Looking for a digital camera...

[adam46]

...for about £120 with no attachments (Maybe one, I might be able to handle one) & that is simple. The only purpose of this camera would be at the Race Tracks and I only take photos & videos in the stands for leisure purposes. It also must be able to take my existing SD Card, I was possibly looking at the Nikon 1, any other good digital cameras out there?

[wolfhound]

Iwould sugest you take a look at this web site

http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com

If you are using a camera for motorsport you will need a good optical zoom range although your choice is limited at this budget. Possibles could include Canon SX130, Fuji T100 & Nikon S8000 might be out of your price range.

[bella]

depending on what you really specifically want it for.... i wanted something to take photos of anything but cars, and picked up a canon ixus 220hs for about £150ish in september. the colours are superb, the focussing is very good, the auto mode is excellent if you're feeling lazy and all the different little settings like tiltshift (miniature mode), sepia, etc etc are really good fun to play with when you get bored if you're into video, it also does full hd 1080p stuff too. it's idiot proof and uses a rechargeable battery. it's the second ixus i've had after a rash of sonys that were cute, but produced similar photos for double the cost.

[grantp]

Originally Posted by adam46

...for about £120 with no attachments (Maybe one, I might be able to handle one) & that is simple. The only purpose of this camera would be at the Race Tracks and I only take photos & videos in the stands for leisure purposes. It also must be able to take my existing SD Card, I was possibly looking at the Nikon 1, any other good digital cameras out there?

I think you might be struggling to find a Nikon 1 at £120.

For your budget you probably need to think in terms of a 'previously owned' 'Superzoom' of some sort. However if you hope to produce something along the lines of top quality HD video that is becoming quite common these days on the web I doubt that you will find much in that budget area just yet.

For stills the superzooms can produce some very decent results even at full zoom but they are not great for taking action shots in a sequence and most or not as responsive to a press of the shutter as one might like. Not a criticism - they are not really intended for extensive action shot use.

I have cameras that can shoot video but very rarely do so. One reason is that to make anything worthwhile from video (in my opinion) requires a serious editing effort and with large file sizes and heavy demands on the processor you really need a pretty beefy computer, a lot of disk space and some spare time.

If you can stretch the budget to something like £350 to 400 you could probably break into the bottom end of the used DSLRs for the earlier video capable bodies and a suitable lens for working from a typical grandstand position and you might find that to be a far more satisfying experience.

BTW you don't say what your existing SD card is but for most video use you really need something that is rated as 'Class 6' to be sure of good performance with the higher quality video outputs. Class 10 would be better.

[adam46]

The videos would be just for me to watch and show my family, pictures just want a camera slightly better than the Samsung S860 I have now ( 8.4 Megapixels ). So it's noty as if anything I do will be hitting the web, so literally I just want maybe 12 Megapixels, decent videos (no HD required), something easy to use and reliable.

[Down F0rce]

I'm looking for a new easy to use camera for my racing adventures as well. Was thinking of getting this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-HX...8193908&sr=8-1

[grantp]

Originally Posted by adam46

The videos would be just for me to watch and show my family, pictures just want a camera slightly better than the Samsung S860 I have now ( 8.4 Megapixels ). So it's noty as if anything I do will be hitting the web, so literally I just want maybe 12 Megapixels, decent videos (no HD required), something easy to use and reliable.

The field is wide and the choice enormous. Megapixels are not the best criteria for making a choice. More can be less.

All users will claim that what they have bought is wonderful. You need to work out where your expectations fit in terms of the mass market of opinions and how the written words of recommendation really relate to your existing experiences. Sorry, there is probably no clear cut answer for you. Maybe there is at the higher end of the digital camera ranges. But you pay for it.

Maybe just find something that you think looks right. Try it and if you don't like it, sell it on and try something else. It's an interesting and fast moving market. Try to go with the flow.

[Aysedasi]

I stand to be corrected, but it's not just a question of megapixels is it? (as grantp says). A lot of what I still tend to call 'compacts' have armfuls of megapixels but doesn't sensor size come into it as well? (Potentially showing my ignorance here!).

