What kind of digital camera could I get for about £150?

Freeman · 22 Jan 2010 at 22:18

I'm going travelling soon and definitely need a decent camera. I've decided to go digital as it takes pictures I like and suits my needs.

I just wondered if anyone has any opinions on any particular brand and whether I could get any advice as to what to get for a budget of about £150?

I think without going too expensive the best optical zoom I'd be able to get is about x5? I'm just looking for a quality camera that has a decent battery life (which has spares sold with it so I can buy multiple batteries) and isn't overly fragile.

Thanks!

Mark

tankskun · 22 Jan 2010 at 22:51

I just recently bought a Lumix FX150. £159 delivered. I like the Lumix series.

Freeman · 23 Jan 2010 at 19:33

tankskun said:
I just recently bought a Lumix FX150. £159 delivered. I like the Lumix series.

Thanks I'll have a look at it.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

bigredshark · 23 Jan 2010 at 19:40

I'd forget about the zoom length and focus on getting something which gets decent quality results. The Lumix series is very good though, on a budget it's a good bet.

Freeman · 26 Jan 2010 at 22:19

Any other thoughts. I thought this forum would be a bit more useful!

ShakenNstirred · 27 Jan 2010 at 19:30

i picked up a Lumix TZ6 for £149 a few months ago
lovely little cam with 12x optical zoom

Vonhelmet · 27 Jan 2010 at 22:13

Canon Ixus IS 95 or IS 100 are meant to be good, though they only have 3x optical zoom. They are 10 and 12.1 MP respectively though, so you can easily use digital zoom at that resolution.

Alternatively, the Ixus IS 200 has 5x optical zoom... And costs £250!

ScarySquirrel · 27 Jan 2010 at 22:18

I bought my GF a Canon IXUS 100 for Christmas and I think it's a fantastic little camera. Cost about £140-160 or something, I can't remember exactly.

It doesn't really meet your zoom requirements though.

Vonhelmet · 27 Jan 2010 at 22:24

A search at a well known store suggests the following cameras with 5x optical zoom and costing up to £150:

Sony Cybershot DSCW270B
Panasonic Lumix FS15
Panasonic Lumix FS11 (pre-order only)
Samsung PL55 (only just over £100!)
Samsung PL60
Fujifilm Finepix J250

There should be something there you like. Sounds like the Lumix range is popular round here, so that might be worth a shot.

Freeman · 28 Jan 2010 at 18:01

vonhelmet said:
A search at a well known store suggests the following cameras with 5x optical zoom and costing up to £150:

Sony Cybershot DSCW270B
Panasonic Lumix FS15
Panasonic Lumix FS11 (pre-order only)
Samsung PL55 (only just over £100!)
Samsung PL60
Fujifilm Finepix J250

There should be something there you like. Sounds like the Lumix range is popular round here, so that might be worth a shot.

The Lumix range does look pretty good. Anyone know if spare batteries can be bought and what sort of charger it takes? Hopefully not a cradle?

ShakenNstirred · 28 Jan 2010 at 18:39

Freeman said:
The Lumix range does look pretty good. Anyone know if spare batteries can be bought and what sort of charger it takes? Hopefully not a cradle?

cradles are rare these days
yes spare battery can be bought, but if the lumix have the latest firmware you can only use genuine panasonic battery's