hey guys, i've never owned a digital camera and would like to buy my first one. i'm not looking for anything high quality, just something that works and can record video. what would you guys recommend? officeworks/target/k-mart are my preferred stores.
appreciate any suggestions.
thanks
The frustration of waiting 2 seconds to take a photo is the main issue with cheap cameras. The cheapies don't "pre-focus" very well, so you press the button and literally 2 or 3 seconds later it takes the shot.
It's worth bearing in mind that comment doesn't apply just to cheapies, that applies to many P&S cameras of all brands & at all price points. It's a big sticking point with me, and one of the main reasons I'm such a huge fan of the Panasonic S3 as Andy illustrates!
Any decent camera should be focussing "on the fly" (continuously) rather than only after you 1/2-press the shutter release. That way, it's literally always ready to go.
But focus speed is definitely a big consideration, so I tend to go for the high-end cameras rather than the cheapies. They are just SOOoooo much nicer to use and you remember the quality long after the price is forgotten.
Not always the case dude, not all cameras are dictated by the name on them or the price tag attached. Start-up, shot-2-shot & shutter lag times are highly variable, and the cheaper camera isn't always the slowest. You might want to read some of the S3 reviews first!
My sister-in-law would corroborate that, she's always brandishing her pricey Sony compact like a badge of honour, but can't get a shot of any of the kids faces coz as soon as I see her click I call them & all she gets is back of head…yes, I'm a prick…but it highlights that names & prices don't mean shit, only real-world performance matters! ;)
I love AA battery! Imagine you run out of the NiMH battery pack when you about the shot a photo you want, and those battery doesn't last you for years.
And I bought a Fuji Finepix JX370 while it is on special, nice picture, good panoramic photo, HD movie, 14M only around $65 when DS on special!
Imagine you run out of the NiMH battery pack when you about the shot a photo you want
NiMH? Yuk!
Anyway, I take a spare lithium when I am going on a "big photo shoot". Just like you would have to take some spare AA's.
and those battery doesn't last you for years.
There is a lot more "usable" energy density in a Lithium than in AA's, mainly because of the way that the voltage doesn't droop.
The reason that you need to take spare AA's is because of this. I cannot remember the last time I've needed to change batteries in my Canon Ixus's. Our whole 1 week holiday (including video) was done on one battery last September.
really depends what you mean by 'cheap'….
If you mean simple point and shoot…. you could probably do worse than the panasonic s3
$95
http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Technology/Cam…
(bear in mind officeworks rather ordinary stock level system…… I'd ring before I made a special trip)
some reviews….
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Digital-Optical-Stabilized-2…
http://www.cnet.com.au/panasonic-lumix-dmc-s3-339310388.htm
Agreed, if I was looking for a budget P&S camera the S3 would be top of the list. Great all-rounder IMHO!
is there anything out there for around $60? i just want something basic with a re-chargeable battery and that can shoot video.
anyone?
Just check out DSE/BigW/OW et.al., I'm sure they would have P&S cameras starting at $30 or less! :)
FWIW, before you commit to anything, just check a couple of reviews at reliable(ish) places like cnet; you don't want any major pitfalls! ;)
is there anything else out there that does video and has a rechargeable battery?
They are do rechargable battery (all slim one) and take movie now
http://dicksmith.com.au/product/XG3157/sony-cybershot-w510-d…
$77 is not a bad price and it ends today.
damn that looks great fish. i missed out on the deal and it looks like it's out of stock.
is there anything else out there that's similar?
http://www.citiwideonline.com/au/index.php?page=shop.product…
$55
i know nothing about citywide though
if you add to cart, you need to take off all the extras that it selects for you, or the ones that you dont want. dont know the shipping fee's
Their shipping is normally pretty pricey. When last I checked it kinda varies for each camera…oddly enough just by the right amount to take the overall price up to level with everyone else, now what would be the odds of that? :p
If you can only afford this sort of price for a camera it seems to me you'd be wise to stick with local rather than having to rely on a 'grey' warranty where you'll have to pay postage both ways if you need warranty support.
+1, and somebody else '+' Geewhizz a few more times too…darn good advice!
anything else out there?
http://dicksmith.com.au/product/XG5828/samsung-es28-digital-…
http://www.reevoo.com/p/samsung-es28
FWIW, DSE have cheapies starting at $29
What else do you want? Lower price? Some specific feature?
If you leave it long enough, you can put off spending the $70 (or whatever) forever. LOL
Why not go to a big shopping centre where there's Kmart, Myers, DS etc and shop around. See and try which camera you like rather than have people tell you what to get.
You'll never get a camera if you keep waiting for something else.
Cheap usually means nasty, especially with cameras where there are literally thousands of models that all appear to be virtually identical.
The frustration of waiting 2 seconds to take a photo is the main issue with cheap cameras. The cheapies don't "pre-focus" very well, so you press the button and literally 2 or 3 seconds later it takes the shot.
Also, low-light quality is dreadful in the cheaper ones. They either won't focus AT ALL, or if they do the pictures are all grainy and awful, even with the flash. For me, that is a big decider as well.
I am using a Canon Ixus 95 IS at the moment, and I honestly reckon that is about the lowest quality you should go for a decent experience.
Ignore the "megapixels" - that is totally irrelevant.
Get a camera that takes SD Card memory, not ones that take Memory Stick or XD Card (much more expensive).
Personally I HATE cameras that take AA batteries. They are large and chunky and they chew through them batteries like nobody's business - even rechargables are a pain. This Canon has a Lithium battery and no matter when I pick it up to use it, it's got almost a full charge… I literally recharge it every few months (and I use it almost every day!)