Best Digital Camera For £200

[ahaydock]

Hi,

I am looking at buying my first digital camera and have a budget of £200 max. I am no pro so it must be easy to use. The main object will be picture quality above all, however if it can be slim/small that would be a bonus.

I am thinking of a 5M Pixel with 3x zoom?

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

Many thanks.

[PLASMABABBY]

Hi ahaydock,
I managed to pick up a Panasonic FZ20 yesterday for £199.95 and free postage by ringing round their stores to find out whether they had any in stock. (Their website shows No Stock). Yesterday they had 4 in stock at Watford (Tel: 01923 244266) and 2 in stock at Glasgow (Tel: 0141 353 6677)
This is a superb camera for that price 12x Zoom, Optical Image Stabilizer, and fantastic Leical Elmarit lens. Not a compact camera - more like a DSLR in size. Read the reviews. They are fetching about £250 to £260 on ebay and that is used.
I'm no expert but that seems a great deal to me if the camera fits your requirements.

[ush flynn]

Canon ixus 50 is going for under 200 now i believe, great little camera with some nice creative options if you want to get a bit adventerous, Failing that your options are cameras like the fx8/fx9 from panasonic, same image stabiliser as mentioned above, 3x zoom, 2.5" screen and really solid body, they are going on the net for around 200 i believe

If you like nikon then they do the s1 s2 and s3, i think you can get the s1 for under 200 now, its been around almost a year now.

I was VERY tempted by the panasonic fx9 myself, suffers a little from noise on higher ISOs but this almost balances out with the ability to use lower ISOs and image stabilisation to avoid blur.

[mjw123]

Panni's rule the roost in the prosumer market at the moment.

Look at the FZ5 if you want the features of the FZ20 without the size.

Was reading an article in a Digi Camera mag today and they listed the best Prosumers as follows :-

1. Panni FZ30 91%
2. Panni FZ20 91%
3. Sony ?? 90%
4. Panni FZ5 90%

That's one hell of a performance by Panni as 2 of those cameras are well over 12months old now

[Ikki]

Canon Powershot A610 5mp, full P,A,S,M + other modes (20 in all), excellent macro, movie mode, low noise large (for a p&s) sensor, twist & flip display, superb 4 X lens (35mm - 140mm I think), takes add on lenses for macro, telephoto & wideangle, very fast (Digic II) and uses AA size batteries (frugally).

Yours for only £189.

Steves Digicam review of the A610

[ahaydock]

Thanks for all the replies people - much appreciated.

The Pannys look good, but are larger than I was hoping for - are there any other than are more compact or is picture quality seriously compromised?

Thanks.

[ush flynn]

id quote myself but i already pressed the wrong button but the Panasonic FX8 and FX9 are doing very well in reviews due to image stabilisation, good sensor and high res screen

[ahaydock]

Thanks - does anyone know if the Pannys are compatible with Apples iPhoto software?

Cheers.

[ush flynn]

ill ask out mac guys if they come in today (bloody freelancers ) but otherwise im sure this is a mac issue, if you are using the USB drivers they im 99% sure these are mac compatible these days (if you even need them at all with newer versions of OS) but with iPhoto does it matter what the source is? i would have thought as long as the camera can transfer to mac (which it can) then the files will be compatible,

Panny supply Arcsoft programs like canons scanner software, i recommend against it, use what your comfortable with (iphoto) im sure you will love which ever camera you choose from the ones that have been recommended

[ahaydock]

Originally Posted by ush flynn

ill ask out mac guys if they come in today (bloody freelancers ) but otherwise im sure this is a mac issue, if you are using the USB drivers they im 99% sure these are mac compatible these days (if you even need them at all with newer versions of OS) but with iPhoto does it matter what the source is? i would have thought as long as the camera can transfer to mac (which it can) then the files will be compatible,

Thanks, hopefully it would show as at least an external USB drive, however it not one Panny is listed on the Apple website: http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/cameras.html?

Are Panasonic the people to go for? What about Sony?

Thanks

[ush flynn]

sony used to have major issues connecting to macs with thier camcorders, shuold have improved in recent years though. Im not a fan of thier cameras, thier LCDs arent much to look at, they suffer quite badly from fringing and thier accessories are way over priced forcing people to look on ebay. Nothing is standard with sony, you even need to put some of the slim ones on docking station type units just so you can use a mini tripod! im sure they make thier own mini tripod but its probably about £25 instead of about £5
Panasonic seem to fit more into a small body, true not quite as small as a sony but its a good trade off IMO.
Id also seriously consider Nikons P1 and the Canon 750, which is a tad heavy i have to say, i borrowed one once and i thought it was gonna pull my trousers down

back to mac compatibility, most manufacturers wouldnt dare not support MACs these days as they have become so much more popular, ESPECIALLY with photo editing. I think at least it will see it as an external drive. But have you thought of just using a card reader anyway? the bonuses are it wont drain your battery, it wont tie up your camera and transfer speeds tend to be far faster. Then of course you can write back onto the card if your a fan of printing photos in store. They are very cheap too, even if you get an expensive belkin or Hama unit (or similar) they should only be around £15.
If you think you might upgrade one day to dslr or get a mp3 playing phone or any device like that then a multi card reader can save you installing tons of drivers

[bluraymond]

just bought a Sony DSC-W5 £140 down from £199 from Jessops, excellent
reviews and supplied with usb cable and CD-ROM which is mac
compatable, no trouble connecting with iphoto, hurry up though
because Jessops state these prices end on the 1 Feb, good luck.

[NicolasB]

You might be able to get hold of an Olympus C5060WZ on eBay for £200. They're not exactly new, but quite nice.

[ush flynn]

not exactly small or fast either. Good camera if you can be bothered with the size... didnt they use Smart media cards too? or just the 5050, maybe it had SM and Xd

[ahaydock]

Thanks everyone - I am shopping on Friday so will be looking then.

My local Panny shop has an FX9 for £239 - is this a good price (bearing in mind they are local so should i have any problems...)?

How do the Pannys compare to the Canon Powersjot A610 or A620?

Basically I am not a photographer, and do not plan on taken it up as a hobby. I would like just to point and shoot (set to Auto mostly) and get good pictures. I will probably view them on my 42" Plasma so I want them to look good.

Any thoughts on the models above or others I shold consider?

Thanks