I've been trying to find another camera BUTcrikey there are soooo many.
I think I want
8 mpix
4-5 optical zoom
able to plug in to my computer (via a lead not just card)
simple to use
pref under £100
any suggestions ?
p.s keep em clean ;D
8mpix is old hat now, you might be able to get a cheapie. 10-12mpix is now standard
Optical Zoom. 3x is the norm, a few do 5x, but not many.
Lead/card. All cameras use USB to connect to the PC these days. Its rare to need to change to memory
card/ insert the memory card into a (USB) reader.
Simple to use - (I think) there all pretty much all the same in functionality, two buttons for zoom in/out, some kind of function (program/manual/auto/bulb) button, a menu button (for quality/iso/set up etc) a gallery button to view pictures and a self timer.
Pref under £100. There are many good ones £50-100, just take your pick. Under £50 are still good and will still have all the functionality, but will be less Mpix.
The main differences are
Batteries/rechargeable. If your rechargeable is empty, your stuffed, if they're AA/AAA you can buy more World Wide. Rechargeable are thinner = camera is thinner = smaller and will fit in your pocket/handbag.
Rechargeable AA/AAA are about £10 for 4 (ie two sets)
Memory cards. Olympus, Fuji and Sony use XD/M2 cards, everybody else uses SD. therefor SD are cheaper, much cheaper. Although these days there are XD/M2 card holders that take Micro SD.
I recently bought an 8Gb Micro SD (class 6) for £12 on Ebay. Smaller (2Gb/4Gb) and slower (class 2/4) will be cheaper.
Screen size. A larger one will give a better view of your pictures but will make the whole camera larger. Exact opposite for a smaller screen.
Other differences do exist, like quality of the case and lens, brand image, style, etc - it just depends if you care or not, and what your going to use it for.
For beaches/parties etc I use an old 5mpix cheapie that I dont care if it gets damaged. For better pictures I have a Olympus X-42 12MP Camera with 5x zoom from Argos (£61).
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5593000/c_1/1|category_root|Photography|14419436/c_2/3|cat_15701379|Digital+cameras+and+packages|14419441.htm
(you need the whole link, not just the highlighted bit)
The only thing I don't like is the sound settings. I like a camera to "click" of some sort when I take a photo.
I used to have a Samsung 8Mpix, but the zoom bit broke after 13 months, ie just out of warrentee, so this time I went for a slightly more up-market brand.
