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Digital Cameras ?


saf-one

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I know there's a few damn talented photographers on here and I was hoping to maybe get some advice.

I'm looking for a new digital camera.

A compact one and looking to spend no more than 200.

Any recommendations?

I'm keen to get one which is particularly good at taking photos with no flash.

The reason being that I take alot of photos at gigs etc and, as you'll know, using a flash bleaches out the pic.

But pretty much any digital camera I've used with out a flash to take a pic of a band or what ever, because of the longer exposure, comes out blurry :down:

Anyone know of a compact digital camera on the market now which is particularly good with out a flash?

If it was your money what would you buy?

Thanks in advance.

-

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Guest Exposure @ Lemon Tree

Not entirely sure of the without the flash debate, but I bought my fiancee a camera at Christmas. I looked up a load of internet comparison websites and reviews and all that malarkey. I know nowt about photography, but ended up going for a

Canon Digital IXUS 85 IS

It's a 10 megapixel digital camera. Sorry, I don't really know what I'm speaking about, but it takes a crackingly crisp picture in and outside. It's a compact model, and was about the best compact model I could find (review wise) for under 200 - think it cost about 160.

She's very happy with it - though it hasn't been used for the sort of photos you'll be taking. But probably worth looking into. Canon seemed to get the best reviews on the whole when I was looking.

Cue someone who actually knows what they're talking about coming on and ripping apart what i've just said....

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I know there's a few damn talented photographers on here and I was hoping to maybe get some advice.

I'm looking for a new digital camera.

A compact one and looking to spend no more than 200.

Any recommendations?

I'm keen to get one which is particularly good at taking photos with no flash.

The reason being that I take alot of photos at gigs etc and, as you'll know, using a flash bleaches out the pic.

But pretty much any digital camera I've used with out a flash to take a pic of a band or what ever, because of the longer exposure, comes out blurry :down:

Anyone know of a compact digital camera on the market now which is particularly good with out a flash?

If it was your money what would you buy?

Thanks in advance.

-

As far as low price compacts go, Fuji have the best low light, high ISO performance. Knocks spots off the competition in this respect (last time I checked at least).

Check this side by side of a Fuji F50fd and a Nikon P5100 at ISO800:

Fujifilm FinePix F50fd Review: 14. Compared to...: Digital Photography Review

Higher ISO number means more sensitivity to light and therefore less time the shutter needs to be open to gather the same amount of light and therefore less blur when taking pictures with no flash - at the cost of more noise in the picture. For a good while now Fuji seem to have been doing the best of all the major camera manufacturers to minimise this effect.

Just checking Amazon yields a plethora of Fuji options at the 100-200 range. It depends further on practicality - how portable do you want it?

Amazon.co.uk: 100 - 200 - FujiFilm / Digital Cameras / Photography / fujifilm: Electronics & Photo

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I know there's a few damn talented photographers on here and I was hoping to maybe get some advice.

I'm looking for a new digital camera.

A compact one and looking to spend no more than 200.

Any recommendations?

I'm keen to get one which is particularly good at taking photos with no flash.

The reason being that I take alot of photos at gigs etc and, as you'll know, using a flash bleaches out the pic.

But pretty much any digital camera I've used with out a flash to take a pic of a band or what ever, because of the longer exposure, comes out blurry :down:

Anyone know of a compact digital camera on the market now which is particularly good with out a flash?

If it was your money what would you buy?

Thanks in advance.

-

You need to look for a camera that has a high iso capability and a fast lens with an aperture of around 2.8 or lower if you can find it.

A tripod will help but the aperture and iso can reduce the exposure times.:up:

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I'll be honest, a compact wont take decent photos at a gig. Usually there isnt a lot of light, in photo terms, thus you use high ISO and large f number, like f2.0. You just cant get that on a compact, especially for around 200... my gig lens I had to buy so I could get enough light in for my camera cost 250 and thats relatively cheap for a gig specific lens.

However, if you still want to look into compacts, I'd go either Fuji or Canon

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  • 4 months later...
Very true.

To be honest if you want the best quality image for gigs within your budget I would purchase a 2nd hand Canon 10d or 20d and purchase a 2nd hand canon 50mm 1.8 lens. Perfect for gigs.

I completley agree, you may even be able to pick up a 300d on ebay for around the 200 quid mark surely? although a dated camera now, ive still got my old one kicking about somewhere, with a 50mm f1.8 on it the thing took amazing pictures!

And even brand new, you can get the 50mm f1.8 for under 80 quid if you shop around online!

I think this photo shows how awesome the combo of 300d and 50mm f1.8 can be in very low light situations, its a picture from a very dull night in moshulu:

aiden260807moshulu7.jpg

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What would you guys recommend for a starter photographer?

It's my mum's birthday next month and she's been dying to get into photography as a hobby. I know bugger all about photography, but she's been talking about it for quite a while so was hoping to get her a decent camera and hopefully a bit of tuition.

