Advice Needed: Camera for Holidays, Car Shows & General use £200-£300 Budget

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George 3G

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Hi all,

I'm after a new digital camera for an upcoming holiday in Greece aswell as for car shows and general use, days out etc. I want a camera that produces fairly good photographs but not an SLR camera.

I don't mind having a slight fiddle with the settings on the camera to produce good photographs, but I don't want something that I need to learn to use or takes a while to setup before taking the photograph.

I'm after something that will do everything well, from landscape shots to action shots.

I would prefer something from the main stream brands, Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony etc

My budget is £200-£300ish, but if it's worth paying a bit extra for a better camera, I could stretch it.

Thanks,

George
 
If you're after a compact, Canon always seem that bit nicer in terms of picture quality/ergonomincs, having owned a few myself... I'm possibly on the market for a compact at the moment so have been looking into the recent Canons. Their top-end traditional compact is the S100 which you should be able to pick up for a smidge over your budget, top-end advance compact is the G12 (there's also the G1X but that would blow your budget to bits), and the G12 costs roughly the same as the the S100. AFAIK the image quality from both is very similar, the difference is that the G12 has an optical viewfinder, is more ruggedly built, and significantly bigger.

There's also some Compact System Cameras that would fall into your budget, these are a kind of halfway house between a compact and SLR, but are a different kettle of fish altogether due to having interchangeable lenses ;)
 
Assuming you want something fairly small to be able to slip into a pocket, as mentioned above the Canon PowerShot S100 Digital Camera would meet your requirements, albeit it's at the top end of your budget or if you spot its predecessor - the S95 is also a very good compact camera which you can pick up slightly cheaper.
 
Fuji x10? :shrug: Would be my choice at that price..check out the thread for image examples.
 
George 3G said:
I'll take a look at the Fuji x10 now

I think I want a "Compact System Camera"

What about these?

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/81682/show.html

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/78157/show.html

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/81682/show.html
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All good cameras from what I know, I own two Panasonic CSC's (G2 and GF2) and love them. What to remember is that the kit zoom lens with the GF3 (14-42) is a comparatively short zoom if you're used to compacts, and the 14mm lens is a prime, which doesn't zoom at all (but is smaller, better image quality and performs better in low light). Tesco recently had the G2 kit for £199, which is a blinding bargain. Have a look at the Panasonic G-Series Owners Thread, there's stacks of good info on there.

Apologies if this is teaching you to suck eggs, am not sure what level you're coming from!
 
My level is zero, I really like the look of a CSC though! Just can't decide which :shrug:
 
Personally I think a G3 with 14-42 is one of the best small options around at the moment, you can probably get it for £370 after cashback. Mine holds up very well against my 7D for IQ, it's only focus tracking that it can't really do, the focus lock n static subjects is amazingly quick but the system can't keep up with our toddler
 
I'm still confused to as what lenses are available and for what applications they are used for?

Can anyone advise what I'd need for my application (Holiday & Car Shows) and what I wouldn't be able to do?

Thanks (y)
 
George 3G said:
I'm still confused to as what lenses are available and for what applications they are used for?

Can anyone advise what I'd need for my application (Holiday & Car Shows) and what I wouldn't be able to do?

Thanks (y)
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Tbh whichever CSC you go for, there's likely not a lot you won't be able to do with the kit lens... only you can define what you "can't" do, and that's through experience :) What to not think is "I need this lens c oz everyone on the forum sez so!"

There's a lot of people who by an SLR (or CSC) and never get another lens beyond the kit one, and they still get great pics. That's the beauty of system cameras, you can upgrade the lens at the point where you want better low light performance/bokeh/IQ, or to be able to get closer to your subject, for example.

Enjoy, whatever you go for :)
 
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Thanks, so the lens that all CSC's come with should be sufficient for most needs and I should only think about upgrading if I'm unhappy with the outcome of some of my photos?
 
George 3G said:
Thanks, so the lens that all CSC's come with should be sufficient for most needs and I should only think about upgrading if I'm unhappy with the outcome of some of my photos?
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I'm offering no guarantee ;) My CSC experience is with micro four-thirds cameras only, having had one Olympus and a few Panasonic.

