budget camera (1 Viewer)

Nov 18, 2011
11,857
42,489
Planet Earth
Funster No
18,938
MH
A van
Exp
Over 25 year's
Thanking of getting a camera I have never owned a digital camera except a phone one.
Any advice what I nead is sumthing universal
Taking sum action shots of the weeman
Bit of wildlife stuff
Any advice appreciated
Got to at least get better than this
IMG_20160720_192410.jpg
 

PP Bear

LIFE MEMBER
Apr 5, 2013
7,735
28,141
Kent, UK
Funster No
25,395
MH
Auto Trail Dakota SE
Exp
2012
By the looks of it buddy, you'll need a cape and 2 trellises :clap2::moon2::rofl:
image.jpeg
 

magicsurfbus

Free Member
Oct 11, 2010
4,673
10,127
NW England
Funster No
14,057
MH
Bessacarr Coachbuilt
Exp
Since 1997
Panasonic Lumix - they have Leica lenses. Choose what resolution in megapixels you want, plus zoom lens magnification, and buy second hand if necessary. I use one as a spare for when my DSLR's not handy - picked it up at auction for about £20.

You'll probably get a different camera recommended by each person, but that's my twopenny worth.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
D

Deleted member 29692

Deleted User
Unless you're talking about full on pro kit there isn't really much to choose between any of them. They will all do what you want.

Personally I would always buy Canon but that's just my preference.

As @magicsurfbus says you will get different recommendations from everyone and I would say all of them, including mine, will be based on little more than brand snobbery.
 

dave newell

Free Member
Oct 31, 2008
3,262
4,369
Telford, Shropshire
Funster No
4,733
MH
Home converted PVC
Exp
26yrs
For an occasional all round photographer I'd suggest a bridge type camera, not full on DSLR but more versatile than your average point and shoot compact. Make wise its your own call, different brands tend to have certain characteristics, for example Fuji tend to favour blue/green colours while Kodak traditionally favour red/yellow. Some brands will be better for close up work, some will be better in low light, some will be better in strong light and some will do better at landscape type images. Very few cameras are truly good at all aspects of photography, certainly in the non DSLR arena. Consider carefully what features you want/need (good in low light/action shots/landscape or whatever) then do your research to find something that fits your needs.

D.
 

DuxDeluxe

LIFE MEMBER
Jul 10, 2008
14,628
72,241
Planet Zog
Funster No
3,243
MH
A woosh bang van
Exp
since 2008
Panasonic Lumix - they have Leica lenses. Choose what resolution in megapixels you want, plus zoom lens magnification, and buy second hand if necessary. I use one as a spare for when my DSLR's not handy - picked it up at auction for about £20.

You'll probably get a different camera recommended by each person, but that's my twopenny worth.
I'd go for that as well. Mine is a GF2 bridge camera. Excellent bit of kit

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
OP
OP
Wildbill
Nov 18, 2011
11,857
42,489
Planet Earth
Funster No
18,938
MH
A van
Exp
Over 25 year's
For an occasional all round photographer I'd suggest a bridge type camera, not full on DSLR but more versatile than your average point and shoot compact. Make wise its your own call, different brands tend to have certain characteristics, for example Fuji tend to favour blue/green colours while Kodak traditionally favour red/yellow. Some brands will be better for close up work, some will be better in low light, some will be better in strong light and some will do better at landscape type images. Very few cameras are truly good at all aspects of photography, certainly in the non DSLR arena. Consider carefully what features you want/need (good in low light/action shots/landscape or whatever) then do your research to find something that fits your needs.

D.
DSLR?:Eeek:
 

dave newell

Free Member
Oct 31, 2008
3,262
4,369
Telford, Shropshire
Funster No
4,733
MH
Home converted PVC
Exp
26yrs
Digital Single Lens Reflex, pretty much the mutts nutts these days Bill and probably over the top for your needs. They're the most common type of cameras that have interchangeable lenses (although some "bridge" cameras and even a few compacts now have interchangeable lenses). "Bridge" cameras are so called because they bridge the gap between compact and DSLR.

D.
 
