Camera choooosing 27 February 2005 at 7:30PM in Techie Stuff 6 replies 765 views

brundle

Hi,

I've saw that a fair few moneysavers are well versed in the world of digi cams so I was hoping I might be able to pick a few brains about it.

I'm looking for something quite simple just for pics of the family mostly (indoors, out & about, etc). I was hoping to aim at around the £60-80ish price range, but will I be able to get a decentish camera for this price? I had a quick browse of Ebuyer before, and there seems to be a lot of cameras for this price, but I have no idea of the quality of any of them.

Also, is getting optical zoom feasible for this amount, or is that out of my price range? Most of the ones I saw had digital zoom, but as I understand that just crops the picture to make it seem zoomed?

I don't have a clue about cameras, so any help would be very appreciated..

cheers!

urbanite

A Fuji Finepix or Cannon A400 and you wont be too far wrong for a point n shoot camera.
For 80notes you'll be looking for a 3.2 MP with 3x digital and optical zoom.
TBH, i'd shell out £199 and get the Panasonic FZ3

kellytrev

jessop camera shop [not john lewis]web site avalible, price match the internet [need to take a print out and telephone no.] and are in most towns,you can try before you buy then,I got mine from there was £350 in there shop but £210 on ebuyer so got it for £210 and could play around first also you get a 28day no question ask money back guarantee, kelly p.s keep packaging if you wish to return

Hintza

You need to decide what you want to use the camera for. But I think you need to push your price up a little.

Best bargains around can be found on refurbished cameras try the cannon site on ebay

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outlet_W0QQsspagenameZl2QQtZkm or

http://www.morgan-auction.co.uk/ or

http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/technical/refurb/shop.php

word of advice be patient and do some research and you should get a bargain

seth

Morgan computers have a retail site as well currently cheaper than th aution site(!)

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?ProductID=1790&CategoryID=16&SubCategoryID=

Price matching via Jessops seems the best bet. Ebuyer are very good, but the Jessops high street location and price match beats them. I've known them to say no sometimes when the price is TOO LOW!

Tesco have an offer on the Canon Powershot A400 for £74.43! but my local Tesco has it for £136! See the thread on this in the get it quick section.

I'm a big fan of Canon my wife has an IXSUS 400 and a i965 Printer both superb and used almost daily still good as new after almost 2 years.

Tip get your camer case from Asda they have a good range and prices start from £3. Also check ebuyers prices for memory if Jessops won't match eBuyer fo free shipping on most flash memory

I think the previous tip on waiting for a good deal makes sense!

EvilMonkey

Brundle,

I reckon you should be able to get the basic cam for your price range, but always bear in mind you'll need to spend a little more for a couple of bits and bobs. Namely a decent sized memory card and a set of rechargable batteries and charger (if it doesn't come with it's own proprietry battery type). With a bit of luck you should be able to sort yourself out for these for another £20-£30.

For that price, you're looking at a named brand refurb or old stock in sale, or an unknown name (ebuyer no-brand, vivitar etc.).

The ebuyer own user reviews of their 3MP 3x optical zoom are fairly good and the spec looks good on paper. To be honest, I think you'd be happy with most of these cams for low level everyday use.

brundle

Wow, thanks for the all advice and links...I'll definitly shop around and check out the sites

Cheers!!