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Which digtal camera?

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Pantalaimon

Forager
May 19, 2008
140
0
Utrecht, Netherlands
Hello,
I'm looking for a digital camera. But there are so many, and I know for sure there are people here who have more understanding on what to look for. ;)

- Things to do with the cam: photographing all sorts of beautiful things you can encounter in the woods: nice landscapes, animals far away and close by and interesting things close by. Sort of multi-purpose.
- But some cams seems to take ages about taking one picture. And probably with animals, that's too long. Are there 'faster' cams?:confused:
- I'm just looking for a 'cheap' cam (but with good qualities). Below 150 euro's.
- About batteries: many have new Lithium-Ion batteries. I don't prefer that. The battery is better, but requires an specific (heavy) charger. I prefer standard sizes (AA/AAA's).
- Size: the digicams nowadays are small enough.

I would appreciate it if you know some good brands/cams who meets my 'standards'. Or some tips on what to look for. :)

Thanks in advance!:thanks:
Pan.
 
The Canon Powershot SD800 rocks for a small digital camera. I was so impressed with it that I bought 3 more for my wife and daughters. Tremendous capabilities including image stabilization and short shutter speed lag times which 2 very important characteristics for me. Here's a CNET review that you mught benefit from:

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/canon-powershot-sd800-is/4505-6501_7-32069607.html

No affiliation just an incredibly satisfied customer!!!!

Good luck.
 
canon eos 1000d or the 450d pricey but the best, get a 75 to 300mm lens for wildlife shots,
 
No expert by any means but I use a fujifilm finepix A825
and it is pretty cool and versatile and well priced for what you get
Has macro and zoom settings
While that model may well be superceded now probably worth taking a look at the fuji range and reviews
they are well supported on the net
 
We use a Canon Powershot A710 IS camera at work as we need a real close up macro lens, it also has a form of image stabilization and it has a conventional view finder which has two clear benefits - helps people who are used film cameras frame shots and lets you still see your target whilst taking continuous shots. The camera also runs on AA's and has a 35mm film equivalent of 35-210mm though you will still need to rest it on a walking stick, bean bag or lean against a tree when zoomed in fully.

I have a KODAK P850 ZOOM camera which I think is good, it runs on Kodak's Lithium batteries - if you buy a couple of spares then its not so much trouble, it has image stabilization and a 12 times zoom - 35mm film equivalent of 36-432mm and this at the time it was released was why I bought this one. Its served me well and am pleased with the pictures I have from it.

I recently bought a Panasonic DMC-TZ3 for my mum which has the same zoom level as my Kodak, image stabilization, and plenty of idiot proof presets that should make her life easier. I'm very impressed with the camera and it will slip into my pocket easily. It runs on lithium batteries however we bought some 3rd party spares and they keep their charge well and are not a problem to use. I don't see lithium batteries as a problem but thats just me.

My brother has one of those Canon semi professional digital SLR's with changeable lenses and he has taken some superb pictures with it, several reasons that these DSLR's take good pictures - the quality of the glass in front of the CCD and the actual CCD itself on these types are larger than the cameras which are more our budget.

That said, if you have a good eye then you can take great pictures with any camera, buying a supremely expensive camera wont give you that creative spark!

I don't claim to be any expert - still a beginner, I can only tell you about the camera's I have had first hand experience with. There is one website that I have found who offers what appears to be un-biased reviews of many many cameras and that's - http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html , the usual no affiliation with him etc.

Good luck in the hunt.
 
Buying cameras is always about getting the best compromise to do the things you want. If you can live without the telephoto, or without wide angle etc you can get better quality for your money.

So you want a nice wide angle for your landscapes, telephoto for distant animals and macro for close things, and you want it cheap?

Sounds to me like you want it to do everything and cheap if that is the case what you will be compromising on is quality.

Best place for objective digi cam reviews is www.dpreview.com, they also have an excellent forum where you can read numerous real peoples experiences with individual cameras.
 
I use DSLRs (with all the accompanying expense that comes with them!), however I've seen some stunning results from Fuji 'bridge' cameras.

Jim
 
It sounds like you are looking for an automatic from what you have said, but it is worth you looking at bridge cameras too as they are similarly priced and you have the option of being more imaginitive if you want -
dSLRs are very very expensive but well worth it if you know how to use one and have the money (a body will cost around £300-400 at least and then atleast double it for the lenses you'd need).
A bridge camera is a happy medium - an automatic with manual override for when you feel like experimenting and I think these are great for people wanting to get a little bit more serious with photograpy but don't want to spend £1-2k on a dSLR. Its also good if you think you might like to have a dSLR in the future but want to make sure your enthusiasm isn't just a flash in the pan.

I've been really pleased with my fujifilm finepix s5600 - its a brilliant bridge camera - I bought it for £120 in Asda 3 years ago - an absolute bargain... and its taken some great photos (though I say so myself ;)
You can use it as a fully automatic or you override everything and use manual everything - aperture, exposure etc. It has a 10 x optical zoom and 5.1Mega pixels. You can shoot in RAW if you are that way inclined (useful for post-processing if you have a suitable IT package).

I have thoroughly abused it - dropped it frequently - got it wet - cleaned the lens with my T-shirt..... and it has put up with everything except cleaning the lens with my T-shirt ;)

Now I'm ready for a dSLR :)
 
Unless you are going for a DSLR you can't get much better (if not you can't actually get better) than a Canon G9. (or G10!) Bit chunkier and heavier than most point and shoots but it has full manual controls as well as TV AV etc
 
I take an Olympus Stylus Tough 12MP camera out with me. It works great outdoors, especially in daylight. While it won't take pictures like a DSLR, I like it because it is waterproof and rugged. And smaller than a DSLR for use when outside and takes great underwater pictures and videos to boot.
 
I get on well with my waterproof, shock resistant Olympus. It gets stuck in my pocket and I use it whenever and wherever I see somat that I'd like to record.

Used in rain sleet or snow and gets bumped about like the rest of the bushcraft gear without complaint.

Not much of a zoom on it though.
 
I've got Fujifinepix s9600, I bought this after speaking to a few friends who have used fuji's for a few years.
I have not been disapointed, great camera, no problems at all and the batteries last well.
 
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