Compact digital camera for taking photos of my baby

muffinmclean

Loking for a good camera that I can carry about with me to get good instant photos of my 6week old. He's starting to make wee cute faces etc and would like to get a really decent camera which is pretty instant at taking photos.

At the moment I use my iPhone 3GS and it isn't the best quality but by the time I get it to take photo my son has stopped what he was doing and I miss the photo.

Any recommendations would be great. And as for budget, I dont know, if it was a really good one maybe up to £300 or roundabouts max

Thank you

Lifeforms

Would recommend the Panasonic Lumix TZ range.
£195 will get you the TZ20 Which is good with the 3D if you're into that, able to view them.
or
the TZ18 for £162. I've just bought the TZ18 and it's fantastic on zoom, as well as various other functions, and the macro is pretty sweet too. Great camera for the current price (may be found cheaper elsewhere)

There is not much difference price wise between the two, but I went for the TZ18 because the 3D stuff on the TZ20 is novelty to me, can't view them, waste of effort/time/space etc to do 3D pictures (IMO)

They are slightly bigger than normal compact cameras, but that's generally because they're decent cameras with various modes, including a general scene selection mode with things like Pet, people, maybe baby (i think i saw) but also night, candle light etc. Or if you want to learn more you can go programmable where you set your own stuff.

£300 is a massive budget for a very good Compact camera. The two above have quite good reviews, and pictures I've taken look really pretty sweet.

(if you get the argos one, go for the 16gb card with it at a third off, makes it the right price for memory, not just wishful argos thinking, and will give you plenty of space for pictures)

muffinmclean

Thank you so much for reply, I will have a look at what cameras you suggested but I like the thought you are talking first hand due to you having the camera. Thing is, I really just want a good enough camera that has pretty good reaction times and good quality for everyday use, not looking for photographer quality.

Cheers again

johnmc

I have a Fuji J20 and am very pleased with it. It has a decent rechargeable battery that hasn't let me down (yet!).

I would recommend taking a look at their refurbished stock;
http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/refurbished-digital-cameras?cat=49

Get a decent size SD and take loads of pictures. They are only young once and a decent picture now offers years of embarrasment to come.

Lifeforms

If you've got a budget of £300 then you will get a professional compact at that price. The Lumix TZ18/.20 are classed as super zooms. It's your baby, the only one of a kind you'll have (even with other kids, they're not the same!) so you should be looking for decent quality, along side things like good zoom, good sensor chips (which give you good photos) The MP per camera works with the sensor, and if it's tiny/rubbish as per the vast majority of cameras that are dirt cheap then your pictures will also suffer. The other thing you will want to consider is the HD video recording, as it will be something you use with kids.

You're also thinking about time to open/take a picture which is very dependent on the camera itself. I can say with the TZ18 it's 1.3 seconds between shots, or 5.7 seconds with the flash at full power (flash has to recharge) it can also do multiple shots, at a slower level. This is probably average time wise.

But the other thing people often don't consider, that you can record HD video and then take "snap shots" from the video, a still of an occasion.

So whether you want to look at the Tz18/20 that's gunna be personal preference for you, but I'd suggest setting the bar around that camera and working in the cameras that match up spec wise and price wise to that one. £300 for a fast decent point and click camera is a massive amount.

Also try and avoid professional review sites, mainly because they're professional photographers who use this, and what they can replicate is probably not what you can replicate. As much as normal people reviews are one worded, or sentence long, a lot of them can give you good information for the standard settings that it's used in. Sunny holiday, grand kids (popular reference), candlelight/low light, birthday parties etc. Those are what you will use it for, so that's what you need to know.

Farway

When you do get the camera switch off Auto flash with such a young baby. You do not want a bright flash at close range to baby eyes