digital camera

Post by **dave1949** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 4:31 pm

i know nothing about the above other than how to press a button to snap the shot
can someone advise a reasonably priced camera that will take good clear images at rallies and hols and also a home unit for producing the pictures
and where to purchase them?

cheers

Post by **Orkney** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 4:53 pm

Fuji Finepix - point and click

second hand on ebay £40(or new if youve got the money they get cheaper by the week £100-150) amazing lenses = a lot better than so many mega pixels.
good lens first pixels second on the list of must haves.
The bigger the pixels the more room it takes up on your PC and futile if say a 5mb file from one camera is inferior in quality to a 1mb file from another.

Post by **alex_holden** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 5:03 pm

I agree that the lens and the build quality are more important than the "megapixel" number (which is exaggerated by marketing anyway). I have a tiny Panasonic Lumix compact camera with a Leica lens and I'm very happy with it, but the chances are if you ask ten people to recommend a camera they'll tell you ten different answers. Your question is much too vague. I would suggest deciding what you can afford to spend, then going to a decent camera shop (preferably an independent one rather than a big chain store) and asking them to show you something suitable.

Post by **bigginger** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 5:06 pm

I f'rinstance have hated the Fuji cameras that I've owned, on the grounds of very poor durability...

Post by **Orkney** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 5:24 pm

Ah BG they are hardy things - had one went on for years and years despite terrible abuse - till the day the dog went on the roof and wouldnt come down - it never survived the 10ft drop. Bought an identical SH on ebay silly cheap edit - (so i didnt have to learn how to use a different one) edit - it turned up and was newer than new - the owner had really looked after it - its still going 2 years later after being dropped dont know how many times.
Would love a similar quality one that slips in a top pocket though rather than the SLR alike format.
First digi cam was sony that took straight onto floppy disks - was the size of a house brick nearly

BTW id also say that that camera Alex has is a nifty bit of kit, but bet it cost more than forty quid

Post by **bigginger** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 5:30 pm

Yup, just agreeing that different folk have different experiences/recommendations, really ;D

Post by **alex_holden** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 6:31 pm

Orkney wrote:BTW id also say that that camera Alex has is a nifty bit of kit, but bet it cost more than forty quid

My Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX8 cost a lot more than that when I bought it new in 2005 (the 2GB SD card cost a fortune too), but used ones seem to be going reasonably cheaply now on eBay. This one, for example went for £66. It's been superseded by newer models with higher pixel counts, but it still works great as a super compact that will fit comfortably in my trouser pocket. I particularly like the big display that takes up nearly the whole back of the camera (there's no optical viewfinder), and the fact that it can record about an hour of OK quality video or about 20 minutes of almost DVD quality video (the only thing that lets it down is the microphone).

Incidentally I've been watching and bidding on older Fuji Finepix SLRs recently, but they keep going over what I'm willing to pay. I actually won an S1 Pro, then the seller said he'd just discovered it had a major fault that wasn't mentioned in the listing and gave me a full refund.

Post by **Judge** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 6:45 pm

I must admit that I am very happy with my Fuji Finepix.

Post by **jonathon** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 7:09 pm

Fuji Finepix for me too

Post by **Orkney** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 7:17 pm

Incidentally I've been watching and bidding on older Fuji Finepix SLRs recently

well mines not SLR its an slr 'alike' as in the format of the design - only 2mp but still good enough to get great prints from teh shop if needed. Ok they wouldn't go to poster size without distorting but good enough for my needs.
Dont think i could do without the mini eyepiece (led display) though what with the constant bright sunshine here all the time

Rarely use the bigger camera back screen at all in fact.

Post by **chickenjohn** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 9:02 pm

I've had a Canon Ixus for over 5 years now took it everywhere, been skiing with it (fell on it a few times)- VERY durable camera, very compact too. Its got a tough stainless steel case and the Canon optics are good, plus the colours are more realistic than some digital cameras, easy to use and the screen is usefully bright- brighter than many digital cameras.

Still going strong, though a little paint spattered now as its been on resto photographing duties for a while. "Only " a 2.2 megapixcel but you can print up to half an A4 size with good quality.

I would definitely but Canon Ixus again, but no need as this one keeps going

Post by **d_harris** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 11:11 pm

My mum has a fuji finepix and i find it a bit Fiddly, me, matt and out lil sis each have a kodak easyshare camera and I couldn't recomment them enough, me and matts have taken so much abuse its unbelievable!!

Post by **dave1949** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:55 pm

thanks eveyone for their advice
now purchased a fuji finepix
now the fun starts working it

Post by **Orkney** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:33 pm

yay well done - if its too complicated for you gladly swap for my old simple press the button version

Post by **dave1949** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:58 pm

as a follow up
i took some pics at the web rally approx 10.30am,
before i had to return to work

5 moggies in line at that time
how on earth do i display them on the site

Post by **overider** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:05 pm

The best advice to anyone wanting a digital camera is simple. Choose your budget and buy the camera with the most pixels you can for the money you have. More pixels better photos. In addition, choose a named camera you have heard of before.

Post by **overider** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:16 pm

dave1949 wrote:as a follow up
i took some pics at the web rally approx 10.30am,
before i had to return to work
5 moggies in line at that time
how on earth do i display them on the site

this is a link to the thread i think you are looking for

http://www.mmoc.org.uk/index.php?name=P ... pic&t=9028

scroll down until you see cams post. Well wrote and easy to follw step by step instructions

Post by **alex_holden** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 11:02 pm

overider wrote:The best advice to anyone wanting a digital camera is simple. Choose your budget and buy the camera with the most pixels you can for the money you have.

I disagree. The quality of the lens and sensor, and to some extent the shutter are more important than the number of pixels. I took lots of very nice pictures with my old Kodak 1MP digicam with its large glass zoom lens. My current mobile phone has a higher resolution but the pictures it takes are uniformly awful because it has a tiny plastic fixed-focus lens.

Post by **MoggyTech** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 12:28 am

Yip, it's a myth that more pixels = better quality. Most important is the lense quality and CCD pixel area. I use a Finepix S7000 6 mega pixels SLR type Digital Camera and the results are great. Prices are dropping really fast now that digital is the major format. Still got my old Kodax DC200 and it to gives great results.

Post by **chickenjohn** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 12:14 pm

I agree with Alex and MT. mega pixcel count is just to look good in the adverts. My old Canon is "only" 2.2 but takes good pictures (depending on the skill of the photographer, of course).