Are there any digital camera experts around?

dchurch24

http://www.pricegrabber.co.uk/search_attrib.php?page_id=48&form_keyword=sony+dsc+200&mode=g_uk_b_s&skd=1&rd=1

Sony DSC200 - excellent pocket camera, very easy to use, and has some cracking features. I was bowled over by it. It's about as close to DSLR photography without actually being DSLR.

And it fits into jeans pockets without any trouble.

The only problem is the lens cover sometimes gets a little sticky and takes a second to open. When it doesn't do this, you can go from camera off to taking a picture in about 2 seconds.

£170 - just over your limit, but IMHO it's well worth it.

[Deleted User]

Don't forget to get Jessops to match amazon.co.uk prices!

T4i

cargo wrote:

T4i.
Cracking pic.

Shame she forgot to smile.

Donnie

bobber wrote:

Thanks for that Donnie, but this one just takes the picture straight away. I've tried just pressing lightly but it wont work on this.
The other annoying thing with this samsung is the delay of the shutter after pressing (especially with flash) - shes normally moved by the time it actually takes the piccie!

That must be annoying...and funny at the same time....at first.

T4i

Sony digi cams shutter lag is impressive. Is virtualy non-existant.

Another thing I've found whilst playing with my cam is the ISO setting, on auto in certain lighting (Leeds Tropical World) the over-exposure is a nightmare, so if your cam has a manual ISO setting too this can make all the difference.

ManAtHome

The 'red-eye reduction' mode can slow things down a lot - it fires a reduced-power flash before taking the picture, theory is that this causes your pupils to contract so less chance of light being reflected back from the retina.

For people pics with flash, you're better off with a physically larger camera with the flash well away from the lens. This widens the angle between flash and lens, so less chance of light being reflected.

Maybe a fault with your camera if you can't 'half-press' to focus... unless there's a 'continuous focus' mode and it's switched on (not familiar with your camera model).

bobber

ManAtHome - Thanks for that info - very useful. I dug out the manual to check about the focussing, but unfortunately it is literally a point and shoot. I also noticed it said its focussing begins at 1 metre (when not in macro) so thats why I've had so many duff piccies.
If only we realised earlier what a pile of rubbish it was - I've only just started uploading properly recently (dont get a lot of free time when you're a new mum for some strange reason).

Donnie - Yes...her photo album will have to have captions saying, "this was just after your first smile" etc. Whoops!
Very annoying to have a great pose actually caught at the right time, only then to find its fuzzy when you upload it....oh dear.

StockportGerbil

Hi!
I have an aging (I bought it nearly 4 years ago) Olympus Digicam, blowed if I can remember the model number and have noticed when the batteries start to go then so does the focussing.

The shutter lag is frustrating but sometimes anticipating where the child, dolphin, car etc is going to be works out OK.

I am surprised that the half-press to focus thing doesn't work for you and do wonder if your camera has a fault.

Regards

Kevin

espresso

StockportGerbil wrote:

Hi!
I am surprised that the half-press to focus thing doesn't work for you and do wonder if your camera has a fault.

The reason that the pre-focusing doesn't work, is because this camera does not have auto focus!

The camera has a fixed focus lens, hence the 1 metre minimum to infinity focus range.

I guess if the OP had bothered to read the instructions and had taken pictures from at least 1 metre away, they would actually be in focus.

:rolleyes:

Donnie

If you don't already have a camcorder, buy a digital camera with video(with sound) capability. You won't regret it.

Look for minimum specs; 640 x 480 pixels and 30fps(frames per second) with sound. A slower frame rate may result in 'jerky' action. Smaller pixel numbers will result in a smaller picture, wherein if you wished to view it on a monitor or TV screen, would result in diminished quality.
So do look for the specifications detailed above.
Friends have recently had a baby and are very happy to be able to shoot video.(They have the same camera as I(Samsung UCA 5) That way you can not only capture every pose, you can also make a 'still picture' of any given frame of the video.
All the more reason to have good video shooting capability.