which camera do buy

[markstokeshughes80]

hi all im new here just signed up hoping to get some good advice. im looking at getting a new camera at the moment i have got a olympus tough 3000 but it seems to take blury photos and not great for low light i have had it for 4 years though and now looking to change question is what would be a good camera i am a complete idiot when it comes to taken photos and havent a clue about manual settings and mainly leave it in auto.i mainly just use camera to take photos of kids and dog whilst out on walks and holiday snaps of kids round pool at the beach and out and about and at night of kids dancing at kids discos,was looking at another waterproof camera either olympus tg850,olympus tg3 or panasoanic ft5 so i wouldnt have to worry about it getting damage at beach or pool but would these take any good photos and how would they fair in low light or would i be better getting camera for pool and another for at night when light is bad,i was looking at the canon s120 or fujifilm xq1 any info be great and if anyone got any recomendations that be great to cheers

 

[StewartR]

Hi Mark. Welcome to TP. Lots of people seem to have viewed this thread without replying, so let's see if we can kick it off.

I guess my first question is why does your current camera take "blurry" photos? Unless there is something seriously wrong with it, that's more usually an indication of user error. Sorry if that sounds harsh. But if there's something you're doing which causes your photos to be "blurry", then a new camera probably won't help....

Could you post some examples of images which have disappointed? We'd be able to look at the camera settings (that data is usually encoded into the pictures) and hopefully see what's going on.

Apart from that, the usual rule for upgrades is that you need to identify situations on which your current gear doesn't cope well enough. If you can't you don't need to upgrade. So far you've mentioned blurry photos, which hopefully we can look at. You've mentioned low light - but how low? What scenarios do you have in mind? And is there anything else which the camera can't do well enough for you?

 

[Ricky]

Mark, Welcome to the forum.
The issue is most waterproof cameras are design purposely to cope with water resistant yet they forgotten to focus on image quality.

The problem of low light. It's actually one of the most costly aspect to get good with digitial cameras.

Normally the bigger and newer the csmera's sensor it determines the ability to capture low light.

You would need research more as compact cameras are not known to be good with low light.

 

[Byker28i]

I have a canon d10 waterproof camera that's great fro beaches etc, but I wouldn't use it for everyday photography as it's not a patch on my dslr.
It does mean I can use it in places I wouldn't take my dslr though.

 

[jondc]

Choosing a camera is always a compromise, not one model will fit all needs. So my advice is always chose the camera to fill what the camera will be used for mainly and make do with it at the other times. Shockproof/waterproof cameras are great, if you always on the beach, by the pool or out in the cold and rain but the IQ is not always the best. They are more designed for robustness and the cases, lens covers reflect this.

The canon s120 or fujifilm xq1 will both take reasonable pictures and produce some good results.
Compacts can tend to be a little slow to focus and do take some time to get the best out of them. Some will be better than others for focus speeds and some better at low light.
Spend a nigh reviewing what photos you have taken and take from that what the main use of your camera is. Then read reviews on cameras and your main use, this will help you decide on a camera that suits you the most. It would still be best to then go and try them out before committing to buy.