Cheap digital camera recommendations?

[-Switch-]

I'm looking at getting a digital camera but don't have much money. It will primarily be used for taking pictures to be posted here so it won't be an everday item and therefore I'm reluctant to spend hundreds on it.

Basically what I'm after is something that produces reasonable quality pictures (maybe the same as a 3MPixel phone camera) for between £50 - £100.

There are a hell of a lot of them out there and deciding which one to buy is proving difficult so I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations they could fire off in my direction?

Many thanks

 

[wozza]

are you looking for much zoom or just standad stuff?

 

[Jodie]

My dad went to Woolworth's and bought one for £40 - it's very basic but I've managed to
get some reasonable shots with it. I think it's 3M.

Almost all of the photos on my flickr site are taken with it:
eg: http://www.flickr.com/photos/75126686@N00/313948383/
Not too shabby

 

[giancarlo]

Might be worth looking on something like this, narrowed it down to your price band already:
http://www.dabs.com/productlist.asp...ionKey=12&CategorySelectedId=11193&PageMode=1

Get an idea of what's available then go look for the ones you like for the best price.
I'd keep an eye out for the best optical zoom (digital zoom is rubbish).
Megapixel size isn't everything, a decent brand 6meg can be better than a 10meg no-name.

Got a Fujifilm one myself, getting on a bit now but love it, would get another one of theirs.

Hope that helps.

Cheers
Carlo

 

[sxmolloy]

I use a Nikon Coolpix camera, but I'm not sure of the model (it's at work at the moment). I have had it a while now so it's no doubt out of date but suits my needs very well. Here is Coolpix (not the same as mine) but it's under £100.00 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-Coolpix-L10/dp/B000PI5SUY/ref=pd_sbs_ce_2_img/026-5472809-0826065 You may also need to buy a memory card.

I use mine for family photos, nights out and a few bushcraft / wildlife shots

Hope this helps....ATB....Stu

 

[-Switch-]

are you looking for much zoom or just standad stuff?

I'm not fussed about all those fancy features, I'm happy with just standing closer to whatever I'm photographing


Cheers for the quick response guys (and Jodie). I'll leave this thread for a couple of days before deciding to see if there's any more advice, but you've given me enough to go on already

Thanks

 

[wozza]

ok i think i found a good un, it a Fuji Finepix Z2.
its,
Manufacturer Repaired / Returned Items.
These items are complete and carry a 6 month warranty unless otherwise stated

here is the link its a little way down on the list.
http://www.ephotozineshop.com/?/specials/basement/basement.html&m=1#Digital%20: Compact Cameras

here is what fuji have to say about it.
http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/digital/cameras/z2/?lpage=/digital/cameras/range.php

HTH james

 

[rik_uk3]

Don't worry about the rain with this one

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Elec...0W+6MP+Rugged+Digital+Camera+?productId=27704

 

[giancarlo]

another thing to remember, especially with the bigger mega pixels, is that you'll need to get a decent memory card with it.
Most come with a silly size to get you going (16mb or 32mb), but you'll need to upgrade that if you want to take more than a few pictures at any decent resolution. factor that into your budget.
you'll want at least 512mb these days, 1gb preferable.

Note about the above tho, my sister in law has one of those Vivitar cameras, 6megapixel apparently, but takes worse pictures than my 3meg Fuji.
Not that model tho.. but just to let you know.

 

[BOD]

I like a camera that is no fuss and can withstand the rigors of the trail.

In my work we go through cameras quite quickly and the latest most expensive and gimmicky is seldom best.If they saw what happens to them they'd void the guarantee

Olympus are very rugged. Canon are good and I believe the Fuji are too though some are battery drainers. At the moment I am using a Nikon Coolpix L4, an older camera but robust as are most of the little Nikons in my experience. the Nikon has done 2 years of jungle, white water and marine work

You can check ou its work at http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i154/BOD_photos


Whatever you do avoid the Sony 600 or is it S600. A massive lemon

 

[mace242]

Asda have a 4mp Kodak for £50. It has 3x optical zoom, uses AA batteries and SD cards. I've used it for some of my pictures I've posted. For the money I was very happy with it. Just upgraded to a fuji finepix 6500fd.

 

[-Switch-]

Time for an update on this...


I had a look round today and a bit of a chat with various 'salespersons'.

I've decided to re-evaluate my budget slightly and go for something with good optical zoom and perhaps a re-chargable Li-ion battery.
This narrows things down slightly.

