Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
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I'm going to be on the hunt for a camera purchase over the next couple of months, for my Orlando holiday in July!
I don't think my budget or ability will stretch to a DSLR worth buying so I'll be looking at a reasonable "point and shoot" instead. My budget isn't set in stone, but I guess for the right camera I would go to ~£300 or so and I've got no idea what that'll get me in terms of quality... I've never bought a camera before so the market is completely alien to me.
A colleague brought a waterproof canon D10 to a work away-day earlier last month and that got me thinking about whether or not it would be worth going that route, so I can use it in the waterparks n' stuff but I'm not sure how much extra I would be paying for that functionality whilst compromising on the quality of the actual camera... if that makes sense, so any advice on that front would be appreciated.
Any ideas, suggestions and recommendations?
Cheers 
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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Rob E
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Registered: 1st Jan 06
Location: Madeley, Stafford....I want to live back in Wales!
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You could easily pick up a dslr for £300. You could pick up a Canon 400D with a couple of extras for that kind of money 
My dad picked up a brilliant point and shoot camera early this year, I can't remember what make it was though but I can find out. I have a feeling it was fujifilm. Very capable little camera and picture clarity was almost on par with my dslr
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Rob E
You could easily pick up a dslr for £300. You could pick up a Canon 400D with a couple of extras for that kind of money
I had a quick look but got lost in the various accessories and stuff, plus - what kind of learning curve would I be looking at with a DSLR?
I'm certainly not opposed to a DSLR, but I'd like to hear pro's and con's for each - I'm no photography enthusiast, but I do like good quality pictures!
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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Rob E
Member
Registered: 1st Jan 06
Location: Madeley, Stafford....I want to live back in Wales!
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I bought my DSLR back in 2008 and it was all completely new to me. I have the 400D which still does me fine for what I need it for. With regards to the learning curve, its as quick or as slow as you want to take it. You can just leave the camera on auto mode and it will take care of all the settings, or you can start to manually control certain features like shutter speed, aperature and weather to fire flash or not etc.
Pros - A lot more control over the exposure compared to a point and shoot type. DSLR's are constantly being released so older models are always available slightly cheaper. If you upgrade the lens and then later decide you want to upgrade the camera body, you can interchange the lenses (unless you move up to a full frame DSLR which is the professional stuff).
Cons - biggest one is its size. Especially if you are travelling I would imagine you would want something light and compact. The price can be quite daunting with regards to lenses and cameras but I have never had a problem with reliability.
All the lingo/jargon/accessories can be very daunting at first but once you brush up on your knowledge (there are so many books/websites/courses/magazines that will help you), you will be fine.
If you want, you can have a look at my flickr account. It has 99% of all my photos I have taken from when I first bought my DSLR, right up to the most recent event where I took the plunge and did the photography for my cousins wedding!  I never thought I would end up doing something like that but it was actually really fun 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23846377@N08/sets/ - If you fancy a look. They are in no particular order.
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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DSLR's aren't anywhere near as difficult as they sound/some people make out.
As said, you can just leave it on auto.
What puts me off a DSLR for a holiday is it's massive, can get a point and shoot 300 quid canon that will take nearly as good pictures.
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ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
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SLR's are a bit of a pain to carry about sometimes. I've always liked the look of these for just carrying about:
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/84065/show.html
Plenty of choice in that class too
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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Thanks team, point taken on the auto mode of a DSLR but if I'm just going to fall back onto that, I don't want to be lugging around the extra size of a DSLR, so points well made
I've done a bit of other research external to CS and I really can't find any "must have" cameras for my budgets, so I guess I'll just close my eyes and choose one that's on offer somewhere
Those Nikon coolpix seem like a good place to start
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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AlunJ
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Registered: 3rd Apr 07
Location: Newport
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I've got a panasonic lumix tz6 point and shoot I acquired through work and I'm sure it produces better pictures than my Nikon d60?
Bought my mum a Nikon cool pix for Christmas to chuck in her handbag, not a bad piece of kit and really slim.
[Edited on 06-05-2012 by AlunJ]
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Rob E
Member
Registered: 1st Jan 06
Location: Madeley, Stafford....I want to live back in Wales!
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Thanks Al, you have jogged my memory about the point and shoot I was on about earlier! It's a Panasonic TZ7. I managed to take these last Xmas when messing about with it.
So you can take some nice shots at night with it at least
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Marc
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Registered: 11th Aug 02
Location: York
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I went for the DSLR to future proof myself if I got into it/good at taking pics.
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