Cheap mid-range branded digital cameras.

Former_MSE_Lawrence

What's the deal?

If you want to commit your upcoming holiday to some digital memory as well as your own, there are a few mid-range, branded digital cameras worth considering.

Where from?

• Samsung S85, 8.2megapixel, 5x optical zoom. £64.99 delivered (usually around £100)
  
  This is a seriously cheap deal from Play on a camera that packs in a lot of features for its price range and generally has very good feedback.
  
  UPDATE: 11 June 10.22am. This is temporarily out of stock. However, it will dispatch when available, so you can still buy it, but it'll take a bit longer to reach you.
  
  Alternatively, if you need one sooner, Comet offers a Samsung D85, which appears to have an identical spec (except it's silver rather than black), for £69.99. Thanks to grahawk for pointing this out below.
  
  Megapixel: 8.2 (A megapixel is a million pixels. Higher numbers mean better image quality, but it's not the be-all and end-all; getting good pictures depends equally on the quality of the sensor and other components)
  Optical Zoom: 5x (An optical zoom actually magnifies the subject by mechanically moving the lenses. This is much better than digital zoom, which effectively just zooms in on an area of the picture.)
  Features: Face detection technology (adjusts picture settings to suit your subjects), ASR (image stabiliser), movie mode (video recording), 13 scene modes, editing functions.
  SD card included? No, you'll need to buy your own (see below)

• Samsung D760, 7.2megapixel, 3x optical zoom. £49.99 delivered.
  
  This slightly older model available from ebuyer lacks the some of the technical wizardry and zoom found on its newer sibling above, but if you don't care for them it's good for the cash.
  
  Megapixel: 7.2
  Optical Zoom: 3x
  Features: ASR (image stabiliser), 11 scene modes, editing functions.
  SD card included? No
  
  
• Vivitar 5188 WATERPROOF 5megapixel camera. £36 delivered.
  
  If you want something a bit different (and ideal for kids), this 5 megapixel, fully waterproof (i.e. underwater) offering's available from ebuyer for £31.72 plus postage (remember, delivery's free on orders over £49.99 if there's other stuff you need).
  
  Megapixel: 5
  Optical Zoom: N/A (digital 8x)
  Features: Waterproof to 15 metres, 3 capture modes inc. video, editing software included.SD card included? No

Seen a bargain digital camera you think should be added to this list? Post below and I'll put it in.

SD Memory: The cameras above all store images on SD memory cards which aren't included. Thankfully, however, they are cheap. Due to its free postage, Play's usually a good place to look for a bargain card. For example, it offers a 2gb own-brand card for £5.99, or two of them for £8.99.

Anything else?

The point-and-shoot cameras above are perfect for holiday/family snaps, and are capable of producing some slick pictures. However, if you're looking to become the next Mario Testino, you'll need the adaptability and extra options offered by an SLR-style camera, which unsurprisingly will cost more.

-Lawrence

[threadbanner]box[/threadbanner]

£$&*"($£&(

The S85 gets good reviews - here's one:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2007/10/16/Samsung-S85/p1

Comet do this camera rebranded as the D85 for just a few quid more (£69.99) if Play sell out:

http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/415650/SAMSUNG-D85-SILVER

snowqueen555

i think the cheap cameras all have battery life problems, the cheaper models require aa batteries, which is why they are cheap i.e they don't includelithiun ion battery packs etc. still seems like awesome deal

brownbake

Yes Play is good for memory cards and they are genuine unlike a lot of them on Ebay.

Saying that I have bought a couple of cameras off the seller Clearance Bargains on Ebay. They sell things from Argos usually their older stock.

I have bought the Casio EX Z75 which is a very compact 7.1 Megapixel camera, uses SD cards and the battery lasts absolutely ages and it is very simple to use with more advanced features if you want.

They describe it as Refurbished but the ones I have bought look like new. I have bought many items off this seller and "Refurbished" usually means slight superficial box damage. Nothing I have bought has ever looked used at all!!

You can get this from them from £45 - 55 auction style or sometimes they do buy it nows of £54.99 - delivery is about £6 I think but additional items are charged at £1 each.

They sell a whole load of other cameras Fuji, Sony and Hitachi. You can get older model Hitachi 7MP superslims for about £30.

Hope this helps - just search google for ClearanceBargains and you will see their Ebay listings.

brownbake

The camera I mentioned has an RRP of £150 sells on Amazon for around £85. The camera mentioned by the MSE is good but bulky and after having a camera that uses standard batteries I would never get one again - just too much hassle.

The Casio has it's own rechargable battery - only downside is that you have to remove it to recharge but charges a lot quicker than normal batteries and lasts for weeks!!

It will slip in your pocket easily. If you get one cheap you could get the camera for £51 delivered, 2Gig card from Play £6 and get a case from Ebay for about £6 so all in for around £63 - has to be a bargain!!

brownbake

Sorry - they also do the Hitachi HDC1051E which has 6x Optical Zoom and 10.1 Megapixel, slim and with it's own rechargable battery with a retail of £299 this one is described as new and I have seen it go for £51 + £6 delivery!!

hessian

The 7.2MP Samsung L735 from Argos is a good choice at £69.99, includes sleek metal body and a rechargable lithium ion battery

veruccasalt

don't forget play are on quidco

Duffy_Moon

My daughter wants a camera for her birthday, she will be 13, I want a reasonably robust one !! would the ones above be suitable or can anyone recommend any others

DaveSuffolk

snowqueen555 wrote: »

i think the cheap cameras all have battery life problems, the cheaper models require aa batteries, which is why they are cheap i.e they don't includelithiun ion battery packs etc. still seems like awesome deal

Far from being a disadvantage, cameras that take AA batteries have 2 benefits: 1. You can get lithium rechargeables which will last much longer than standard alkaline. 2. In an emergency you can buy batteries anywhere to get you by.

It's only common sense to carry a spare battery because you never know when you might run out, and dedicated batteries are more expensive to buy. Rechargeable AAs are cheaper and more flexible. Some very good cameras use them eg Canon S5 IS so it's no measure of quality. The only real advantage of the dedicated battery is that it can fit any space in the camera and so doesn't restrict the design and size.

theuglyone

...depending on what you need the camera for. If you are going to be out a lot, or camping or travelling - recharging a camera can be a real pain. Therefore if you have a camera which uses AA batteries, just buy a couple of sets of rechargeable AA batteries, have them handy, and then you can change them if you run out, rather than having to wait to get to a power supply. You can also pop in to the nearest shop! I was travelling for a year and the fact that we had an AA camera saved our (photographical) life on many occassions. So don't get hung up on the AA battery thing.

Sam