the docking bay and rechargable batteries AND a 128MB SD card it cost $350 (the list price of the camera alone) comes standard with 16mb but its internal storage so add that to whatever memmory card you end up buying.

aside from my experience which has been nothing but excelent read the reviews for yourself... amazon DP review newegg... its (to everyones suprise apperantly) quite worth a look. also it has a smaller brother the DX6340 only change is its 3 MP instead of 4 and you can save as much as $100

[Fineus]

The price, yes the price. I really should have said something about that - would've made it easier

Ideally I'm looking to go between £100 and £200 - perhaps £250 if the stretch is really worth it. This is mainly because right now this is a curiosity - not a hobby that I know I'll fall in love with... so I don't want to start spending huge amounts only to find I rarely ever use the camera.

Quality is important, but I'm not looking to do incredibly detailed macro work or anything like that - nothing of a truly professional nature (not because I don't want to - but because I don't think I could afford it for the price range I've specified). I do however want good quality, sharp photos with a good control over lighting and so forth (the more quality/features for the price I've specified - the better).

Hope this helps! Cheers for the aid so far....

[Admiral LSD]

We bought my dad one of these for Christmas last year:



http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/digital/cameras/s3000/index.php?flash=0

It's a 3.2MP jobbie with 6X optical zoom, 3.2X digital zoom etc, etc. YOu can read more about it here: http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/digital/cameras/s3000/index.php?page=tech_specs

It's quite a neat little package. Doesn't take a bad photo either:

http://members.westnet.com.au/gweber/DSCF0018.JPG

We paid about AUD$599 (about 234 pounds) for it at the end of last year but we've seen it as low as AUD$399 (about 156 pounds) in several recent sales. It most likely going to be cheaper over there though.

[Jetmech Jr.]

Optio 33L

I'm surprised Steak hasn't mentioned anything.

[Fineus]

Thanks guys - both looking good although I have a question that could apply to both... having read some reviews I've found a lot of places talk about image quality - then a thought struck me. Of course the image quality on a £150 camera will be lower than that of a £500 camera... so how can I judge what is passable? I mean I know a bad image when I see one but at some point a compromise has to be made. Will reviews talk about poor image quality across the board - or poor image quality for that specific price bracket?

(And yes, I was hoping Setekh would have something to say... I guess he's busy )

[Admiral LSD]

Any review worth its salt will include a sample of an image taken by the camera (or may be several taken in different conditions to test the various picture modes). The easiest way to find out what is acceptable is to compare these samples yourself and decide on the best on in your price bracket.

[Splinter]

I agree with LSD if you want Pm me your email and ill take a few shots with mine show you what you would be getting and stuff.

ill get you some sneaky pictures of snawich sleeping or somthing

checked on some place called jessops? price in the UK for the kodak DX6440 is 200quid including VAT its smal brother the 6340 is 180 :thepimp:

[Janos]

Nikon Coolpix.

[Jiggyhound]

http://accessories.gateway.com/AccessoryStore/Consumer+Electronics_381930/Photo_316497/Digital+Cameras_316499/7004854_proddetail.htm?ref=merch

[Fineus]

Splinter, thanks for the offer but I should be ok - there are quite a few reviews out there for every camera I've come across and a lot of them do have pictures so that's ok. It's still a problem that they talk of image quality yet I can't see anything wrong with the images I guess I'll keep looking and see what shows up.

Oh - and Setekh - if you're reading this, post something you lazy bugger

[Setekh]

Originally posted by Kalfireth
(And yes, I was hoping Setekh would have something to say... I guess he's busy )

Right on there, I don't think I could have let this thread go even if I wanted to. Now that I have time to talk about, on top of everything that's been mentioned here, I have one important thing to say:

Determination.

