Best digital camera for £200

[iamthestig]

Ok, so I've had my crappy 2.3MP camera for 5 years now - time for an upgrade. You guys seem to know your stuff, what do you think I should get for my money (new or used)? Normally just point and shoot stuff, although watch a bit of motorsport so a nice zoom would be usefull. As would being able to use my existing SD cards and AA batteries.

Thanks for your replies.

[andybuk99]

panasonic lumix fz7, you should be able to get one around that price!

i should get commission the amount of times i have recommended them

[matthew_h]

Thus:

www.purelygadgets.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=1770&gclid=CL6AtO-wlIgCFQ9YUgoddGcTAg

[iamthestig]

thanks for those suggestions guys, I've been doing a bit of surfing and found this looks quite good for my needs

www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=22651659156&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3NwZWNpZmljYXRpb25z&product_uid=106481

Kodak Z650 6.0 MP Camera - 10x Optical Zoom

[andybuk99]

i would pay the extra and get the panasonic personally, a far superior camera to the kodak especially if you are using the long side of the lens as the panny has image stabilisation and the kodak dosent

[iamthestig]

good point, and thanks for the link to that gadjet site, even beat ebuyer on price!

[iamthestig]

Interesting how it's £100 more on the Panasonic site than through the link posted.

Do any of you have a PANASONIC LUMIX DMC FZ7 ? What's the battery life like? What do you do if you get caught out "in the field" and run out of battery? I mean it's not like you can just pop in another couple of AA's. Is it possible to get a spare battery or a can you get a car charger for it?

[andybuk99]

i use studio cameras all the time and swmbo "told" me to get a camera for holidays etc. it amazes me the quality from the little thing, the bettery life dosent cause a problem as you aren't going to have it on all the time, i think a battery is only about £25 or so.

[iamthestig]

Thanks for your help and advice Andy. Looks like I'll bite the bullet and get one next week on pay-day. Had a look on ebay and can get a spare battery for about £8 posted, a car charger (could come in handy for Le Mans) and a mahousive memory card!