Digital camera for under £100?

[angelphace]

My husband is a builder and has asked me to get him a digital camera so that he can take before and after shots of his work.

He would like a cheap point and shot and will not use any manual functions. Most of his pictures tend to be taken outside as he mainly does extensions, conservatories and driveways.

I personally like the look of the Fuji F31FD, but by the time you factor in the cost of the XD card and case it's looking a little more than he wants to pay.

Can anyone recommend a decent P&S for around the £100 mark?

Many thanks

A

[Inactive]

I like the Fuji as well, but if cost is really important, Amazon have a nice Casio EX-Z700 for £109, which takes the cheaper SD Cards.

[dave_bass5]

what about a Fuji F20. Can be had for just under £100. Ok, you need a card as well but a smallish one is only around £10 i believe.
I just got my sister a F20 and it compares very well against my Fuji F31FD. They use the same sensor so IQ is about the same (ie. very good).
Saying that The Fuji's are more know for taking good indoor shots than outdoor.
But for the price i cant think of anything as good.

[bodoman]

Dont know much about the specs of the cameras mentioned, but as i work in the construction industry and take a lot of photos of projects and from experience
i would without question buy a camera with a good wide angle end of the lens
28mm minimum as the photos that are likely to be needed are usually of the whole building/extension and as it is his own project he can get get up close.

Also i would not harm to up your budget a bit to get a really solid and rugged
camera, a cheapish plasticky type one wont last 5 minutes in and out of a builders van.
The panasonics seem to be better made than most and some of them have a 28mm wide end on them, i believe you can still get the panasonic TZ1 for about £150.00.

Hope this helps

[angelphace]

Bodoman - that's great advice. I'm loath to get one that too expensive as i know it'll be covered with mucky fingerprints and dust within a few times of it being used.

I'll try and look for one with a less flimsy build with the wide angle lens.

Any suggestions other than the panasonic?

[bodoman]

Sorry i dont know much about the compact cameras, i only know about the Panasonic TZ1 as i have that one as a second camera, i was rather hoping
that someone else who knows more about them would jump in with a bit of advice.
I just looked up the panasonic on the Digital Camera Company on the web and
they do a package with a 512mb Sd memory card and soft case for £164.87.
An added feature of this camera is that it has a seperate lens cap, which is attached to the camera by a cord, rather than the inbuilt sliding lens cap, which can be prone to sticking if it gets dust and grit stuck in it(which it surely will on a building site)

As for cost, your husband probably earns more than he is telling you anyway
so he can afford it

Good luck

[bibamus]

Are you sure you just want to spend up to £100? I gather that your Husband wants to put together some sort of portfolio. We are having a new central heating boiler fitted and had a few plumbers round to give us quotes. A few brought their portfolios along with pictures of installations they had done, the pictures were quite obviously taken on cheap digital cameras, a long time ago and looked awful. None of them got the job!
If your husband ig going to try to obtain work on the basis of his photos, I would seriously consider a camera that is good with architecture, eg minimal pincusioning and barrel effect. It doesnt matter how straight his walls are, if the photos show them as leaning in or out!

Just a thought!

Allan

[angelphace]

Thanks for all the advice.

I went for the Fuji F20 in the end as this seemed a good compromise between picture quality and price.

Now I just have to find a camera for myself! I'm thinking the Panny FX50 will be the way to go at the moment.

[angelphace]

Have now just seen the panasonic FX01 for just £2 more than I paid for the Fuji F20.

Would this have been a better buy????

[dave_bass5]

Originally Posted by angelphace

Have now just seen the panasonic FX01 for just £2 more than I paid for the Fuji F20.

Would this have been a better buy????

IMHO no but i guess its down to what features you want on a camera.

congrats on the Fuji. My sister is loving her's and i love my F31FD
The low light shooting aspect is nice on the Fuji's. It might help with exterior shots during the winter months.
Saying that i would have spent the extra and got one of the Canon IS P&S if its more for shooting buildings and static objects.