# Recommendation for Digital camera (sub Â£200)



## Stu-Oxfordshire (May 7, 2002)

We're gong to replace our digital camera: it's a 6 yr old Canon Digital IXUS V2, 2 megapixel. Can you believe it cost Â£ 400 back in 2000! :lol:

We want to replace with a smaller version, with better image resolution. For example, even set on this highest resolution, the quality of the digitial-to-soft copy is relatively poor.

Any recommendations please?


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## was (Mar 24, 2003)

Hi Stu

I can recommend the Canon Ixus 65, very neat unit with a nice big 3'' screen.

very good price from here:

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/515832/ ... us-65.html


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## davidg (Sep 14, 2002)

Got this just before xmas , shockproof , waterproof to 3mts 8)

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/397662/ ... ilver.html


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## R6B TT (Feb 25, 2003)

I've just bought a Fuji Finepix F30 from Jessops - great price plus I found an 'offer of the day' voucher on the web, so got the camera for under Â£140, cases and mini tripod brought it up to 152 total. I then got a 1GB XD card from Amazon for 16 quid as Jessops were asking 60! 6.3MP and it pushes to ISO3200 so is very good for low light shots. It won a couple of awards last year too. It's slightly (3-4mm) fatter than the current Ixus 65 but has better battery life and a power indicator, which the Ixus lacks and I figured could be a problem. Its pretty much the same size as a packet of ****!

I was planning to get an Ixus, but 1) found them hard to get hold of and 2) in comparison with the Fuji, overpriced.


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## p1tse (Sep 20, 2004)

been using a casio exlim for some years now, with new models out with bigger screens etc. but the functions, menu's, easy use, compact all good


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

Depends on waht you want, but I'd certainly recommend a new Ixus. Though I don't use one myself, there's a lot to be said for staying with the same features etc so that you can be up and running from day one.

I was looking at cameras yesterday on either Dabs or 7-day shop (think it was the latter) and they've got loads of deals for cameras for under that price, but I've no idea how good they are.

Worth a look though.


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## jbell (May 15, 2006)

Just bought a Nikon Coolpix S7c from www.7dayshop.com for Â£198, the cheapest in UK was Â£225 on Amazon. 7.1 Megapixels, WiFi, huge LCD and very small, also bought a 1Gb mem card for Â£7.99 off them.

Great camera, easy to use and small


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## ag (Sep 12, 2002)

I bought a a Fuji F31fd just before christmas for Â£209. The previous model, which is almost identical, the F30, is available for well under Â£200. I find the colours a littl lacking in comparison with my old 2.1 megapixel IXUS andthe menus a little more complicated. Although this is the case with nearly all newr cameras. Its ability to take pictures in poor light though is absolutely stunning. The zoom is adequate, but the speed of operation is a real boon. It is ready and focused incrdeibly quickly and, with a very sensitive CCD, is able to take pictures of fast moving objects with ease. Something my IXUS and subsequent Pentax were incapable of. Another point is battery life. Frankly it is on another plane in comprison with most digital compacts. 250 shots is genuinely achievable. My old IXUS could muster perhaps 70 in the same circumstances, the Pentax (with rechargeable AA batteries) about 35! Image quality is good, although under circumstances where the IXUS worked well, the Fuji is not really much better. It can just be used more of the time and for longer.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

ag said:


> the Pentax (with rechargeable AA batteries) about 35!


That's the one thing I would look out for when buying at the cheaper end - you need a proper rechargeable battery. I bought my Father-in-law a camera a couple of years ago and it came with two AA batteries which would actually make it unusable for me.

I love my Pentax (though it's now getting on a bit) but I can't believethe difference in price. It is a 5.0 million pixel Optio 550 and it cost Â£550 four years ago.

The Pentax A20 is 10.0 million pixels and is available now for under Â£200!


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## ag (Sep 12, 2002)

Kell said:


> I love my Pentax (though it's now getting on a bit) but I can't believethe difference in price. It is a 5.0 million pixel Optio 550 and it cost Â£550 four years ago.
> 
> The Pentax A20 is 10.0 million pixels and is available now for under Â£200!


I wouldn't get too hung up on megapixels. 5M is enough for most people. Any greater than that, particularly in a lower end compact camera, will reduced sensitivity because each pixel is too small to actually capture any light and increased process time reducing your ability to take several shots one after the other. In a DSLR these issues are not problems because of the greater CCD size and more powerful on-board computing power. In a compact they can render the camera almost useless in most situations.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

I wasn't really getting hung up on it - I've yet to see a camera with more 'effective' pixels take better shots than mine. I was just illustrating a point about the cost.


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## ag (Sep 12, 2002)

Kell said:


> I wasn't really getting hung up on it - I've yet to see a camera with more 'effective' pixels take better shots than mine. I was just illustrating a point about the cost.


Sorry, didn't mean you personally, just peopel in general. I agree, though, about cost, effective pixels and genuine picture quality.


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## tj (May 7, 2002)

After much research and should I go the DSLR route I went for the 10MP Canon Powershot A640 for Â£225 and have to say I am very impressed (I took 400 shots in South Africa on a 1GB SD card). The only downside, and common to most cameras of this type, is that the screen can be a little difficult to see in bright sunlight, but then you can always use the viewfinder for framing.


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

tj said:


> After much research and should I go the DSLR route I went for the 10MP Canon Powershot A640 for Â£225 and have to say I am very impressed (I took 400 shots in South Africa on a 1GB SD card). The only downside, and common to most cameras of this type, is that the screen can be a little difficult to see in bright sunlight, but then you can always use the viewfinder for framing.


So you opted NOT to go down the DSLR route.


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## Stu-Oxfordshire (May 7, 2002)

tj said:


> After much research and should I go the DSLR route I went for the 10MP Canon Powershot A640 for Â£225 and have to say I am very impressed (I took 400 shots in South Africa on a 1GB SD card). The only downside, and common to most cameras of this type, is that the screen can be a little difficult to see in bright sunlight, but then you can always use the viewfinder for framing.


DSLR for Â£225?

Hmmm......I am thinking, given the amount of trackdays I do, that a nice SLR would be beneficial...should I double my investment and up to a DSLR for Â£225 instead of a smaller digital cam? 
I guess it's much better for those fast-speed shots....?
I thought SLR's were Â£ 500 ++ anyway?

***Edited to add: 
I see a comparison now:

Nikon D50 6.1 Mp: Â£ 370
Shutter speed: 1/4000 sec

Canon PowerShot A640 Â£216 
Shutter speed: 1/2500 second

Question is, is a shutter speed of 1/2500 second quick enough to capture a picture such as this: (?)


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## HighTT (Feb 14, 2004)

Stu-Oxfordshire said:


> DSLR for Â£225?
> 
> Hmmm......I am thinking, given the amount of trackdays I do, that a nice SLR would be beneficial...should I double my investment and up to a DSLR for Â£225 instead of a smaller digital cam?
> I guess it's much better for those fast-speed shots....?
> ...


It's NOT a fast shutter speed you need for that kind of shot;
I doubt if that picture was taken with anything faster than say 1/250 sec.
But what you do need to is a fast lens (i.e large aperture) and little
shutter delay.
There are loads of really cheap second hand recent DSLR bodies out
there; it's a little like buying a used computer.


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