Page 1 of Inexpensive Digital Camera recommendation please

Hi,

I need a new camera, am thinking of spending £100-£150

As mentioned in this thread of Jimbo`s, I just want something to take holiday snaps etc rather than serious photos.

Panasonic Lumix FS16 £111.79 at Amazon seems to fit the bill.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-FS16-Digital-Camera/dp/B004I1KP9S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304963844&sr=8-1&tag=myrev09-21

review here
http://www.cameras.co.uk/reviews/panasonic-dmc-fs16.cfm


would spend a bit more if there`s somehting loads better for a bit more money, or happy to spend less if there`s somehting better/similar costing less.

I know very little about cameras, my Nikon has served me well for 8 years, so I`m guessing anything by a good make like Canon, Panasonic, Sony, Nikon as suggested in the other thread would be fine still?

This item was edited on Monday, 9th May 2011, 19:20

Quote:
admars says...
so I`m guessing anything by a good make like Canon, Panasonic, Sony, Nikon as suggested in the other thread would be fine still?i would say so. I`d probably not spend that much on a compact, 14mp sounds nice but if you knew how much you had to spend on a lens to get close to resolving at that resolution, you`d soon realise a) how big those lenses are in comparison to a compact camera, and b) how cheap the lenses in the compact cameras are. And that`s given perfect studio conditions, real world situations often get in the way.

That`s before you even get to the sensor size. :/

I suspect once you go over 8mp in a compact, all you are doing is increasing your file size.


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This item was edited on Monday, 9th May 2011, 20:48

Cheers, I see some of the sub £100 look pretty good as well

Panasonic DMC S3
http://www.cameras.co.uk/reviews/panasonic-dmc-s3.cfm
£95 at Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-S3-Digital-Camera/dp/B004I1KPC0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305009499&sr=8-1&tag=myrev09-21


On my current camera I never play with any of the settings, so it doesn`t seem worth paying extra for extra functionality. Also I never print out pictures, or do any manipulation of them on PC, just rotate them, upload them to facebook etc for friends and family to see.

If you go for a Panasonic Lumix, make sure it has the `intelligent auto` function.
It`s the best auto setting I`ve used on any digital camera I`ve owned (Sony/Kodak/Panasonic).
Having said that, the Panasonic is also the only camera that`s broken down on us.
Some sort of sensor went awol and every photo of a weekend in London was ruined by an effect that looked like they were being taken through a venetian blind.
John Lewis fixed it quickly, but it was still disappointing and I`m not sure I`ll be able to forgive Panasonic when I upgrade.

Cheers all, gone for the Panasonic DMC S3, £90 at play.com has several good reviews of being best budget camera. has intelligent auto which sounds good to me from what I`ve read, and image stabilisation which I prob would use in museums etc when you can`t use flash.

Maybe a tad late but this also looks tasty for sub £70 delivered

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/16740209/Pentax-Optio-RZ10-14-Megapixels-10-x-Wide-Angle-Optical-Zoom-2-7-inch-LCD-Digital-Camera-Black/Product.html?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ADHOC_2011_MAY_19_VOL_12_TECHCAMERA%20%282%29&utm_content=

[Google have marked freeimagehosting.net as a hoster of malware, therefore this link has been removed]

When I got the play.com email this morning with several cameras, i thought bloody typical, but I need it for this weekend.

had a quick play with the camera, and really impressed with it, amazing how much things have moved on since last camera. that never had little boxes to tell me it was in focus, or little boxes for faces, which is funny if you point it at a stack of cuddly toys as it sees some of them as faces :) It even worked when looking at at TV through it!

intelligent auto as Bowfer says is really cool, and the video quality is really good as well, 720p. You can`t zoom when filming but i guess if you could they wouldn`t sell camcorders any more ;)

Have been really happy with my Panasonic DMC S3, however recently it started making an annoying whistling noise, and now the screen display would kind of shake sometimes (although pictures come out fine)

The missus has a Panasonic DMC-F3 which works fine (we got that cheap from Argos eBay outlet I think a bit after I got mine from Play), however she prefers to use my camera when taing photos of the babies as she says hers isn't so good at fast motion, and mine does auto focus quicker.

Neither of us know about photography, we just point and click (still ;) )

I'm a bit disapointed my Panasonic has gone wrong so quick, my Nikon lasted for years before it started playing up :(

My dad reckons I've just worn this one out as last 10 months (that's flown by) I've probably taken more photos than previous 10 years, especially with lots of zooming in and out for baby photos!

Previously our photos were mostly holiday snaps of castles, nice scenary etc, so I'm wondering if now I need to look at the specs more closely so we don't just get lots of blurred limbs. Not sure how much I want to spend. I think ideally I'd like to spend under £100 again, unless that's going to be a false economy again.

I haven't got the time unfortunately to get into photography properly, so simple auto everything would be good for the two of us.

Since the missus' still technically works, I'm thinking of just buying 1 new camera, which she would probably mostly use as she's with the kids more than me.

Who are hot, are who are not this time round?

Cheers

Al

I don't think the good/bad brands have changed at all. If that helps? Don't recall any new players either.

Would have a go at fixing your camera if you wanted? Obviously for the cost of parts an return postage. I think the parts are only going to be a few pounds at most.


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is it likely to be an easy thing to fix then? I wouldn't know where to start, actually, if I did, not sure I'd have the time or patience, so I may well take you up on that kind offer, thanks :)