View Full Version : Advice on Compacts needed.
Ok - I don't often Venture in here but I wonder if I could ask you all for some advice. I am after a new compact camera - max budget £150 but would prefer less. I would like it to fulfill as many as possible of the following criteria in order of importance :
quality of image
ability to shoot video in a format that is easy to share without converting
decent OPTICAL zoom
good quality screen
pocketable
face recognition
ability to run on standard batteries
I have always used Fuji cameras before and liked them. I once used a canon and hated it but that was years ago.
Ideally I want to buy on the high street but would consider online? Supermarkets often have bargains cheap - are they selling last year's models and if so will I get a bargain?
Would be grateful for your advice.
I would suggest the fuji f60fd or j210w as you already know them and like them. However they dont use standard batteries. Jessops are doing both well within budget though. If normal batteries are a must then maybe the fusi s1500, it's a bit bulky mind but apparently runs on AA's and has a great zoom lens on it.
In all honesty there's so many cameras around this price point and no real stand out brand or model tbh. Why not narrow it down to a few you like the look of and let us see if we can spot any obvious faults with the choices?
Good idea and that would be appreciated. I shall pop into jessops and let them advise and then come back to you guys :)
The two jessops recommended were as follows :
Fuji Finepix F72EXR down from £249 to £179
Fuji Finepix J210W from £149 down to £99
Would a point and shoot merchant like me, who mainly shoots on days out with family, or murky evenings in the pub, notice any difference going for the EXR?
Well it has shiny new gadgetry thats meant to produce better images in low light and it has a 10x optical zoom instead of 5x on the J210. At £180 it's a bit over budget but a nice saving on when it was launched.
The j210 is regarded as a good camera though and by the time you've bought a memory card and second battery the exr is probably way over what you were looking to spend. There's a pack on the jessops web site with the 210 and a 4gb card, case and battery for £130. If I had a £150 budget I think that's where I'd be going unless I really wanted the 10x optical zoom.
Paulsaz - I really do appreciate your help.
I'm gonna just hit you with one more question if I may? Was in ASDA tonight and picked up a Finepix J27 from there. The camera, case, and 4GB card came to £90.
This only has a 3x Optical zoom instead of 5x on the j210. It does panaramic which seems a bit useless but maybe I am missing something.
The camera was £75, the card £7 and the case £7. The camera I can return anytime up to 28 days with no problems for cashback. It just seemed a bargain so I grabbed it. Would you consider the 210 £24 better than the J27?
Again I appreciate your advice very much. Thank you.
Only thing that would bother me is the 3x zoom. I think I might find that too limiting. Give it a try for a few days and see what you think though. There's probably a couple of features missing but it's still 10mp with similair shooting modes and image stabilisation so should be ok.
It is a ridiculous price for a half reasonable camera. Will give it a good testing over the next few days.
Have uploaded a couple of simple test shots to My flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrew*******/). Never used it before (the site I mean) so getting to grips with it.
Fozzybear
15-11-2009, 05:49
You might want to try shooting a scene of some kind outside if the weather breaks - those ones on flickr look very very soft, as though the focus is out of whack or the noise reduction is blurring the shots - if you look closely there's no fine detail at all. Considering the cat shots were taken with flash there isn't motion blur to explain it. I would expect far better results even from a fairly cheap camera.
If you want a comparison I use a little Panasonic DMC-FX07 which is about three years old now and this is the typical quality from it in good light:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulforsdick/3817279821/" title="Static sails by Paul Forsdick, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3586/3817279821_a024087e0c.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Static sails" /></a>
closer look: here (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3586/3817279821_f2d7fde20a_o.jpg)
and in a dingy pub:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulforsdick/2105583767/" title="In the pub by Paul Forsdick, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2147/2105583767_7aa09a81ba.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="In the pub" /></a>
closer look: here (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2147/2105583767_e8eee36c4c_o.jpg)
I'm not suggesting you ditch it for a Panasonic (far from it - in any case I've no idea what the recent models are like) just that you do some outdoors tests and check you're doing the focusing ok and that the camera is saying it's focused before you take the picture. Could well be you have a faulty camera there. :(
yes, *******, as fozzy said - get yourself outside on a day out - the gig & cat shots you posted really aren't good examples of what the camera might be able to do. You should try some close-ish portraits in a murky pub.
