[JonDoe]

I'm looking for a compact 'point and click' digital camera for my mother's birthday for around 100 to 150 pounds.

I'm looking for something that isnt too complicated but takes good pictures, is easy to use and has a decent zoom feature.

Can any of you recommend a good one?

Thanks very much in advance.

[niall campbell]

go to aldis or lidls I cant remeber which and get the traveller camera

i have a 8.1 megapixel camera and its great

you get a docking station, spare battery and a sd card. car charger and a 240v charger

if you put on highest quality its superb

you will probally find its now higher than 8.1. made by a german company who rebadge them for toshiba amongst others

you can get sd cards for around £5 to £10 on ebay , a bit more expensive in aldis / liddls

[JonDoe]

Sounds good Niall, thanks.

Any more suggestions for me to compare and contrast?

I was always under the impression that it was bettert to go with well known brands (Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Minolta etc.) for cameras but I'm happy to be educated otherwise.

[Kie]

I bought my mum (aged 70) the Fuji V10. She likes "the massive 3 inch" screen so she can show the pix without plugging into a PC.

Fuji v10

I think the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 also has a 3" screen

[niall campbell]

you could play it safe and go for a named brand and pay extra

8.1 gives superb pictures so it doesnt really matter what make


one thing though the batteries of any digital camera doesnt last long so you need a spare

[John Currie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by niall campbell

8.1 gives superb pictures so it doesnt really matter what make

Of course the make matters...the no of pixels in the sensor isn't the be all and end all of a digital cameras quality...of equal...if not more...importance is the quality of the lens...and that's why I recommend the OP goes for one of the well-known brands.

[sancheeez]

That Traveller thing is a Vivitar.

Not the greatest of cameras by a long shot.

Personally, I'd recommend one of the Fuji F series. Small, easy to use and excellent in all light levels. Certainly far better than a Vivtar anyway.

You could also get a half decent Canon for that money. You won't get a TZ3 though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by niall campbell

one thing though the batteries of any digital camera doesnt last long so you need a spare

In your Vivtar maybe. The built in battery on my Fuji F20 is excellent (far better than I expected to be honest) ..... never even come close to running out of power on me, even once the 512mb card was full!

[niall campbell]

http://h8349.serverkompetenz.net/htd...ang=3&client=3

company owned by premier imaging of taiwan who also make for toshiba , vivitar, benq , umax and jessops as well just rebadged

it might be built in germany

its really up to the op however I will say this ; if you want to pay extra go for a real brand name but if you are wanting a half decent camera for a fair price this is it.

[sancheeez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by niall campbell

http://h8349.serverkompetenz.net/htd...ang=3&client=3

company owned by premier imaging of taiwan who also make for toshiba , vivitar, benq , umax and jessops as well just rebadged

it might be built in germany

its really up to the op however I will say this ; if you want to pay extra go for a real brand name but if you are wanting a half decent camera for a fair price this is it.

I've highlighted the keyword in there.

And while yes, they make make components for various companies, that doesn't mean they put the same components in every device they make.

Don't get me wrong the Vivitar is not total rubbish but there are far better cameras out there and if your budget allows you to buy one of them (the OP's clearly does) then why settle for second best?

[niall campbell]

if the fuji camera same price then it must have inferior parts in as much as traveller to compete with it ? Loaded with yesterdays technology ? I daresay dearer cameras from fuji are top notch and worth the extra BUT in that price range ?

unless there selling at a loss

on mine the pictures great, loads of extras, simple to use

two different views

[sancheeez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by niall campbell

I daresay dearer cameras from fuji are top notch and worth the extra BUT in that price range ?

Simple answer, yes.

Have a look at the reviews from people in the know and decide for yourself:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2007_...i_f20_pg5.html

Thats the one I have. The other F series cameras are also reviewed on there.

Heres one for the F30 on dpreview:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/FujifilmF30/page16.asp

Funnily enough, neither site (and those two sites are recognised as being two of the best when it comes to digital camera reviews) have a single review for a Vivitar camera.

