Find me a Camera!

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GBrooksy

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Gavin
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Hi,
I am hoping to see if anyone on these forums would be able to help me find a new Digital Compact Camera within my requirements/ limits.

Basically I'm coming to that time where my cameras I own are of the age that can't beat today's standards any more and I'm stuck with what to buy with my rather 'choosey' preferences.

I have around £150 to spend on a new camera. What I want out of the camera is mainly the ability to control shutter speeds. I like to take photos of Cars/Vehicles, Nature and landscapes. I also quite like fine up close (macro) shots too. I'm an amateur photographer I'd say.
I'm open to all suggestions that are serious. Obviously Digital SLR is out of the option within price range except one Fuji one... but when it comes to that price with Digi SLR you get what you pay for??

I like Compact cameras that are sleek, slim and stylish. But I would compensate for a camera that would perform 100x better than one that has the better looks if need be.

The only camera I have found that takes my eye is the;
Panasonic Lumix FP8 12.1 Megapixel

Is this a good find? It's priced around £130.
I've checked websites like, Jessops, and the usual places like Tesco, Play and a little on ebay.
The only thing that puts me off is that the lends is built in? I.e doesn't have a motorised lens that comes out when switched on and goes back in physically when switched off. Is this a disadvantage to the ones that do?
Anyone had good or bad experiences with it?

Thanks for reading, I hope someone will be able to help.
 
GBrooksy said:
Hi,
I have around £150 to spend on a new camera. What I want out of the camera is mainly the ability to control shutter speeds. I like to take photos of Cars/Vehicles, Nature and landscapes. I also quite like fine up close (macro) shots too. I'm an amateur photographer I'd say. I like Compact cameras that are sleek, slim and stylish.
Click to expand...

Considering your list of requirements, I'd say that the Lumix fulfils the 'sleekness' part, but is otherwise just a competent but basic point & shoot camera, which isn't going to allow you the creative flexibility to control things like shutter speeds, etc.

If I were in your shoes, and taking into account your frankly very limited budget (nowt wrong with that), I'd be looking to get something like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Power...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1266935853&sr=1-3

A camera like this will allow you to use it as a point & shoot, but also gives you the flexibility of manual modes so you can take creative control. And, believe me, 10 megapixels is more than enough. It may not be 'sleek', but we are talking about quality pictures above all, right? And this offers a lot of value for money. :thumbs:
 
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Thanks, Nifkin Hmm... Does look like a good camera, Just the battery problem that is raising a few 'no no' flags with me from reading their reviews. And the plastic look/feel.
Would there be any better options if the budget was pushed up by £50?

Lumix FP8 has the ability of shutter speeds and low light condition control from what I read on a few product websites. From your experience is there any disadvantage - quality wise from having the camera lens eye built into the chassis of the camera rather than extending out from the camera when in shoot mode?
 
GBrooksy said:
Thanks, Nifkin Hmm... Does look like a good camera, Just the battery problem that is raising a few 'no no' flags with me from reading their reviews. And the plastic look/feel.Would there be any better options if the budget was pushed up by £50?
Click to expand...

Plastic feel? So have you held it yourself?

As for the battery issue; a lot of cameras have 2.7" or 3" screens these days which tend to rinse the battery power. Solution? Buy an after-market spare, that way you can always have one fully charged. I have four for my camera, and that's far from unusual. You don't have to pay heaps for the Canon-branded ones either, there are plenty of cheaper third-party ones about that are carbon-copies of the official ones and work just as well, if not better. I know that Lumix cameras tend to have firmware installed that prevent you from using any other batteries than the expensive Panasonic-branded ones, but Canon cameras don't.

Regardless of what you may have read, the Lumix is a p&s camera that does havea number of advanced features that you'd expect from such a camera at that price-point these days, but the 'intelligent auto' modes really don't allow you much creative flexibility. And, with loads of respect, you're not going to find many people on this forum who are going to be too worried about what the camera actually looks like; it's all about useability and performance around here! :) But if you really want a stylish-looking compact, a Panasonic I'd be looking at if I had a little bit more to spend would be this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-L...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1266939508&sr=1-10

This and it's TZ7 bigger brother get excellent reviews. Not quite as flexible as a Powershot-type camera, but amongst the best of their kind.

Welcome to TP, by the way! :thumbs:
 
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