Advice on a new Camera

[Justin]

Currently using a little compact camera, Samsung *** and I've never really got on with it very well. I've always been a point and shoot photographer, never used anything other than this type of camera.

I'd thought about going back to a simple Kodak C143, around £50 but wondered if I might benefit by spending a little more.

Just looking around and found a couple that interest me.

Fuji Finepix S1900
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/77253/show.html

Canon Powershot SX130
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/78030/show.html

I like to be able to get the camera out and take a photo without having to spend forever setting things up but I'm interested in learning (a little) more about photography.

Hadn't intended spending a fortune but I'd appreciate some basic advice please.

[John G]

Hi Justin,
I've got a Fuji bridge camera similar to the one your looking at (earlier model) - really happy with it. Its nowhere near as good as a dslr for image quality but the zooms good and it take decent photos.

Cheers John

[Justin]

Just looking on eBay and found the Canon for £118 and A Fuji S2800 for £140.....being careful not to push the price up though!

[AdamB]

I got (and still have it) a canon Powershot many years ago Justin and it was a brilliant little camera. Then a few years ago I had to buy a camera for work, so I went for the latest powershot model available at the time. I didn't think it but it was even better!

Great quality cameras in my opinion and I still use my old one every now and then for this and that.

No experience on the Fuji I'm afraid.

Some reviews here though Justin - both did well:

Canon: http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_powershot_sx130_is_review/

Fuji: http://www.testfreaks.co.uk/digital-cameras/fujifilm-finepix-s1900/

[smitch6]

i have the powershot sx20si and i will say the quality of it is amazing
got it off ebay from digigod
brill ebayer arrived next day even on a saturday as i needed it for the sunday
and the zoom is wow and quality of the pics

the only downside to it is it can't take lenses, so your stuck with whats on there, which is as far as a standard lense goes
really good, but for close up stuff and wide angle etc no good
i have seen an adapter in usa for it so you can add lenses but haven't got it yet, i did think about selling it and getting one that takes dif lenses.
but for what i use it for it isn't worth it, not too heavy compared with lots of cam's and i also got a bag out of asda for £10 that fits perfectly
:)

[John G]

I had a Canon powershot A80 and was never impressed with the image quality then one day the screen packed up. Also got a canon video camera for my 40th that packed up after 3 years of very, very little usage. Due to this I'll never buy canon product again - some people swear by them though!

[draig]

We've always been Olympus fans, son has the older E10 and Chris the E20. Their current range are good aswell, may be worth a look.
A good site for cameras (we got our little Olympus Miu from them, and they were very good, didn't take money until camera was in stock)

http://www.equipmentexpress.co.uk/

draig

[Paul]

the only downside to it is it can't take lenses, so your stuck with whats on there, which is as far as a standard lense goes
really good, but for close up stuff and wide angle etc no good

not exactly smitch :D
if you talk about this camera:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/camera-reviews/canon_sx20_550.jpg

then it has 20x zoom from 5-100mm so it means is VERY wide on short end of this lens ;) also very bright as well so good for low light conditions if you dont want to ruin your photos with flash.

[smitch6]

yep thats mine :)
is it a good one then?
cos i keep thinking about getting a dif one

[Paul]

I dont know if its good. it all depence what you need it for. if you want to use it for family snaps etc i am sure it will do the job perfect!

[Justin]

I'm guessing this one is a fair bit more price wise? Not looking to do anything fancy, just day to day snaps when the moment grabs me! A decent zoom is a must but I'm looking for picture quality over loads of features.