I liked the sound of some of the fujifilm finepix range and there's also a good Samsung that caught my eye as well.
Has any one got experence of these types of camera? Or any of the Sony Cyber-shot range?

Thanks again

 

[mace242]

From what I have read and heard nikon and fujifilm are right up there. I have an older nikon coolpix and it is pretty good. I'm over the moon with my fujifilm 6500fd. I'd suggest buying something like the what digital camera magazine and looking to see what they say.

 

[sxmolloy]

I'd suggest buying something like the what digital camera magazine and looking to see what they say.

Or just standing in the newsagents too read it and save yourself a few quid which can go towards your new camera....

 

[gorilla]

Time for an update on this...


I had a look round today and a bit of a chat with various 'salespersons'.

I've decided to re-evaluate my budget slightly and go for something with good optical zoom and perhaps a re-chargable Li-ion battery.
This narrows things down slightly.

I liked the sound of some of the fujifilm finepix range and there's also a good Samsung that caught my eye as well.
Has any one got experence of these types of camera? Or any of the Sony Cyber-shot range?

Thanks again

the fujifilm finepix 5600 is a brilliant camera - loads of features if you can be arsed reading the manual, but stick it on auto, and it's an exceptional point-and click camera - less than £100 in asda and other places, or look for a 2nd hand one on fleabay
i use mine all the time, and i'm a hopeless techno-idiot

 

[Minotaur]

Time for an update on this...


I had a look round today and a bit of a chat with various 'salespersons'.

I've decided to re-evaluate my budget slightly and go for something with good optical zoom and perhaps a re-chargable Li-ion battery.
This narrows things down slightly.

I liked the sound of some of the fujifilm finepix range and there's also a good Samsung that caught my eye as well.
Has any one got experence of these types of camera? Or any of the Sony Cyber-shot range?

Thanks again

Re-think the re-chargable battery unless it is usb changing. Mine eats batteries, and most of them do, so if you are in the middle of nowhere and want to take a picture....

Anything 6mp or above. The fuji range are good for the money. I think, I am going for the Canon or Pentax.

If you get a good camera, it is worth buying good/camera memory cards. Apprently they are only worth the money if your camera is good enough to use them.

Hope this helps.

I am now going back to drool over the Canon 350D, if only those six numbers would come out.

 

[-Switch-]

The Fujifilm Finepix 6500 is looking good. The more I thought about it the more I realised I would need good optical zoom. I'm hoping to get some good shots of wildlife and you just can't do that without a good zoom camera.
And the battery thing has got me thinking. All the sales assistants I spoke to said to get a re-chargable Li-Ion battery but if I'm in the woods and the battery dies what do I do? Much easier and less frustrating to simply drop a couple more AA's into it and carry on.

I'm off in to town now for a bit more 'hands-on'.

Thanks for the advice people

 

[ArkAngel]

Rechargeable batteries save money in the long run, but of course AA (or in some cases lithium batteries are much more available.

Most of the run times i have used on camera's are very good, i have a spare battery for my Nikon coolpix 8800 and have never needed to change when i am out.I bought my wife a Canon G6 for her 40th and that uses the same battery as the Canon SLR's so the run time is huge.

Some cameras even come with a cradle so you can swap between rechargable and standard batteries.

You can extend the life of the battery by careful use (or not) of the LCD screen, that is the main eater of batteries along with zooming up and down the focal range.

Other than that, the main points that other people have said:

Stick to a good brand (Canon, Nikon etc- The quality of the lens is still just as important as the megapixel rating. High MP and a rubbish lens will still produce rubbish pictures)

Memory cards- Don't go mad and spend a fortune on a high end card. Stick a brand name (Sandisk, Lexar etc) but don't go for the "Extreme 4" with super high read/write speeds. Most compact cameras have a capped write speed (like mine) and the write times are the same if i use a x80 speed card or a x266. Only SLR camera's can utilise the high speed of these cards. It also brings the price down, i have just bought an 8GB card for £60, the high speed version is over £300!!!

 

[-Switch-]

I bought a Fujifilm Finepix A825 in the end. I wanted the 6500 but it seemed like a mid-range camera rather than entry-level and the A825 seems a good place to start. Also it was just a little too much money

I'm ok with this one though. I've had a bit of a play and it takes pretty good pictures. It's also got a few features that I didn't notice until I read the manual, like t.v. connection and a rather limited video mode.

It's all good though. You can expect me to be posting up alot of pictures from now on

Thanks for all the help and advice