camera for 2 different types of holidays - advice please

danbim

hi all my daughter is going to America working and then travelling from east to west and I am going to Norway to hopefully see the Northern lights . we have decided to buy a camera between us and have approx. £200- £250 between us, we have no idea what camera would be best but both like the idea of one that has a wireless connection so we can upload to fb , email etc and also not to bulky or fancy (no changing lens etc) but will take amazing photos are we being realistic with our budget ?

brightonman123

maybe a higher end smartphone may be better?

yangptangkipperbang

The more snazzy add-ons your camera has the less money the manufacturer will have spent on the really important things like the lens and the sensor.

Would suggest you go to a good local dealer - NOT Currys etc and ask. There are plenty of good "bridge" cameras around that would be ideal - but you must look, ask and handle them before you buy.

If you are planning on photographing the Northern Lights you will need a tripod, your exposures will be in the order of seconds not fractions thereof - unless you are very lucky with the odd shot or two. Before you go - read every piece of information you can find on the web about photographing the Northern Lights - it is too late to start experimenting on the night.................:rotfl:

[Deleted User]

I have this http://www.digitalrev.com/product/panasonic-lumix-dmc-lx7/MTAwMTEwMA_A_A

Nice wide lens, takes amazing low light photos, will let you do time lapse photos (might be nice for the northern lights). Video quality is top notch too. It's damn quick taking photos too.

Downside - it's a bit bulky for a compact, it has limited zoom

Frankly, I'd forget about a wifi camera. It's far cheaper and easier to get a memory card adaptor for a smartphone (you can get one for a tenner for the iPhone). I've owned a samsung wifi camera. It was novel, but limited. A card reader plus my android phone was far better

Edit. Completely agree, you'll need a tripod and a lot of practice to do the northern lights justice

buglawton

Agree you need something of the spec of the Lumix linked above, or better.
When I was photographing Northern Lights this year it was -20 C and I was totally unprepared for the trying to fiddle with controls in total darkness and with frozen numb fingers. So practice doing night photography with your chosen camera in advance!

yangptangkipperbang

buglawton wrote: »

When I was photographing Northern Lights this year it was -20 C and I was totally unprepared for the trying to fiddle with controls in total darkness and with frozen numb fingers. So practice doing night photography with your chosen camera in advance!

1. Take a small DIM torch with you. Others will not be amused if you shine a searchlight in their eyes !
2. Buy a couple of boxes of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mycoal-hand-warmers-10-pairs/dp/B001THB8RM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368990586&sr=8-1&keywords=disposable+hand+warmers
3. Buy some thin cotton gloves (got mine from BOOTS) to wear under your heavy top gloves - you can remove the top gloves to adjust the camera and you still have some protection on your fingers.
4. Wear boots about 3 sizes too big and 3 pairs of socks.

buglawton

hehe yes point taken, I won't be popping to Finland again soon but advice is good for others!

danbim

thanks for all the replies have decided to buy this one :
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 as recommended .

where should I buy from amazon is £329 but digital rev have it for £269 but never heard of them ?

[Deleted User]

Digitalrev are based in Hong Kong. Both my dad and I have bought cameras from them - and were really impressed at the service. I ordered it on a wednesday night and it arrived on the Friday morning. They pay all import charges into the UK and provide a world-wide warranty http://www.digitalrev.com/help/worldwide-local-warranty/NDMzNTc5MQ_A_A

FYI - if you're getting the LX7, i'd recommend you also buy this also:
http://www.digitalrev.com/product/retractable-auto-lens-cap-for/MTAwMjY2Nw_A_A

It saves the hassle of taking off/putting on the lens cap. It can be a little tricky to fit (you need to remove a little part of the camera, but it does just twist off) but it is well worth it.

Just to confuse you You might want to consider this one too http://www.digitalrev.com/product/canon-powershot-s110-digital-camera/MTAwMTQ2NA_A_A

Since it has a similar 'larger' sensor in a compact camera, a fast, wide lens, but it also has built-in wifi and a touch screen. It's also £30 cheaper. It's the one my dad went for - because it was a bit more compact and didn't have the protruding lens. I wanted the LX7 because it has a a faster lens (and I've got kids who move quickly!). I'm thinking the Canon might be more appropriate for you.

buglawton

no inbuilt GPS in that last camera

danbim

struggling to find the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7ions, for under £300, digitalrev have them but will be 1 month before delivery , I need it within the next 7 days , so anyone got any other recommendations PS I really liked the Lumix so would like something with very similar features .