Im looking at buying my first digital camera and as a complete novice i would like advice on which to get.
I have a buget of £300 what i need is a minimum 3MP GOOD NIGHT SHOTS i am very interested it the fuji f601 full kit at £296 from empire direct.
If you know of any better or how good this camera really is i would be grateful for any comments.

[JIT]

I'm in the same position as you myself and am unsure about what to go for. I've been recommended the Canon A70 with 256MB card and tripod for £258 at http://www.digitaldepot.co.uk/

[Matt F]

A couple of other suggestions for <£300:

1. Olympus C4000 - £286.20 - 4mp, 3 x zoom with fast 2.8 lens - excellent quality camera but quite big - only downside is it's not the fastest camera between shots. Check the review here: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/C40/C40A.HTM

2. Kyocera S5 - £293 - 5mp, 3 x zoom. Tiny camera, limited manual options but generally very good results. Not the best 5mp camera out there but look at the price. Check the review here: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/S5/S5A.HTM

I think if I were spending £300 on a digital camera I'd go for the Olympus C4000.

Matt.

[50/50]

Got to disagree with the Kyocera. Quality over quantity.

Look into the Minolta S414 - 4MP Its very fast. The video recording is rubbish. One of the best value for money digicams at this price. Nice solid build and metal case. But is not the smallest..

I will second the Canon A70, a great digicam. Got loads of features and great picture. Not many problems...

Nikon Coolpix 3100 is also great. IMO the best brand for a camera, and great picture. But it feels abit cheap and plasticy. A toy camera come to mind..

Fuji Finepix S304 has a great lens (38 - 228mm 35mm equivalent!! and 6x optical zoom) Very nice digicam, but cost more than all the others..


Remember to add about £80 for extra memory, *good* rechargeable batteries and *good* charger.


Edit : BTW, if you have a Jessops near by, you can print out a the best web price and they will match it

[Matt F]

Originally posted by 50/50
Got to disagree with the Kyocera. Quality over quantity.

Well, there's nothing wrong with the build quality of the Kyocera and image quality wise there's no doubt it will see off the likes of Canon's A70 (as you would expect it to with 5mp and a decent lens). It's by no means perfect though and it wouldn't be worth considering at it's rrp of £500 - however, at £200 less than this it's definitely worth checking out.

I still think the Olympus C4000 is the best bet and great value at under £300 - there's not a 3mp model I know of that will live with it for image quality.

The Minolta S414 is a good shout too though although, as 50/50 says, it is a chunky beast.

Matt.

[nunew33]

Matt F have to disagree with you mate. Kyocera may have the pixels but the image it produces is really poor. It suffers from poor optics bad colours. Its a perfect example of how more pixels does not mean better picture

Thanks all for advice i think its gonna be the A70 its got quite alot of praise and not a lot of complaints.

But then again the olympus does seem very nice ill let you all know what i end up with but thanks for the advice.

[Matt F]

Originally posted by nunew33
Matt F have to disagree with you mate. Kyocera may have the pixels but the image it produces is really poor. It suffers from poor optics bad colours. Its a perfect example of how more pixels does not mean better picture

Well the results are here for all to read: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/S5/S5A.HTM#pics

Not perfect by any means but when a review says:

- "good hue and accuracy" (colour)

- "strong detail out to 1150 lines (resolution)

...and a concludes with

- "the S5 is a versatile camera, and the five-megapixel CCD captures good-quality images, particularly given the strides Kyocera has made in their color management"

Then it seems a bit strong/unfair to say the images it produces are "really poor". The optics do suffer from a bit of distortion as many do but, then again, it has no chroma problems.

As I said it's not the best 5mp ultra compact by a long shot but it's bar far the cheapest. As ever you pays your money...

Matt.

All

Received my Canon A70 with 256mb and Canon Tripod from Digital depot yesterday - had a quick try and great little camera - much better than the Fuji 2600 Zoom I had (before it decided to die!).

Anyone recommend a decent case for it? Just a case - not one to hold cans of pop etc!!!

Will post more feedback once I've had a play with it!

Regards

B.

[nunew33]

[
Then it seems a bit strong/unfair to say the images it produces are "really poor". The optics do suffer from a bit of distortion as many do but, then again, it has no chroma problems.


Matt. [/B]

Matt I should have added an IMHO disclaimer.

I am going by personal experience from borrowing a Kyocera S5 from a local dealer. I compared it to my S45 and felt the detal and colours on my S45 were visibly better. Im not talking about zooming to look at individual pixels, I am talking about previewing pictures on a VDU and it was like comparing an analogue SLR pic to a disposable party camera IMHO. It was an unfair test as I know my S45 well and I had limited time to play with the Kyocera.I also didnt go to the effort of same subject matters. But I assumed if the difference was visible then it wasnt a good omen!

Originally posted by beavis
All

Anyone recommend a decent case for it? Just a case - not one to hold cans of pop etc!!!

See my reply in your other thread.

Good luck with the A70, I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

Collin

Well thanks for the advice i opted fot the A70 jessops pricematched EMPIRE DIRECT price of £226 and gave me a extra 64 meg all in all i paid £268 but got another 64meg and a 2hr rapid charger with 4 higher grade batteries and i have to say the camera is EXCELLENT its got every thing going for it,day and night shots both are very good its also a camera that dont need a scientist to operate it,my kids and wife love it because of its ease of use but me i like play with settings ita amazing what sort of shots ya can get with just a couple of different settings.
so all i can say its a VERY BIG THUMBS UP for the A70.
And once again thank for all your advice