The Camera Noob!

[BigJay]

Hi folks, quick question.

I have about £200 to spend on a digital Camera.

I want it good enough to take photos of sports matches as well as pics of me drunk.
Needs to be quite simple to use, as my g/f is quite simple.

Have had a look on ebay at a Megxon C580? look ok. but I know nowt.

Any advise would be most welcome.

 

[crazylegs]

latest Nikon would do the job for you sunshine.... and a bit of extra money left over for a memory card and Rechargeable batterys and charger...Go for it...



http://www.ontime-support.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=27162

 

[Quadophile]

Good suggestion!

 

[BigJay]

Just worried about it's shutter lag. I've read a few reviews, and this was an issue. As I was hoping to use this camera for action sports shots, this puts me off a little.

 

[Quadophile]

I am afraid your only option is a DSLR which will be fast enough for sports photography.

 

[BigJay]

Great, nice and cheap then! £200 isn't going to get me a DSLR.

Unless I go used?

 

[Quadophile]

Nope second hand is not an option at this moment within your budget too. You have to compromise I am afraid unless you are willing to spend more.

 

[BigJay]

Seen a Canon EOS D60 dSLR 6.3MP + Lense + 256mb, and a Fujifilm Finepix S602 Zoom with case and loads of extras, both for under £200 on ebay?

Both in V G Condition, so they say.

Ant thoughts?

 

[Quadophile]

It's eBay so cannot comment on that, looks too low a price in my opinion. I never buy or sell on eBay. Anyway, decision is yours.

Good Luck!

 

[floppybootstomp]

My daughters just about to buy the Nikon Coolpix 5600 for £135.00 from Amazon.

Add 512Mb SD memory, a small case, four nicad AA cells & charger and it comes to £185.00.

After a lot of searching, I came to conclusion the 5600 Coolpix was best value for money, but that's only my opinion.

Link >> Nikon Coolpix 5600

 

[BigJay]

Thanks for the input folks.

As I said earlier Flops, some issues with shutter lag on the 5600, and I need to catch some Rugby action, for my website, so it may cause a problem.....why is life so difficult....and expensive!

 

[ChristopherP]

I think then it's DSLR, SLR or bust mate.

Save about £650 and get a Canon EOS 350 Digital Rebel

 

[floppybootstomp]

I think Chris is right. Jay, looks like you got champagne tastes and beer money

I did find this about the Nikon 5600.

Bottom line, the Nikon 5600 will do better than most compact cameras at capturing fast-moving subjects like squirming toddlers or sports action.

 

[ChristopherP]

I think Chris is right. Jay, looks like you got champagne tastes and beer money QUOTE]

He's like me

you are going to read different things about that camera on the net - some people will be impressed, some wont.

At the end of the day, i dont think there are many if any point and shoot digital cameras that will take the picture the second you press the button, like on a DSLR camera. It might be good at not blurring but i reckon it will take a second or so from pressing the button to taking the photo, and you may have missed the moment...

It's probably an awesome camera, just don't expect THAT much from it

 

[Quadophile]

Jay, looks like you got champagne tastes and beer money

Don't we all have that to some extent?

Off Topic: I was doing a bit of research and came across a nice Seiko watch this weekend which I thought was just the watch I should have for evening wear. I showed the picture to my son and my wife for approval and they both thought it was a good looking watch. Later I had difficulty tracking down the same watch and finally to a link which gave me the price, I almost fainted when I saw the list price of the same watch it was $3,495 Phew!!!!

Is that not a similar story? Of course I am not going to get the watch, unless I get it at 10% of the price

Here is a pic

 

[BigJay]

Yup, spot on about champagne, beer, etc, just my luck.

I guess that report Floppy found has edged me towards the 5600.
The half-pressed button response was better than expected.

This camera will do for me, until DSLR's drop in price, which I'm sure, will not be to long.

Thanks all.

 

[ChristopherP]

DSLR cameras are the best, and the best are always expensive

 

[Quadophile]

Yup, spot on about champagne, beer, etc, just my luck.

I guess that report Floppy found has edged me towards the 5600.
The half-pressed button response was better than expected.

This camera will do for me, until DSLR's drop in price, which I'm sure, will not be to long.

Thanks all.

Since you are almost on the verge of getting the 5600, here is something you may find useful in addition to what Flops suggested.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/CP5600/CP56A.HTM

Good Luck with your purchase

 

[floppybootstomp]

Today I purchased the Coolpix 5600 for my daughter, have messed with it a little.

It's a great little camera, all I have to compare it against is my Canon A80.

First off, picture quality is better than my Canon, at 5mp and max pic quality, I can store 200 images on an SD 512Mb card, which is good.

It's very compact, feels good, looks good, but it doesn't have as many functions as my A80. That being said, you have most functions you need.

The Coolpix 5600 is also a little fussier about the way it's set up, choose the wrong menu settings and you won't be able to download pix to PC.

The biggest drawback, compared to my Canon A80, is the time it takes to reset after taking a flash photo. I'd say it takes a full 15 - 20 seconds before you're ready to shoot again.

Remember, this is only a brief preliminary look, I haven't tried the multi-shoot (speed shoot?) function yet.

All in all though, it's great, I love the picture quality (it's best feature) and it's compactness. There are a whole lot of functions I haven't explored yet.

I actually bought the camera from PC World in the end. In store it's £149.95, online it's £132.00. If you order online, you can collect from store on same day (if it's in stock) for online price.

 

[BigJay]

Just another question......I'm not bothered about how compact the camera is, in fact, I prefer somthing a little more substantial. The 5600 looks like it will fit in my shirt pocket, great it thats what you want, I dont need that compactness!

I dont need a camera that small. and if that detracts from other, more important features, then I should reconsider. Can I spend my limited money, on a less fashionable, but better camera (or have I got it all wrong, and a small is all that matters).

So, as a parting shot, any last tips or ideas or alternative cameras, before I buy this Coolpix 5600?