[Val101]

hi all

i'm in the market for a digital camera. I don't want to spend more than £200. I was wondering if you can get a small pocket sized camera that has more than 3x zoom? All the cameras that i have seen that have a higher zoom are way too big for me.

I have been looking at the Sony DSC-W55 Cyber-shot but i have read some reviews and seen some sample photos and i was not impressed, photos seem really blurry. But thats the kind of size im after, its tiny and can be carried around easily, so could anyone recommend a camera for sub £200 with the highest zoom possible that is small enough to fit into a shirt pocket.

i will be viewing the photos on a 50" screen and have been told that the camera also needs to have a 16x9 mode?

many thanks

[Val101]

just had a search of high zoom cameras and found this one -

Kodak EasyShare V610

but again the reviews are pretty bad regarding picture quality, battery life and becuase of the small size of the flash, that got slated too.

Maybe i should stick to 35mm

[Tobers]

The longer the zoom, the more bulky the camera will be. For decent picture quality, you want a long optical zoom where the lens extends. A digital zoom just magnifies the image already on the sensor using electronics, and quality suffers as a result.

A really excellent 10x optical zoom can be had from the Panasonic TZ3, but at £250ish and not being as thin as I think you want, it may not be what you need. Worth a look though, with v.good quality pics.

[Just call me Al]

The TZ3 is cheaper here.

[Bursar]

And with more zoom comes more camera shake. Some kind of image stabilisation is a must - unless you want to take a tripod everywhere.

[Val101]

thanks for that, so if i didn't want a high level of zoom what camera would you recommend regardless of zoom or megapixels but on pure picture quality, what camera under £200 has the best picture quality in your opinion?

[Just call me Al]

Originally Posted by Val101

thanks for that, so if i didn't want a high level of zoom what camera would you recommend regardless of zoom or megapixels but on pure picture quality, what camera under £200 has the best picture quality in your opinion?

I have the Panasonic TZI & it has 2 levels of IS on. I take better pictures with 10X zoom & IS than 3X without. I'm sure those with the TZ3 will echo this. Stick with the TZ3 you will wonder how you managed without it.

[petrolhead]

You may also want to concider the Ricoh Caplio R6 28-200 7x. It 's within your price range

Her for well under and Jesops may well price match - http://www.cliftoncameras.co.uk/Mod/...icoh_Caplio_R6

[Val101]

thanks all for your help, i've read alot of reviews regarding both the Panasonic TZ3 and the Ricoh Caplio R6, the panny is about £50 more expensive but the reviews are excellent for both cameras.

So would anyone recommend one over the other, the Ricoh is in the lead at the moment, it looks sexy as hell!

[jonnypb]

canon 710IS 6X optical, suppose to be a good camera and under £200

[petrolhead]

Its a hard choice but if cash is tight and can do with 7x zoom then the choice is obvious.

Try here, both reviewed and both got high scores. - http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews.php

[Just call me Al]

Originally Posted by petrolhead

Its a hard choice but if cash is tight and can do with 7x zoom then the choice is obvious.

Try here, both reviewed and both got high scores. - http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews.php

On Movie mode the Panasonic has a true 'Widescreen' mode so no black bars or stretched people, & the quality is good.

I have just bought the TZ3 and its a great piece of kit paid £227 delivered for it in black

[Val101]

hi all

would anyone here consider the Fujifilm Finepix S6500fd, Jessops has a deal on it, its going for £169.99.

I have seen sample photos from the Fuji and its amazing, ok its not exactly a compact camera but the picture quality is amazing.

I think the Panasonic is out of the running, my budget was only £100 when i first started to look for a digi camera, so i'm pushing the boat out when i'm going for any camera around the £150 mark, so the panasonic at over £200 is beyond my reach.


Any comment on the Fujifilm Finepix S6500fd would be appreciated.

http://www.jessops.com/Store/s36159/...s.aspx?&comp=y

[petrolhead]

Originally Posted by Val101

I was wondering if you can get a small pocket sized camera

Hmmmmm, well the Fuji is an excellent camera.

If you can accomodate that size then its a no brainer

[Just call me Al]

Originally Posted by Val101

hi all

would anyone here consider the Fujifilm Finepix S6500fd, Jessops has a deal on it, its going for £169.99.

I have seen sample photos from the Fuji and its amazing, ok its not exactly a compact camera but the picture quality is amazing.

I think the Panasonic is out of the running, my budget was only £100 when i first started to look for a digi camera, so i'm pushing the boat out when i'm going for any camera around the £150 mark, so the panasonic at over £200 is beyond my reach.


Any comment on the Fujifilm Finepix S6500fd would be appreciated.

http://www.jessops.com/Store/s36159/...s.aspx?&comp=y

You could try & find the previous Panasonic the TZ1. I have this one & although it is 2MP less (5MP not enough to argue about) it does have ZOOM on movie mode that the TZ3 doesn't, & it takes great photo's & movies. It was available for around £150-00. There may be some about.

[Val101]

Hi all

Ok I’ve finally decided on getting a Ricoh Caplio R6. Jessops do have this camera in stock but they said they do not price match, and he thought I was fibbing when I told him I could get the very same camera for £153 inc VAT and P+P, Jessops price was £199.99!!!

On my way home I nipped into Comet, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. The sales guy I spoke to showed me to the glass case full of digital cameras and I am asked him I was after a Ricoh Caplio R6. He gave me a blank expression, so I took out a piece of paper with the name of the camera on it, so he could see how “RICOH” was spelt.

Now considering this guy was the camera “expert” at this store he turned around and said, “I’ve never heard of that make”, when I explained to him that the cameras that they had in stock all had 3x zoom and I preferred the Ricoh because it had a 7.1x zoom, he gave me another funny look, he then said, “no chance, you can’t get a zoom that high on a digital camera, and definitely one that costs around £150”. I could clearly see that I was wasting my time with this camera “expert” and left the store.

So I’ll be placing an order with Clifton Cameras asap, god help anyone who walks into any branch of Dixon, Currys, Comet or even PC World for that matter, they may be experts but they certainly aren’t experts in the product that they sell.

[petrolhead]

Out of interest did you print out the web site showing the camera for £153 and show they guy in Jessops?

Please give some feedback re R6 when you get it as I am still pondering. Would be interested in some low light shots as well as norman daytime shots

[Val101]

Hi petrolhead

I didn’t have a printout, but I did tell him the website, but he said that Jessops no longer have a price match policy, they used to but not now. Probably cannot compete with prices on the net.

Once I get the camera I’ll be more than happy to post some sample photos, but in the mean time a good place to get reviews of almost anything is the google video site, its amazing and you’ll get reviews from people who have actually bought the items they are reviewing.

But I’ll sure to take some sample photos for you.