[smitch6]

actually the one i have was really reasonable lol thats why i chose it
i researched the reviews and they all came back fine

zoom i've never seen nothing like it before
the day i got it i tested it in the distance there was a church it must of been 1cm big it was about 1 mile away as the crow flys

i zoomed right in and you can actually see the windows on the church lol

i'll zap it from the cam to my pc at some point and post it and i'll take another without the zoom so you can see the dif in distance (if the weather is ok tom)

pity your not closer Justin you could of borrowed it and had a play before you decided

[smitch6]

not sure what your budget is but there's 1 on ebay for £200 (or offers) with bag, recharge bats and a few other bits

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-PowerShot-SX20-12-4-Megapixel-Digital-Camera-/220756046340?pt=UK_CamerasPhoto_DigitalCameras_Dig italCameras_JN&hash=item336615f204#ht_500wt_1128

[Justin]

Keeping my eyes open for something like this second hand, a couple of truested sites have been recommended.

....Just saw that one on eBay, bit more than I'm looking to pay really but looks like a good buy. Need to be wary of pushing myself higher and higher on price for something like I probably wouldn't appreciate fully :-)

[John G]

If I was paying around £200 I'd add a little bit extra and buy an SLR

[Paul]

If I was paying around £200 I'd add a little bit extra and buy an SLR

same here! descent A200 for this price wth kit lens ;)

[Justin]

But that would be pushing the budget! We're at double now! I don't think I need lens kits etc. I have to be able to carry this around and grab it, take a pic and be on my way. Don't want to get too bogged down.

[smitch6]

buy me one of them and i'll swap with mine rofl
i keep thinking about getting a new one with lenses
maybe we could have a deal :)

[Paul]

gt one of the sony cyber shot then. picture quality is amazing.

regards to dslr and lenses i would recomend good read before you buy. you need to understan why you need more then one lens first.

[smitch6]

Here are a couple of pics i took the original normal zoom is so you can see how far away the church is
the zoomed one is maximum zoom on auto setting, so haven't played with anything
just zoomed in and took the pic the day i got the camera

[Paul]

impresive. but you used digital zoom also.

[smitch6]

i did yes but its good quality at that distance

[John G]

Digital zoom IMO is pointless - it makes the photos unusable due to how much it degrades image.

[Paul]

same here john! useles


btw. have a look in here :)
http://creativelive.com/live


3 day mastyer clas how to pose model so future photographers will love it :D
is live now!

[Justin]

These seem to be a great price right now, wonder how this would compare to the Canon? Larger camera I know but maybe a decent buy?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Fuji-FinePix-S2800-HD-DIGITAL-CAMERA-S2800HD-4GB_W0QQitemZ300536322071QQcategoryZ31388QQcmdZVie wItemQQ_trksidZe11014.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%2 6its%3DI%26itu%3DMRU-625%252BUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDS IC%26otn%3D5%26pmod%3D320659383343%26ps%3D63%26clk id%3D7870583281988627691

The £200 Canon package mentioned earlier sold for £170, seems like a good buy.

[smitch6]

thats the chap i got mine from great service but rem they are refurbished not new
but i've never had a problem with mine

[Justin]

Oh yes, I remember seeing that now, wasn't too sure. £132 new on Amazon.

[John G]

I think he sells some refurbished but the one Justin linked to is brand new.
I was going to buy a DSLR camera from this ebayer a while back but I bottled due to his neg feedback. He has got large sales but quite a few negs.

[Justin]

Started to look at the Fuji in more detail and found the later model S2950 for the same price.....and so I keep reading! lol.

[John G]

Seen this - fantastic 5 year guarantee but not sure how much your wanting to spend

http://www.camerabox.co.uk/product.asp?ProductID=18479&gclid=COywoaLM3acCFUdP4QodFngV-A

helps if I attach the link :redface:

[Justin]

The one I found works out at £137 inc. postage so this isn't much more, wasn't sure how long the warranty was with that one...5 years is excellent! It's pushed the budget a little...bearing in mind there's no budget!!! LOL.

Looks like this would be a very useful camera.

[Justin]

Still not bought a camera yet! :-(

Noticed a GE X5 14.1MP in my local shop today so I had a look online and they seem extremely cheap, offering much the same ad a Fuji etc.

Anyone used a GE before? Not a camera I've had in the past but reviews seem very high.