Buying a new Camera

cooperguy

Hi im looking to buy a new digital camera, the problem is I dont know much about them. Has anybody any suggestions/links for around the €300 mark. Should I be able to get a half decent 1 for that price?

Ruu_Old

I don't really know which would you could buy but the following link is very good for camera reviews and news http://www.dpreview.com/. Best of luck.

440Hz

Ahhhh cooperguy, welcome... need a new camera to be taking shots during fresher wk eh!! Good stuff.

People ask this kinda question in here alot but I guess what we need to do know is what do you want the camera to do... what is most important quality or size etc?

Pixmania is good for choosing, you can enter your price range and you get some ideas... dont necc. have to buy from them but good for finding cameras in your price range. dpreview.com is a good place then to read up the reviews

hope that helps

5uspect

Best to drop into Dixons or somewhere to try out before you buy assuming you are buying online (which can save a bit of cash but be warned about import duty). Its better to know that you like the menu style, the feel of it etc.

Things I always say are watch for speed of operation, some cheap cameras are painfully slow.
If you can get one that uses standard AA batteries rather than an expensive propriority Li-ion (like a mobile phone battery) you can put in high capacity rechargable NiMH batteries that will last for ages and when they do die you can pop in some duracels to get you thru the rest of the day.

A memory card is more expense but can be found cheaper online. There's a great sticky with lots of great tips and links at the top of the forum too.
Best of luck.

cooperguy

Basically im looking for one as a birthday pressie for my dad (I might borrow it off him for freshers week 440Hz;)) Id like one with a fairly decent picture quality he'd have no value in it if he couldnt print decent pics from it ( 5 or 6 megapixel is fairly good isnt it) It doesnt have to be overly compact as long as it isnt a monster, so any suggestions on what model would be good for me???

Zillah

cooperguy wrote:

( 5 or 6 megapixel is fairly good isnt it)

Loads. Thats enough for sellable quality prints. For printing stuff out for family photos you could get by with 3 or 4 megapixel.

There are thousands of simple digital cameras out there. Just go explore websites, take a look. If you find one that looks good then go to goole and type "[name of camera here] review" and you'll find reviews for most types.

5uspect

cooperguy wrote:

( 5 or 6 megapixel is fairly good isnt it)

It is good alright but be careful, resolution isn't everything. Image noise (fuzzyness) can ruin some P&S cameras (due to the small sensor size).

I have a Nikon 5200 coolpix P&S camera (5MP). Its not bad. Its a bit noisy sometimes, has a li-ion battery (which is becoming harder to avoid). Nikon did offer the 5600 which was practically identical but had AA batteries. Most AA battery cameras don't come with batteries or chargers which more expense but worth it imho.

Something like the Powershot A700 would be a good start. About €300 pricewise too...

As Zillah said you need to explore to find the right one yourself as there are so many out there - and do try before you buy.

cooperguy

Ok i think iv found my camera its the fuji f30 and ill probably buy it from here http://www.digitalwonderworld.de/product_info.php/cPath/85_99/products_id/8701 Is this site good, how long should it take to arrive and what does that prepayment thing mean at the top right of the screen?? And most importantly what do you think of the camera

Roen

No idea of the camera but digitalwonderworld.de has alarm bells ringing straight away. Weren't they the villians of the piece when they traded as ny-camera.com?
I have a strong feeling that they were, steer well clear.

***EDIT*** Ding Ding Ding, it's them alright, unless they've cleaned up their act significantly don't touch them with a ten foot barge pole. Check the sticky above for the more reliable places to shop.

cooperguy

Roen wrote:

No idea of the camera but digitalwonderworld.de has alarm bells ringing straight away. Weren't they the villians of the piece when they traded as ny-camera.com?
I have a strong feeling that they were, steer well clear.

***EDIT*** Ding Ding Ding, it's them alright, unless they've cleaned up their act significantly don't touch them with a ten foot barge pole. Check the sticky above for the more reliable places to shop.

Thats where I got that site from, anybody want to suggest somewhere better??

melekalikimaka

Zillah wrote:

Loads. Thats enough for sellable quality prints.

I think 8 is round the mark companies require, can't remember where i read it, but i remembered cos myD50 wasn't up to it.

i'd reccommend as above, drop into shops and pic some objects in the shop, photograph it with all the cameras you try, and compare the images. also I'd say the non aa batteries imo are better, they last crazy long, and memory online of course. Sticking to the main brands is a good idea too, canon/nikon/olympus/pentax/sony your gonna get good quality from them (tho sony and olympus don't really do it for me but thats taste I think)

good luck

5uspect

Roen wrote:

Weren't they the villians of the piece when they traded as ny-camera.com?

Feck it, I just bought some extension tubes and a tripod head from Digital wonder world for work... I'll keep ye posted on how they perform.