Shall I Treat Myself For Xmas....

[laudrup]

Hi Guy's,

I've currently got a KodakDX3700 which does the job quite well, but is hardly inconspicuous so i'm toying with the idea of buying a new cam!

I'm pretty much a novice and don't know a great deal about camera's so I may be wasting my time.

I like the look of the Konica Minolta Dimage X50 & the Casio Exilim EX-Z55...but haven't got a clue what I need! I don't want to break the bank so could probably spend around £200 or so.

Does anyone have any tips? I'd like something small and easy to operate, or should i make do with what I've got until i get better at shooting!

Any advice appreciated

Regards

Laudrup

[laudrup]

Cheers Dude...i'll check em out in the sales!

[archman]

I've used a Casio EX-Z3 with some pretty good results. I would think the Z55 would be really nice, considering it's 5mp. The Casios have a big LCD which I've always liked.

If you wanna make photos rather than snap photos then you need something with
with fully manual exposure. I suggest the Canon A95 for around $300.

[laudrup]

cool...i'm going to wander around the shops tomorrow to see what I can find

[laudrup]

I've seen this CASIO QVR61 in the sales for £199, it's got 6mp and is a relatively decent size. Seems pretty god it's got manual & auto exposure, a decent battery life and 3 x optical zoom for a decent price.

Does anyone have any experience of these? There doesnt seem to be many reviews about online though!

Theat QVR61 doesnt have full manual exposure. By manual exposure they mean they have a few settings you can tweak but nothing to really force the cam to shoot the way you want it to. Its still a point and shooter.

[Cbird]

I'd like to chime in ... but requiring your help too! I am also considering upgrading to a "decent" camera in the next few days. I've searched and looked around for a while now. All I know is I need a good zoom (10x optical at least) and full manual settings. Unfortunately, no budget for an SLR -not even close. So my choices have been trimmed down to these:

Canon Powershot S1 IS-
pros - packed with features and it wouldn't surprise me if it has a microwave oven hidden inside too... :wink: 10x optical, stabilizer, feels like a real camera and a beautiful learning tool
cons - 3,2 MP "only"

Canon A95 -
pros - 5MP --lots of good reviews
cons - 3x only, compact design, not as attractive as the S1

FUJI S5500 (or S5100)
pros - 4MP, 10x
cons - no stabilizer

I've also tried the Konica Minolta Z3, but its design is either love it or hate it... I think I'm mostly hating it, and many reviews say images have a lot of noise.

There are many people out there loving the Canon S1 despite the 3.2MP. I know I like Canon resolution a lot. But perhaps I could add a teleconverter to the A95 and get 6,4 optical...should that be enough? I think it would be a bit ugly, wouldn't it?

Or should I go with the 10x 3.2MP (should that be enough...?) S1 and then let Photoshop take care of the rest.... (that's the option I mostly thinking of as of now).

Any comment will be greatly appreciated!!

Forget the zoom on a pocket cam. Youre gonna endup with zoomed blurry images. Just suck it up and get as close as you can then crop the image in post processing. The more MP the merrier for cropping.

[laudrup]

I plumped for a Casio QV-R61. It was in the sales reduced from £400 to £199. It has 6MP, Manual & Auto Exposure, is pretty compact and has the all important burst mode!

I've just got it back from work and have charged it up and put it on a relatively low resolution(so the it'll fit on imageshack) and have taken a sample picture of my guitar!

Let me know what you think!

I'm looking forward to getting up early for work to give it a go on the journey in!