[niall campbell]

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/spec...ba_pdr5300.asp

this is one , the same as travellor dc 5300 and centron c5 from jessops

it even looks the same



and your other site

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_...s/pdr5300.html

must be good being reviewed in the two top recognised sites


if i was going to buy a camera I would weigh up the pixels and size of screen to view at rear of camera. Also the size of sd card the camera can take, PICTBRIDGE , and accesories which manufactors make massive profit on

so my choice 10.1 megapixel

http://h8349.serverkompetenz.net/htd...ang=3&client=3

[niall campbell]

however my car is an audi A6 and the wifes car is a cavi turbo diesel 180,000 miles

so dont listen to me I am a snob sometimes, Audi £28.000 ............. cavi £300 on a good day !

[Kie]

While sancheez and niall have their own discussion - it's worth pointing out to the original poster - JonDoe - that the higher the number of pixels does not necessarily mean it's a better camera.

Personnaly I would prefer a camera from well known manufacturer at 5 megapixels and a high quality lens. In practice there is little point in taking photos at a resolution much above 5 megapixels unless your mum is intending printing at A3 size. If she is going to display the pictures on a PC, Digital photoframe, or print to 7" x 5" then setting the camera to around 3 megapixels would be adequate.

there is also no point in having loads of features she is unlikely to use. I'm guessing she would like a simple point and click camera with a reasonable zoom which gives good results. The fuji models usually get favourable reviews for this type of use. Kodak, Canon, Panasonic are also worth considering.

You should also think about whether rechargeable batteries or normal AAs would suit your mum best. I would also make sure you get one with a decent case since it's likely to lie around the bottom of her handbag.

[sancheeez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by niall campbell

if i was going to buy a camera I would weigh up the pixels and size of screen to view at rear of camera. Also the size of sd card the camera can take, PICTBRIDGE , and accesories which manufactors make massive profit on

Whereas I'm in agreement with Kie .... I'd go for something with quality optics and picture quality ahead of megapixels, screen size and accessories.

10.1mp is pointless for most people. As Kie pointed out, unless you plan on printing posters or doing a lot of cropping anything 4/5mp and up is ample.

Oh .... and that toshiba may *look* the same but we don't know if the important bits are the same (lens/sensor). Plus, if you look at the review of it here:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_...s/pdr5300.html

... you'll notice the date is in 2003! Looks like the Travellor one is a re-badged old model. I'd like to think digital camera optics have moved on considerably since then. Would you buy a 4/5 year old PC?

My old Agfa CL18 1mp camera got a decent review when it first came out but I wouldn't buy one now.

[niall campbell]

and so we plod on

sony and richoh make parts for this company , must be the buttons or case though ; cant be the lens


sancheez ouotes " you'll notice the date is in 2003! Looks like the Travellor one is a re-badged old model. I'd like to think digital camera optics have moved on considerably since then. Would you buy a 4/5 year old PC? "


yes this was 2003 the year the exact same camera was for sale in jessops and aldis. And a 6 megapixel camera was sold 4 years ago by aldis/ toshiba/sony. Would you buy a camera thats 3/4 year old ?? in this ever changing digital world??

and when I bought my 8.1 camera all the famous brands were £80 to £100 more expensive and 6 months out of date. The point was that these cameras re-badged were still capable in getting in the two most respected camera articles in the whole world !!!


its like routers for computers in PC WORLD . Buy a german engineered one that does 64mbs for £60 or buy a 128mb one for £70. Just because one slower but made by a famous company rather than a modern company AND relying on joe public to be behind the times PC WORLD make a fortune buying old stock at cheap prices and selling at a huge profit


vestel make huge amounts of tellys for other so called manufactors who re-badge them, put another case on them BUT of course the workings are all different ................NOT

[sancheeez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by niall campbell

vestel make huge amounts of tellys for other so called manufactors who re-badge them

aye .... and they're all rubbish!

[niall campbell]

we agree on something !!

[JonDoe]

Thanks everyone, you've been an enormous help.