Digital Camera Advice Please?

[glojo]

John and BTB500 pics look great!!

Only said 200 as that would not break the bank this month, and I cant really justify spending great sums of money on another SLR (even if it is digital!) Been up that route before, and have a perfectly serviceable Canon Eos100 which I have been told is now worth didly

Just looking for a good, all round camera that is a little future proof, will take great pics of the kids, and is easy to use. The Sony is looking good at the mo, unless anybody else can suggest anything else to look at?

Cheers for everybodies feedback!

Totally understand and the picture of the coin speaks vollumes for the capibilities of the Sony.

Your Canon SLR has indeed been kicked in the proverbials by the latest technology, but don't forget the lens for that camera will fit the new digital stuff. I merely put the suggestion into the pot for debate and respect your very valid point. (plus I love looking at pictures)

If I bought an SL350, I don't suppose an extra £200 would buy me the SL55AMG? but I do understand what is trying to be said.

John

Nikon D SLR camera's retail in this country for £450 which my school boy maths would say it is £200 'ish above the allocated budget (Totally out of budget, but clearly NOT three times over budget. Before you ask Mifsuds of Brixham South Devon

 

[stats007]

The D-SLR is three times the price...

 

[Plodd]

I have a Canon Ixus 400.

Great picture quality, great build quality and around your price range. Goes everywhere with me and is very handy at work.

 

[BenzComander]

Totally understand and the picture of the coin speaks vollumes for the capibilities of the Sony.

Your Canon SLR has indeed been kicked in the proverbials by the latest technology, but don't forget the lens for that camera will fit the new digital stuff. I merely put the suggestion into the pot for debate and respect your very valid point. (plus I love looking at pictures)

If I bought an SL350, I don't suppose an extra £200 would buy me the SL55AMG? but I do understand what is trying to be said.

John

I thought that even though you can fit the lens from an SLR, they are not as good as a dedicated S-SLR lens??

 

[stats007]

The IXUS range is very good - Canon SLRs are better than Nikons - though I still have Nikon gear. I found the IXUS too fiddly and small however - at least Sony make 3 or 4 different body styles in the £200 range.

 

[BTB 500]

The Sony P200 is basically a facelifted P150 (same lens, sensor, etc.) ... there's a full review of the P150 here (even if you just skip to the "conclusions"):

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydscp150/

DP Review has great reviews of most current cameras, well worth a look if you're considering other makes/models.

 

[glojo]

I thought that even though you can fit the lens from an SLR, they are not as good as a dedicated S-SLR lens??

No,
I have not got any dedicated digital lens, plus Nikon only make a few.

The big plus is that you have a rough 1.5 magification.

To better explain this, my telephoto lens is an ordinary 200mm lens but when fitted to the digital SLR this ramps up to 300mm without any loss. Do NOT get talked into selling your lens at giveaway prices.

The downside is of course at the opposite end. A 28mm lens goes up to a 42mm (if my maths are right)

I love my digital SLR but sadly the 35mm is just collecting dust.

Regards,
John

 

[BTB 500]

Yup the conversion factor for most D-SLRs is 1.6 (the difference in size between the digital sensor and a full 35mm frame), so a 17mm ultra-wide is equivalent to 27mm, and a 70-200 zoom is equivalent to 112-320.

I took the decision to sell all my 35mm SLR kit about 18 months ago, sorry to see it go but I just wasn't using it any more.

 

[splang]

This is the photo quality from my mobile phone (2mpixels) for comparison (sony ericson k750i thingy)

Pretty good for a little mobile?





Heres one with the light on!

 

[WLeg]

The Cannon IXUS range is also worth a look.... the 50 is now very cheap, has Optical +digital zoom, and can do short mpg's as well

 

[Tan]

I am also loking at buying a small digital camera, have become used to having a camera phone but want to go back to my old phone.

I am a big Sony fan and like the little Cyber-shot DSC-T7, however the casio Exilim Card EX-S500 silver has caught my eye.

Does anyone have any experience of the Casio cameras??

Regards

Tan

 

[Brabus3.6]

I've got the Nikon Coolpix 7900 and have been very happy with it. It came to Cyprus with me and took some very good shots. It's only problem is low light focus, you have to be patient with it in such circumstances . The attached picture has been heavily compressed to get it below 100kb but the detail is still there to see.

