What camera

[iacabu]

Hi everyone

As I will be starting a life in the Merchant Navy I thought it would be nice to get myself a camera for my travels. I've been reading plenty of reviews and the budget is creeping up every time...speaking of which, I think it might be wise to set it at around £150. Although I've been looking at ones for £200-250, I really should wait until I'm qualified before spending a little more.

Anyway, check list is as follows:

- Good quality camera and pictures
- Good zoom
- Good low light ability
- Good battery life
- Quick shot to shot

Fire away...

[mids]

Lumix LX7 and Canon G15 are both £229 from DigitalRev which might be pushing your budget a bit but they were double that only a year ago. Check out the cameralabs reviews of them both for a good comparison.

[DavidY]

Consider Fuji XF1, on sale at Currys at £150 at the moment

[LongQ]

Hmm.

How long do you think it will be before you get to Hong Kong with some time on shore?

[iacabu]

mids said:

Lumix LX7 and Canon G15 are both £229 from DigitalRev which might be pushing your budget a bit but they were double that only a year ago. Check out the cameralabs reviews of them both for a good comparison.

I think realistically it is pushing it, although they look good

DavidY said:

Consider Fuji XF1, on sale at Currys at £150 at the moment

I like the retro look, one thing putting me off is the zoom...I feel I will use zoom quite a bit being on a boat and some of the bridge cameras I've seen have considerably larger zooms.

LongQ said:

Hmm.

How long do you think it will be before you get to Hong Kong with some time on shore?

Can't guarantee when/if I'll go that direction so may not be best waiting to buy from there

[mids]

iacabu said:

mids said:

Lumix LX7 and Canon G15 are both £229 from DigitalRev which might be pushing your budget a bit but they were double that only a year ago. Check out the cameralabs reviews of them both for a good comparison.

I think realistically it is pushing it, although they look good

Fair enough and well done for sticking to your budget !

A friend of mine bought a bridge camera about a year ago but has been disappointed with it's low light pics. He just replaced it with the LX7 and is very happy, said it worked well at his kids nativity in dark conditions. It's got a pretty big aperture (at f1.4) so thought it was worth mentioning seeing as low light ability was on your wish list. Maybe you'll get some money off Santa to put towards it ;-)

[RobDickinson]

How long do you want it to last and how much punishment will it take? (merchant)Navy could be hard on a camera.

How much is a used canon 400d with kit lens? Much more robust than a P&S and better image quality

[iacabu]

The reason I say I want low light ability is because I'm sick of my phone's performance (Samsung Galaxy SII). I know the S4 is miles better and I assume a new compact or bridge will be even better than that so I should be happy with whatever I get.

RobDickinson said:

How long do you want it to last and how much punishment will it take? (merchant)Navy could be hard on a camera.

How much is a used canon 400d with kit lens? Much more robust than a P&S and better image quality

Obviously I don't want it to break within a year but I plan on taking care of it and keeping it in a case.

Don't think I fancy a DLSR, I don't know much about settings etc

[LuS1fer]

I have a Panasonic TZ30 bought a year or more ago for about £240 but they are half that now. The downside is that mine got very slightly splashed with sea water and threw a fit for several days - something I've never had an issue with with Canon cameras so given your profession, it may not be a great recommendation.

So, for me, a Canon Powershot SX240/260 (or whatever they are now) would top my list as I've always had good pictures from them. I also prefer the Canon download software (though it gets worse with each new generation).

[fido]

iacabu said:

Don't think I fancy a DLSR, I don't know much about settings etc

A DSLR has a fully automatic mode AND auto-focus. Then you can start playing with settings as you gain more confidence. More importantly, you can switch to manual focus for snapping in low-light. I started off on a lowly 1000D.

[rottie102]

fido said:

A DSLR has a fully automatic mode AND auto-focus. Then you can start playing with settings as you gain more confidence. More importantly, you can switch to manual focus for snapping in low-light. I started off on a lowly 1000D.

But he can carry a compact on him at all times which I'm assuming isn't really possible in the navy with a DSLR.
Get a Canon S110 and you'll be happy!

[iacabu]

rottie102 said:

fido said:

A DSLR has a fully automatic mode AND auto-focus. Then you can start playing with settings as you gain more confidence. More importantly, you can switch to manual focus for snapping in low-light. I started off on a lowly 1000D.

But he can carry a compact on him at all times which I'm assuming isn't really possible in the navy with a DSLR.
Get a Canon S110 and you'll be happy!

These are both good points. Not too sure how much an entry level DSLR is though as I haven't bothered looking at them. At least during training I think a compact is going to be more realistic.

