which digital camera!

[Y]

My husband wants a new digital camera but i have no idea which one to get.
He wants one with a larger screen that basically does everything for him except press the button[msneek] as he really only uses it for holiday snapshots. However as we are going on safari next year it would be good to get one that is suitable for wildlife shots. I would like to spend about £150 maybe a bit more. At the moment he has a kodak easyshare which is about 10 years old. I know there are lots of people on here who are keen photographers so I'm hoping someone can give me some recommendations please.[msnsmile]

[MJG]

My Personal choice is Digital SLR - currently I have a Sony Alpha 300 - but this does not sound like the type of camera you are looking for at all either in spec or price.

However for the money you have to spend you do have a surprising amount of choice.

For the wildlife I would say you need one with a super zoom lense (10 or 12 times optical zoom)

As an example the Fujifilm FinePix S1000fd can be had for just under £110 from certain web sites or the Fujifilm FinePix S5800 can be had for under £100. Both these options leave some dosh to buy a memory card a case and a spare battery.

There are other similar models form all the big makers they tend to be between £150-£200 - the fuji ones though are great value though.

[Y]

Funny enough i had just been looking at the Fujifilm FinePix S1000fd on one of the well known websites but was worried it was too cheap.I will go and have another look now. I'm glad to see I was looking in the right direction though.Thanks for your help MJG

[Nina A]

Y, I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ3 and absolutely love it, before that I had a Lumix DMC TZ1. I believe there is a later model out than the TZ3. You can use it as a simple point and shoot, or use the many facilities it has to be as creative as you wish. It is amazingly versatile and so easy to carry and it has a large screen.

I am going to college next year to do a photography degree foundation course. At my interview the tutor couldn't believe my portfolio photos had been taken with my little Lumix.

I have taken some great wildlife shots with it. We are in Florida and yesterday morning we discovered we have otters in the pond behind us and this morning I have been trying to get some photos of them. I'll try to post some later. Without an SLR and long lenses on safari your husband will not get the kind of shots you see in wildlife magazines but he should still be able to get some adequate pictures. He may even find that he gets the shot that other photographers miss due to the time taken changing lenses!

I think the Lumix is probably a little more than you were wanting to pay but it is considerably cheaper than an SLR. Spending a little more will get a much better camera.

[Frosty]

The point about the 10-12x "optical zoom" is a good one.

Just make sure it is optical zoom and not digital zoom.

Optical is true zooming in, but digital is cheap way of making it look like its zooming when all its doing is enlarging the picture.

Then look for a ggod quality name and make sure you know what king of memory it takes.

[ShirleyD]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Nina A
Y, I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ3 and absolutely love it, before that I had a Lumix DMC TZ1. I believe there is a later model out than the TZ3. You can use it as a simple point and shoot, or use the many facilities it has to be as creative as you wish. It is amazingly versatile and so easy to carry and it has a large screen.


[/quote]

I have one of these too and love it. You can just point and push or set it up as you wish. It fits easily in my bag.

[Snapper]

Y, I can't help much with a little snappy. The Lumix series are as good as any in that space. I have a FX55 myself.

If you wanted to step up to something a bit more serious and your budget would stretch, Jessops are currently listing a Nikon D40 + 18-55mm lens for around £240. That kit will whup the bejesus out of any point-and-shoot.

I'm sure that Canon have something similar but I don't know their system well enough to recommend anything personally.

The upsides are that you will get extremely good image quality, plus it's expandable by virtue of being compatible with the whole Nikon system.

The downside is that it's a DSLR so it isn't going to fit in your pocket - although one of the unsung benefits of the D40 is that it is one of the smallest DSLRs you can get.

[Karen]

Steve, what do you think of the NiKon D60? I went into Jesspos last week and was looking at the DSLR's. Mind you the one I would really like it the D90 with the AF-S DX 18-105 lens, but my Father Christmas thinks this is too much [msnsad] The alternative one at half the price is the digital Fujiilm s100fs. I have had a Fujifilm for the last 8 years and it has been very good.

[FraserLynn]

Just brought the Lumix FX37 and I am thrilled with it, a bit pricey (about £170 seems to be the going rate) but you can get some good bundle deals.

Really good quality, picture fantastic, features really easy to use - all round IMO very very good

[Snapper]

I haven't had a chance to play with a D60 Karen - however from it's pedigree it will be a great piece of kit. Isn't it the upgraded version of the D40 (that will likely replace the D40)? In fact, do Nikon still manufacture the D40? Maybe that's why they are such good value at the moment? I'm even mulling over picking up a D40 body as a carryaround for when my 700 would be a bit on the heavy side.

If you can though I'd say you need to employ more pursuasion for the D90. That's a great beast. It swaps you onto the CMOS sensor and the way they handle low-light is just beautiful. I think you'd also get most of the imaging pipeline out of the D300 plus the faster autofocus, faster response, etc.

For a lens check-out the 18-200mm DX. It's a wee bit more expensive than the 18-105 but it's range and image quality are to die for.