Best Camera

T

TopGun

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Hi, I have a fuji F450 digital camera, and to be honest its only fair. can anyone recommend a good camera?
 
That's a bit like asking people to recommend a good car.

What do you want to do with it, and what are you unhappy about with the F450 — the picture quality (from a technical point of view) or the (lack of) features? A better camera won't necessarily improve your photos, and if you're feeling limited by the one you have it's important to ask yourself what exactly your priorities are. Bigger zoom? More exposure options? Faster reaction times? etc...

There are very comprehensive reviews, specs and comparison charts available at www.dpreview.com, and you can [broken link removed] for cameras by 'must-have' features.
 
Terms used to describe camera features

Not a very good title for my question, I know.

I've been asked by a friend to find him a good compact camera, with a large screen at the back. He's not into photography but is buying this to take on holidays.

I've been searching the internet to find out more about cameras but I'm not well up on the terminology.

I have a digital camera myself that I bought a couple of years ago. It is slow to take photos (i.e. try take a photo of a child and by the time it takes the photo all you see are the child's heels runing away). I believe cameras have improved in this regard, but how do I know which ones are going to take photos faster and which ones are going to be slow like mine (Olympus C60 zoom). Can anyone tell me the term that is used to describe the time lapse between pressing the button and when the actual shutter is released?

I would be grateful for any help. Thanks.
 
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Re: Terms used to describe camera features

KathScan said:
Not a very good title for my question, I know.
Click to expand...
So change it...


I believe cameras have improved in this regard, but how do I know which ones are going to take photos faster and which ones are going to be slow like mine (Olympus C60 zoom).
Click to expand...
It can depend on the camera itself and the speed of memory card that it can use. There are many detailed camera review sites out there (and mentioned in several threads here) that you should check as they probably have beginner's guides to the terminology and also explain the features.
 
I got a there last year, many of my friends have since bought the same one, and we're all very happy with it.
Leo
 
Re: Terms used to describe camera features

KathScan said:
Can anyone tell me the term that is used to describe the time lapse between pressing the button and when the actual shutter is released?

I would be grateful for any help. Thanks.
Click to expand...

The term you're looking for is 'shutter lag'. Hope that helps your hunt.
 
Sorry, it was the best title I could come up with to describe what I wanted to know.
I have been on several sites but they are aimed more at people who know more about cameras.

Thanks Leo. I'll print those details off and show them to him.
 
I've merged these two threads, as I feel they're pretty much in the same territory. That dpreview site I linked to above also has a helpful glossary, and a quick Google search throws up all sorts of (no offence!)

KathScan, to answer your specific query — while shutter lag times have been improved considerably in some budget cameras (notably Canon's latest models, which I believe have reduced it to about 0.25 of a second), you'll only really get rid of it by moving up to true DSLR cameras, which start at around the €600 price tag. I solve the problem you're talking about by shooting a 'burst' of pictures (my Finepix S5000 can take 9 frames/second) and then going back and deleting the ones I don't want.

[Edit: last five posts came in while I was away from my keyboard on a 'phone call - sorry!]
 
Thanks DrMoriarty. €600 a bit pricey I think.
So I need to look for a camera that can take a lot of photos in a second.
 
I bought this one from these guys
totally happy with it - Small enough to fit in the pocket and not have to make an effort to bring out with you. 7.2 megapixels - i've blown up pictures to about 20" and its as good as i want. Delighted with it over all. I took a load of pictures whilst snowboarding and there was never a problem of shutter speed/blurred people. It also works as an mp3 player. Takes 1gb cards and has tons of settings but i just put it on "pleb" setting as i havn't a clue about photography.
I've nothing to do with these guys - just love the camera.
 
Now thanks to all your help, I have a bit more of an idea what I'm to look out for. I'll search out cameras with "continuous drive" and then look them up on Pixmania. Thanks.
 
KathScan,

I think you'll find that most cameras available now are light years better than your Olympus C60. I had an Olympus mju Digital 300 and recently changed it for a Canon S3 IS. There is just no comparison between the two when it comes to focus, exposure and shutter lag - it's just great for taking photos of kids or other fast moving objects!. The S3 comes in at around €400 on pixmania, may be a bit pricey and bulky for your friend. A few friends of mine have the Canon Ixus 65 and I have been very impressed with it's pictures - I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a compact camera - €300 pricetag.
 
I've been looking at cameras on the Pixmania site and saw a Casio Exilim Card EX-S600. This has a "Docking Station". Which Is handier, a docking station or putting your battery into a spearate charger?
 
A few friends of mine have the Canon Ixus 65 and I have been very impressed with it's pictures - I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a compact camera - €300 pricetag.
Click to expand...

Canon Ixus 65 wasn't available. Bought the Canon Ixus 75. Nice slim camera with large screen.

I was going to buy some extra memory from 7dayshop but am confused. For continuous shooting the manual recommends "Super high speed SDC-512MSH memory card".

Some cards on 7dayshop site say things like 80X, or 133X. I don't know are they ok to use in the camera or would he be better off with ones that just said "2GB". Would he be able to take continuous shots using just an ordinary 2GB card. I e-mailed Sandisk and Kingston to know if their cards are compatible with the camera but got no reply.

Anyone used this camera??? I've tried to look it up on Google but I guess I'm not looking in the right places. Anyone able to point me in the right direction. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
 
A friend of mine with a doctorate in computer science highly recommends Canon. He says even if the megapixels are less than a similar camera, there is something special about the Canon algorithm which impresses him and which makes it better in his opinion and experience.
The algorithm is how the camera takes the input from its sensors and turns that into a digital photograph.

Personally I wouldnt recommend a Kodak at all . The software for my Kodak easyshare (bought a long time ago in June 2003 in Argos) contained some kind of dishonest spyware. And the flap which held in the A4 batteries was the first thing to go. It refused to work about 2 months after the 12 month guarantee expired.
I've seen nothing in newer models to suggest they are in any way improved.
 
KathScan,

For an explanation of the various types of memories I found the following page good.



As for continuous shooting the only mode that will cause a standard 1G SD card any issues would be high resolution movie capture > 30 frames per second. This is what the SDHC is prmarily targeted at. If you are simply trying to capture say 20 frames on continuous shot I do not believe there will be an issue.
 
Be careful when using the number of pixels to compare cameras. The most imortant thing IMO is how the camera fills those pixels with light...
 
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