 

[Plodd]

And at the risk of involving Granmothers and eggs, totally ignore digital zoom it's a complete waste of time.

Unlike what one of the plonkers on a certain Sky sales channel once said when he explained in fluent bo**ox how digital zoom was the one to have.

 

[grober]

Sony Dsc-p200

After much research bought a Sony DSC-P200 and am well pleased. Sony will take reasonable video also 3/4 minutes at highest resolution into 512Mb memory stick PRO. What swayed me was the fast shutter response of the Sony compared to other makes. Ergonomics a bit fiddly but cant expect anything else with a compact. You will carry a small compact camera all the time unlike an SLR. Only other camera I considered was the newish Canon a510 at about 1/2 price of the Sony but with fewer facilities and 3megapixels. The few reliability surveys I managed to find named Sony and Canon as the most reliable makes.

 

[glojo]

I've got the Nikon Coolpix 7900 and have been very happy with it. It came to Cyprus with me and took some very good shots. It's only problem is low light focus, you have to be patient with it in such circumstances . The attached picture has been heavily compressed to get it below 100kb but the detail is still there to see.

Nice picture....But who put that stupid wall in the way blocking out the lovely view? (JOKE)

Regarding my previous statement about the 1.5 magnification for a digital SLR this figure was taken directly rom the Nikon D70 advertising bumph, which is the cheap camera I was referring to. I am certainly no techno whizz expert and if someone disagree's with that figure then there is no way I will disagree. I am simply apologising for any confusion. It could be that different camera's have different figures. To my knowledge Canon had\has one digital SLR with a straight 1:1 (no magnification).

Anyway I digress, what folks have not mentioned (I don't think they have) is the flexibility of these excellent compact's. The picture of the coin was taken with the compact and obviously with the lens you get with the camera. My picture of the dragonfly is taken with a lens that I very rarely use and would have to drag along with me if I wanted to use it. This would also apply to the wide angle issue, I believe the compact would cope with a readily acceptable quality.

Go for the Sony,
John

 

[del320]

John and BTB500 pics look great!!

...I cant really justify spending great sums of money on another SLR (even if it is digital!) Been up that route before, and have a perfectly serviceable Canon Eos100 which I have been told is now worth didly

Just looking for a good, all round camera that is a little future proof, will take great pics of the kids, and is easy to use. The Sony is looking good at the mo,

Thanks all, for the valuable info.

I too intend dragging myself into the 21st century and like BC have a faithfull outfit that's served, and continues to serve, me well (Mamiya ZM + Tamron 28-70 and 70-210)

But the undeniable lightness, convenience and quality of something like the Sony has swayed me to the digital camp.

But now, what are the recommendations re prints? I habitually get 8.5"x6" (min) prints done. Who's best for digital processing - cost is secondary. (my Epson 870 is good, but not that good, so I'm also interested in views on printers)

 

[Tan]

My personal view on digital printers is to not bother. I've got a sony digital printer that i have never taken out of the box because digital printing at the photo shops is so good and cheap. I have used boots and asda as I am cost conscious, but have never been disappointed.

 

[BTB 500]

I do all my own printing ... 6x4 and A4. The Canon i950 printer I have (6 colours, separate cartridges) is fine on plain A4 for ordinary text printing, yet on photo paper gives results indistinguishable from genuine photographic prints. I like having control, virtually everything I print is slightly tweaked. Cost-wise (ink, paper, printer) it would certainly be cheaper to get prints via the web or on the high street. But I don't do that many, so the convenience of printing what I want, when I want, and how I want is more important - for me.

 

[BenzComander]

Thank you for everybody's input, most enlightening!

The Sony DSC-P200 it is, now the hunt is on for the best price!!

Will let you know how I get on a post some pics of stuff

Cheers,

 

[grober]

Amazon £217 post free. pixmania £217 + postage. Allow also for a decent size of memory stick or memory stick Pro if you want best movie mode. 512 mb Sony £42-99 from Amazon or the cheaper Sandisk (they have a joint licence to manufacture memory sticks with Sony ) I would go for the Sony myself.