Need New Camera Fast!

NeoNemesis

NeoNemesis

NeoNemesis

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Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
1,685
Location
Theale, Berkshire
Hi everyone,

My digital camera was damaged in a house fire recently and I have just recieved confirmation that the insurance will pay £212 for a new one.

The camera I had was a Canon powershot S30 which has been discontinued. So its time to find me a new one. I have been out of the digicam loop for some time now and so dont really know where to start.

Firstly, my budget is around £250, and for that I would like at least 512mb storage and preferably a case too.

I have a number of Sony products and so I have a few 512mb Memory sticks around, but this isnt a huge consideration I dont think - I would rather have a dedicated card for photos anyway so the format doesnt really matter.

I dont like Olympus or Kodak, i find them slow and badly constructed, but as I say i've been out of the loop for some time!
I would like as much optical zoom as possible, but I guess 4x will be sufficient.
Good battery life.
Movie function.
512mb storage.
Case if possible.

The Canon S70 looks great... would that be a good starting point?

Can any of you gurus recommend a model for me? I am hoping to purchase by the end of the day :).

Regards,

NeoNemesis
 
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Seeing as you wont have to bumb up the budget buying extra memory, have a look at the Sony H1 or H2.

I own the H1 and its so much fun to use. Check out the review and Sony forums at dpreview.com for more opinions.

I've just started putting a very few shots I've taken with the H1 up at http://iciclelanding.com/aperture?album=4150&view=album if you want some samples.

The Panasonic FZ7 is also worth a looksie.
 
Wow those shots are amazing! To be honest I didnt even think that my budget would stretch to an SLR-esque unit. But that looks great.

I know I shouldnt buy the first thing i see but i'm very tempted by the H1 (cant afford the H2).

Could you tell me about the build quality and how it feels in your hands as I think that's very important with a camera...

Neo
 
Is there a good comparisons / review site around. I'm being slightly overwhelmed by lovely cameras now!!!

Just saw in the post above - dpreview.com. Thanks :)
 
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NeoNemesis said:
Could you tell me about the build quality and how it feels in your hands as I think that's very important with a camera...
Click to expand...


In my opinion the H1 handles fantastically. It feels extremely solid and is remarkably heavy for its size. Despite being relatively small the grip feels chunky (even for my fat fingers!), and the controls are by-and-large pretty intuitive.

The LCD screen is quite simply a thing of beauty, although the viewfinder is very small... probably the camera's biggest fault.

I've played with Canon S2 IS and the Panasonic FZ5 and the H1 definitely feels superior when you hold it in your hands.

As for image quality and the like, check out dpreview like i said, I spent a long time umming and erring over which of the 3 cameras i mentioned to buy, in the end i just liked the colours the sony produces more (it also has truly beautiful bokeh).

Oh yeah, there are also very affordable tele, wide-angle and macro lenses from Sony designed with H1 in mind. I have the 1.7 tele and the macro (£80 and £45 repsectively) and theyre a great way of extending the cameras capabilities when you get hold of some more cash.
 
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Well seeing as I wont have to pay for any extra memory, I think i'm going to treat myself and go for the H2. I have found somewhere that stocks it for £250 and I deserve a nice new toy!

It will mean easy integration with the card reader in my Vaio Laptop and the features look like just what I want.

Thanks for all of your help :)

Neo
 
I've done it. Bitten the bullet and bought a brand spanking new Sony H1. Thanks for all of your help - i'll let you know how I get on with it! :D
 
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