New Digital Camera- Which one to get?

[ardypilot]

I'm planning on using my upcoming tax rebate to buy a new digital camera for my trip overseas in July, spending between $500 - $700 max. I've been looking through various catalogues and online, and there seem to be so many positive and negative reviews that I've got no idea what camera is best value for money.

Obviously that's why I'm posting here- suggestions please? Bear in mind I want to get a large reliable data storage card for photos and videos to use with this too, are SD's the most reliable? Is 2GB the largest size available? I don't want to accidentally wipe 6 months worth of pictures or drop my camera and cause my card to become unreadable..

Thanks in advance for any advice

[victor_alpha_charlie]

QUOTE (Trolly @ May 13 2008, 08:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm planning on using my upcoming tax rebate to buy a new digital camera for my trip overseas in July, spending between $500 - $700 max. I've been looking through various catalogues and online, and there seem to be so many positive and negative reviews that I've got no idea what camera is best value for money.

Obviously that's why I'm posting here- suggestions please? Bear in mind I want to get a large reliable data storage card for photos and videos to use with this too, are SD's the most reliable? Is 2GB the largest size available? I don't want to accidentally wipe 6 months worth of pictures or drop my camera and cause my card to become unreadable"¦

Thanks in advance for any advice

Sorta stealing your thread a bit Andy, but how do i get my tax back?

[ardypilot]

QUOTE

but how do i get my tax back?[/quote]
I think Inland Revenue send out forms automatically this year, but if not, request an IR3 form at http://www.ird.govt.nz/ (or ask your Mum like I did )

[Alex]

Personal Tax Summary? (same thing?) Net, Phone, drop in at your local friendly ( ) IRD office...

Alex

[benwynn]

Gidday Trolly,

do you want DSLR or Superzoom? You can get a Canon 350D DSLR with a few lenses for about $700 id say.

If its superzoom- Id go for either the FZ18 Panasonic (Whcih I own) or a Sony DSC H9 or H7. I chose the FZ18 over the Sony beacause I much prefer a rechargable battery, not actual batteries.

BTW- You can get 4G Cards. They have some special lettering after them but I forget it. Only some cameras support it I beleive. (SD BTW)

[A185F]

Yea you might get a Cannon 350D maybe even a 400D if you look in the right spots, - dam good camera, I havent got one but we have a few at work, wish I did haveone though

[Anthony]

I'm more a fan of Nikon than Canon, but that's beside the point.
Nikon's current cheapest offering is the D40, which will run you $800 or so new, so it's a bit out of your price range.
Used I'm sure they're much cheaper. Also look at the D50 second hand or even the D70.
Having said that, there is nothing wrong with the 350 or 400 (the Canons), I just prefer Nikon.

Sony and Olympus and Pentax also make DSLRs but they're not usually as good as Canon or Nikon, and they don't have as many lenses as Nikon or Canon.
They are quite a bit cheaper sometimes though.
The other thing with DSLRs is that the lenses matter as much as (or more than) the body you buy (the actual camera). With a not so great lens, the picture won't be great either.

For superzooms, I would check out the Fujifilm S6500fd/S6000fd, which I have.
It's got a pretty decent lens, with manual zoom (meaning you turn a ring to zoom, instead of pressing a button, which gives you more control over zoom etc.). It also has face detection and some other 'features'.
Most reviews I've seen agree that it's an excellent camera and it will cost about $500.
Like Ben said, the FZ18 is also great.

The Fujifilm F50fd is a really great compact camera. Probably about $300-$400.

With memory cards, SD is the most widely used format. SDHC is the higher capacity version, but can't be used in all cameras.
Fujifilm and Olympus are the only manufacturers who use XD, and Sony are the only ones who use MemoryStick I think.

Cheers
Anthony

[Alex]

Yea, like the others said - if you want a versatile camera it'd probably be better to buy a top-end conventional digital as opposed to a DSLR. Usually these top-end cameras have a good optical zoom, nice image quality etc.

As for storage, you'll probably find that all types are quite reliable (as they are almost all flash memory) - regardless of whether it is SD, CF, XD, M-SD etc etc etc. However flash memory can sometimes have quite a slow write rate - if you're taking lots of pictures in a short time-span it may be worth forking out for a card that is reasonably fast.

Alex

[Chairman]

I've always had nikon DSLRs and Canon point-n-shoots. Here's how I'd tackle a new camera - narrow the choices down to a manageable number then hit http://www.steves-digicams.com/ and http://www.dpreview.com/ and http://www.dcresource.com/ to compare their reviews.

Then head to http://www.pbase.com and search by camera, to see the sort of results ordinary everyday people can expect to get.

