UKBouldering.com
technical => photography => Topic started by: GCW on November 24, 2009, 11:58:22 pm
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OK, need to get The Boss a digi camera for Christmas. I've been reading up in stuff, and the Canon Powershot A2000 IS is looking a good options.
Basically, willing to spend up to 250 notes. I want something of decent quality, good images, takes pics when you press the button (rather than 10 seconds later), battery lasts for longer than 4 photos, and fairly small (not necessarily ultra small).
Any recommendations people of UKB?
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I really like our little Canon Ixus 80is. I imagine you can get a newer version 90is? 100is? :shrug:
Anyway it's reet small so bob on for those drunken ladies nights out, the battery lasts pretty much forever, takes clear pictures in point and shoot but still has some control options (not that I've really explored them). Doesn't do RAW if that matters to you.
We got one for less than a ton which would leave you with 150 sheets to spend on a microphone for the camcorder...
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as I always say on these type of threads, the little canons always seem pretty good as compacts. On the other hand Nikon compacts seem wack to me.
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Can you get one of the Panasonic Lumix Cameras for under £250? Probably not the most recent model, but maybe the previous one. Been impressed with quality from ours.
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I've got a Panasonic Lumix and it's awesome, it was under £200. You wouldn't get the newest model but you'd get a decent one for under £250 and they are great cameras, really simple to use in point and shot but you can do more fancy things with them if you really want, I never do though. ???
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A good site for prices is:
http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/ (http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/)
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I just checked, mine is a TZ5 (http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/Products/DMC-TZ5/DMC-TZ5+Product+Page/479303/index.html), you can now get up to a TZ7. The wide angled lens thingy is really good, you fit loads more into pictures than with a standard one.
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The Canon Ixus 870 is supposed to be one of the best compacts you can get for around the £200 mark
http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_canon_digital_ixus_870_is.php (http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_canon_digital_ixus_870_is.php)
£189 here:
http://www.camerabox.co.uk/product1.asp?ProductID=6161 (http://www.camerabox.co.uk/product1.asp?ProductID=6161)
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:agree:another vote for Lumix
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I would be a little wary about the lower end Lumix's and do a lot of research before shelling out the cash. The LX3 might be viewed as a great bit of kit but most of the others are not in the same league. I have two Lumix's, the last bought was a Lumix FX150 (around £200) which I bought a couple of months ago as I wanted a compact that shot in RAW and didn't want to shell out £350 for an LX3.
I have compared the photos from the Panasonic FX150 and the Canon I mentioned previously (my Dad has it) side by side and the images from the Canon are far superior - much sharper and far better contrast. Most of the images I take with the Lumix looked washed out before I have to tweak them in Photoshop. Some of the images are great, but more often than not they're pants. This was the same with the other Lumix (LZ5).
Just my 2p..
I wish they would stop trying to cram more and more megapixels onto the same tiddly sensors...
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I have compared the photos from the Panasonic FX150 and the Canon I mentioned previously (my Dad has it) side by side and the images from the Canon are far superior - much sharper and far better contrast.
One thing to watch out for is that canon compacts by default tend to have a rather agressive sharpening applied to the images automatically - this effects both perceived sharpness right out of the camera and also contrast. If you're comparing canon jpegs with unprocessed raw files then I'm not surprised the jpegs look better.
Most of the images I take with the Lumix looked washed out before I have to tweak them in Photoshop.
thats raw for you.
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One thing to watch out for is that canon compacts by default tend to have a rather agressive sharpening applied to the images automatically - this effects both perceived sharpness right out of the camera and also contrast. If you're comparing canon jpegs with unprocessed raw files then I'm not surprised the jpegs look better.
No - fair enough, that would obviously be a fairly pointless comparison.
We just got the cameras, set both to auto/intelligent auto type mode, set them both to defaults (WB/ISO/JPEG/Fine) etc. Took some pictures of different types of shots (indoor/landscape/macro) etc and then compared them.
I'm not saying at all by any means that this was an in depth review - it just seemed to us that straight out of the box with the default settings, the Canon pissed all over the Panasonic.
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Have a butchers at dpreview for deeply deeply ridiculous levels of analysis. You can also compare cameras side by side, like this to compare the panasonic and the canon:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_sd880is%2Cpanasonic_dmcfx150&show=all (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_sd880is%2Cpanasonic_dmcfx150&show=all)
Often have in-depth reviews (especially for SLRs), but doesn't look like it for these - although you can read what owners think and bury your head in the specifications.
From this it would seem that the sensor size on the Lumix is 46% larger, and has the same %age more effective pixels; the sensor density is about the same; the flash is better on the panasonic, has got internal memory, etc.
I've got to stop now as I'm starting to get hooked on spec's again.
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I think crucial thing is if it is for a shorty, go and have a look at your choices and see how user friendly they are - easy to switch on, pop flash up, take out memory card, etc etc.
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Have a butchers at dpreview for deeply deeply ridiculous levels of analysis.
Talking of dpreview - here is their review of some premium compact cameras from last year. They reckon the Canon is one of the best (better than the Panasonic):
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408premiumgroup/page12.asp (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408premiumgroup/page12.asp)
I'm sure if you look hard enough you can find pro/against reviews for all cameras. I would agree with SA Chris and go and check out a few in Jessops etc. Nothing better than seeing something up close and personal :)
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I think crucial thing is if it is for a shorty, go and have a look at your choices and see how user friendly they are - easy to switch on, pop flash up, take out memory card, etc etc.
How rude! >:( And yet also a valid point, for some ladies. At least you didn't suggest he checked out which ones came in pink. :P
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The Panasonics do do well in the super zoon group test: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q209grouplongzoom/page16.asp (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q209grouplongzoom/page16.asp)
The TZ6 is a bargain if HD video is not required.
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HD is definitely not a requirement :lol: I'll wait for the XH-A1.
Thanks everyone. Only a few weeks to go, better get myself in gear or there'll be tears on Xmas day (mine most likely).
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I had been quite keen on the Canon Ixus 870 IS, only to discover it seems to have been replaced by the Canon Ixus 990, which appears to retail at 230 squid and above. That's thrown a spanner in the works!
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older ones should still be in stock?
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So I'd have thought, but I've failed to find any so far :(
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So I'd have thought, but I've failed to find any so far :(
Fractinoally more than your budget (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Digital-IXUS-870-Camera/dp/B001FWYT8G)
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Yeah, but you can get the Canon Ixus 990 (http://www.camerabox.co.uk/product1.asp?ProductID=6802&gclid=CKf_zN6ywZ4CFR9o4wod7HIwpA) for less than that.
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Check this out, Ricoh gx100 for under £200, thats alot of camera for your money.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B000TYHBJA/ref=sr_1_olp_8?ie=UTF8&s=gateway&qid=1260190282&sr=8-8 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B000TYHBJA/ref=sr_1_olp_8?ie=UTF8&s=gateway&qid=1260190282&sr=8-8)
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Doesn't strike me as an amazing deal for second hand, I paid about £170 for mine a year ago, albeit without the viewfinder.
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I've got the Canon Ixus 860 IS, and I'm not impressed. It got great reviews, and doesn't try and cram loads of pixels onto the sensor (only 8mp), but it seems ridiculously noisy at all iso. Maybe the 870 is better.....
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I'm not seeing any compacts yet that show you the image back to front and upside down on the screen. They needs to modernise that shit.
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Thanks to everyone for input.
We got the Canon IXUS 990 IS in the end, and having used it since Chrimbo we loce it. Compact, solid, good quality images. And the 720p video isn't bad either.