Heh. I've always wanted to do something like that. Anyway, the reason I say this is because you remind me a lot of myself when I was first going for a digital, but I didn't have anyone to tell me what to do. What I did was get a compact cheapie to start with - only 2MP and no optical zoom. It was important to get a cheap one which was small enough to carry everywhere because... well, you won't grow as a photographer unless you do it a lot, and that happens less if you're too scared to even breathe on the thing let alone get it out and put a few scratches on it in action. But if you're determined to take good photos, the image quality and lack of zoom will be no problem to you. Half of good photo taking is composition, and that has far less to do with zoom and the like than you might think - and starting off on a camera with no zoom is good preparation for a camera with.

I highly encourage you to get any camera that you're comfortable with - that's far more important than any brand or anything. It's quite a vital thing for the camera to be responsive - one of the best things about Sony digicams is that they're fast. I can turn on and take three whole photos in the time it takes for some of my friends just to start up their cameras (another benefit of having no zoom - faster startup). Get that one cheap, be rough with it, take it everywhere, see if you like it. Then when you're ready and game (like I decided after two years) to get more serious and break free from the limits of your other camera, go the whole way and get a full manual.

I'm not too keen on the idea of a kind of half-way camera that is not too expensive but gives you some options to play with. I understand your desire but those cameras are usually very poorly-done hybrids, that are neither here nor there - expensive enough to warrant not taking everywhere, but not having all the features you would really want. That's my thoughts, anyway. Be determined with your photography and it almost doesn't matter what camera you get.

[Fineus]

Cheers Food for thought certainly! I have to say I do currently have a Fujifilm FinePix A101 (1.3 Mega Pixels) camera, which I've borrowed (read: stolen) from dad for some time now. I love it but I also know it's more of a "family taking photos on a holiday of themselves / some donkey on a beach" type camera, rather than something more serious.

Suffice to say, I'd rather lean towards something more serious - but the range, features and pricing seems incredibly daunting... that is to say I could spend up to £600 on this, but firstly I can't afford it and secondly I'm not sure I could justify the price even if I could afford it.

(I'm thinking of this kinda like a graphics card - I recently upgraded to a Radeon 9800 because it was top of the line at one stage but has been superceeded since, making it cheaper yet powerful... rather than the latest flagship Radeon which might have all the bells and whistles but costs an arm and a leg).

One question I could ask then is - what do you have? I've seen the quality of the pictures and the potential it has - which can show me what to look for in other cameras of a similar nature (basically - it's a good yard stick).

[Setekh]

What do I have? Well, I used to have this (the cheapie), and I currently use this (the serious). If you've already got the cheapie, you've got to demonstrate to yourself two things:

• You're able and willing to push the technology and get some lessons in photographic composition, if you haven't developed a natural sense for it;
• You're committed enough to the hobby to spend the money you're thinking of on a much better camera.

The megapixels are far less important than the actual degree of control you have over the photo you eventually take. Look for the ability to set aperture priority, shutter priority (don't go for a camera that will only let you do 5-second exposures - go for at least 30 seconds, and more if you can find one in your price range), manual focus, ISO sensitivity ranges, that sort of jazz. If you post up some cameras you're interested in, I'll be more than willing to take them to pieces (metaphorically speaking ) and tell you the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Oh, and btw, unlike graphics cards, you must go into the store and handle a camera before you buy it. You're going to spend all your time physically holding this thing, and with all the greatest specs and controls in the world, it'll be useless if you don't feel comfortable with the thing. That's vital.

[Fineus]

Cheers, and indeed understood - having looked over the specs of your (good) camera I can see a clear (and unfortunate..) jump between the £250 and £300+ price ranges. (It's unfortunate because that's outside what I ideally wanted to spend on one).

Time to go and take a look around some shops and see if saving up is worth it.

[Fineus]

Uh, having done a little research it seems that there's about a £200 price jump between digital camera prices in the UK and those in the US (that is to say a DSC-F828 for example is $600 (£300) in the US, but £500 in the UK. Granted there's shipping but I don't see that costing £200!)

Would this hold true for most cameras and hopefully save me a bit of money in the process? (I could still find a store here to take an up close look at one I expect..but for that actual purchase I don't mind internet ordering).