Lastly - and probably most important of all - check out the manufacturer forums at dpreview to see what people who own the cameras don't like about them (and how big a memory card you can shoehorn in there).

What you said about losing 6 months of photos if your card packs up sent a chill down my spine - I lost a whole hard hard drive once, several years of photos down the toilet. I'll tell you now, a lesson I learnt the hard way, if it only exists on one physical media then you WILL lose it. Now I have a pair of 500gig usb drives, every night my profile and photo and key FS directories get duplicated onto one of them then at the end of each week that drive goes off to mum and dad's and the other one comes back. The computer can now crash as often as it likes - I have last night's backup on the end of a USB cable and if it *really* turns to custard, last weeks backup stored offsite.

Being in the position where you could lose 6 months of photos by doing something silly with your memory card is just crazy, especially with the cost of USB hard drives these days.

Cheers
Gary

[ardypilot]

Ok, at the moment I am looking at the following cameras:

Canon Digital IXUS 860 IS

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX33

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX100

Casio Exilim EX-Z8

Thoughts?

[Anthony]

I would personally pick the Canon, but that's just a preference.

Edit 1: Actually my aunty has one of those and it has a grey colour cast in certain light (not in all pictures), although it is an earlier model.
It also has a bit of a noise problem in certain situations, but other than that, it's really good.

Edit 2: Don't fall into the megapixel myth trap - the sensors in these cameras are of similar size, and as a result, the 12 megapixel Panasonic camera will likely create a noisier image due to its smaller photosites etc. I haven't used a Panasonic camera ever, but I and my family own lots of Panasonic gear that is really good, so it's likely to be good to.

I've never used Casio cameras, but I've heard they're okay.

As I said before, my personal choice would be the Canon.
Canon has a reputation for image quality, and quality in general, even in their compacts.

Sooner or later I will check them all out properly and give you a better and more thought out response.

[ardypilot]

After a lot of comparing on various websites, I went ahead and purchased the Casio IXUS 860 IS, along with a 4GB Kingston SD card for $333.

Einfo.co.nz had the best prices for both of the above thanks to pricespy!

[Alex]

QUOTE (Trolly @ Jun 9 2008, 08:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

After a lot of comparing on various websites, I went ahead and purchased the Casio IXUS 860 IS, along with a 4GB Kingston SD card for $333.

Canon, I presume...

As the Bundaberg Lemon and Lime Bitters guy says, 'Fine Choice'...

I've dealt with 'Expert Infotech' before - involved a nasty long wait for a video card they said they had, but actually didn't. Ended up getting a refund, after they didn't return my calls.

Alex

[ardypilot]

Whoops- I meant the Casio Exilim EX-Z8. Still good enough to take snaps to post up here while I'm off trotting around Europe

[benwynn]

Only a 3x optical zoom? That wont be too good for Aeroplane spotting! Are you taking your old camera for that?

Looks pretty good, not herd anything about Casio cameras though, you will have to let us know!

[ardypilot]

QUOTE

Only a 3x optical zoom? That wont be too good for Aeroplane spotting! Are you taking your old camera for that?[/quote]
I don't think I'll be doing any spotting untill the I get back to Auckland, when the A380 arrives in 2009. I'll properly just snap pics of landscapes/tourist attractions/old mates while I'm overseas

[ardypilot]

QUOTE

I've dealt with 'Expert Infotech' before - involved a nasty long wait for a video card they said they had, but actually didn't. Ended up getting a refund, after they didn't return my calls.[/quote]
Well today, 11 days after I placed my order- I got a call from an Indian lady who told me that they didn't actually stock the Casio camera that they had sold me, and that was why it hadn't arrived in the 2-4 business days that had been promised on the website, well at least thats what I thought she said- I could barely make out a word she was saying, and I had to keep repeating 'full refund' at her until I gave up and hung up- I would defiantly not recommend shopping with Expert Infotech, should have listened to Alex's advice.

Back to square one then, what's another website where I can get a decent $350 superzoom?

Last edited by ardypilot on Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[benwynn]

You didnt buy a superzoom in the first place?

Do you want a 3x or superzoom this time?

If So-- Panasonic..

[Alex]

Maybe pop down to Harvey Norman or a photography store? I'd personally recommend Canon - always been good for me and a very reputable brand.

Whatever works best for you in the end.

Alex

[ardypilot]

After a lot of hassle with Einfotech, I finally got my money back and spent it on a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX33 down at Parrallel Imported today.

It turns out that PI actually had all four cameras I had on my shortlist, although only two of them appeared on their website- however, I had a talk to a guy there who explained the pros and cons of each one, and the FX33 came out on top for my needs- plus he threw in a free UK/NZ power socket converter and carry case for me after I told him I was going on my OE, which he had just returned from himself