Feb 24, 2013
12,991
101,181
Bolsover, Derbyshire
Funster No
24,833
MH
Hymer S800
Exp
not long enough
Budget is all relative Bill, I have paid nearly £1000 for lenses to go onto my camera body, and you can pay a lot more than that, but recently bought a 'bridge' camera, Canon SX60 for £300, so to me seemed good value, but still a shed load of money to some, it replaced my SX30 which developed a lens fault

this one below is a pretty good spec for £100

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canon-SX4...991809?hash=item4d3ebc0741:g:tdMAAOSwqfNXjY0Y

and its a canon, been my favourite for years, at this spec they have image stabiliser helps hold focus on full zoom, but it is still £100

on the other hand Bev often takes better pictures than me with her iPad

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Langtoftlad

LIFE MEMBER
Apr 12, 2011
8,832
148,819
Langtoft, South Lincs
Funster No
16,024
MH
WildAx Aurora FB [PVC]
Exp
Since 2015
Echo Panasonic Lumix...
I have two!
But the one that get used the most is my compact tough one.
Panasonic FT25, drop proof, freeze proof, and waterproof (within limits)
Point & shoot all on auto, or choose "scenes" or manual.
Slips into a pocket
Not too expensive

Latest model is now FT30 @ £120 Amazon
Amazon product ASIN B00S9BD0RW
 

Minxy

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 22, 2007
32,489
66,013
E Yorks
Funster No
149
MH
Carthago Compactline
Exp
Since 1996, had Elddis/Swift/Rapido/Rimor/Chausson MHs. Autocruise/Globecar PVCs/Compactline i-138
The one sticking point will be the action shots! Any camera other than a DSLR will have a lag and regardless of how small it means you WILL miss some shots ... saying that some newer models have a multi-shot and even video facility from which you can then choose which frame you want but they won't be cheap. I have a bridge camera for normal holiday shots etc (15x or 18x optical zoom ... can't remember which!) and a DSLR for action shots, or more 'professional' photographs. You can get a better optical zoom than this now but it suits my needs and I've had it for a few years so it is a 'good friend' and serves me well - if I was to buy another I'd probably get a 30x optical zoom. Don't bother looking at purely digital zoom ones, or ones which claim high zooms as it is often the optical zoom and digital combined ... just look at the optical zoom which is a true zoom - all digital zoom does is crop the image so you get a closer shot but only because it cuts out the rest, the image quality is the same.

As for the number of megapixels, don't get carried away! IMV you don't need one that takes anything over 6mp really unless you intend to get photos blown up massively!

One thing I would certainly do is get one with a proper viewfinder as those that just have a rear monitor are a b*gger to use in strong light as the glare means you simply cannot see on the screen what you're wanting to photograph!

You really need to see some in the flesh as they do differ quite a bit in how nice they are to use/hold and also the quality of the image through the viewfinder as it is not usually a view through the actual main lens but a smaller one next to it and some of these can be very grainy so difficult to see how good your photo is likely to be once you take it.
 

Minxy

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 22, 2007
32,489
66,013
E Yorks
Funster No
149
MH
Carthago Compactline
Exp
Since 1996, had Elddis/Swift/Rapido/Rimor/Chausson MHs. Autocruise/Globecar PVCs/Compactline i-138

pappajohn

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 26, 2007
43,207
48,811
Dark side of the moon
Funster No
172
Exp
Since 2005
stepdaughter #2 bought me a Panasonic Lumix DC vario for Xmas.....takes 1st class photos....and as a bonus its waterproof.
Model DMC FT30.
Less than £100.
 

Lenny HB

LIFE MEMBER
Oct 18, 2007
52,698
147,630
On the coast in West Sussex
Funster No
658
MH
Hymer B678 DL
Exp
Since 2008 & many years tugging
And another Lumix fan we have two a bridge and a compact. The compact gets used the most as we like the GPS feature, when you view the photos on a PC you can see the location on google maps.
Thinking about replacing the bridge with a newer version will probably be another Lumix have been really impressed with them.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

mjltigger

Free Member
Nov 12, 2014
1,619
2,672
Trowbridge
Funster No
34,213
MH
Autotrail Dakota Max
Exp
2012
Mine is a canon ixus 10mp. Takes great shots and dead easy to use. I have to be honest, for point and shoot stuff that most of us do, a modern compact is as good as any thousands of pounds spent on an SLR or bridge and it fits in your pocket.
 

