Best digital camera for £50.

warren_1979

warren_1979

warren_1979

Soldato
Joined
5 Jul 2005
Posts
2,982
Hi.

I'm looking for a good cheap camera in order to learn some of the fundamentals of photography.

I'm looking for a good nice lens.

The smaller the better too size-wise.

Don't mind going the 2nd hand route.

I know £50 isn't a lot but this is a new hobby and sometimes hobby's don't stick! So cheaper is better!

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Cool will do.

I don't really know what I'm looking for though.

Ideally I would like someone to recommend a specific model. Something with a few different modes that takes good quality shots.
 
At £50 you're not going to get something much better then a mobile in quality terms.

I would look at Fuji Bridge cameras. I started with a Fuji S1500. Not great quality but it does have full manual control. I got a brand new one for £115 a few years back, I expect you could probably now get a used one for £50. Bare in mind you also need to factor in the cost of batteries (in the long run some decent NiMH batteries and charger will save you money), memory cards and possibly a bag.

EDIT: You could always look into film. But the running costs are eye watering compared to digital.
 
K.C. Leblanc said:
At £50 you're not going to get something much better then a mobile in quality terms.

I would look at Fuji Bridge cameras. I started with a Fuji S1500. Not great quality but it does have full manual control. I got a brand new one for £115 a few years back, I expect you could probably now get a used one for £50. Bare in mind you also need to factor in the cost of batteries (in the long run some decent NiMH batteries and charger will save you money), memory cards and possibly a bag.

EDIT: You could always look into film. But the running costs are eye watering compared to digital.
Click to expand...

Cool.

The Fuji sounds just what I'm after. Will defo check it out.

I only have a nexus s and the camera is not mind blowing at all.
 
problem could be that a really cheap cam may put you off the hobby and not get you really in to it.
for £50 just take your pick all pretty much of a muchness.
look for a cam that a few years ago was £150+ and now is reduced .
good example is the canon sx220hs 2 years ago it was well over £250 its now £99 at argos and it was the top premium compact camera in the what digital camera mags award's in 2011
 
Cheers Shaken but I think a bridge camera is what I'm after (had to google the word 'bridge camera' to realise what it was!)

Maybe I should up my budget.

I've seen a Fujifilm FinePix S2980 for £89 on amazon.

There is also a 2nd hand Fuji S1500 on Amazon for £65. I'm not in no rush to acquire one so I suppose I could see if any more Fuji S1500 come up on ebay in the next month (one went for £45 a week ago).

Any more recommendations for bridge cameras (new or 2nd hand) for around £50 - 100?

Thanks.
 
to be fair the sx220hs is still a good bet compared that camera, yes the S2980 has higher zoom 18x v 14x on the sx220hs, but the sx220hs does full 1080 HD the S2980 only 720 and the sx220hs also does slow motion.
also has a more modern backlit cmos sensor the s2980 has CCD
 
The reviews sure do look excellent for the canon.

I take it I can still learn the basics of photography with this camera similar to a bridge one? I don't want to just keep it in auto, in want to experiment a bit.
 
make sure it has the ability to set the camera to manual, aperture or shutter priorities.

My wife's Fuji F600 has this "smart mode" that guesses what is going on and sets the camera up accordingly. Doesn't work in all situations so you need the manually tweak it as you go.

As for all the option options you don't really need them. Ignore video if you aren't interested in it, ignore auto panoramas etc. Just the ability to take photos and adjust the settings yourself.
 
Imo 50 is too low. If possible up the budget to something like a 40d + kit lens & maybe a 50mm 1.8.

If the hobby doesn't stick, your not likely to lose more than 50 selling it on.
If you can't afford it, then you can't afford it, but shooting on a 50 quid camera wouldn't be my idea of fun. I had a look through the viewfinder of my cozens bridge camera, it wasn't pleasant, it was extremely small which is not what you want when your learning composition.
 
warren_1979 said:
The reviews sure do look excellent for the canon.

I take it I can still learn the basics of photography with this camera similar to a bridge one? I don't want to just keep it in auto, in want to experiment a bit.
Click to expand...

yes it has manual mode, in most cases a bridge cam besides the higher zoom wont do anything the smaller cameras cant do
the tech in most bridge cam is the very came as in the compacts its just made to look like the DSLR and because its bigger they can fit a higher zoom lens, but that lens isn't always better just because it bigger

An Exception said:
Imo 50 is too low. If possible up the budget to something like a 40d + kit lens & maybe a 50mm 1.8.

If the hobby doesn't stick, your not likely to lose more than 50 selling it on.
If you can't afford it, then you can't afford it, but shooting on a 50 quid camera wouldn't be my idea of fun. I had a look through the viewfinder of my cozens bridge camera, it wasn't pleasant, it was extremely small which is not what you want when your learning composition.
Click to expand...
I think that's a bit of a jump if he wants something around £50
 
Last edited:
I've seen Panasonic Lumix TZ7's go for £60 on ebay, I think they're decent cameras and mine as served me well over the years. Even though I've bought myself a Nikon D5100 DSLR I still intend to carry on using the TZ7 :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom