New camera required - Please Help!!

magicroundabout · 31 Mar 2011 at 14:28

i have very little knowledge of photography so apart from mega pixals i know nothing else regarding specs of a camera. so require some help in choosing what to buy.

Over the last 12 months (sinse my daughter was born) i've gotten more and more annoyed with my very old 8mp camera not giving me sharp enough pictures or having a fast enough shutter speed so it captures that special moment. So i've decided to treat myself to something better.

what i'm after is a camera which gives a great sense of DOF, colour, sharpness and also is quick enough to capture those special action shots.

Oh and one which takes great night shots too as on our recent holiday to the canaries my daughter loved the evening entertainment but because our camera is rubbish it wouldn't capture her properly in the dark and also blured her as she was dancing around. very annoying.

budget wise i'd probably like to stop at £300 or around that mark.

any help would be greatly appreciated

kidloco · 31 Mar 2011 at 15:38

Sounds like a DSLR might be a little to much. Maybe just a quality point and shoot. Something along the lines of Canon S95 or the new Panny TZ12

SickAsAParrot · 31 Mar 2011 at 15:41

You need to learn the limitations of cameras and how to overcome them, very few compacts will give decent shots in some of the situations you are describing, but with a little knowledge about what settings to manually override results will improve greatly. A camera with a fast lens (large aperture f2.8 or greater) and good high ISO performance is preferable, A DSLR ideal but you're talking big money.

magicroundabout · 31 Mar 2011 at 15:42

a little too much in price or wasted on me?!!

magicroundabout · 31 Mar 2011 at 15:46

SickAsAParrot said:
You need to learn the limitations of cameras and how to overcome them, very few compacts will give decent shots in some of the situations you are describing, but with a little knowledge about what settings to manually override results will improve greatly. A camera with a fast lens (large aperture f2.8 or greater) and good high ISO performance is preferable, A DSLR ideal but you're talking big money.

see it things like this i'd like to learn. gotta start somewhere.

magicroundabout · 31 Mar 2011 at 15:52

would something like this be a decent camera to start off with?

Sony DSLR-A290 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens £320

kidloco · 31 Mar 2011 at 16:43

magicroundabout said:
a little too much in price or wasted on me?!!

Sorry I ment to much as in from your post it seems like it would be used on holiday, nights out. So more of a compact camera. DSLRs are fantastic but I wouldnt take mine out on a night out. For that I have a TZ7. Not great in low light but a great all round point and shoot and only cost me £120 second hand.

magicroundabout · 31 Mar 2011 at 16:57

kidloco said:
Sorry I ment to much as in from your post it seems like it would be used on holiday, nights out. So more of a compact camera. DSLRs are fantastic but I wouldnt take mine out on a night out. For that I have a TZ7. Not great in low light but a great all round point and shoot and only cost me £120 second hand.

definitely not on nights out unless it was with the family but yes i'd use it for holiday to take scenic shots and also family snaps.

My oldest who's 9 plays football so action shots etc would also be taken.

Our current camera is a Nikon S51 which is horrid unless my settings are just completely out. We took it to New York and i wish we'd spent some money on a decent camera.