Abacist

LIFE MEMBER
Oct 15, 2013
3,649
10,042
Devon
Funster No
28,581
MH
N & B Tag Axle
Exp
since 2013
I have a big DSLR Canon and a selection of lenses and a Panasonic Lumix and the Panasonic gets the most use nowadays as the Canon is too big and heavy to hump around.

Quite a bit of the secrets of photography are down to how you take the photo. In your example above there is probably too much bright sky which is fooling the camera meter and making the important subject matter too dark!
 
D

Deleted member 29692

Deleted User
My stripped down, bare minimum, kit that I have with me in Italy now consists of:

2 x EOS 5D3 bodies

1 x 24-105 L f4 lens
1 x 70-200 L f2.8 lens
1 x 100-400 L f4.5-5.6 lens

1 x speed lite. Not sure why I've brought that but you never know
1 x hot shoe continuous light

An assortment of batteries

A couple of straps


I have a Canon G16 point and shoot compact but the only time I ever touch it is when I'm somewhere like a music festival that doesn't permit real cameras.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

PP Bear

LIFE MEMBER
Apr 5, 2013
7,735
28,141
Kent, UK
Funster No
25,395
MH
Auto Trail Dakota SE
Exp
2012
Bill I saw this and thought of you in the search for a new camera, it was going cheap too!!! :)
image.jpeg
 

Abacist

LIFE MEMBER
Oct 15, 2013
3,649
10,042
Devon
Funster No
28,581
MH
N & B Tag Axle
Exp
since 2013
There's probably a bird nesting in the bellows in that case!:LOL:
 

sedge

Funster
Jul 7, 2009
5,494
13,029
Nr Jct 3 M6
Funster No
7,396
MH
C class
Exp
Aug 09 to date 9,000 miles!
Bill - is there any chance you could actually go into a camera shop - and ASK?

I did this years ago at the time for a 35mm 'compact' camera.

I went in and walked up to the counter choosing the oldest bloke in there. I said 'I am told that I need a 35mm Compact camera, apparently !' He said. dead seriously 'That's correct - you do!' and I asked him if he'd like to sell me one in that case? - so he asked if I could 'point and shoot, and load a reel of film?' - yes. And this was how it went - he didn't assume I knew anything at all and actually, he was pretty spot on there. So he just went through what I actually wanted it to do and didn't attempt to sell me anything too far advanced, but chose one instead where I could either simply use it a bit like an old Instamatic, or actually had a few other features - zoom in and out - 3 light settings, automatic flash, Panoramic, different exposures etc.

I loved that camera and took thousands of photos, getting a bit more proficient as I went. That cost me £99 on 1986 and I have never ever regretted spending that £100. (Plus the case and films plus developing them :Eeek:) So - don't expect 'cheap' though you don't always get VFM at any price.

You can still find similarly helpful, knowledgeable chaps in the few shops that are still about and if you tell them upfront not to try and blind you with science and try to sell you anything TOO complicated else you'll simply walk away - you should succeed Bill.

You also need to ensure it's not too big, heavy to cart around wherever, and not too awkward to handle or fussy about being dead level or anything, in use. A good substantial case to protect it with is a good investment too - esp if you're as generally clumsy like me. With a comfy strap. But again - not too heavy.

You've whet my appetite now - wonder if Pete fancies a trip to Brum to Camera House ? LOL

Good luck !

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Feb 16, 2013
19,505
51,186
uttoxeter
Funster No
24,713
MH
ambulance conversion
Exp
50 years
Don't know nowt about cameras but had this offer through on email thi morning , looks a good deal to me
Broken Link Removed
 
Feb 16, 2013
19,505
51,186
uttoxeter
Funster No
24,713
MH
ambulance conversion
Exp
50 years
For some reason that link doesn't work is this better
No for some reason I can't get a link but it's a cannon bridge at Argos , half price £123
 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Funsters who are viewing this thread

Back
Top