First Camera

sAid

Hey after my exams I am thinking of buying my first digital camera.

I want a good one and I have a budget of around 350 so I was wondering would any of ye recommend one? It would be purely used for amateur photography, and maybe I can cut in on that nudie photo shot dobblerphoto is doing. lawl
Also I'm in Dublin atm so would it be better to buy one in a shop in town or just get one of the internet??

Thanks in advance,

elven

I think the best prices are on the internet, unless you can get a special deal anywhere. But the trick is to go into the shops anyway because you want to actually try holding them in your hands to see if they are comfortable, and if they are good build quality, and if the settings are intuitive to you.

I don't know which are best on the market just now but there are reviews on absolutely anything on www.stevesdigicams.com and I also think dpreview is a good site.

I'm sure some others will soon post with specific suggestions.

andy1249

Do you have a particular style in mind , for instance would you like it shaped like an SLR or would you like a credit card sized thing that you can slip in your pocket ,
Do you want the capability to do video , do you want the camera to have a manual mode , ( if you get into photography you probably will !! ) , all these things should be kept in mind , there are trade offs on most of these features ,
SLR shape and style will give the best picture quality and best zoom , credit card style compacts will give you only 3 x zoom max and sometimes the picture quality can suffer.

Have a look here and see if you like any of these ,

http://www.komplett.ie/k/kl.asp?bn=10753

Post the style your interested in and I'll post some of the best in that type , you can get a lot of camera for 350 so with the right amount of research you should come out very happy.

jaqian

I'd recommend you get the Fuji S5600 its a "prosummer" camera halfway between your ordinary point & shoot and an SLR. Great for the amateur starting off. I have the older model the S5500 and I find it very easy to use and its 10x optical zoom is brilliant.

The new model is 5MP, shoots in both RAW and JPG, 10x optical zoom it has the new ANTI SHAKE feature for better pictures its ISO range is 64 - 1600. It works off 4 AA batteries, I find the battery life pretty good. I've seen it around Dublin for €330/350 a hundred cheaper than mine was!

Buy this camera and you won't regret it. There are cameras out there that only offer 3x optical and nowhere near this amount of features and will cost you the same or more.

Best of all this is a learning camera. You can use it on "Auto" and as you learn more about photography you can explore how to make use of its different ISO's, buy extra lenses (comes with lens adapter ring) etc.

User reviews: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/read_opinions.asp?prodkey=fuji_finepixs5200z

Oriel

I too would recommend the S5600. I have the S5500 and for a first camera, it's great.

S.

sAid

Thanks for replying

Yeah any1249 I had a good look through komplett and that style I'm thinking of going for would have to be an SLR because I would probably lose/break/lose a credit card sized one . Plus the sound and look better:)

I was looking at reviews of the S5600 and I think I might go for it. From what ye were saying it sounds really good.

However, I was looking at some sites from the shops in Dublin and its 400+ in most of them . So I was just wondering do ye know any good sites which sell it cheaper i.e at around 350 or less

Cheers

daramullally

I got my s5600 in the Fuji shop in Liffey Valley fro €350 which included a battery charger and 4 batteries. Pixmania have it for €270 + shipping:

http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/135359/art/fuji/finepix-s5600-zoom.html

andy1249

The fuji is a great camera , I started with an S5000 myself ,
Anyway , these guys are good to deal with , the camera is 234 euros here ,

http://www.technikdirekt.de/main/en/foto/fotodigital/digitale-sucherkameras/812670/-/Article.html?fillspace=1

Technikdirekt will ask for photo ID to be sent and a credit card scan for your first order , this is normal , I have bought thousands worth from them and can highly recommend them ,

Im not sure about Pixmania , my one experience with them was horrible , they constantly tried to sell me stuff I didnt want , like extra insurance , crappy photo paper , extortionately priced camera accessories and bags etc.

Technik are not like that , and cheaper too

sAid

A credit card scan ? I was looking for a site myself on the recommened sticky and found this http://www.digitalwonderworld.de/product_info.php/cPath/85_99/products_id/7704

its around the same price, but technik direct sound really good too and that little bit cheaper :D. Thanks:)

jaqian

Well once you get new camera make sure you show off your photos here:Fujifilm S3000 - S9500 Users : http://www.flickr.com/groups/fujifilm_digitals/

sAid

will do!