Baby on the way so need camera advice!

barnishroader

Hi,
My wife is having another baby (our 3rd) on the 27th September so i was hoping to have the camera for then so any help would be really appreciated.

I had a Kodak M341 that recently broke so I'm looking for a replacement.
However, I'd like something a bit better and was considering going for a bridge camera.
An SLR is going to be way out of my budget, flexible but around £200, and to be honest i don't think ill ever have the time to learn enough about using an SLR to make it worthwhile.

After a bit of research, i have found the following 4 bridge cameras:

Nikon L810 16MP Bridge Camera - Black. £159.99 Save £90.00Was£249.99
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5598218/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CPhotography%7C14419436/c_2/2%7C14419436%7CDigital+cameras%7C14419441/c_3/3%7Ccat_14419441%7CBridge+digital+cameras%7C26695350.htm#pdpFullProductInformation

Fujifilm FinePix SL300 14MP Bridge Camera – Black £189.99
http://www.ukdigital.co.uk/fuji-film-finepix-sl300-camera.html

Olympus SP-810UZ 14MP Bridge Camera AMAZON £171.40
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/10457342/art/olympus/sp-810-uz-black.html?srcid=369

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ48EB-K Hybrid Super Zoom Digital Camera £220.20
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/10542592/art/panasonic/panasonic-lumix-dmc-fz48.html

What do you guys think?
Or am i wrong in thinking a bridge is the way forward and there is a compact camera out there for the same budget that is better than these?

barnishroader

Also saw these:

Canon PowerShot SX150 14.1MP Camera – Black
£89.99 Less Than Half PriceWas£189.99
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5597271.htm#pdpFullProductInformation
Thought that was a great deal, but maybe there’s a good reason why it has been reduced so much!


Or these compact cameras seem good
Samsung EX1 Black £229.00 reduced from 379.00
http://www.parkcameras.com/15284/Samsung-EX1-Black.html?referrer=CamPriceBust

Nikon COOLPIX P310 AMAZON £202.50
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/11735343/art/nikon/coolpix-p310-black.html?srcid=369

barnishroader

Or this one
Samsung WB150 Compact Digital Camera AMAZON £138.43
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/samsung-wb150f-advanced-compact-digital-camera-white-with-knowhow-cloud-1tb-backup-share-service-17771651-pdt.html

Thats me finished with links, ill leave it up to the rest of you to respond now!!

InsideInsurance

If you want a bridge then the Panasonic FZ cameras have always been very good. With a combination of searching and cashback you should be able to get the price down a bit (eg Pixmania with 6% cashback would be £210).

barnishroader

InsideInsurance wrote: »

If you want a bridge then the Panasonic FZ cameras have always been very good. With a combination of searching and cashback you should be able to get the price down a bit (eg Pixmania with 6% cashback would be £210).

Is that Panasonic I mentioned in the first post the same range you are talking about?

Oops i see it is. With Pixmania and topcashback i would get 4.04% off £220.20

InsideInsurance

Quidco is 6% for cameras..... you may be able to do better it was just the first one I spotted

pww2004

Had both Fuji and Panasonic bridge/superzoom cameras. Both take more than adequate photos.

However the Fuji has won hands down in the all the family can operate easily stakes. This is a http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/finepix-s4200-refurbished.html (we bought from Asda for £70 ) but most have the same form factor and esy handling so you could buy any of the refurb ones.

If the budget strecthes I would go for http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/finepix-hs20-refurbished.html

barnishroader

pww2004 wrote: »

Had both Fuji and Panasonic bridge/superzoom cameras. Both take more than adequate photos.

However the Fuji has won hands down in the all the family can operate easily stakes. This is a http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/finepix-s4200-refurbished.html (we bought from Asda for £70 ) but most have the same form factor and esy handling so you could buy any of the refurb ones.

If the budget strecthes I would go for http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/finepix-hs20-refurbished.html

Is refurbished ok to go with?

a friend of mine has old me i should be looking for a lens that performs well in low light (f.1.4 to 2.8). he said look for canon or panasonic as best manufacturers but of those i mentioned above he said the 2 compact ones, the Nikon P310 and Samsung EX1 looked good. he has an slr but im not sure of the model.

Dave_C_2

InsideInsurance wrote: »

If you want a bridge then the Panasonic FZ cameras have always been very good. With a combination of searching and cashback you should be able to get the price down a bit (eg Pixmania with 6% cashback would be £210).

I would steer clear of Pixmania as they have a very poor reputation.
If you Google pixmania problems then the first of many hits is this MSE thread!

Dave

Johnmcl7

barryheffron wrote: »

Is refurbished ok to go with?

a friend of mine has old me i should be looking for a lens that performs well in low light (f.1.4 to 2.8). he said look for canon or panasonic as best manufacturers but of those i mentioned above he said the 2 compact ones, the Nikon P310 and Samsung EX1 looked good. he has an slr but im not sure of the model.

It depends on what is most important, the problem with bridge cameras is that despite the fact they look like they are a step up in image quality they're still using the same small sensors the compact cameras do. This is how they can offer such massive zoom ranges which they know will sell as many people will buy a camera on the numbers.

At the other end of the scale there are some cameras which do the opposite, they instead offer small zooms with bright apertures and slightly larger sensors. The advantage of a bright aperture on a lens (this is the F1.4 to F2.8 bit your friend was referring to) is that it lets in more light making it a bit easier to get shots in low light. It's up to you whether the much shorter zoom range is worth it for the better low light performance, some of the cameras I'd be looking at are the Canon S95 and the Panasonic LX5 - both models have been replaced by newer ones so there have been some cheap deals on the older (but still very capable models). The Samsung EX1 was meant to be a decent camera but it doesn't do HD video which may be a deal breaker as I think video is also handy when bringing up kids as a different way to capture some moments.

John

WhiteChristmas

For bridges, the Fuji Finepix range is unbeatable value for money, IMO (I speak as a Canon man, first and foremost).

Buy whichever current model you can stretch to and you won't go far wrong.

If you're likely to be using it for video, bear in mind that, if the zoom is powered, you usually have to choose either zoom capability or sound recording. A camera with manual zoom may suit you better.

Also consider power - for my carry-anywhere camera, I have a personal preference for AA batteries rather than the expensive custom rechargeables most "big brands" use; replacements available pretty much anywhere..