[Rian1988]

I am currently looking for a digital camera for about £130-170 to be used for casual photographs of friends and would be used quite a lot in low light (night's out etc). Where should I start? Any recommendations?

[27bedrock]

Its a difficult question, you have said it would be used for nights out, thats one thing out of the way and you've given yourself a price range, that's also good. Many people will have their own ideas probably based on their own experience (or prejudices).
I am assuming you are looking for a pocket digital.
Personally I would be looking at a "Branded" make, Panasonic, Sony, Fuji etc.
I would be looking for Optical Zoom greater than 3. (No such thing as digital zoom)
I would be looking for face recognition.
I would be looking for a Flash
I would be looking for a viewfinder, although screens do work for groups etc. Have just looked and they don't have viewfinders anymore.
Many have a movie function, probably O.K for Facebook and Youtube.
Some have image stabilisation.
If possible some degree of of manual Options.
May not be much help but thats all I could suggest.

[Rian1988]

Ok thanks but do you have any specific cameras in mind?

[shotokan101]

Originally Posted by Rian1988

Ok thanks but do you have any specific cameras in mind?

You could pop over to the Jessops compact camera selector page and see what your options filter out for you :-

Digital Compact Cameras - Jessops

Jim

[mike7]

I've had three different compact cameras over the years, all Canons. I felt I needed something more small and compact and gradually came down to the Canon IXUS 100 1S. It works beautifully although it only has x3 optical lens. It is capable of producing a very passable 720p HD movie and it is probably on of the last of this size of camera with a viewfinder. it's very small, but it zooms, and is ideal for very sunny conditions. It has all the usual stuff, face recognition, image stabilisation etc. I took some illicit shots in a museum recently, with the flash off, and they came out more or less perfect.

The big plus at the moment is that these cameras, which were £259 in the Argos catalogue a few weeks ago, are now obtainable for £170 (try Amazon). The reason for this is that the 200is has been launched which is basically the same spec with a 4x optical and a touch screen, but no viewfinder. Not really worth the extra £150 or so they cost over the 100is.

[tontoshorse]

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