I was wondering if I could pick the brains of the photography bods on here for some advice. I'm by no means into photography but my current digital point and shoot is quite sh*t and I'd like to replace it. I've always gone for compactness and convenience over picture quality but I think my priorities have changed. I still don't want to go down the DSLR route because I'm fairly sure that I wouldn't use it but I'd like a point and shoot that's still capable of taking a decent photo. Obviously I understand the limitations of a sub £200 point and shooter but any suggestions would be welcome.
Shouldn't need to be any damaging limitations on a £200 camera Rich. I just spent £240 on something that makes all my other cameras look like they have come out of the stone age. First of all describe what kind of shit your current camera is producing and what you particularly want out of of it. A 'decent' photo isn't enough to advise you on mate.
What motivated me was taking this photo. Admittedly this was just on my phone but my digi camera is so old that it's barely any better. There was so much detail that the camera just didn't catch. Bit of a shame as it could've been nice. Same thing this morning. Driving to work with the orange sun rising above the North Yorks Moors. Would've been a lovely photo but I don't have the equipment.
Happy New Year Rich. I asked a similar question last summer and Kpone (he knows what he is talking about, if only some of the time) and suggested a Fujifilm HS30EXP whilst not being a compact its somewhere in between that and a full blown DSLR. Its awesome camera that you can point and it will auto focuses or you can muck around with the settings if you are clever enough. I think we paid about 300 quid ish but prices have dropped quite a bit since then. Although I have to say the original had to go back because it had a broken lead port, but was swopped for another one which is fine.
Ahhh ya know. When you grow up with something it gets so that other places look weird because they don't have it. Haha!
Okay then, there are two kinds of camera you need to consider. A straight forward compact can now have fairly decent zoom lenses on them and still fold away flat enough to fit in your pocket if lack of bulk is important. Not very many of them now offer a viewfinder as backup to the LCD panel, which, to me, is important but is a personal preference. The other type of camera is a bridge camera. It 'bridges' the gap between a compact and an SLR. They come with many of the tricks you get with an SLR but a smaller sensor (smaller in size, not pixels), a built in lens, usually of very large zoom ratio and relatively low speed. The 'speed' of the lens is judged by its maximum aperture, how wide the iris can open. They all have viewfinders but electronic ones, like a video camera. In bright sunlight this is a godsend. The downside is that they're like baby SLRs to look at so they can be quite bulky. Here's the page on the Fuji website listing their Bridge cameras. Bridge | Fujifilm United Kingdom And here's the page for their advanced compacts Advanced Compact | Fujifilm United Kingdom No, I don't work for Fuji but their website is a lot easier to navigate than most if you're just doing research. The F770EXR is about £200. The HS30EXR bridge camera is the one I just bought for myself. Tesco is currently selling that for £240. That is a lot of camera for £240. Other manufacturers do both types of camera all at varying levels of tricks lens quality and costs. The best review site to compare them is this one in my opinion. Digital Photography Review Nothing beats picking them up and handling them though. I bought a Panasonic one for J based on spec only. She loves it, I can't even hold the bloody thing properly. Quick edit. I bought the camera I recommended to Freedom after I got him to soak test it for me. If a bog trotter like him can get on with it, it's the one for me.
Phone cameras aren't too bad at getting the shot anyway Rich. It's what's in the picture that's important. Everything else is down to the size of the special effects palette.
also dont run away from Dslr's , yes they can be tricky at first but you will soon get the hang of it and there is some nice entry models you can get on ebay for the right money.
I am a big Fuji fan here - I have a f560exr at the moment and pleased with results - almost too complex for me with all the settings - best thing is huge zoom. It has ability to shoot RAW and loads of other tricks - if you look in the 'photo critique section almost all the pics are taken with it, plus pics of a day in Scotland with Firebloke - look for link to that report. The HS30 has an ace spec and tempted - but its a big beast to carry and not handy for pocket like the 560exr is. The Lumix also takes good pictures -lots of options!
Also look at the Fuji refurbished area of the official website - cameras are like brand new - I'm almost tempted to sell my one on ebay and trade up - cost to move often not that bad - did that to go from F70EXR to the 560 EXR - think it cost me £60 to replace a 2 year old camera I had used loads with a brand new one with loads more features. The 320FPS movie mode is also really cool!
The advantage of the 954 is its J Lo boot Al. The HSR30 fits perfectly with a bit of padding to soak up the shocks.
This looks like a bit of a bargain. I know it's a year old model etc but I think their advanced compact would probably be the thing I need.
That is a slight update to the one I have - at that price even I am tempted! I'd get one if I were you - worse case you sell it on for £60 - £70 on ebay if you really dont like it - I would get a 2nd battery for it - they do run down quick if you use movie mode a lot (which I do)
Have a look at the photos on the following albums - all taken with my 550EXR Links removed as quality checked - PM if interested