Many small cameras will struggle at gigs, and you will need practice to get good shots. The cat's black fur might also have been tricky for the camera to focus on.
Fozzybear
15-11-2009, 06:48
That's true - black cat perhaps not the easiest subject for it! The concern for me was that both the gig and cat shots looked similarly soft.
The gig shots were taken with my iPhone! :D (I uploaded them last night when playing around with the iPhone app, didn't even know they were up there properly) so you can ignore those :)
However, it's sunny outside now - so will take some shots outside in a moment and upload them and see if you can give an opinion. To be honest, for £25 extra I'm tempted to go for the one I KNOW is good. I took a video on this one last night as well, and that was crap. Had sparkly artifacts all over it.
Oh and Fozzy - those shots were taken with a compact? They look fantastically sharp for a compact.
Fozzybear
15-11-2009, 12:07
The gig shots were taken with my iPhone! :D (I uploaded them last night when playing around with the iPhone app, didn't even know they were up there properly) so you can ignore those :)
Ah... I checked the cat ones but didn't look at the camera info on the gig ones. :dork:
Oh and Fozzy - those shots were taken with a compact? They look fantastically sharp for a compact.
In good light it's really pretty good. It suffers a bit in bad light, can be pretty noisy but generally it works really well. Very, very compact too so ideal when I go for a walk and want to travel light.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulforsdick/2618962711/" title="Blakeney boats by Paul Forsdick, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3255/2618962711_b00436cf43.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Blakeney boats" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulforsdick/2567887789/" title="A country path by Paul Forsdick, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3037/2567887789_d785477ab7.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="A country path" /></a>
Wow. Those are pretty good.
Well, when I went to shoot outside today the camera wouldn't turn on despite having been on full charge last night. I took that as a sign :D and back it went.
Now have a J210 with me, which Jessops insisted is exactly the same as a J210W? Is that true, as it was definitely the W model they were advertising :suspect:
Family day out this afternoon so it will get a thorough testing as long as I can get enough charge in the battery before we go.
Fozzybear
15-11-2009, 13:55
Yeah if it wouldn't turn on then that didn't sound too good! Don't know anything about fuji so no idea if the w is meaningful or not but my feeling is that it's not, probably just the same camera with a slightly different model name so you don't try to get the shop to price match anywhere else ("ah, but they have the J210, we're selling the J210W... different model so no price match").
Good luck this afternoon, hope it works out ok.
Stevie G
15-11-2009, 16:43
I'm keeping an eye on this thread as well, as I need to get a decent compact. I've had a Ricoh R7 for a few years, but have not been happy with it. There's always been problems with the audio on video playback (a constant clicking - been back three times for repair but still not fixed), but the main problem is that I struggle to get even half decent pictures at gigs. I don't expect wonders for a compact, but they're generally blurred and can hardly make a thing out. It has a 5x zoom, which I hoped would be good for gigs, but it's pretty much unusable. Before that I had a Fuji Finepix F10, which I was also eternally disappointed with.
I'd bought both after glowing camera mag reviews, so am a bit more sceptical now.
I'm impressed with the quality of the dingy bar shot from fozzie, mine would never get that unless it was on a gorilla pod and timed!
Well, I'm no photographer, and I am still getting to grips with Flickr, but here's a picture taken this afternoon :
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2779/4105756555_18cc0f79bc_b.jpg
I took two versions of the same pic - one with landscape mode set and one in auto mode. They are both on Flickr, but this seems slightly better and this was shot in landscape mode.
Plenty more taken this afternoon on my Flickr stream but some are for friends only. Feel free to add me if you wish.
ryonhilluk
15-11-2009, 21:19
the panasonic tz7 is supposed to be a very good compact. costs about £230 but the tz6 is only around £170 (it doesn't have the hd video mode that the other one has).
i was going to get one but am considering getting an slr early next year.
Stevie G
15-11-2009, 21:50
That's a good pic *******. Have you been able to trial a few then?
