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I am looking for a compact, inexpensive camera... help!

L

lukekarts

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 16, 2009
155
0
One thing I really don't know anything about are cameras, and I'm hoping some of you do, so help would be appreciated!

I'm looking for a low priced camera, doesn't have to be too fancy, my main requirements are good picture quality and small size, and decent video recording. I don't need any extras, or anything that takes a bit of tweaking to take good photos. I know you can't go far wrong with most cameras nowadays, but when I have 30 options available that's when I get confused.

Oh and a cable to hook it up to my macbook would be handy!

Thanks,

P.S. I'm in the UK, so only give me model names and I'll search the UK shops.
 
How much are you willing to spend?

The Panasonic Lumix FX37 looks good (though I don't own one).

I currently own a Canon Ixy 20IS but I'm not sure which model that is in the US/Europe as its a Japanese model. The main problem is that on full auto mode it forgets the flash settings when you switch it off, though you can get round it by keeping it in manual.

I've also recently owned a Lumix FS3, though the image stabilisation is only OK (actually like the Canon), and the picture quality isn't that great and neither is the build quality (and it broke which is why I bought the Canon) but it is cheap at about £100. I've been travelling which means I've been treating my cameras pretty harshly, my Canon is pretty badly scratched now and has been dropped a couple of times but it still works.
 
check this out
I have a PnS Nikon, really nice image quality, not so satisfying video though, I'm not sure they've gotten really better at that. I believe Canon deals better with both modes.
also this and this
 
lukekarts said:
One thing I really don't know anything about are cameras, and I'm hoping some of you do, so help would be appreciated!

I'm looking for a low priced camera, doesn't have to be too fancy, my main requirements are good picture quality and small size, and decent video recording. I don't need any extras, or anything that takes a bit of tweaking to take good photos. I know you can't go far wrong with most cameras nowadays, but when I have 30 options available that's when I get confused.

Oh and a cable to hook it up to my macbook would be handy!

Thanks,

P.S. I'm in the UK, so only give me model names and I'll search the UK shops.
Click to expand...

Canon A590. This best compact digicam out there. Has manual controls so you can start out learning the dial settings if you go further with photography.
 
All they above are great choices.
Kodak also makes decent low priced cameras. I have owned a few in the
past and they all worked and took great pictures.
 
There is something about the Panasonics that I forgot to mention (I've owned 4 cameras over the past year, 3 of which were Panasonics and the first two Panasonics "disappeared"). They have really good Scene modes so you can get great pictures of Fireworks and photos at Night. Also on the higher end models the image stabilization is amazing, I took a clear photo at 10x zoom with a Lumix TZ5 when being driven on a bumpy Peruvian road.
 
I agree about Panasonic. I've have a cheapy one and it's great. Better than other, more expensive, brands...
 
I'm also looking for a nice compact camera and I just saw that you could save a whole lot of money if you buy it online. Would you recommend buying a camera online?
 
epyfa said:
I'm also looking for a nice compact camera and I just saw that you could save a whole lot of money if you buy it online. Would you recommend buying a camera online?
Click to expand...

Sure, just choose a reputable site. There are a number of scam sites on the web, so just avoid the deals that are too good to be true. Any sites with prices far below those of Amazon are highly suspect.
 
I love my FujiFilm Finepix s1000. 10mp 12x optical zoom and very compact for such a good lens...many manual features that have helped me learn alot. I got mine for about $225 Canadian Dollars in december. Great camera for a great price!
 
Depends on the relative importance of size, quality, video, and setting where you'll be using it. I'm a big believer in the Canon elph "SD" series; I have an SD850is. It's not the tiniest camera, but it's the nicest tiny camera that doesn't compromise on image quality, particularly outdoors in natural light. The larger "A" series are harder to fit in a pocket. The main drawbacks are low-light photography (even with image stabilization) and the audio quality on video.

My indoor and video P&S go-to is my Fujifilm F30. These are exceedingly hard to obtain now, but the newer ones may be as good. The video quality is outstanding, and audio is crystal clear. Fuji EXCELS at high-iso photography. Acceptable prints at ISO 1600, which you won't find with any other compact.

Dave
 
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