[andrewc]

Megapixels are a marketing mans dream, as its something the public can grasp. However its the lens that gives the quality, not the number of pixels.

If the sensor is looking through a poor quality lens, you'll have 12 million blurry pixels, if its looking through a good lens, you'll have 12 million sharp pixels.

For your budget I'd be looking at the sales, or end of line higher end cameras that are being replaced - ie maximise your budget by canny buying. You won't get a Nikon 1.

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-...s&bsku=1526745 is a candidate. Be quick, they have a mail order return at £ 120. Distance selling regulations means that someone can send something back, even if there is nothing wrong with it.

[andrewc]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

I stand to be corrected, but it's not just a question of megapixels is it? (as grantp says). A lot of what I still tend to call 'compacts' have armfuls of megapixels but doesn't sensor size come into it as well? (Potentially showing my ignorance here!).

Yes, a physically larger sensor gives better quality results, especially in lower light conditions.

[bella]

a good idea if you're particularly interested is to look at sites where sample full size photos are included. we all like different things from our compact cameras, and that's a way of making sure you're getting what you want. for example, i spent hours researching the differences between the canon and a panasonic - both had good reviews but i know that canon cameras suit the particular colours i like in photos.

also, go into a store and have a play. you might find one menu system more intuitive than another. mine was actually cheaper at john lewis than on the internet, oddly!

[GORDON STREETER]

I would go for a decent used one, as like a new car drive it down the road and it's worth a lot less.
Although I have good contacts in the photographic industry I brought a top of the range Panasonic camcorder off of eBay for about half price of what I was quoted at the time last August.
The guy that was selling it admitted that he brought it on a whim to do "baby on the lawn "shots and it was far too complicated for him. It came with the original bill of sale and guarantee so bargains are there if you look

[GORDON STREETER]

=adam46;. It also must be able to take my existing SD Card,

Just rereading this I wondered why you said this when you can buy cards for next to nothing compared to a couple of years back ?
Even the enormous ones I can use in my camcorder as well as the hard drive are now really cheap !

[bella]

to be fair, lots of laptops have sd slots so it's a good format to use from that point of view

[NelisB]

Originally Posted by bella

to be fair, lots of laptops have sd slots so it's a good format to use from that point of view

Then again, using a USB cord will also get your pictures from your camera. When that's to slow just buy a couple of euro USB cardreader...

[adam46]

I just want to use the whole capacity of a card and also to have one continual record of a race meeting on one card in case my new one breaks, I will use my old Samsung as a substitute.

[Barrie]

Hello, I've got a bit of money put away too buy a digital camera to use at Rallycross events. My budgets between £600 to £800. My main gripes with previous camera's are the battery life, any tips greatly received, new or second hand. Canon SLR?

[wheelsportaddict]

Originally Posted by adam46

...for about £120 with no attachments (Maybe one, I might be able to handle one) & that is simple. The only purpose of this camera would be at the Race Tracks and I only take photos & videos in the stands for leisure purposes. It also must be able to take my existing SD Card, I was possibly looking at the Nikon 1, any other good digital cameras out there?

I've got a Fujifilm Finepix S3300 bridge camera. If you have a look around you might be able to find one a lot cheaper than it's £169 RRP. It's got 14Mp and a 26x optical zoom. All the controls of a D-SLR with the compact size for carrying in a bag.
Finepix S3300

[MagnetON]

Originally Posted by wheelsportaddict

I've got a Fujifilm Finepix S3300 bridge camera. If you have a look around you might be able to find one a lot cheaper than it's £169 RRP. It's got 14Mp and a 26x optical zoom. All the controls of a D-SLR with the compact size for carrying in a bag.

I've the older 9000 and it's a fine all-round camera, I keep thinking about upgrading to a "proper" SLR with a huge lens for motorsport but can never justify the cost to myself.

[wheelsportaddict]

Originally Posted by MagnetON

I've the older 9000 and it's a fine all-round camera, I keep thinking about upgrading to a "proper" SLR with a huge lens for motorsport but can never justify the cost to myself.

I wrote my thoughts about it and placed some of the images on my webpage here.