gaz Posted 30 December, 2009 Share Posted 30 December, 2009 (edited) I'm looking to improve my photography skills. I used to use my cameraphone while I was out and about for taking phones, always on the auto settings and got decent results (Samsung Innov8, 8mp), but I have had to downgrade to a phone with a rubbish sensor (Nokia 5530, 3.2mp), and the quality isn't there. So I'm looking at getting a nice compact camera. I mostly take pics of my RC cars, so macro quality is important. And I also go to full-size motorsport events, so I'd like something that can handle panning/zooming. I don't know much about shutterspeeds/ISO settings, but I want to learn. And something with minimal shutter lag would be perfect as RC cars move bloody quickly! Heres a small sample I've taken with my cameraphone for an example: I've been limited without having an optical zoom. I've got around £100 to get a camera, I don't mind about cases but it needs to take SD or MicroSD cards, and hopefully its own battery pack (no AAAs please :wink:). I've had a look in Currys at a Kodak MD41 and a Fujifilm J37, but there isn't a one-stop camera review site to look at opinions/sample photos etc - or if there is, Google hides them well! Edited 30 December, 2009 by gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint lard Posted 30 December, 2009 Share Posted 30 December, 2009 Ive got one of these,absolutely great for my needs. Picked it up at Jessops for £59. There are of course newer models now A825,A850,A860 and A800 but as far as i;m aware,through friends they are great value. http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=3146 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOTONS EAST SIDE Posted 30 December, 2009 Share Posted 30 December, 2009 How about this one http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176071 Good name and 12mp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Porter Posted 30 December, 2009 Share Posted 30 December, 2009 My Dad got me this for Christmas - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-Coolpix-S220-Digital-Camera/dp/B001R4BT6C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1262201017&sr=8-1 I don't really know anything about photogrpahy but it seems a decent bit of kit and i trust my Dads judgement since he's takes pictures for a living. It has it's own battery pack and takes SD cards, got myself an 8 gig one which should last for ages. I highly reccomend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaz Posted 30 December, 2009 Author Share Posted 30 December, 2009 Thanks guys for the advice. From what I'm reading here and there on the web, at this price point most cameras seem to offer much and the same. I just don't want to pick one that limited in some way, but there doesn't seem to be one or two that are clear choices over the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al de Man Posted 30 December, 2009 Share Posted 30 December, 2009 there isn't a one-stop camera review site to look at opinions/sample photos etc - or if there is, Google hides them well! Au contraire Rodney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaz Posted 31 December, 2009 Author Share Posted 31 December, 2009 Awesome, thanks, plenty of reading to do. I've seen a Panasonic Lumix FS-7 at Amazon for £110ish, its getting rave reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaz Posted 4 January, 2010 Author Share Posted 4 January, 2010 I decided to set myself a silly timeframe of getting a camera from a shop, today. Tried Jessops and the FS7 was £160. Tried Argos and it was £150 but out of stock. Tried Currys and it was £120 and out of stock, but could be ordered in. Decided against that and looked at the others on show, and they had the FS62 for £120 too. Checked the specs and they seemed pretty much the same as the FS7 apart from a few differences in software features, but the same lense, fractionally thinner body etc. Got that, had a play, seems to be easy to setup, adjust etc. Got home and read that it has favourable reviews, so I'm happy. Got a 4gb SD card too, I took it out yesterday to a race meeting, indoors on carpet. Kinda bad light (not many lamps and they were waaaaay up in the roof of the hall), and moving objects, so a tough test for me. Sports mode can't pick up the cars well, they were blurry when focused on a spot then pannning with the camera to the right area to snap the pic. Changed to High Sensitivity mode and that helped a lot, but you're limited in MP size so the quality drops. Heres some pics, most cropped but all resized. All fixed with the 'AutoFix' feature in Vista's Photo Viewer thingy. :good: Very happy with the static shots though! And I'm going for a case too, leaving it on the table was a bit scary with various liquids flying around (motor spray....). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaz Posted 4 January, 2010 Author Share Posted 4 January, 2010 And the moving shots: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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