But yeah, it's difficult to find a truly rubbish kit lens these days, despite what some people will tell you... try the kit lens with the camera's auto mode (iA on Panasonic) and see if you like the results. If you don't, post shots on the forum and see if folks can make any suggestions about how to improve. It's a quick, free way to learn :)
 
no micro system will be in that budget.
I use a lumix LX5
great little camera
the S95 is good, no hotshoe and same chip as the G12 iirc.
the only drawback on the lx5 is that the lens protrudes but compared to an other compact I think it's great and of much higher quality than normal compact digital cameras
of course the lens is a short zoom but if you want your quality you have to compromise on certain features
 
DizMatt said:
no micro system will be in that budget.
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I'm going to assume you've not noticed that the Panny GF3 is currently available with the kit zoom or 14mm prime for a cash price of £250, with £50 cashback from Panasonic, and usually with a free copy of Lightroom 3 thrown in? Or that as I mentioned, Tesco were (possibly still are) doing the G2 with kit zoom for £199? :)
 
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Right, sounds brilliant, now that's sorted in my head!

Now, forgetting price for the moment which (rating them 1st choice to 8th choice) would you choose out of the following?

Samsung NX100
Panasonic GF3
Nikon J1
Sony NEX-C3
Panasonic GF2
Olympus E-PM1
Olympus PEN E-PL3
Olympus PM1

Thanks (y)
 
George 3G said:
Right, sounds brilliant, now that's sorted in my head!

Now, forgetting price for the moment which (rating them 1st choice to 8th choice) would you choose out of the following?

Samsung NX100
Panasonic GF3
Nikon J1
Sony NEX-C3
Panasonic GF2
Olympus E-PM1
Olympus PEN E-PL3
Olympus PM1

Thanks (y)
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Err... Your list is... Quite diverse! It's probably nigh on impossible for someone to give you a genuine opinion unless they've owned all eight.

I'm afraid its time to trot out the old staple "you need to go to the shops and try them out". That's the only way you'll get a feel for them... I had this issue myself after buying an EP1 without trying it out, and hating the way it handled. Then discovering the Panasonic's are a totally different way of achieving the same thing.

I can say that the GF2 and GF3 are pretty much the same thing, the diff being the GF3 is smaller and loses the hot shoe for flash. Other than that, YMMV :)
 
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Ok, sorry for my serious lack of knowledge.

I guess one thing to look for is which come with a flash (if any)?

As well as looking at how they handle and how I get on with them, what areas of the specification should I concentrate on? I know it's not necessarily the higher number of megapixels the better
 
George 3G said:
Ok, sorry for my serious lack of knowledge.

I guess one thing to look for is which come with a flash (if any)?

As well as looking at how they handle and how I get on with them, what areas of the specification should I concentrate on? I know it's not necessarily the higher number of megapixels the better
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Onboard flash is not too great a consideration, I think most of your list has one, but the smaller cameras flash is too puny for anything other than in the house shots, or some light fill flash outdoors... But even that's stretching it for some. My comment about the GF2 and GF3 means that with the GF3 you can't attach an external flash, with the GF2 you can. That's what the hot-shoe is for :)

Handling's just "one of those things", no-one but you will know if it's right... With DSLR's people tend to swear by either Canon or Nikon, mostly because of handling, because neither really makes better pictures than the other. Buying based on a spec is not really the way to go.

CSC's are a challenge, as even one manufacturers cameras can handle differently to the model before or after. I speak from experience (thanks, Panasonic, and whoever done your touchscreen interface design!)

And you're right, megapixels are pretty much meaningless in this context. More megapixels means you can make bigger prints, or crop in for more detail. That's it. A 10mp camera can probably generate enough detail for a print size no normal person would ever need to use (think feet, not inches)

Also, no need to apologise! Everyone starts somewhere :)
 
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I will, thanks for the advice. Does that Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 look a blinding bargain? Saving £210 :eek:
 
I'll try out the following this weekend:

Samsung NX100
Olympus PEN E-PM1
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3
 
George 3G said:
I will, thanks for the advice. Does that Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 look a blinding bargain? Saving £210 :eek:
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Heh no, that's Jessops "at it" as they say. £240 isn't a massive bargain for this system, most people don't tell you the price after cashback so Jessops being a little disingenuous there, also RRP's are usually a load of cack in the camera world, with consumber cameras the RRP price counts for about a week after release, then drops... The GF3 is very cheap just now as it's about to be replaced, and can be had for £200 after cashback if you don't mind a red or white one. Bear in mind the GF3 has no hot-shoe, which may or may not be a problem for you.

Camerapricebuster is a good starting point for researching prices, although it only covers bigger retailers clicky me :)

Also, the 14mm lens (while one of the greatest lenses available for the micro four-thirds system IMHO) is probably not the best choice for a first lens, you might find it limiting.
 
Right, went to Jessops, Currys and Comet yesterday to have a look at the Panasonic DMC-GF2, Olympus E-PM1 and Sony NEX-C3. Out of the three shops the only camera I got to see was the Sony, and the display model didn't even have a battery in it!

