Digital for about £400 - £500.....which one?

[richardt]

So many subjective reviews around as to what one is best. Any particular views and / or experiences of something in this price bracket?

Considering things such as the Canon G6, or maybe the Pro 1 but looking for some other non-Canon recommendations aswell.

Cheers

[_Dobbo_]

I suspect that everyone here will tell you that if you are going to spend that kind of money, you will be best off with a DSLR of some kind.

The canon EOS 300D is at the top end of your budget, but the smart money is on the Nikon D70 ;-)

lights blue touch paper and retires

[simpo two]

Dobbo scores 3/3.

[beano500]

Well - what do you want to take pictures of?


All very well putting up a shout of D70 - but, for example, if you're going interchangeable lenses you're going to worry about dirt on the sensor and end up carrying a lot of kit about, and continually wanting to spend more money

There are some excellent alternatives for a little less outlay which might do the job.

For example

Panasonic Lumix FZ20 - don't laugh! What lens has it got?

Nikon range has some beautifully built and practical alternatives - 8400/8800 or the new 7900 or 5900. Equally, with new models coming out you might pick up a bargain further down the line (if you only want fewer pixels you can pick up 3200 at only about £100!!! Fabulous quality)

OK I'm biased towards the "N" word myself but good reports from a number of bits of kit around this price range - I wouldn't have given a Sony another thought 'til I got Mrs Beano a T1 (and then the u/w housing and started snapping at sharks off the Maldives!!!)

[richardt]

I am looking to do a bit of a mixed bag of shots really. I use an Ixus V3 at the moment but wanted something a bit more flexible with manual settings etc.

Not sure if I wanted to venture into the SLR world or not, maybe just the upper end of the compact world.

[beano500]

Then I stand by my first thought of the Panasonic, which is given a full review here, as one worthy of consideration.

This one caught my eye as a possible alternative for me: for the range of controls, the lens quality, the reputation of the electronics side, TIFF file format if necessary, the optical zoom range and from several reviews I've seen....

[rico]

richardt said:

Not sure if I wanted to venture into the SLR world or not, maybe just the upper end of the compact world.

Why not?

Stick an dSLR into AUTO mode and it'll take better pics all day long than a top compact.

Once you get into the larger compacts, they're not even that much smaller than the SLRs.

You've got a lot more space for upgrades like new lenses with the SLR too.

Unless you REALLY can't live with the SLR's size... there is no reason to not buy one, especially at your price point.

I adore my D70. My old 3.2mp point and shoot barely gets used now, only when out in nightclubs etc. Comparing the quality is just amazing... the D70 kicks the 3.2 into touch.

[whittaker52]

Id highly recommend the Canon G series cameras, especially because of the flexibility they offer, with lots of different shooting modes, so you can learn what effect the various things have on the photo, so a good step-stone to a DSLR. but for that kind of money i think id probably go for the DSLR - i know pcworld were doing the Canon EOS 300D with a lens for £499 (on their website) over the weekend, im not sure if this offer is still going though.

[-DeaDLocK-]

rico said:

Stick an dSLR into AUTO mode and it'll take better pics all day long than a top compact.

Horses for courses.

A top end compact (a.k.a. a "ZLR") will have a fantastic integrated lens which will open up to f2.8 or more. It will have very good magnification and have reasonably good macro facilities. It will be ergonomically easier to use, with less buttons to get your head around and with additional "gimmicks" that people actually use - like using the LCD as a viewfinder and video recording.

A basic dSLR with a basic kit lens will offer none of this at a similar price band.

Also, some top-end compacts have very impressive image enhancement algorithms built-in - for example a handheld photo out of a Nikon Coolpix 8700 in a well-lit outdoor scene will typically feature awesome depth of field but yet be in perfect focus and with spot-on saturation and fantastic sharpness throughout the picture with zero distortion anywhere even when shot way wide. A lot of these things can be reproduced in PS of course, but a lot of people simply can't be arsed.

Add to the fact that you get all this in a package that is both smaller (admittedly not by much, but still smaller) and cheaper (admittedly not by much, but still cheaper) than an entry dSLR, and compacts make a whole lot of sense.

If you aren't all that interested in creative photography, then a good compact is a solid investment IMO.