[Xaero]

Although usually a dip in quality, have you considered a rugged compact? They will definitely take the sea life a bit better as they are designed to go under it. Of course if they get sea water on, then you should wash it with fresh water, something that I wouldn't do with a regular compact.

Here are a few I found: Olympus Stylus Tough, Panasonic Lumix Rugged, Pentax WG, Nikon Coolpix AW, Fujifilm Finepix XP, Canon Powershot D20 and the Sony TF1

The last compact I had (a few years ago now) was a Panasonic and I replaced it with a dSLR, so after that kept using the Panasonic in more risky locations (like floating down a river in a rubber ring trying to take some photos) and even though it wasn't a rugged one, it held up well, so they'd get my vote.

[littleredrooster]

Xaero said:

Although usually a dip in quality, have you considered a rugged compact? They will definitely take the sea life a bit better as they are designed to go under it. Of course if they get sea water on, then you should wash it with fresh water, something that I wouldn't do with a regular compact.

Here are a few I found: Olympus Stylus Tough, Panasonic Lumix Rugged, Pentax WG, Nikon Coolpix AW, Fujifilm Finepix XP, Canon Powershot D20 and the Sony TF1

The last compact I had (a few years ago now) was a Panasonic and I replaced it with a dSLR, so after that kept using the Panasonic in more risky locations (like floating down a river in a rubber ring trying to take some photos) and even though it wasn't a rugged one, it held up well, so they'd get my vote.

I've owned 5 on that list and very quickly sold 4 of them, finally settling on the Panasonic as the only one which gave reasonable image quality. Others had major shortcomings with white balance, purple fringing or poor focus.

My only real requirement was that it could live in the hostile environment of an outside motorcycle jacket pocket and take snapshots even when it was pouring down. The Panny does that with great aplomb, within its limitations.

Be careful what you buy...

[iacabu]

I have noticed the rugged ones but not bothered to look at them with any intention. The way I see it is if I drop it off the boat it's probably gone for good in the ocean so wouldn't make a difference. Should be safe with any other camera on board

[LuS1fer]

iacabu said:

I have noticed the rugged ones but not bothered to look at them with any intention. The way I see it is if I drop it off the boat it's probably gone for good in the ocean so wouldn't make a difference. Should be safe with any other camera on board

It's a fair point but don't underestimate the corrosive and electrolytic (?) qualities of salt - as I said above, the slightest splash of sea sent mine into meltdown until I dried it out for a day or so. Tight construction is a must and, as noted, I found the Canon to be very reliable.

[mike9009]

LuS1fer said:

I have a Panasonic TZ30 bought a year or more ago for about £240 but they are half that now. The downside is that mine got very slightly splashed with sea water and threw a fit for several days - something I've never had an issue with with Canon cameras so given your profession, it may not be a great recommendation.

So, for me, a Canon Powershot SX240/260 (or whatever they are now) would top my list as I've always had good pictures from them. I also prefer the Canon download software (though it gets worse with each new generation).

I use a Canon SX220 which is great as a point and shoot. Video quality is particularly impressive. Which? seem to be recommending the Canon IXUS255 as the best compact camera at the moment....

[Jonny_]

mike9009 said:

I use a Canon SX220 which is great as a point and shoot. Video quality is particularly impressive. Which? seem to be recommending the Canon IXUS255 as the best compact camera at the moment....

Just got the Ixus 255 as an Xmas pressie. Wanted something small but capable of producing a quality image, most review sites pointed toward this model. Was around £175 at a lot of places before Xmas.

Had a play with it today, mostly taking photos of our very lively toddler this eve, impressed thus far with the image quality and general size and finish, only reservation is the delay between pressing button and getting a photo. But it does have a hybrid mode that captures the few seconds of video (I believe in HD resolution) before the actual photo is taken, which means the moment isn't missed although it's not in the full 12mp resolution.

[iacabu]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone. I had a look in Currys with my Dad on Saturday as they have a lot on display to play with, as impressed as I was with the cameras approaching £200, I just can't spend that kind of money heading into college.

I was however, impressed with the Nikon S6500 at £90, which is quite a bit cheaper than most places and down from £150. This is top of the list right now...it has a CMOS sensor meant to be good for low light and a good zoom on it for the money. Also full HD video and wifi.

[Spanglepants]

I dont know too much about photography but as has already been suggested I'd not bother with a normal compact and go for the already mentioned Canon S100/110 or Panasonic LX5/7 ( Ive got an LX7 myself).
Saying that, and I only had a play with it in a shop, if you did go with a normal compact what about the Sony DSCHX50 -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-DSCHX50-Compact-Digit...



Sorry, just re-read your op and saw your budget (get a 2nd hand Canon s100 or Pana LX5 )