Best digital camera for casual photography?

Question

cheap--- willing to pay up to £80

casual photography, snapshots of family, friends, landscapes.

not used everyday, but on trips, occasions etc.

Answer 1

if you aren't 'obsessed' by  by the geekier photography then virtually any camera will do

id look for one that has as big a sensor as possible (as measured in megapixels (a 2Mp sensor is better than a 1Mp, a 5mp is better than a 2mp and so on.)

id get one that uses SD memory (its cheaper, more readily available)

id get one that uses AA batteries, yes its less environmentally friendly, but if you dont use the camera a lot there is a risk then when you do need the camera the batteries are flat, one that uses AA batteries can be made to work again with batteries from the shop it also means you dont have to carry the chafrge the leads and all the rest of the geeky c**p some peopel do

as to attributes of the camera..

if you are not a David Bailey.. I dont think it matters, a camera from one of the reputable manufacturers wont be far off the pace.. thats people like Fujifilm, Oylmpus, Canon, Vivitar Samsung and the like.

as regards the lens try to get one with a bigger telephot lens, and as big a range as possible, look for optical zoom.. not digital zoom optical zoom is the true optical magnification, where as digital zoom is a but of electronic manipulation

id keep it simple, many modern camera have god knows how many program modes (eg portrait, soft portrait, landscape, sports, fireworks, party.....) they are 'nice' but can be confusing.

id look at size and weight of camera.. if its a casual camera you don't want something hulking that wont fit in a trouser pocket/handbag or wherever.  ideally no bigger than a pack of cards

try to get one with a case

you can occasionally get a good deal from the remainder places like morgancomputer last years models at discounted prices

have a look at the market and come up with a few cameraas that meet your budget and then look at those on places like trusted reviews.com.

have a look at Amazon.com to see what they have.. often they can be significantly cheaper than elsewhere. I also wouldn't rule out the likes of jessops.com, jacobsdigital.com, or wildingsonline.com but you have to be carefull jessops in particular can be pricey. wildings can do good package deals (including a camera,case,memory card etc...)

personally id steer clear of sony.. they tend to use their own propriatory memory whihc is more expensive and harder to find. Im not faulting the cameras from Sony, just the propriatory tricks they play

allow some money in your bduget for a case (if not supplie (about 5..10 at tescos)

allow some money in your budget for a memory card about 5..10 for 1 1 or 2 gb memory card

you will find it easier and quicker to transfer images form a camera to a computer using a card reader.. try dropping hints to friends/family looking for a pressie that a card reader would be a good pressie come birthday or christmas

sorry can't give you a defintive go buy the franji fx231.ohymygod.

persoanlly I recently bought a 12Mp Fuji for around £100 from Tesco & rate it highly. but thats a wee bit out of your budget

Answer 2

sony cybershot!

i have that and it's awesome. i got mine for $120.

Answer 3

There is a monthly magazine called "What Camera?"

You may find it on the magazine shelves of your local library or in W.H. Smiths, then maybe go into your local camera shop for advice - and shop around.  You could find it a lot cheaper on the web.

Answer 4

Wow, you are going to get a huge variety of opinions, many wrong. Sony Cybershots suggested, well, nice enough lens, pity they have a weakspot with the plastic gears that operate the lens!  The more mega pixels the better - rubbish! This ignores the most basic rule of cameras whether film or digital, any camera is only as good as its lens! There are cheap 10mega pixel cameras on the market that take awful photographs!  The image is formed by the lens, the sensor only digitalises' that image! THE single most important component of any camera is the Lens !

My son has an old (well 5 year old) Panasonic Lumix DMC LC33 which is only a 3.2mega pixel camera but has a superb Leica lens and has taken some absolutely superb shots.

£80 will not buy you anything more than an entry level digital camera and to my mind your money would be better spent on buying a better quality camera second hand. Digital camera owners are nortorious for swapping their cameras as soon as something allegedly better catches their eye so there are some great second hand buys out there.

I have 5 digital cameras' including a xmas pressie to me £360 one, but the one I keep going back to and use most of all is a 5mp Panasonic DMC LC80 which has a great Leica designed lens and consistently produces excellent results. I bought mine on ebay for 85 quid s/h  but I see there is one on UK ebay at moment (item 280241618153) for 65 quid that looks a good buy.

Answer 5

you may get the answer here

http://xrl.us/kj6xr

Thanks

Answer 6

Hi,

for a sum of £80.00, Yes you sure are likely to get a Good deal or bargain, but I think that stretching to £150.00 or £200 is likely to offer a wider range of models available.

Most people (including Myself) tend to buy the cameras new.

There are different types

- Pocket keyrings (not for proper photographs, but covert)

- handheld film

- handheld digital

- Single lens reflex digital (telescopic lens type)

The digital ones obviously take cards, and these can have bargains aswell, I paid about £40 for a card, and for later told by a Gentlemen that he bought his at about the same time from a different shop and only paid about £10.00 or a cheap price anyway.

I a guessing you want a handheld digital.

Aim to look in the Jessops Sales.

http://www.jessops.co.uk

http://www.argos.co.uk

Answer 7

I would recommend this camera:

Nikon Coolpix S210 .

8.0 Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom,-Nikkor ED Glass Lens, 2.5" LCD Display, Electronic Vibration Reduction (VR), High Sensitivity (ISO 2000), Face-priority AF, In-Camera Red-Eye Fix, D-Lighting, All-metal Body.

Answer 8

http://www.walgreens.com/store/productli...

trust me.