What holiday camera to buy?
Discussion
I'd put this in photography, but the kind of camera I'm after isn't probably one which "enthusiasts" would want...
Thinking about buying a digital camera to take on holiday, to take pure and simple holiday snaps. I have no interest in photography as such - this is worth remembering! My requirements are:
- small and light
- plenty of storage for pics
- ridiculously long battery life
- price <£200ish
I'm sure even the crapppiest modern compact digital camera produces high enough quality for my undiscerning eye, so that's not a worry.
Off to India, hence would like decent storage and battery life. So, what should I get?
Thinking about buying a digital camera to take on holiday, to take pure and simple holiday snaps. I have no interest in photography as such - this is worth remembering! My requirements are:
- small and light
- plenty of storage for pics
- ridiculously long battery life
- price <£200ish
I'm sure even the crapppiest modern compact digital camera produces high enough quality for my undiscerning eye, so that's not a worry.
Off to India, hence would like decent storage and battery life. So, what should I get?
Well I'll venture out of the photography forum to post...
India. Humid. Something waterproof or with a housing is good. Always warm up the camera (under a pit or between your legs!) before leaving an air-con'd room otherwise you'll have condensation streaming down it. Believe me. Monsson season's even worse! If you're taking one of the sleeper trains guard your valubles!
Redundancy's good in a travel camera, something that takes easy to buy memory cards (ie SD), and maybe normal batteries (ie AA's) That way if the power goes out and they switch to the generator and the spike blows the fancy charger for your camera-specific Li-Ion batterys you can just get some from the local shop (i've had this happen..). That said Li-Ion do last a hell of a lot longer...
Memory cards are cheap, buy lots. More smaller ones better than one large one (incase it fails/you loose it). Always leave camera on max resolution, don't scrimp on the file size incase that perfect shot you took is too small to blow up as a canvas print for your wall.. If you absolutely must you'll get better quality from a higher resolution image with more compression than a low resolution image with little compression for the same file size, but as I said, leave it on max.
Other than that get your self down to the camera shop and try a few, don't buy one without feeling it in your hands physically. Try the menus, see what the screen's like, and that it isn't too small in your hands etc. Fancy modes are worthless unless you are going to use them... Stick to the makers of the pro cameras if you can - the likes of Nikon, Canon, Fuji and maybe Sony. That way the good tech filters down. I'm not aware of HP or Packard bell being known for their DSLRs...
(Optical not digital) anti shake is good, as is High Iso capability.
If you're after quality a good rule of thumb is to look for the minimum resolution (5-6 MP is good, 10+ MP too noisy) for the biggest diameter bit of glass on the front! Ideally you want something with a lens that's 30-40mm diameter, 4-5x zoom and 5MP, but with the spec race you're more likely to find a 10MP thing that's noisy as hell, a tiny little lens that can't resolve anywhere near enough detail for 3MP, let alone 10MP (so the high res sensor is a waste of time) and a wide angle zoom that isn't too silly (those 10x zooms are a waste of money - you'll never hand hold it at the long end, and the distortions at the rest of the zoom range are crazy). Think of an SLR, a big lens that covers a range maybe 3x, and a large sensor that is maybe 8MP. That's way they produce such good quality images.
Good luck! If you're after specific reviews, try dpreview.com, though it may be a bit geeky. If you know what you want check the dixons tax free price at the airport in advance, might save a bit... And bare in mind you can get a basic DSLR for around £275 these days, soo it's a waste spending too much on a compact as it will know the socks off them (and still have full auto modes).
India. Humid. Something waterproof or with a housing is good. Always warm up the camera (under a pit or between your legs!) before leaving an air-con'd room otherwise you'll have condensation streaming down it. Believe me. Monsson season's even worse! If you're taking one of the sleeper trains guard your valubles!
Redundancy's good in a travel camera, something that takes easy to buy memory cards (ie SD), and maybe normal batteries (ie AA's) That way if the power goes out and they switch to the generator and the spike blows the fancy charger for your camera-specific Li-Ion batterys you can just get some from the local shop (i've had this happen..). That said Li-Ion do last a hell of a lot longer...
Memory cards are cheap, buy lots. More smaller ones better than one large one (incase it fails/you loose it). Always leave camera on max resolution, don't scrimp on the file size incase that perfect shot you took is too small to blow up as a canvas print for your wall.. If you absolutely must you'll get better quality from a higher resolution image with more compression than a low resolution image with little compression for the same file size, but as I said, leave it on max.
