Camera Recommendations

[alexf380]

Afternoon. I hope social distancing isn't taking too much of a toll on you.
I was looking through my old photos from previous trips the other day and I have come to the conclusion that whilst my camera phone produces fine quality photos, I think I'd like to start using a proper camera. Anyone have any suggestions? What do you guys use when you're out on your trips?
I should add I'm not looking for a hefty DSLR camera, just something simple that doesn't take up too much room and that isn't going to break the bank.

 

[rg177]

Afternoon. I hope social distancing isn't taking too much of a toll on you.
I was looking through my old photos from previous trips the other day and I have come to the conclusion that whilst my camera phone produces fine quality photos, I think I'd like to start using a proper camera. Anyone have any suggestions? What do you guys use when you're out on your trips?
I should add I'm not looking for a hefty DSLR camera, just something simple that doesn't take up too much room and that isn't going to break the bank.

I recently invested in a Nikon Coolpix B500 which cost me £219.99 which came as part of a kit from Argos, including a couple of accessories, a bag and an SD card, as my previous Nikon, after four years, gave up the ghost after I accidentally dropped it while trying to do to many things at once in the middle of Hamburg!

It's a smart little thing, and gives good clear images, and I've gradually been learning the more complex features and manual settings as I've gone along. The video it takes is decent too, and I've been happily using it to film content for one of my final uni projects. It's no DSLR or TV camera, but it does the job very well.

It also comes with inbuilt WiFi which means that it can connect to your phone via an app, enabling you to quickly upload photos online as you go without the SD card ever having to leave the camera. As an upgrade for me anyway, I was very impressed with it.

Here's an example photo taken with it:

Class 156, Loch Awe by Richard Green, on Flickr

Argos still do the bundle, though you'll obviously have to wait until they reopen to collect it: https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7360468

 

[Bevan Price]

DSLRs are not all massive, and Canon, Nikon & others make some good mid-price range cameras. Personally, I find it easier to keep a SLR steady when taking photos, rather than a small lightweight camera (or phone camera).

 

[bspahh]

I've got a Panasonic TZ100 which has a reasonable balance of automatic features and manual controls. It costs £349 from https://www.cameraworld.co.uk/

Its reasonably compact, and charges from a micro USB lead, which helps to reduce clutter when travelling. It has a nice feature where you can take a 1 second video, where you can then retrieve a still image later on. There are different modes for this - one is good for picking up fast moving scene. Another tries different focus settings, which is good if you want to pick out one person in focus from a crowd. Another has different exposure settings.

There is a basic electronic viewfinder, a 10x optical zoom lens. You can also focus on something in a scene by pointing at it on the screen.

 

[alexf380]

Thanks for the replies folks, I'll bear those recommendations in mind. I'm also intrigued by the Canon Powershot range, if anyone has any experiences, good or bad!

 

[cactustwirly]

Afternoon. I hope social distancing isn't taking too much of a toll on you.
I was looking through my old photos from previous trips the other day and I have come to the conclusion that whilst my camera phone produces fine quality photos, I think I'd like to start using a proper camera. Anyone have any suggestions? What do you guys use when you're out on your trips?
I should add I'm not looking for a hefty DSLR camera, just something simple that doesn't take up too much room and that isn't going to break the bank.

Tbh, you're not going to get a huge improvement in image quality, from your smartphone (unless you have a really old/cheap one) unless you go for a DSLR.
They aren't that much more expensive, mine was £200 ebay. It has a fully automatic mode which is decent, but the manual modes are really good, once you get the hang of using it.


Here are some pics for you to comapare with Richard's

DSC_0031 by litecactus, on Flickr

Cardiff Central at night by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0659 by litecactus, on Flickr

 

[Islineclear3_1]

So your choice will depend on at least the following;

Budget
What you want to take photos of
Portability
Ease of use
Features
Whether you want interchangeable lenses or not (e.g. wide angle, telephoto, zoom) Many compact digital cameras use digital zoom which degrades image quality
Wifi capability
What sort of picture quality you are after

 

[_toommm_]

If you don't mind buying second-hand, I would recommend using mpb.com - I've used them quite a few times with (in my opinion) decent pricing, and they're very generous with their grading (I bought a camera as 'used' and it had only one scuff on the corner which was barely noticeable).

 

[py_megapixel]

If you're looking at point-and-shoot type cameras then firstly beware that you will not get a massive quality improvement over a smartphone, but secondly that some models have a delay of up to a few seconds between when you press the shutter button and when the image is actually taken. This quickly becomes infuriating, especially if you want pictures of passing trains (as opposed to stopped ones).