What digital camera?

[caduceus]

I'm going travelling soon and want to take a digital camera with me.
It needs to be as small as possible but at the same time take good quality digital pics. Ability to capture footage would be nice, but not essential.

Also, do internet cafes allow you to upload pictures from your camera to email to an acct to free up memory? Or do I have to spend a fortune on memory cards and have the possibilty of them getting lost/stolen?

Cheers
Cad

[diddyman]

You can by image storage thingies with about 40gigs of memory for next to nothing nowadays. You just shove the card in and transfer the data across. They have a likkle screen to view the pickies and you can scroll, delete etc... Abouyt 5 inches high, 3 wide, so take up no room at all.

Camera wise, well, the Pentax Optio range are small & excellent quality. Suppose it depends on how much you wanna spend.

[simpo two]

Luckily I dropped in from the Photography forum!

I'm just about to upgrade my compact and my two favourites are:

Panasonic Lumix FX8

Ricoh Caplio R3 (just out)



Both have Image Stabilisation and the Ricoh has a 28-200 lens.

You can find out more at www.dpreview.com.



>> Edited by simpo two on Sunday 23 October 10:28

[Prof Beard]

I have a Pentax Optio, I've been very pleased with it. Buy a really big SD card for it!

If you do go the Optio route, DON'T waste money on a case for one - buy a tin of M&S curiously strong mints, the optios fit in the tin exactly (scarily so).

Prof Beard

[alfaman]

I (too) have a Pentax Optio SV - bought for a 7 month trip round the world that I've just done, VERY pleased with the results and its very small , and has equiv. of 35mm to 165mm zoom (5x) - bought a 512MB memory card for it ( about 300+ photos )

( If you plan on doing a lot a distant wildlife photography - I would suggest getting a 10x zoom camera )

Bought it in Malaysia - its cheaper to buy cameras there or Singapore or Indonesia than the UK.

If you want to take a LOT of mpeg (movie) footage check the resolution of this vs. standard pics ( the resolution on mine is not as tight as the 5MB picture resolution )


Re . mailing back pics :

Its very easy to download a memory stick full of photos onto a CD at internet cafes everywhere - they will often do it for you. Top Tip : burn 2 CD'S - mail one back to the UK , keep other one until confirmation that CD has arrived home ....

You could also down load pics to various internet sites ( GetJealous.com ? cant remember the name ).

have fun

[pmanson]

I've got a Pentax Optio S5z.


Buy fast memory!!!!!!!!!! The difference is staggering

[caduceus]

Thanks for the quick replies everyone. Keep them coming, although the Pentax sounds like the one to go for at the moment.

Alfaman, you have mail. Want to pick you brains about travelling tips if you don't mind.

I am going to see Asia and Oz, so anyone who has been and got the t-shirt I would like to hear some stories about what to see, etc.

Cheers all.

[GetCarter]

Yo Simpo

I'd been considering the Lumix - when are you going to NZ? as Leica are bringing out the same camera but with spotting scope in a few weeks:

www.photographyblog.com/index.php/weblog/comments/leica_d_lux_2_announced/

Steve

[imperialism2024]

I don't know how prevalent they are in the UK, but I always have liked the Nikon Coolpix series for small-ish P&S digital cameras.

Though you'll definately want to go to a store and handle all the cameras. One thing I've found that is important is ergonomics. If you don't like the grip on the camera, or you don't like how the buttons are positioned, you won't want to take a lot of pictures, and that defeats the point of having a digital camera...

[Andy M]

A couple of months ago I bought a Casio Exilim EX-Z750 having been told by a Jessops-employee friend of mine that it was the best on the market. Having read Ken Rockwell's review ( www.kenrockwell.com/casio/exz750.htm ), I came to the conclusion of 'who am I to argue?' and so went ahead and purchased one.



Despite a lens error which resulted in me having to return the camera to be exchanged, I've been hugely impressed with it and am glad I purchased it

DPreview here: www.dpreview.com/reviews/casioz750/

[406]

I carry my Lumix DMC-FX2 with me all the time. It has 4mp and IS. This is not made now but they can be found for about £160

www.dcviews.com/_panasonic/fx2.htm

HTH

Dave

406

Edited to add link and alter hp to mp - Thanks Martin [/s]


>> Edited by 406 on Sunday 23 October 17:05

[mcflurry]

caduceus said:

Also, do internet cafes allow you to upload pictures from your camera to email to an acct to free up memory? Cad

I found a lot of internet cafes (and camera shops) will have the facility to burn memory cards to cdr for a nominal fee.

In Canada I paid CAD10 for 2 discs (about 4-5 quid) at a camera shop with one hour service, and CAD 4 when I did it myself at an internet cafe a week later.

[v6gto]

406 said:

I carry my Lumix DMC-FX2 with me all the time..... It has 4hp

What's the 0-60 time, Dave?


Martin.

[406]

v6gto said:

406 said: I carry my Lumix DMC-FX2 with me all the time..... It has 4hp What's the 0-60 time, Dave? Martin.

Doh!

[caduceus]

alfaman said:

Bought it in Malaysia - its cheaper to buy cameras there or Singapore or Indonesia than the UK.

How much can I expect to save if I buy my digi camera abroad? Thailand is going to be my first stop I think, so can I get them cheap there too?
Or is it just Malaysia?

[beano500]

You can probably get a sizeable saving where you're off to.

For UK/Europe prices, your best places to check on the web should probably include Kelkoo and Pixmania before you go.

(Just watch out that your adaptors are compatible when you return to Blighty!)

[Andy M]

caduceus said:

How much can I expect to save if I buy my digi camera abroad? Thailand is going to be my first stop I think, so can I get them cheap there too? Or is it just Malaysia?

Maybe not as much as you'd expect, certainly not in 'Tax Free' at the airport.

If you're in Bangkok take a trip MBK Plaza (Ma Boon Krong Plaza) at Siam Square. This is about the cheapest place you'll find with any chance that you'll be able to exchange the goods if anything goes wrong.

A word to remember "Paaaaaang!" (too expensive!) Say it to the shopkeeper and you're sure to raise a smile

[Andy M]

If I were in your position I'd get Jessops to match the best internet price you can find.

The chance of saving <£50 doesn't seem worth it compared to the chance of you having to write off the cost of the camera if something goes awry.

[caduceus]

Andy M said:

A couple of months ago I bought a Casio Exilim EX-Z750 having been told by a Jessops-employee friend of mine that it was the best on the market. Having read Ken Rockwell's review ( www.kenrockwell.com/casio/exz750.h ), I came to the conclusion of 'who am I to argue?' and so went ahead and purchased one. Despite a lens error which resulted in me having to return the camera to be exchanged, I've been hugely impressed with it and am glad I purchased it DPreview here: www.dpreview.com/reviews/casioz750

I have just read the spec/reviews on this camera and it sounds fantastic. Although TBH, I am in now way a photographer by any stretch of the imagination.
Would I REALLY notice the difference between the Casio and the Pentax?

The cheapest I have seen the Casio for is 299 at Jessops and I challenge anyone who can do better

Andy, any downsides at all with the camera?

Cheers

[G20RG B]

I think the Panasonic FX8 or FX9 are certainly worth concidering. Leica lens, Optical Image stabalizer,2.5" LCD,4 or 5 mega pix, very slim well built products and I think the price has just came down on the FX8..

I use the previous model the FX7 and have been very pleased with the camera..