Camera buying help

macaud

I am looking to buy a new camera and hoping to get a better one than I have by doubling up my tesco points. I have £100 in vouchers so my camera budget is up to £200.
I was looking at the Olympus SZ14 £178 or the Panasonic Lumix Sz1 £168 or the TZ18.
I am a point and shoot kind of girl, don't do any fancy effects, not that bothered about a video and don't want anything too fancy that I won't be able to use. Thought these ones have a good zoom, which i would use.
My husband always blinks when the flash goes off. Are there any features to look for which would help with this?
I only really use my camera for general stuff like holidays, parties, pictures of the kids, some outdoors and some indoors.
If anyone has any first hand experience of these models, good or bad, I'd be really grateful. Or if there are any better ones you could recommend, I'd be really grateful

googler

macaud wrote: »

I was looking at the Olympus SZ14 £178 or the Panasonic Lumix Sz1 £168 or the TZ18.

My husband always blinks when the flash goes off. Are there any features to look for which would help with this?

I use Panasonic cameras, TVs, and all manner of DVD and VHS gear, and they get my vote every time.

As regards the second point, taking photos of landscapes, still lifes, and sports would certainly help.....

macaud

Thanks googler. I'll go and have another look at the lumix model I think. This camera buying business is so confusing and time consuming!

NDPS-PUB

Hi Macaud,

Most point and shoot compact cameras will have similar features but the more you pay the more features you will get, as always. It sounds like the price bracket you are looking for is the low end of the market. So I would consider the megapixel count and go for the highest your money can afford. I have seen a few panasonic cameras and each model has some very good points, some better than others. It would be nice to go into a shop and just pick one up and say yep that's the one for me but you need to look closely at what's on offer and what features you really need. The website dpreview dot com is really good for comparing models and seeing the results with sample pictures. Go into Jessops and try out the ones you know are at Tesco's first to see what they compare like when using them. Jessops will give you advice.
For blinkers (your husband) use the camera in red eye reduction mode, which fires pre-flashes before actually firing the main flash so he will blink on the pre-flash, or get him to open his eyes on the count of three and you press the shutter (best with red eye reduction switched off).