Compact Digital Camera

[John_n_Rach]

Hi
I need a new digital camera and was hoping there is an expert amongst us who could recommend one as there are too many to choose from!
I need it for work, I am a chartered surveyor and project manager so its mainly photos of buildings internal and external, oh, and Max!!
I obviously dont need a pro model but would like one that has an optical zoom and has a video function.
My budget is £200.
Thanks in advance
John

[Jane S]

I've just got a Fuji Finepix F10 Zoom which is a great, little camera & the best one I've tried for taking pics indoors at dog shows etc (because of its range of ISO settings) Previous compact digital cameras I've tried have been great for outdoors but not so good inside The F10 comes in a bit above your budget, brand new - mine was a bit less as I bought it nearly new on Ebay

Jane

[Curtisio]

Can't recommend a specific model, but Fujifilm cameras are V good... I have the E500 zoom, very impressive for the money....

Tip, find a camera with price in the internet and then print out the page, take it into shops, I know Jessops price match to the internet, I did this and saved £55...and paid £165 i think?

[John_n_Rach]

Thanks for quick replies

I use an online supplier for my PC stuff for the business and they do the Fuji Finepix F10 Zom for £199.99 incl VAT and delivery, how about that for meeting the budget!  

Looks a great camera, and small as well to boot.  It does say you need to know about cameras to get the best out of it, or at least read up on the instructions to get they best pictures etc, i.e. not point and shoot.  Jane, how have you found it for ease of use?

Thanks again

John

[Sharon]

I've just got a Fuji Finepix F10 Zoom which is a great, little camera & the best one I've tried for taking pics indoors at dog shows etc (because of its range of ISO settings) Previous compact digital cameras I've tried have been great for outdoors but not so good inside The F10 comes in a bit above your budget, brand new - mine was a bit less as I bought it nearly new on Ebay

Jane

[snapback]155963[/snapback]

Yes, I've got this one also Jane, it's a very good little camera, I've always liked Fuji digital cameras, I've also got a Fuji F710 and a Canon 350d.....the Canon I leave to the OH, I like a camera that's small to hold and quick to take pictures, especially when children and dogs are involved  

I think mine was £201

[shonajoy]

Hi
I need a new digital camera and was hoping there is an expert amongst us who could recommend one as there are too many to choose from!
I need it for work, I am a chartered surveyor and project manager so its mainly photos of buildings internal and external, oh, and Max!!
I obviously dont need a pro model but would like one that has an optical zoom and has a video function.
My budget is £200.
Thanks in advance
John

[snapback]155956[/snapback]

I have a fuji, finepix s500, and am delighted with it. It takes video clips, and has a good optical zoom (10x). I got it at nomatica, I think it's been superceded but check nomatica.com out, they have great deals usually. I paid £250 last year.

[Jane S]

Jane, how have you found it for ease of use?

[snapback]155980[/snapback]

I've found it really easy so far but I've used a Fujifilm camera before so a lot of the controls are already familiar. The only thing I had to adjust to is that you have to use the LED screen to frame your shot, there is no optical view finder. This is fine most of the time except in very bright sunshine when it can be hard to see the screen (but I think this is a problem with LED screens generally). That's the only thing I would change about this camera - I have a Finepix S5500 too but the little F10 outperforms it easily (especially for indoor shots).

Jane

[Colin]

That camera looks really good  - I'm another fan of Fuji cameras, I've got the F601zoom. (Nearly all my video clips were done using the movie feature on it)

The Fuji F10 is supposed to have a short shutter delay, which is good - one of my main bugbears with digcams is the time lapse between pressing the button and the shutter opening.

You will probably find it has an auto setting that is easy to use whilst you read up on the different features and have a good play around with it. As Jane says, manually increasinging the ISO for indoor shots can make a massive difference - flash is useless for photographing dogs as you get too much red eye and it reflects off their coat giving a harsh and unreal look.

200 ISO without flash...



800 ISO without flash...

[John_n_Rach]

Jane, how have you found it for ease of use?

[snapback]155980[/snapback]

I've found it really easy so far but I've used a Fujifilm camera before so a lot of the controls are already familiar. The only thing I had to adjust to is that you have to use the LED screen to frame your shot, there is no optical view finder. This is fine most of the time except in very bright sunshine when it can be hard to see the screen (but I think this is a problem with LED screens generally). That's the only thing I would change about this camera - I have a Finepix S5500 too but the little F10 outperforms it easily (especially for indoor shots).

Jane

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Jane, thanks very much for your help, think I will get the F10, cheers, John

[John_n_Rach]

That camera looks really good  - I'm another fan of Fuji cameras, I've got the F601zoom. (Nearly all my video clips were done using the movie feature on it)

The Fuji F10 is supposed to have a short shutter delay, which is good - one of my main bugbears with digcams is the time lapse between pressing the button and the shutter opening.

You will probably find it has an auto setting that is easy to use whilst you read up on the different features and have a good play around with it. As Jane says, manually increasinging the ISO for indoor shots can make a massive difference - flash is useless for photographing dogs as you get too much red eye and it reflects off their coat giving a harsh and unreal look.

200 ISO without flash...



800 ISO without flash...

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Colin, your video clips are great, I have seen them plenty of times and just assumed you used a camcorder!!!  Makes me more certain to get a fuji, cheers, John

[Colin]

Colin, your video clips are great, I have seen them plenty of times and just assumed you used a camcorder!!!  Makes me more certain to get a fuji, cheers, John

[snapback]156015[/snapback]

Thanks a lot - glad you like them.  I look forward to seeing some video clips of Max once you get your new camera.

[shonajoy]

On the shutter delay thingy - I use continous shot on my camera, and it takes a few in a row, usually gettting the action shot I wanted, and no delay.

[Sharon]

The Canon 350D you can ONLY use the viewfinder and after many years of using the Fuji found it really strange.....that's why I stick to my reliable Fuji, the Canon is like an big old fashioned thing in my eyes, but Paul is used to using a SLR camera and loves it.

Stick with Fuji you really can't go wrong.