Decent Compact Camera £150..Can it be done?EDIT Purchased F10

[tz]

I have a Fuji FinePix F401 which has served me well over the years, so now im looking to upgrade!

I'll be taking the camera on my travels around the world so will be looking for a compact camera in the price range of around £150.

Requirements are:

Its compact (ie can fit in trouser pocket)
Takes AA batteries (As i have few 2600mAh AA's)
Uses SD memory (Currently have a 1GB Mini-SD)
Takes sharp and clear photos (some of the F401's look a bit noisy)
Can take decent low light photos


As its a once in a lifetime travel im going on i want to get the best photos i can achieve whilst still having a portable unit, or i would of gone for a dSLR.

Afer looking at too many reviews and websites ive got the following on shortlist:

Canon A520
Panasonic LZ1
Nikon CoolPix 5600

Now i know compacts will almost always be limited in one area or another
Any other recommendations would be greatly appreciated :)

On a side note, would there be any effect of using s MiniSD card with its adaptor on the camera?

[Wishy]

I think you might be expecting too much as far as low light photos are concerned, compact cameras have small CCD's, which means worse low light performance. Ditto for higher noise.
As for AA's, don't constrain yourself, if your travelling and need AA's because you can get them easily, fair enough, don't worry yourself that you already have AA batteries, you can pick up spare li-ions for not a lot of money and you will get more compact cameras.

I've not looked at the compact range in a while, although canon do have a good range.

[dbarker]

sell your memory cards & batteries & buy a fuji f10. they're about £180. they shoot up to iso 1600. they're compact for travelling. the shutter lag is 0.01 second.

look at the detail in this full-size sample: http://img2.dpreview.com/gallery/fujifilmf10_samples/originals/dscf0169.jpg

[superleeds123]

The Fuji is a cracker and indoors probably can't be bettered.

[tz]

The Fuji F10 does seem to take some really nice shots!!

The reason why i was focused on AA's is that id be going on 5 day treks where i wouldnt have access to a power supply.

Low light situations would be sunsets and beach parties ;)

If this is the best i can get for the money, then i may well see if i get a demo of it in a shop. :) If anyone else has any recommendations feel free to have your say

[tz]

After looking at a few other cameras I think most of my 'needs' can be written off.

Budget £200, dont mind own battery or what type of memory card it requires.

Is the F10 still the best with these requirements?

[superleeds123]

The panasonic FZ5 (up to £399 rrp) is creeping onto your radar now - not as good as the Fuji inside but offers a lot more besides. Wonderfull long zoom and very fast focusing.

FZ5 about to be replaced so should find one for £200ish

[the ghost]

what about this link still waitjng for him to post pictures
looks a bargain 8.1 mega pix just a thought
http://thedvdforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=412622

[banky]

Have a look on the Fuji refurb site, haven't got a link but they do some good deals :)

[tz]

superleeds123. Thanks for the info. The panny is a little bit bigger than what i wanted.

the ghost. I would only really a 'branded' camera esp. for £180

banky. Nothing much on the refurb site at the mo.

Well it looks like its gonna be the F10! lol...Now to find some cheap xD memory!

[tz]

Well having had the F10 for a while now and taken quite a few photos, i have to say im not too far impressed. I really think its me as in i cannot work the camera! lol Indoor shots come out fine, if a little fuzzy, but outdoor shots just dont have the clarity. I know the camera can produce decent shots as ive seen them on other sites.

Any suggestions?

Sample shots below..

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/tone/Picture015.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/tone/Picture014.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/tone/Picture013.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>

[Pheonix]

What apature?

[tz]

I have no idea about settings, lol. But properties show f2.8, 6.4, 4.5
The first photo was taken in auto mode, the other two using landscape mode (just changing the ISO from 100-200..)

[wack]

The lens will be quite soft at f2.8, to get sharper pictures you need to stop it down, put the camera in aperture priority mode if it has one, this allows you to choose the aperture you want.

Just keep an eye on the shutter speed as the narrower the aperture the slower the shutter speed, once you drop below 1/60 to 1/30 camera shake is a problem

[tz]

As far as i can see it doesnt have aperture priority mode. :(

[Pheonix]

As far as i can see it doesnt have aperture priority mode. :(

Manual?

[tz]

Manual?

Afraid not. Only things you can adjust are: EV, WB, AF mode, and metering