I've already bugged someone on here with an e-mail, as google wasn't throwing much up (probably didn't look long enough). It was actually aberdeenbikers forum that had a good link to a guy that does tuition (just get her used to a camera, using it, techniques etc...) but it's Digital SLR tuition.

Or are there any local part-time courses anyone knows about? Apart from the college

Help, please?

In complete honesty id suggest getting her to read some online tutorials and i know a few of the photography mags have some good articles for beginners, but photography is a very inivitual thing, picking up how to work the camera and settings ect. isnt too hard, but i strongly advice trying things out the good old fashione trial and error way yourself to learn what settings to use and when, and all SLR's have an automatic setting anyway... i like to think of it as a safety net.

I can strongly recomend canon myself, i've always used them and have had a 300d 350d 400d 450d 40d 5d and 5dm2 and a vast array of lens's and have loved them all. Sticking to canon or nikon will make things cheaper in the long run, as lots of companies like sigma and tamrom make a vast array of cheaper lens's for both.:up:

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In complete honesty id suggest getting her to read some online tutorials and i know a few of the photography mags have some good articles for beginners, but photography is a very inivitual thing, picking up how to work the camera and settings ect. isnt too hard, but i strongly advice trying things out the good old fashione trial and error way yourself to learn what settings to use and when, and all SLR's have an automatic setting anyway... i like to think of it as a safety net.

I can strongly recomend canon myself, i've always used them and have had a 300d 350d 400d 450d 40d 5d and 5dm2 and a vast array of lens's and have loved them all. Sticking to canon or nikon will make things cheaper in the long run, as lots of companies like sigma and tamrom make a vast array of cheaper lens's for both.:up:

So would she be best starting off with an SLR or would a compact camera be a better starting point? She's never had her own camera, so it's a completely new thing to her.

There used to be a photography class where I stay but that's since been stopped.

Does anyone know about the classes Nature,Wildlife and Environmental Stock Photography- Stock Photo Library-Photography Courses & Workshops, Art Prints offer? They let you borrow a camera etc... is it worth it as a starting point for her or would I be better just buying her an expensive camera and letting her find her own feet?

p.s. Canon, noted, thanks :up:

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I have a question too...

I need a new digital camera. But it's only for taking on holidays, nights out etc etc not for 'serious' photography. I don't want to spend any more than 100 (ideally) and I'd rather not buy online because I'm going away soon.

Any recommendations?

I'd go into jessops an ask to have a play around with some cams if i was you... i had a quick look on their website, and for under a hundred quid theese 2 stand out the most:

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/Digital%20Compact%20Cameras/products/Fujifilm/Finepix%20J210W%20Digital%20Camera%20-%20Silver-75945/Show.html

28-140mm equivelent zoom, 10mp face regognition ect.

Canon Powershot A480 Digital Camera - Silver - Jessops

10mp, face detection, 3.3x optical zoom (so slightly less than the fuji, it works out at 5x) and has a 1cm super macro setting, so brilliant if you like taking pictures of tiny things.

hope that helps a wee bit:up:

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That one looks good.

But I also like this one -

Nikon Coolpix S220 Digital Camera - Magenta - Jessops

I think it might be the pink colour that's making it more attractive. Hmmm.

Seems a pretty solid camera, and as i said you cant really go wrong with canon or nikon, same with fuji and pretty much every other reputable manufacturer, id just advise to stay away from Kodak.

The lens on that Nikon in comparison to the Fuji loses out SLIGHTLY at both ends, the wide angle and the zoom, but to be honest with compacts a 3x zoom is always gunna be enough, once you push it past that, even with image stabilisation you really wont be able to take a clear picture without a tripod.

I'd say it looks a pretty decent camera for holidays and general usage!

Just dont forget the price of things like Memory Cards and cases ect. when buying a camera, although acessories arent too expensive they can really add up, and it is always advisable to get a good case if the cam will get chucked in a bag or suitcase a lot, stops any un-necissary damage.

:up:

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Just dont forget the price of things like Memory Cards and cases ect. when buying a camera, although acessories arent too expensive they can really add up, and it is always advisable to get a good case if the cam will get chucked in a bag or suitcase a lot, stops any un-necissary damage.

:up:

I went for the Fuji one... and Jessops had an offer of an 8gb memory card and case for 20. So all in all I'm happy.

It's a really straightforward camera to use with no fancy settings. Although there is a baby setting. Haha.

Thanks for your advice!!

EDIT: I was going to give you rep... But I can't!! :down:

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I went for the Fuji one... and Jessops had an offer of an 8gb memory card and case for 20. So all in all I'm happy.

It's a really straightforward camera to use with no fancy settings. Although there is a baby setting. Haha.

Thanks for your advice!!

EDIT: I was going to give you rep... But I can't!! :down:

8gb and a case for 20 bucks... i need to get my ass to jessops and stockpile.

No problems, hope you are happy with it :up:

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