What digital compact camera? £170ish budget

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Hi all.

Looking for a new digital camera. At the moment I have some cheap Poloroid which cost £60 from Argos. :o

I'm not really into photography but its something I would like to get into. I mainly use my camera for taking shots of things which I can use in my graphic designs.

My friend has the Samsung Digimax i6 - any good or should I avoid?

I've got around £170 to spend. Can I get something quite good for this money? The smaller the camera the better.

Cheers. :)
 
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You can't go wrong with a Canon.

They certainly have the best build quality, top class optics, most user friendly - straight out of the box or for more experienced users. Good features, ISO, WB control, good movie mode too.

Pity they don't pack PhotoShop Elements with it but that is available elsewhere at a very reasonable price.
 
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Cheers all.

Is the Samsung not recommended then? I like the size of it but I get the feeling its more gimmicky if you get me?

I was also looking at the Fujifilm Finepix Z1 ZOOM and the Fujifilm Finepix F11 Zoom Digital Camera. What do you reckon to those?

Will check that Canon out.

Cheers.
 
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Just checked out the Cannon.

Seems a little big? And i'm not keen on the idea of having to use 4aa's. I liked the idea of charging up the camera.

Whats battery life like with say a normal set of Engergizer AA's?

Thanks.
 
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Phaser said:
Just checked out the Cannon.

Seems a little big? And i'm not keen on the idea of having to use 4aa's. I liked the idea of charging up the camera.

Whats battery life like with say a normal set of Engergizer AA's?

Thanks.

You use rechargable batteries :)

You could always get an Ixus 55 or something, they they don't offer a great deal of control, they're more point and click.
 
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i'd reccomend the olympus sp700, really nice 3" screen decent quality and an awesome macro mode. If not, check out the fuji F11, seems to have all the manual modes too. I don't really rate the cheaper canons that much, you need to spend £200+ IME for a canon better than the competition. (bare in mind i only know compacts from a certain high street stores prices, where the cheapest ixus is £234 for an ixus 60)

Tom.
 
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I've never actually had the batteries run out. I've used mine for days on 1800mAh NiMh rechargables but I usualy just swap them for some charged ones when I get home and set the used ones off to be charged again.

As for size, I guess there may be smaller, but it really isn't that big.

a620.JPG


It's up to you of course, there's such a huge choice on the market now you're bound to find one that suits you.
 
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Ah I see, I presumed it was a lot bigger. Cheers. Might well go with that as it seems i'd be getting more camera for my money.

Reckon I should stay clear of the Samsung then?
 
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the 4 battery bit is the handle as well, which is very ergonomic for taking 1 handed pics.

battery life is awesome.

see here
for some poor starter pics.

the frog is about 1cm high for info.

these pics were my first attempts, with no post processing and obviously a resize.
 
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Hmmm i've been looking at the Fujifilm Finepix F11 Zoom Digital Camera.

No competitors, Big Kev have got a special offer on, half price, down from £300 to £150.

Had a look at some sample pictures on the dpreview.com site and i'm pretty impressed.

No competitors, Big Kev

What do you reckon to that one?
 
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Go for the Canon - You won't be disappointed!!

Ubiquitous AAs - no problem you can get 'em everywhere! You don't have to use rechargable ones, so if your're stuck you can buy duracells off the shelf.

A battery charger can be bought from fleebay for a few quid and nimhs 2700 are cheap too, some come in plastic holders.

As far as size is concerned, canons have nice grips so you're unlikely to drop them and your fingers rarely get in the way of the flash.
 
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Phaser said:
Hmmm i've been looking at the Fujifilm Finepix F11 Zoom Digital Camera.

Jessops have got a special offer on, half price, down from £300 to £150.

Had a look at some sample pictures on the dpreview.com site and i'm pretty impressed.

http://www.jessops.com/Store/s32821.../Finepix-F11-Zoom-Digital-Camera/details.aspx

What do you reckon to that one?

The fuji f10,f11 and now the f30 are getting great reviews. Their high iso performance is far better than any other makes due to the latest generation fuji sensor. If the features fit what you are looking for then definately get the fuji.
 
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Only comes with a 16MB card though. :(

Think i'l pop into No competitors, Big Kev on Saturday and have a look, i'm definately leaning towards to the F11 though. :)
 
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Sparky191 said:
Whats the pros cons of the fuji vs the canon?

thats a personal thing to be honest.

check dpreview for the technical overview, and see what spec you like.

for example, the canon does not do RAW, but does have the ability to take addon lenses.

if its between two cameras, you really need to go into a shop and hold one becuase whats a pro for some is a con for others.

the largish grip on the canon is for me a great pro, as some of the flat small ones are too easy to drop, e.g. IXSUS for my clumsyb fingers, but could be a con for someone else.
 
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