General Chat / Digital Camera

Hi,
New to photography, but I'd really like to get into it, since it would fit in with all the graphics and web design work I'm doing at the moment. I've looked around at various cameras, and what I'd like is a minimum of 4 Megapixels, possibly 5. I don't really want to spend above £150 (excluding memory card). Can anyone reccomend one to me?
Thanks

I dunno how the conversion factors work out, but I recently bought a Fuji FinePix A345 for $150. It's fantastic for me, although you may want to go ahead and upgrade to 256 Mb XD card. The battery life is a bit short (usually only 200 photos worth), but it's an amazing 17 minutes of video available! It's pretty straight forward and user friendly. It's got a 3x zoom optical and (I think) a 4x (maybe 5x) zoom digital. I also think it comes with a one year manufacturer's warranty or whatever. Overall, I'd prolly give it an 8/10. Damn good for it's money, imo.

www.zdnet.com is a pretty good site for research. The products I have researched and bought based on their reviews have been pretty good and on par to what I've read, and they have both editor's and customer's reviews, so you can get a pretty good range of opinions.

I would go for a Canon Powershot, but I'm a Canon guy when it comes to cameras. The Powershot series is a very good one, and you will get excellent blues and greens. Reds and other warm colors are not as impressive, but still above average. And if you want to get into "serious" photography without actually shelling out cash for SLR's, then these are pretty darn good cameras to look into.

I reviewed cameras for a while to decide which one I should buy, and almost every Canon camera had an "e18" error within a month after warranty. The "e18" error occurs either at random or if the lens is extended when the batteries die. Or sometimes if pressure is applied to an extended lens. In each case, once the "e18" message is displayed, the camera is virtually useless. And from all the reviews I read, Canon will do nothing to help.

I ended up buying the Panasonic Lumix FZ5 for about $300.

Sony is awesome.

Save for a dSLR.

I reviewed cameras for a while to decide which one I should buy, and almost every Canon camera had an "e18" error within a month after warranty. The "e18" error occurs either at random or if the lens is extended when the batteries die. Or sometimes if pressure is applied to an extended lens. In each case, once the "e18" message is displayed, the camera is virtually useless. And from all the reviews I read, Canon will do nothing to help.

I ended up buying the Panasonic Lumix FZ5 for about $300.

I've never had such problems, and I'm approaching year 3 on my camera.

When the batteries die, get a new one. My camera can change lith-ion's.

Aren't all the batteries rechargable now?

Thanks for your help guys. I'm looking for a compact camera really, and there's no way I can spend above £150 on one. I've been looking at the Sony Cyber-Shot series...

here's a few examples of a 3.2 MP Powershot A70 ($200 (£112) used, $250 (£140) new)

The reds aren't that bad. (check sides), although Corkscrewed's right, the greens and blues are done well with it.

and the advice that a few people gave to save and get a dSLR is pretty good, that's what I'm doing this summer.

Aren't all the batteries rechargable now?

He means the ultimate shelf life. Even rechargable batteries will eventually die out. I think my Canon has around 300 full charges. Rechargable batteries slowly lose capacity over time (at least the older lithium ion ones did), so eventually, they do die.

Not sure about the new ones, though, which are supposed to be much better and don't even have that "memory loss" issue where, if you don't fully charge it the first time, it'll never charge to full capacity again.

Actually, I meant regular AA batteries running out of charge, whether due to their full life or just the fact that they need to be charged again. And the error has only occured within the past year or so, to my knowledge. I believe it is present on the aXXX and sXXX series Canons. So Cork, you may have bought your Canon before the error became so prevalent.
About the e18 error

I've never had a problem with Canon! DIRTY LIES!

Ive had the e18 error before. I shut off my camera, turned it back on, and yeah 'twas fine!

I <3 my Canon S1IS



Its only 3.2 MP, but it delivers some great quality pictures. And I got mine for $300.

-Ryan

My digital is also 3.2 MP but it cost less than half that.

I bet the CMOS chip is smaller, or it doesn't have the ISO range that that digital one does.

Actually, I meant regular AA batteries running out of charge, whether due to their full life or just the fact that they need to be charged again. And the error has only occured within the past year or so, to my knowledge. I believe it is present on the aXXX and sXXX series Canons. So Cork, you may have bought your Canon before the error became so prevalent.
About the e18 error

Oh. Screw that! Get a camera with a lithium ion (li-on) battery!

Which is exactly what I did.