Budget Digital Camera

[DCM]

OK, I thought it was time to update my old (1.3MPixle) Olympus camera for something newer.

Not interested in fancy dancy options, just a good basic camera capable of taking reasonable pictures.

Let me know of any suggestions, I am fed up of looking now, lol.

[jimmy]

the best place to look if you havent already is dpreview.com, it has very in-depth reviews of a lot of cameras, and even if a particular camera isnt reviewed there usually is a lot of owners comments..

the reviews are excellent though.

[jimmy]

I should say most digital cameras noadays will take good photos in good light..

Taking photos of cars wizzing round a track is another matter though.. there you want minimal shutter lag (time from pressing to photo actually taken), minimal noise at higher ISO settings is also a good thing..

[DCM]

I would be mostly taking static shots of shells and dynamic shots of the kids (ever known kids to sit down long....).

Was also trying to keep my budget under £100 as well, preferably including a memory card to.

[Southwell]

I use a HP 507 Staples are selling it for £90 i think at the moment. 4.1 mp 3x optical zoom. Need a memory card to take a decent amount of pics though.

[jimmy]

i know nowt about lil cameras to be honest as i never really look at them, vickys sister got one for her birthday and i made her take it back, it was utter rubbish, a no-brand job, with a crap sound that played when you took a photo (like a photo sound), 3 mega pixel but a tiny tiny little lens on it..

she got some olympus thingy which is much better now.

[DCM]

Been having a mooch about, Olympus are out of the running as they use X-D(??) cards which per Mb are twice the price of SD cards.

Now, anywhere I can get SD cards, as it happens, my new mobly takes an SD card, so though get two.

[Southwell]

http://www.bigpockets.co.uk/cat.php?lang=&submenu=SD&menu=memory&search=Secure+
Digital&photo=y&session=3bf5096c0242f26871f5805be53d21b1

http://www.ciao.co.uk/HP_PhotoSmart_R507__5773258

[OldTimer]

DCM tesco's is worth a try, guy a work bought a 5megapixel point and shoot for £60 from there at the weekend, pictures look ok and it does the job, not sure what card it takes, i think it was CF or SD

[JCJC]

My dad likes ebuyer

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=43744

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=101046

But says they run out of stock quickly (great for computer bits)

Spec at: http://kmpi.konicaminolta.us/eprise/main/kmpi/content/cam/cam_product_pages/DiMAGE_E500?mDetail=Specifications

Added 27th Dec: these are sold out - stock overdue - :roll:

[PaulRotheram]

Just got a nice camera for xmas, a samsung digimax A4.

after abit of research it comes at £130ish which is a very fair price imo.

4 mega pixel, 12x zoom, 1.8" lcd screen, capable of movie clips and voice recordings.

lots of options inside the camera, and you can edit the pictures, with your camera!

it also looks very nice, which is a plus :P

heres an example of the image quality:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/paulrotheram/STA40064.jpg

not shabby considering the price.

forgot to mention, the resolution is HUGE just photobucket down sizes pictures :evil:

[OldTimer]

Paul, thats a nice clean image from the camera, hopefully we will see a few action shots soon?.

[PaulRotheram]

yeah im gonna try a few action shots soon, not sure how good they will be but i wont be able to find out till the next race meeting - jan 8th :(

might test some out on big brum brums?

[rojna]

jimmy, what do you think of the Nikon Coolpix 5700 , will I be able to get good quality action shots of rc with it ??

[jimmy]

Hi mate, ive use a 5700 a couple of times, it does produce fantastic shots in certain situations. Its quite similar to my old fuji 6900 which i used to use for RC. basically the focusing speed is quite slow, so for action shots you would really have to be pre-focusing (have a lil read of my "photo tips".

There is also from my memory a very slight delay from pressing the button to the photo being taken, which does make it a bit harder it has to be said as you need to figure out your timing to take it into account.
outdoors in decent light it can get great shots but in poor light it would struggle a bit. Indoors it would only really be usefull with the flash.

Hope that helps fella, it is an excellent camera for more static photos but you can certainly use it for action photos in good light.

[rojna]

thanks for the info :D
just bought one on ebay for $300 :D

Ill show some action shots after i I get it, 10 to 14 days :cry:

[buzz]

Ive just got a 8 mega pixel camara. minolta :wink: :D

[ApexSpeed]

I just sold my 5700 in order to buy my new D70s. I had the CoolPix for 2 years and regretted buying it since I bought it, but this is coming from someone who had used SLRs all of his life. My simple feedback on the 5700... I absolutely hated it.

Actually, it took great pictures, but only if the light was ideal, outdoors, and your subject wasn't moving very fast.

The camera is awkward to hold, and a bit nose heavy unless you buy the AA battery grip, which I'd recommend. It gives you another shutter release and a second zoom trigger, and gives a much better feel in your hands.

My gripes with the 5700 were many, including the fact that indoors in anything but bright light, it was horrible. It focused slow, had a slow shutter release, and the flash was blinding to anything in the first 3 feet of the shot. I absolutely hated it for high speed stuff. If you want to shoot sports, cats or moving kids, its a tough choice. Yes, there are plenty of advanced adjustments on the camera (ISO push, etc), but they are difficult to access on the fly.

My biggest problem with the camera was the focus. To manually focus the camera, you pushed and held a button on the left side of the camera with your left hand, then turn a dial on the top right with your right hand, while viewing your scene through a tiny digital viewfinder. Unless you are focusing on infinity, its almost impossible to get a good focus.

For shooting desktop and closeups, it works great, but it's not much more than a glorified P&S. Mine new was $850 a couple of years ago, so that's the source for a lot of bitterness. You can probably pick one up used now for about $300 or so, as that's what I got for my kit. At that price, it's not a bad deal, but don't expect too much more than a point and shoot with a nice zoom lens.




doug

[ApexSpeed]

oOps, I guess you bought it already. :shock:

Just be sure to shoot in daylight as much as possible, and make sure your subjects hold VERY still. ;)

[jimmy]

thats a good oOps ! oOple style! lol

yea, these sorts of cameras, indeed any camera, really do much much better in good light. the sunnier the better!

[ApexSpeed]

Oh yeah, whatever you do... DON'T lose the lens cap. Apparently, they don't exist anywhere on the planet anymore and Nikon is no longer making them. adapt up to a larger filter size and use those lens caps, and you'll be better off in the long run.


doug

[rojna]

took my new 5700 for a test drive today

http://rojna.pl/galerie/429d61ca89ca8baec7f805d707d103f029698.jpg

http://rojna.pl/galerie/e3c270ef836618c9d6c9a7cb3c21579729701.jpg

Jimmy, I took almost 200 shots, these are the best 2, is it me or can this camera take better shots ?? I used 1/250 & 1/500 ( maybe it was 1/125 & 1/250, dont remeber :( ) with around F5.6 I also used the continus mode ( 3 shots ).

[stulec52]

Just picked up a cheep and cheerful Canon A610 ( for the missus... we shall see though)
Anyone used one? got any top tips?
I'm moving up from my Boots disposable here, so keep it simple ! ok not really, but my Olympus 1.2 whopping megapixel beast was pretty straightforward, I'm hoping the Canon can do some more tricks, and I also have a nice Pixma 3000 to work with it for nice 'family' shots !:)