I want to get the camera ordered today, and I'm leaning towards the Olympus. Before I place the order, can someone just explain when the 14mm-42mm lens won't be suitable? e.g. Macro?

I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself, I just want to ensure I'm getting the right thing.

Thanks guys!
 
After more research I'm now stuck between the Panasonic DMC-GF3 or the Olympus E-PM1.

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/81676/show.html

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/82918/show.html

I've read that the flash on the Olympus is better, and rightly or wrongly I also much prefer the styling of it!

But, with the panasonic, I also have the option of getting the 14mm lens for Macro use, for only £60 extra: http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/81682/show.html

The iauto function on the Panasonic looks good to, does the Olympus have a similar feature?

What do you reckon guys?

http://digital-cameras.findthebest.com/compare/294-373/Olympus-E-PM1-vs-Panasonic-DMC-GF3
 
The twin lens gf3 is a great deal, but as other have said the G3 is a better camera wit Electronic view finder and newer sensor.

Another option is to buy a used bargin here in the classifieds, lots of people like myself who are total gear head and buy and sell camera and lens to play with.

The olympus system does have advantage of in body stabliser, that means if you fancy getting an adaptor you can get a old manual focus lens to work on it. Very cheap way to use very good lenses on a tight budget.
 
I'm not sure if this has been said already, not read all the replies. I have a lumix g1 with the kit 14-45 lens. Great camera, no box but in good condition! I'm selling it for £110! It's old compared to what's out there now, but I loved using it!
 
No, unfortunately you're not. You can only sell/buy via the classifieds and only once you've met the criteria for using the classifieds.
 
Hi George, that 14mm pancake's a nice, cheap little lens - but it's no use for macro (although £60's a steal, they're twice that on ebay).

The oly 14-42mm kit lens isn't a bad macro-ish, it'll focus to 25cm away (pretty close)...but you do that at the long (42mm) end to take 'macro' shots. The quotes are because you won't be able to see a bug's eyeballs as true macro lenses will shoot, but it'll get you pretty close.

You can also buy adapters that'll let the lens focus even closer.

I had and e-pm1 and loved it given the price, just upgraded it to an e-pl3. If you're coming from compacts you probably won't miss a mode dial...but I liked the tilting screen.

Bear in mind if you buy an Oly body at the moment there's cashback on many lenses as well - but it'll push you over budget so maybe not relevant.


George 3G said:
After more research I'm now stuck between the Panasonic DMC-GF3 or the Olympus E-PM1.

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/81676/show.html

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/82918/show.html

I've read that the flash on the Olympus is better, and rightly or wrongly I also much prefer the styling of it!

But, with the panasonic, I also have the option of getting the 14mm lens for Macro use, for only £60 extra: http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/81682/show.html

The iauto function on the Panasonic looks good to, does the Olympus have a similar feature?

What do you reckon guys?

http://digital-cameras.findthebest.com/compare/294-373/Olympus-E-PM1-vs-Panasonic-DMC-GF3
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Hi all, just wanted to revise this. I'm probably driving all of the contributers to this thread around the bend, but I'm still not 100% on what camera to go for and I really appreciate the help and guidance given to me :)

I've been looking at some compacts that are close to my budget and just wondered what the pros and cons of these would be compared to my short list of CSCs (Sony NEX-C3, Olympus E-PM1, Panasonic DMC-GF2 & DMC-GF3)

Just to recap, the camera needs to be suitable for general use, car shows, capturing my fast moving 2 year old nephew and holidays. Priorities for me are:

1. Great picture quality.
2. Fast shutter where I can hold the button down and take continous shots
3. Great quality HD video

Below I've listed a few Compacts that are around the same price as the CSCs I was looking at:

Canon Powershot S100 Digital Camera in Black
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX150 Digital Camera in Red
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX10V Digital Camera in Black
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30 Digital Camera in Black
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 Digital Camera in Black
Nikon Coolpix S9300 Digital Camera in Black
Nikon Coolpix P310 Digital Camera in White


All compared here

I'm not too fussed about price at the moment, as long as it's between £250-£350 I don't mind. Once I finally decide which camera I'm going for, I'll then hunt for the best price.

Thanks :D
 
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Wont go far wrong with that camera. Have a great holiday. Im off to crete soon.
 
Hi all, received my GF3 today, haven't had a play with it yet as the battery has been on charge all evening. Thanks for everyone's help and advice.

I was surprised to see it didn't come with a wrist strap, what are people here using? O don't like the idea of a neck strap. I'm also going to get bag for it, but rather than try and find one on the net that's the right size, I'll probably take the complete camera into Jessops or Comet and find one in there that fits the bill.

George
 
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