I am liking the TZ7 (after seeing Nicknacks pics in the Muse thread!) Doesn't look too pocket friendly though. Hmmm :thinking:
RomerojpgX
15-11-2009, 22:09
Well, I'm no photographer, and I am still getting to grips with Flickr, but here's a picture taken this afternoon
Looks good to me, like it :D
That's a good pic *******. Have you been able to trial a few then?
I am liking the TZ7 (after seeing Nicknacks pics in the Muse thread!) Doesn't look too pocket friendly though. Hmmm :thinking:
Just the 2 Fujifilms. And going to stick with this one. Would love a more expensive one but just can't justify it for how often I would use it.
Woah - although I am bloody glad I didn't see NickNack's posts in the MUSE thread or I would have been SORELY tempted.
Luckily you can't take a camera back to the shop because "I want to buy a better one!" :D
And if you can, please don't tell me - let me live on in my ignorance.
Fozzybear
16-11-2009, 11:34
Well, I'm no photographer, and I am still getting to grips with Flickr, but here's a picture taken this afternoon
That's great - looks like you've got a good'un. :thumbs:
Stevie G
16-11-2009, 18:24
Woah - although I am bloody glad I didn't see NickNack's posts in the MUSE thread or I would have been SORELY tempted.
Luckily you can't take a camera back to the shop because "I want to buy a better one!" :D
And if you can, please don't tell me - let me live on in my ignorance.
Looks pretty good doesn't it! I showed the girlfriend last night and she was very impressed, especially as she's struggle to get any half decent night shots from my Ricoh as well!
Stevie G
24-11-2009, 20:57
We caved in and ordered the TZ7! Should be here tomorrow, just in time for a weekend in Paris! Nicknaks videos and pics really sold it, and there's loads of great pics on Flickr, and it has had some great reviews, so we've gone for it! :thumbs:
ryonhilluk
27-11-2009, 19:48
i was in paris last week, great place. was also thinking of getting a new camera before i went but i couldn't make my mind up so decided to wait till after xmas.
would love to see some of your paris shots from the tz7 as its a choice between that and spending a bit extra for an entry level slr i think.
Spooky_uk
28-11-2009, 16:57
Any opinions on the Canon Ixus 200 ?
Sprout Crumble
28-11-2009, 19:49
Photography Blog Review (http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_digital_ixus_200_is_review/)
How are you getting on with the TZ7 Stevie?
Spooky_uk
28-11-2009, 22:46
Photography Blog Review (http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_digital_ixus_200_is_review/)
cheers. :thumbs:
Stevie G
29-11-2009, 23:39
How are you getting on with the TZ7 Stevie?
Only got back a few hours ago, and managed to avoid the Liverpool game all day so just finished watching it (fortunately, there were no bars we saw showing the game!), hence only just gone online!
Very pleased with it so far, but not had a chance to get any pics onto my PC to look properly, but I'll post a few when I get the chance.
I have the Panny ZS3 (US name for the TZ7) and it is a fantastic piece of kit, well worth the ~180 quid it cost me (with case and memory card). I've taken about 150 photos so far and a couple of AVCHD Lite videos and so far no complaints at all. The full auto mode is responsive enough and makes good enough decisions for most shots, and the more manual modes are good enough to get everything else you need. The optical zoom is phenomenal and the image stabilisation is very good even at long zoom.
Overall very highly recommended, and if the size is ok I would say it is the only compact to buy unless you are prepared to go up to the next size category for the semi-pro cameras.
I have the Panny ZS3 (US name for the TZ7) and it is a fantastic piece of kit, well worth the ~180 quid it cost me (with case and memory card). I've taken about 150 photos so far and a couple of AVCHD Lite videos and so far no complaints at all. The full auto mode is responsive enough and makes good enough decisions for most shots, and the more manual modes are good enough to get everything else you need. The optical zoom is phenomenal and the image stabilisation is very good even at long zoom.
Overall very highly recommended, and if the size is ok I would say it is the only compact to buy unless you are prepared to go up to the next size category for the semi-pro cameras.
How did you get it for £180? Did you buy it in American or did you import it?
Bought at Costco in the US. It is even cheaper at the moment at £170, but sales tax varies by state so can push that price up. Can buy online to avoid that but then lose the Costco benefits of free case/memory card/100 digital prints etc.
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