Other than that get your self down to the camera shop and try a few, don't buy one without feeling it in your hands physically. Try the menus, see what the screen's like, and that it isn't too small in your hands etc. Fancy modes are worthless unless you are going to use them... Stick to the makers of the pro cameras if you can - the likes of Nikon, Canon, Fuji and maybe Sony. That way the good tech filters down. I'm not aware of HP or Packard bell being known for their DSLRs...
(Optical not digital) anti shake is good, as is High Iso capability.
If you're after quality a good rule of thumb is to look for the minimum resolution (5-6 MP is good, 10+ MP too noisy) for the biggest diameter bit of glass on the front! Ideally you want something with a lens that's 30-40mm diameter, 4-5x zoom and 5MP, but with the spec race you're more likely to find a 10MP thing that's noisy as hell, a tiny little lens that can't resolve anywhere near enough detail for 3MP, let alone 10MP (so the high res sensor is a waste of time) and a wide angle zoom that isn't too silly (those 10x zooms are a waste of money - you'll never hand hold it at the long end, and the distortions at the rest of the zoom range are crazy). Think of an SLR, a big lens that covers a range maybe 3x, and a large sensor that is maybe 8MP. That's way they produce such good quality images.
Good luck! If you're after specific reviews, try dpreview.com, though it may be a bit geeky. If you know what you want check the dixons tax free price at the airport in advance, might save a bit... And bare in mind you can get a basic DSLR for around £275 these days, soo it's a waste spending too much on a compact as it will know the socks off them (and still have full auto modes).
Olympus Mju 850 SW
http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/29_digital_camer...
Awesome battery life, waterproof and shockproof (ideal for jetskis / snorkling) takes really decent pictures and survived three months travelling around thailand and australia
http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/29_digital_camer...
Awesome battery life, waterproof and shockproof (ideal for jetskis / snorkling) takes really decent pictures and survived three months travelling around thailand and australia
Lumix DMC-TZ3 or TZ5
Unrivalled in its market sector at the moment, IMHO.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-TZ3-Di...
Unrivalled in its market sector at the moment, IMHO.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-TZ3-Di...
Edited by V8mate on Saturday 6th December 16:53
V8mate said:
Lumix DMC-TZ3 or TZ5
Unrivalled in its market sector at the moment, IMHO.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-TZ3-Di...
Expensive. I paid 200 for my TZ5. 7dayshop.com or Dixons duty free in the airport.Unrivalled in its market sector at the moment, IMHO.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-TZ3-Di...
Edited by V8mate on Saturday 6th December 16:53
hornetrider said:
V8mate said:
Lumix DMC-TZ3 or TZ5
Unrivalled in its market sector at the moment, IMHO.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-TZ3-Di...
Expensive. I paid 200 for my TZ5. 7dayshop.com or Dixons duty free in the airport.Unrivalled in its market sector at the moment, IMHO.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-TZ3-Di...
Edited by V8mate on Saturday 6th December 16:53
TZ5 is £180 on Amazon, IIRC.
hornetrider said:
V8mate said:
Lumix DMC-TZ3 or TZ5
Unrivalled in its market sector at the moment, IMHO.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-TZ3-Di...
Expensive. I paid 200 for my TZ5. 7dayshop.com or Dixons duty free in the airport.Unrivalled in its market sector at the moment, IMHO.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-TZ3-Di...
Edited by V8mate on Saturday 6th December 16:53
Great camera, but it is quite heavy
I had a 12 mega pixel lumix. Pics weren't very good and the camera broke pretty quickly so couldn't recommend them.
Take a look at canon ixus 870is, just bought one for my bird and its good. About 200 quid. If you're feeling a bit richer, the next one up is 980is. Brilliant if you just like to point and click as the auto modes are good.
Take a look at canon ixus 870is, just bought one for my bird and its good. About 200 quid. If you're feeling a bit richer, the next one up is 980is. Brilliant if you just like to point and click as the auto modes are good.
Well, I ended up with an Olympus 850sw, all the better to survive the ravages of SWMBO...
Some pics from the trip here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
if you're interested. Ta again for the advice!
Some pics from the trip here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
if you're interested. Ta again for the advice!
Gruppe1875 said:
Olympus Mju 850 SW
http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/29_digital_camer...
Awesome battery life, waterproof and shockproof (ideal for jetskis / snorkling) takes really decent pictures and survived three months travelling around thailand and australia
I was thinking along similar lines. I am thinking about this very camera myself. Good to hear someone who has good things to say about it.http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/29_digital_camer...
Awesome battery life, waterproof and shockproof (ideal for jetskis / snorkling) takes really decent pictures and survived three months travelling around thailand and australia
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