Need a camera - Digital

ste_bla

ste_bla

ste_bla

Soldato
Joined
9 Aug 2004
Posts
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Location
Milton Keynes
I currently have a cheap camera from tesco a Vivitar 3815

Megapixel, 2X Digital Zoom Digital Camera -
• Sensor: 4 Megapixel, 24-bit color
• Camera modes: digital still, movie-clip
• Still-image Resolution: 2304 x 1728 Maximum
• Photography modes: Fully automatic, and Scene modes
▪ Scene modes: Auto, sports, night, portrait, landscape, back-light

Lens -
• Focal Length: 7.7 mm
▪ 35 mm equivalence: 30 mm
• Aperture: F/3.5
• Range of Focus:
▪ Portrait/Landscape: 42" to infinity
▪ Macro: 24" to 42"

Digital Zoom -
• 2X Capture
• 4X Playback

Exposure Control and Image Processing -
• Exposure: Automatic with manual eV compensation +/- 2.0 eV (0.5 steps)
• White Balance: Auto (w/presets for Daylight, Cloudy, Sunset, Tungsten, Fluorescent)
• ISO: Automatic, 100, 200
• Selectable sharpness and saturation
• Color, black & white, and sepia-tone modes
• Self-timer: 5 or 10 seconds, selectable

And it does enough for the money, however now we (the wife) wants one with a zoom (optical) and one that has more detail in the out door type pictures (as in less blur when theres a lot going on)

We have upto £200 to spend, was looking at the Kodak Z740 but im not sure what to get there are so many models out there and how do you tell how the detail is like

Cheers for any help/advice, Steve + Wife
 
One of the canon models would do you ok (as would most of the market at the price you are looking at). OcUK sell Canon cameras, so maybe take a look at what they sell for your budget.

Other brands to look at imo include Panasonic and Fuji. The Fuji F10 and F11 are great little cameras.

HTH
 
The Z740's big selling point is the 10x optical zoom lens, but I don't think it has any image stabilisation, which means the 10x zoom is a bit less useful unless you are prepared to use a tripod.

You could go for the Canon A610 or A620. They are both excellent value for money and good quality.
 
IS is only really important with a long zoom lens, as with long zoom any movement of the camera is greatly amplified. As the Canon only has a 4x zoom lens, it doesn't really need IS, so it's not a problem that you don't see it on the list. However, the Kodak has a 10x zoom lens, so IS would be helpful, but as you say - it isn't there.

If you think you need a 10x zoom, and can live without IS, then go for the Kodak. However, I believe the A610/A620 have more features and better image quality, from the reviews I've read, though it only has 4x zoom.

1cm macro is better than 10cm. The distance cited is the closest you can get to your subject. Clearly 1cm is better than 10cm. I have the A610 and the macro is great.

Battery life on the Canon is excellent - the 4 batteries may seem a bit much, but you get a lot of shots on a single set.
 
What is the difference between the a610 and 620?

As i can only see the megapixel difference

Also theres a view screen (620 - photo) but then on the spec it says no?

t_CANPSA620.gif


Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) X
Click to expand...

So which would be better;

Z730 - £150
Z740 - £170
A610 - £180
A620 - £190
 
The A620 has an LCD screen on the back, yes, but not an electronic viewfinder. An electronic viewfinder is like a little LCD screen "inside" the camera where you would normally have the regular optical viewfinder.

Myself, I'd go for the A620, but if you are really after some serious zoom, then the Z740 will be a better bet, so long as you can live without the IS.

I'd go into a shop and have a play with each of them.
 
ste_bla said:
So with the screen you can see what your going to shoot but you can see pics you have taken then?
Click to expand...

Yeah, the screen can be used both as a "viewfinder" of sorts to look at what you're going to shoot, rather than putting your eye up to the regular optical one, and you can also use it to review the shots after you've taken them.
 
If you look around you can get a Fuji S7000 for under £200, has decent reviews, I was initially going for it before I changed my mind and just got a canon a410 for £80 as a simple point and click camera.
 
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