14N Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Hi All, I'm after a new camera and have noticed that even with a very limited budget, I'm spoilt for choice. I don't really know anything about them, but I do know that a fair few of you guys do. I'm after a compact point and press jobbie. Something I can just chuck in my pocket and whip out as and when necessary. My basic understanding is that the higher the megapixel, the better, but I don't really understand what "10x digital and 5x optical zoom" means as well as all the other tech jargon. What should I be looking for? With a budget of say £70-£80, do you guys have any recommendations? I figure this should still get me a half decent camera right? Cheers, Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 We got my Mum a Canon IXUS 115 recently and its a great little P&S camera. PC World are selling them off cheap atm, if you can get one they are about £80. http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/canon-ixu ... 0-pdt.html Things to watch out for: More megapixels isnt always better. More means you can print them larger, but anything 10MP or over is more than enough for 8x5 or even up to A4 size printing. More megapixels means the buckets that catch the light (photosites) are smaller. This reduces low light performance as each bucket cant catch as much light as if they were bigger and you had less MP. This is a trap a lot of people fall into, so if you want to do low light shots (even just night portraits or restraunt shots) then dont go mad on the MP count. Rear illuminated sensors are far better in low light too. So try and get a camera with this if you can. The Canon has a new high sensitivity sensor in it (rear illuminated) which is very good for such a small camera. If you can get into a shop and give them a try in different conditions to see if it will work for what you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksCW Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 My basic understanding is that the higher the megapixel, the better, but I don't really understand what "10x digital and 5x optical zoom" means as well as all the other tech jargon. What should I be looking for? That's not really true, the most important part is the image sensor and lens quality. A lower MP camera with good sensors etc will far outperform a high MP camera with crap sensors, so don't be put off by lower MP cameras when chosing. You may be able to get a 16MP cam for £80 but it might not be as good as a 12MP camera for the same price. I just bought a £100 16MP bridge camera (half way cam between point and shoot and DSLR, so it has lots of settings) and on the auto settings the picture quality is a bit hit and miss and often no better than my 12 MP Samsung point and shoot. Goes to show that megapixels aren't everything.... As for zoom. Optical zoom means the lens is physically zooming in, meaning you'll get better quality. Digital zoom is basically making the picture bigger without changing the lens so it can become bad quality. Think of opening a small picture on your computer then zooming in and in and in... it'll become blotchy and poor quality. Look for optical zoom over digital zoom, most cameras have decent image stabilization now so make sure that's a feature of the camera too. From experience, Sony make very good cameras as do Samsung. I currently have a 12.2MP Samsung point and shoot which has done me well, with the right lighting you can get a very good quality image for a low price. I also had a Sony Cybershot around 6MP I think it was and that was also a great little camera. Basically, I don't think you can go too wrong for this price range if you stick to the main manufacturers. Your best bet is to google "best camera for under £100" and see what the review sites are saying such as cameras.co.uk and whatcamera etc. Most have sample shots and will tell you what the cameras are best at. i.e action pics, indoor, outdoor etc. then just tailor your choice to what you plan to do with the camera mostly. Hope that helps a bit. I'm by no means a photographer nor do I know it all/much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksCW Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 For example.. 5MP Iphone 4 Vs 16MP GE Bridge Camera I don't think that there is an amazing difference in quality considering the 11MP gap.... the iPhone blatantly has better image sensors/lens quality to the cheapo bridge camera. (or I'm really @*!# at using the bridge camera I guess ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14N Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 Brilliant responses (and quick too). Thank you soooo much guys, very much appreciated. I've learnt a lot already! Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 For example.. 5MP Iphone 4 Vs 16MP GE Bridge Camera I don't think that there is an amazing difference in quality considering the 11MP gap.... the iPhone blatantly has better image sensors/lens quality to the cheapo bridge camera. (or I'm really @*!# at using the bridge camera I guess ) TBH, I'm not sure what you expect to be different between the 2? Better/more expensive cameras will perform better in difficult conditions than cheaper ones. The iPhone has a fixed lens which will be very quick (allows lots of light capture) so will always look pretty good, especially in good light, but even in poor light. The bridge camera is all about allowing control though, how much of the photo background is in or out of focus (depth of field) and how much motion blur can be achieved (shutter speed). The iPhone doesnt allow any control over this AFAIK, so anywhere you want to do these kinds of things the iPhone will fail to impress compared to the bridge. Sorry if it sounds harsh, but if you learn to use the bridge for what its really for, then you will get some excellent pics that the iPhone will never get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilp Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 My bridge camera offered great photos, nothing too expensive Fujifilm s4000 circa 200 quid This was my first time using it. Played about with different settings on holiday for these ones I think it can be bought for about 180 now online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14N Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 Cheers Neil. They are some pretty fancy settings that can make Skegness look like that..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilp Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Haha unfortunately my skills aren't that good... That is beautiful Riviera Maya in Mexico. It would take a special photographer to make Skegness look like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 On the megapixel issue, really, you only need higher than about 8mp if you intend to showcase your photos on anything printed out a larger size than A4 as a general rule - I have an 8mp canon DSLR that have owned for about 6 years now and is still fantastic and have no need to trade up from for what I use it for. Unfortunately retailers selling cameras in effect tricked consumers into thinking mp's are all important when it is more important to have: Decent brand Sensor quality Optical not digital zoom (optical is physical movement of the lens to zoom whereas digital zoom is literally zooming in on the picture thus reducing the number of active pixels - avoid any digital zoom reliant cameras) Brand wise, Canon and Nikon are very much up there as category leaders as they have huge investment and history in the category - Sony are ok although they are literally just the old Pentax brand that they purchased and rebranded, Panasonic are very much market leaders in innovation so you get great stuff from them also. Oh and invest in a decent little read on taking photos, spending an hour or so learning the basics will transform the quality of pictures you take Also, think about investing in some decent software on your computer, one of the major advantages of digital photography is that its now easy for your average consumer to do the 'dark room' stuff and tinker with the shots to adjust for colour, exposure etc - I got photoshop elements but there are some good free bits of software out there for basic touching up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasso Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 That's so true about learning the camera. Ok I spent £500 on a Canon entry level DSLR. My pictures when I first got the camera were as good as a normal point and shoot. Play around with the settings, lighting and focal points has transformed my photography. So the same camera can produce average shots and great shots. It's all about getting the potential from the camera and how you take the picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 That's so true about learning the camera. Ok I spent £500 on a Canon entry level DSLR. My pictures when I first got the camera were as good as a normal point and shoot. Play around with the settings, lighting and focal points has transformed my photography. So the same camera can produce average shots and great shots. It's all about getting the potential from the camera and how you take the picture. I've actually seen a good number of beginners take far worse pics on a DSLR/bridge/CSCs than a P&S. Simply because the modern P&S has very sophisticated software to aid in taking the "right" picture that DSLRs tend not to have (or have very poor versions) as they expect owners to take control. Putting my old SLR on P&S mode (auto) would result in worse pictures than my G11. My new G1X has made me relearn a lot about taking pictures properly because it has a such larger sensor, so things such as DoF are much more important as you can easily blur a background by not paying attention on Auto mode. I messed a picture up on holiday by handing it to someone else, thought "I'll stick it in Auto mode as they dont know the camera", and because it was low light it opened the aperture right up and blurred those of us nearer the back of the group as a result of shallow DoF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksCW Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 My bridge camera offered great photos, nothing too expensive Fujifilm s4000 circa 200 quid I have the 16MP version of your camera, its labeled GE but it's the same camera. My pics aren't that good. I do fully agree with Chris in that I don't know how to use it properly but the point I was trying to make is that megapixels aren't the important part in choosing a point and shoot camera. I may play some more with it as this time next month I'll be sat on a beach in Majorca thinking up ways not to come home so would be cool to get some decent pictures out there, as well as lots of video with my new Go Pro Hero HD2 The best thing though about bridge cameras is this: First attempt so not great, but it's fun shame my zed wasn't in shot though and this that I made in the Pyrnees a couple of years ago for my girlfriend (this was using a Canon G3 or something along those lines) no photoshop in this pic. done with a red and a standard torch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14N Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 Thank you all for your responses and sample pics. I really appreciate it. They've been very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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