New camera

[Oldman]

Just got the one camera here unless you count my old film cameras

Samsumg NV4 had it for about 6years now
8.2megapixel   dead basic - about right for me ,built inflash,timer and macro mode
and digital zoom


For those techies 6.3-18.9mm /1:3.5-4.5 whatever that means.
Never used all the functions

[scotsoft]

Hi Paddy,

You have it correct with the "F" numbers.

Ideally the "F" number should be as small as you can afford, the smaller the number the more expensive the lense is.  The smallest number means it lets more light through so you can take pictures in poorer light and as low light is very common indoors this can be important, especially when taking pictures of models as using the flash can bleach the colours right out.

cheers John.

[Paddy]

Hi Paddy,

You have it correct with the "F" numbers.

Ideally the "F" number should be as small as you can afford, the smaller the number the more expensive the lense is.  The smallest number means it lets more light through so you can take pictures in poorer light and as low light is very common indoors this can be important, especially when taking pictures of models as using the flash can bleach the colours right out.

cheers John.

Thanks John, so it is better to go for a smaller F than the larger optical zoom?

Paddy

[scotsoft]

That is a difficult question to answer as only you know what kind of pictures you are likely to take 

Most of the small compact cameras have an optical zoom of 5, this is what on my compacts and I find that adequate for the photography I do.

If you intend taking the majority of pictures indoors and do not want to use the flash the the smallest "F" number would be preferable to a large zoom factor.

If you will be taking mostly outdoor pictures then a larger zoom may be handier as being outside will automatically give you all available light.

cheers John.

[Paddy]

That is a difficult question to answer as only you know what kind of pictures you are likely to take 

Most of the small compact cameras have an optical zoom of 5, this is what on my compacts and I find that adequate for the photography I do.

If you intend taking the majority of pictures indoors and do not want to use the flash the the smallest "F" number would be preferable to a large zoom factor.

If you will be taking mostly outdoor pictures then a larger zoom may be handier as being outside will automatically give you all available light.

cheers John.

Understood, thanks John.  You learn something new everyday.

Paddy

[daveg]

Good advice from John.

I didn't mention it earlier but I'm a Sony fan. Good quality 'fast' optics with a first rate zoom and good in low light.

It's all down to how 'technical' you want the camera to be  and of course your budget.

If I was looking for some new kit I'd do a Panasonic Lumix/Sony comparison.

Happy hunting and let us know how you get on.

Dave G

[d-a-n]

Paddy - most reasonable compacts only go down to aperture f/2.8 at the wide end and then stop down to about 4.5 at the long end, which is good for low light stuff at the wide end but hamstrings you if you need low light performance at the long end - especially seeing as a longer focal length (more zoomed in) needs a faster shutter to combat camera shake.
Based purely on performance, my advice is to get something with a faster lens (faster meaning allowing a faster shutter speed in any given scenario) but also look at cameras with a good high ISO performance as this will also give you a faster shutter speed but usually at the cost of image quality. An optical stabiliser will mean you can go to lower shutter speeds for static objects but will not freeze time (ie, freeze a ball in mid air etc) any better than a non-stabilised camera in a similar scenario.
Do you intend to do any post processing on the copmputer? If so, you'll need a camera which shoots in RAW.

There are a lot of other factors to consider though...

When I buy a lens I need to know it's sharp at it's widest aperture, with good colour rendition and resistance to flare/chromatic abberation (colour fringing on high contrast scenes). The same is true for compacts and some 'do the numbers' but leave you with poorer image quality.

Build quality is another - better build means you're less likely to have to replace if you drop it and could be the difference between holiday pictures if you drop it at the airport!

Handling - are the buttons well placed and easy to get to (especially if you're shooting in challenging conditions or gloves) and are the menus easy to navigate when you're pressed for time?

Autofocus/zooming speed. I had a Fuji S5700 about 5 years ago, it took an age to zoom in then an age to focus and usually 'the moment' had passed.

Battery life. If it takes a unique battery, what happens when it runs out? If it takes 2 or 4 AAs, do you want to carry spares around. That compact soon turns into a little bag filled with other stuff which will no longer fit in a shirt pocket.

The big manufacturers generally have more expensive cameras which on paper don't seem to do much better than a cheaper alternative, but the Canons and Nikons excel at the above points where the others don't.

Optical zoom is generally best kept to x3 to x5 as it WILL net you better image quality. x10 zoom and above lenses just offer a compromise and only work WELL in good light.

Secondhand cameras can be a good thing - a friend bought a lovely Canon G9 which is built like a tank for just £120.

Megapixels count for nothing. You only need a 6 megapixel image really unless you're going to crop the hell out of it like I sometimes need to.

I speak from 20 years of experience with SLR film cameras and 10 years of experience with digital cameras; I currently run my own photography business. If you have any questions, or opinions on cameras I'd be more than happy to help you out.

www.danbarlowphotography.co.uk

[GlenP]

It's interesting to see the comments on the Lumix range as I just bought one as well!

I decided I wanted a waterproof camera for when we're sailing, and although I was considering the Olympus after visiting Bradford Camera Exchange and discussing things I ended with the Panasonic instead! That was partly due to the financial problems with Olympus.

That takes the digital camera collection up to 4 now! I've got an older Minolta Dimage (what would now be termed a bridge camera), the Pentax dSLR, and Canon Powershot (which usually live in the car) and now the Lumix as well.

Glen