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Camera buffs?
Hello, I am looking into getting a new camera this year and not knowing an awful lot about cameras, but knowing what I want out of the camera it's difficult knowing which ones would be best.
So I wondered if anyone with knowledge of camera's could help me?
I want a camera that performs good in low light as my current is awful indoors. I also want a good zoom, my current is only 10x.
I take alot of indoor shots and I go to concerts and would like a camera that will take action shots in low light or a sharp(ish) picture when using zoom. And due to going to concerts quite a few venues will not allow Digital SLRs so I'd probably rule those out, although I'm open to advice!!
I'm not overly bothered about video functions.
I'd like to spend less than £300
So I wondered if anyone with knowledge of camera's could help me?
I want a camera that performs good in low light as my current is awful indoors. I also want a good zoom, my current is only 10x.
I take alot of indoor shots and I go to concerts and would like a camera that will take action shots in low light or a sharp(ish) picture when using zoom. And due to going to concerts quite a few venues will not allow Digital SLRs so I'd probably rule those out, although I'm open to advice!!
I'm not overly bothered about video functions.
I'd like to spend less than £300
0
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Considering 'not knowing an awful lot about cameras', your best bet is to go for a compact digital around £150.....or even less. These give pretty good results and are simple to operate.
Cameras can take good pictures in low light but you need a long exposure, action shots require a short exposure otherwise the picture will be blurred. Sharp pictures with a zoom lens require optical zoom not digital zoom, very accurate focussing and if the subject is a long way off the use of flash is pointless.
The camera most likely to give the best results is the one you propose to rule out, a digital SLR, paired with multiple more specialised lenses.
Another point to bear in mind in the compact market is whatever you buy today, tomorrow it will be history and replaced by a 'new' model.....often no more than the same spec camera re-badged!
The zoom is not great (28-105mm) but the quality and results are the best I have seen from a compact camera.
It does HD movies too!
Has anyone used the Canon PwerShot SX20 IS?
great price for that camera, its a steal.
A big zoom range is not a mark of quality, it can be uselful but at they typically are poor at the "long" end and you are likely to get soft shots, but may have image stablisation which will help.
Fujifilm do pretty good superzooms if you really want this feature but they tend to be bridge cameras - they look like a small DSLR but you can't change the lens.
Olympus have the XZ-1 which has a bright lens to let in lots of light, it goes for about £310. Also look at the Panasonic LX5.
Granted there are newer models coming out that handle low light better than others, but you will still be hard pushed to find something that has a one touch setting that will get you decent shots.
I usually use a DSLR and for low light a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 which allows me to take handheld shots in very poor light. However, I also go to a lot of gigs and TV show tapings which often dont allow DSLRs so I did some extensive research on a non DSLR model that had acceptable hand held performance in bad light. The problem was, I needed something with a very large zoom and the longer the focal length, the larger the aperture required so its a tricky problem. In the end I went for a Fuji bridge camera - the HS10 (there are a few newer models now) and it does the trick - large 30x zoom and has a good lens that can be set to an aperture that I can get REASONABLE results from.
These were taken from about halfway back in the O2 most at maximum zoom -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alliem/sets/72157625437093783/
Obviously not as good results as you would get with a DSLR with a decent lens but the public arent allowed to take those into that venue!
If focal length (zoom) isnt important to you, then you have more choice and manufacturers are waking up to the fact that flogging a cameras "low light performance" is a good tactic. And things are improving - but just dont expect miracles! Spend an hour or two reading up on how ISO / aperture and shutter speed work together and you will have a fighting chance at getting consistantly good results rather than the odd keeper
I would love a Digital SLR but it's pointless getting one knowing I probably won't be able to use it for what I want i.e. gigs!
Those photo's of yours are really good, actually. I'm going to research the Fuji HS10 now.
Thanks a lot
The HS10 has full manual control as well as the useful A (aperture priority) and S (shutter priority) modes. For gigs aperture priority is your friend - Ive gotten away with ISO 1600 with some noise reduction software, although ISO 800 is more forgiving on this model. It's worth spending a bit on Photoshop Elements as you can often tidy up concert photos with a quick bit of editing.
Good luck - and share your pics when you get your camera
I've been looking at review websites and they're so conflicting! So many differing reviews for the same cameras!!!
Anyway. I've been talking to this girl who's concert photo's I'd seen and they seem really good.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxyp1gq1Yn1r9364fo1_500.jpg
http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxtbgm354G1r9364fo1_500.jpg
http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxpbx7jcqO1r9364fo1_500.jpg
These are taken with Nikon Coolpix P100.
HS10 is the old model - I have a HS 20 EXR which can be bought for about £220.
1 Major flaw and that is the pop up flash just where most people hold the camera. Not sure why Canon have started doing that with the flashes, they are eve putting it on the new G1x.
I've been a long time Canon enthusiast and when looking around for a compact I was stunned not only at the location of the flash, but it also pops up every time the camera is switched on!! Even when it's not needed.
As for the location.....i've no idea what on earth Canon were thinking when they stuck it there!
Bought Panasonic instead.
Pretty sure I'm going to get the Nikon P100
so maybe you do need a sort of more specialist camera.
I think that it depends on the user settings. My S95 flash never pops up - except when I turn it on.
I won't recommend any particular models as it's personal choice but as other people have said don't look at digital zoom as all this does is blow the image up which is something you can do on photoshop. You need a good optical zoom. Also don't get too hung up on megapixels. The more pixels doesn't automatically mean a better quality image. I've had cameras on phones which were 8mp and didn't perform as well as some which were only 3mp. You can have millions upon millions of pixels but if it's millions of pixels of a really bad quality image then who cares? Also if your only gonna be printing out A4 maximum then don't worry about having a 10mp camera or higher as you won't see the benefit on A4. Cameras which have such high resolutions are only of benefit for large images or if you intend to transfer them to large canvas prints. Above all remember your photo is only as good as the printer and the paper you print it out on. No point in spending loads of money on a fancy camera then have a low quality printer as you will never see the benefit.
I think the finest quality domestic printers on the market now are Cannon and Brother which you can get under £100. Brother are currently doing an A3 printer for £99 which we've just invested in and it's excellent. Even does wifi. Never buy Epson. They don't last and after a while they go into service mode which renders the printer useless unless you send it off for a service which costs more than it does to buy a new printer.
Finally one last piece of advice is that the camera is only as good as the person taking the shots. You can have a really expensive Digital SLR but if you don't know how to use it and take good composed shots then it's no better than someone who's got a point and click who knows what they're doing.
Hope this helps in some way
thanks, yeah I've decided on a bridge, the Nikon p100 as apparently it has a larger sensor than its upgrade p500
No it doesn't 10.3 v 12 Mpix.
(The actual sensor is the same)
Can you imagine the one of the Worlds leading camera makers brings out new models that are worse than the previous ones,
If you want lots of mega pixels get the camera I have - Fuji HS20 EXR - 16 of them in there.
I own Canon, Fuji & Nikon - if in doubt buy the camera that feels nice - then also buy the one that works best.
Crude example: a friend of mine always used to take photos at night on her compact camera and left the flash on, even for say shots from a stadium (this is pretty common, look at all the cameras flashing at any big event). Once I showed her that by turning the flash off, the camera would make a better attempt of capturing the available light she got better photos.