Day and Night camera for holiday?

Chris101

I am not really into photography but I require a camera for my holiday. A camera that will be fantastic to take pics during the day and especially in the night in low or no light settings apart from the moon and stars.


What would you recommend?

My budget is around £400-£500 max.

Many Thanks

notanewuser

Chris101 wrote: »

I am not really into photography but I require a camera for my holiday. A camera that will be fantastic to take pics during the day and especially in the night in low or no light settings apart from the moon and stars.


What would you recommend?

My budget is around £400-£500 max.

Many Thanks

I'd recommend you spend £100 on a decent photography course. It's the only way you'll be able to take decent photos.

A good photographer can take brilliant pics with a £150 camera. A poor photographer can take lousy photos with a £2000 camera.

It's extremely hard to take photos in low light, built in flashes are crap and you need to understand how a camera works to really take good pics in the dark (and a tripod always helps).

rheme

Have a look at this one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fujifilm-FinePix-HS30EXR-EXR-CMOS-Tiltable/dp/B006Q8VA2W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1353103513&sr=8-2

The same camera is £285.00 at Jessops.

I have a fuji finepix and a Canon SLR. I take the finepix for point and shoot pictures. You can take them on automatic mode and for really good evening shots (or other specific shots) it is really easy to change the settings. I have taken some really good photos with mine.

Good luck and have a great holiday.

Chris101

Thank you for the responses.

How does the Nikon 5100 compare to the ones you have mentioned?
I just came across it and looks like a great investment.

[Deleted User]

Regular camera + tripod + long shutter exposure

It's not the camera, it's how you use it. You've not quite given enough information to help choose you a camera. At that budget you could go for low end SLR cameras

Chris101

Until date I have been used to simple point and shoot cameras, with my new investment I want to be able to take far more professional pics
Especially when in low light situations.

rheme

Chris101 wrote: »

Thank you for the responses.

How does the Nikon 5100 compare to the ones you have mentioned?
I just came across it and looks like a great investment.

The Nikon 5100 is a good camera and would be a good investment if you are a keen photographer. It is, however, an SLR camera and like the Canon that I have it is adviseable to use it with a tripod. You will also need different lenses (which can be expensive) if you want to take a variety of pictures some closer and others requiring a zoom/panoramic. Then you may require a flash - all of which will start to rack up the costs and take you over your budget. I would also recommend a photography course to understand how the SLR's work. You could of course just use it on the auto mode but this does not get around the need for different lenses and a tripod.

The Fuji finepix is what is known as a bridging camera (between the compact and SLR's) is very easy to learn how to use and produces good pictures without the need for a tripod. Much easier to carry around on holiday than a large bag with camera, lenses and tripod.

[Deleted User]

Bridge cameras are a poor choice for low light photography. Cheap lenses and small sensors

You are better off going for a micro 4/3rds camera, or maybe a compact with a large sensor and fast lens; such as the Panasonic lx7

Chris101

I have always been using a point n shoot camera so ideally a compact point n shoot camera would be ideal as long as it takes great low light pics. If that is not possible, what's the next best option ?

Ideally a compact point n shoot digital camera with good battery life is what I require.

[Deleted User]

Do you need much zoom? What sort of photography is it for?

FYI the Panasonic lx7 is a compact camera, but top end with limited zoom. It can have an external flash added to it. It's got a larger sensor than most compacts, and has a very 'fast' lens (ideal of low light). It has all the controls an SLR has, but also has a nice automatic mode.

Chris101

The Panasonic sounds promising.

The camera will be typically used for holidays. Were off to Malaysia in a couple of days so need a camera to take pics of buildings and scenery (rainforest, animals and plants), especially during the night.

I would love to take pics of the moon and stars with the camera while it still is compactand has good battery life.