Using a digital camera

[Errogie]

I am looking for a new small digital camera and am scunnered with the lack of a peep hole or focussing sight to allow you to line up your picture.

They all seem to rely on looking at the image on the back of the camera but when the sun is shining behind you it's impossible to work out exactly what's going to be in the frame because of the reflection which isn't helped if you need to wear reading glasses anyway!

Does anyone else have the same problem and can anyone recommend a camera which has the old fashioned way of selecting your composition yet is a good buy?

[thebigman]

I get good results with a Fuji Finepix S9500, not cheap though. You can find a few other here - http://www.ciao.co.uk/Digital_Cameras_5220847_2-optical_viewfinder

[percy toboggan]

I would not own a camera without a viewfinder.
People who use the screen look a bit odd to me whilst doing so.
Plus it means I would have to don glasses to look at the screen.
I am about to upgrade from a Minolta Dimage Z1 , bought for about £300 almost four years ago. It has an electronic viewfinder.
I don't think you have to pay so much these days for one.

[lazytown]

i got myself a cannon EOS 400, wasn't cheap though but well worth the money.

[George Brims]

I have an HP 945 (no longer made but I've seen them on eBay). It has an external screen but also the viewfinder contains a small screen (lights up when you put your eye to the viewfinder), so just like an SLR camera you see exactly what you're going to get. Other good features are 8X optical zoom (35mm equivalent 37-300) and 7x digital. Closeup mode (macro) is good too. It is only 5 megapixels which is of course a little dated now, but I have blown the pictures up to 16 by 20 and they look great.

[percy toboggan]

The pixel count need not be a problem. it's what the internal gubbins of the camera does with them.
Only consider optical zoom worth having, digital zoom just brings the pixellation up.
My Minolta Dimage Z1 is mere 3.2 mega pixels but enlarges fine up to 10 x 8.
You could do worse than look on e.bay for one of these, or the Z2 - going for about fifty quid at the minute. I'm hanging on to mine as a starter camera for my g/d when she's a few years older.

I'm pondering a Panasonic DMC FZ50 or a digi SLR. Not sure which yet, but the former has a remarkable Leica lens. Not cheap at almost four hundred sovs but I'll never buy another camera. He predicted, somewhat finitely.

[embow]

Try here
http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=10360&pq-locale=en_GB
This is just for starters. Search around ebay, pixmania, warehouse express and many many others.
It really does depend on what you want in terms of size, weight, optical zoom, etc

[lazytown]

The reason i got my cannon dslr was because with my old point and shoot camera I had to wait between shots for it to process the shot and by the time it was ready for the next shot the moment was lost.


I paid £650 for it I think. and got
Canon EOS 400D (Silver)
EFS 18-55mm Lens
Tamron 55-200mm f/4-5.6 Di II LD Macro (Canon AF)
Jessops 300AFD Digital Flashgun for (Canon AF)
Sandisk 2GB Extreme III Compactflash Card
Spare Battery
and Back Pack

Since then I have bought 2 new lenses for the camera

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens
Cannon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens

Now I just have to learn how to use the thing properly:lol:

[Ricco]

Errogie, you can get a very good deal on the Olympus E-500 as a twin lens set. Comes with bag, etc. You can usually bargain with the store to bung in a memory card for free. I got mine last Christmas and have not looked back.

[Riffman]

What you really want is a digital SLR.

Then you get to see everything and have a huge amount of versitility at your finger tips.
But..... it won't be that much help to you if you don't have a good grasp of computing and working with digital photos.

To get the best out of my cameras I shoot in RAW mode. This is just like shooting film, where you have to 'develope' the pictures on your computer later.

This does give amazing results though, and I am seldom dissapointed with what the camera can do.

The 400D is a lovely little camera, if you prefer something a bit bigger, the 30D is a good choice.

You will of course need a decent lens to go with the camera, and something like the Tamron 17-50mm would make a lovely combination.

[xx_chickie]

They all seem to rely on looking at the image on the back of the camera but when the sun is shining behind you it's impossible to work out exactly what's going to be in the frame because of the reflection which isn't helped if you need to wear reading glasses anyway!



I know what you mean, Errogie!! It's extremely annoying! How technology moves too quickly..!

[George Brims]

Only consider optical zoom worth having, digital zoom just brings the pixellation up.
I meant to emphasize that. Get as much optical zoom as your money will buy. The only virtue to digital zoom (I have found) is that it crops the picture to the same proportions as the full size picture, which can save messing around if you come to printing it and putting it in a frame.

[ywindythesecond]

I am looking for a new small digital camera and am scunnered with the lack of a peep hole or focussing sight to allow you to line up your picture.

They all seem to rely on looking at the image on the back of the camera but when the sun is shining behind you it's impossible to work out exactly what's going to be in the frame because of the reflection which isn't helped if you need to wear reading glasses anyway!

Does anyone else have the same problem and can anyone recommend a camera which has the old fashioned way of selecting your composition yet is a good buy?

Bought a Canon Powershot A570 IS from Pixmania for £185 in the summer. Light, viewfinder, big clear screen, easy to understand screen info, 4x optical zoom plus digital, cant tell you much more because the wife hogs it. Oh, and it takes good pictures.

[psyberyeti]

I use a DSC-P200 which is a Sony point and shoot. It is excellent. Just turn off the LCD panel and the battery lasts even longer. I don't know if Sony still make it but it would be a good second hand camera. I can't rate it highly enough. Simple to use and nice clear pictures. KIS - Keep It Simple.:cool:

I've had my EOS30D for a year now and I still don't know how to get the best out of the damn thing.:confused