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More Camera advice.

Discussion in 'Photography' started by RalphW, Dec 30, 2008.

  1. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    I'm looking to replace my aging Minolta Dimage Z1, but I do not want an all singing and dancing, expensive DSLR. What I was thinking about is something fairly straight forward like a Fuji J10. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
     
  2. Swiss Toni

    Swiss Toni Well-Known Member

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    What price bracket, new or used, interchangeable lenses, point and shoot?????
     
  3. simon

    simon Resident of Nat Pres

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  4. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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  5. BillR

    BillR Well-Known Member

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    I've got to say Ralph that s8100fd seems to have a lot going for it, not least that zoom 27-486mm, wow.

    I was going to get a s5600 ( now s5700) a couple of years back, but when I handled it in Jessops it was very small in my hands.
    I settled for the s9600, it's full size and it's LCD flips out and around, and I have found that very useful.
    The thing I like about these camera's is that they take AA batteries, you can get them anywhere.

    Just something else for you to think about :) I don't know how big the s8100 is but do try it in your hand first.
     
  6. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    Thanks for that input, I'll be down at Jessops in the morning and have a browse...
     
  7. Sheff

    Sheff Resident of Nat Pres

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    Wow Ralph - that's quite a piece of kit for under £150! Might even get one myself. Be worth watching out for a "fire sale" as Jessops are on the list of companies liable to go under in the near future.
     
  8. Fred Kerr

    Fred Kerr Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Agree the specs look good BUT the cameras only offer JPEG images. If that is sufficient for you then carry on but if you want to use RAW then this is not the model for you.

    What's the difference you ask ?

    In simple terms the JPEG / TIFF options mean that the camera settings are combined with the image file and therefore can only be amended according to the software program(s) you select although usually the software provided with the camera achieves most of what is needed.

    The RAW options mean that - although you need a converter program which is normally supplied with the camera - the camera settings and image are held in separate files which are combined by the converter program. This allows you to "alter" the camera settings as part of the conversion process ( by as much as 2 stops either way ) before you fine tune the image with normal editing software =- also provided.

    I hope this doesn't complicate your choice but if you are confused feel free to contact me off-line and I will answer any query you may have.
     
  9. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    Thanks Fred.
    For my kind of photography this type of camera is fine. As I now mainly use video, I only want stills when looking for a record shot.
    Although the video camera has a still facility, it lacks the quality. Therefore I want something that is fairly compact, quick and easy to use and hassle free. The Minolta Z1 was all of these but at 3 Mega Pixels is now a bit outdated and getting somewhat frayed at the edges.

    Ralph.
     
  10. Sheff

    Sheff Resident of Nat Pres

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    Ralph, you've whetted my appetite - I'm definitely going to get one of these babies, or something similar.

    Looking at the reviews, the 8100fd is compared to the Olympus SP-560 UZ and the Panasonic FZ18 if you wanted to look around at the competition.

    Currently the S8100fd is cheapest on Amazon it would appear.

    Iain
     
  11. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    Since I did have a budget to stick to, I have opted for the S1000 as by the time you have added a case and reasonable sized memory card to the original price the S8100 would have been in the region of £190...
     
  12. lickeybanker

    lickeybanker Well-Known Member

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    That looks a nice piece of kit Ralph even the bundles at Jessops you can get within your budget apart from the top one.I hope Jessops dont fall beside the wayside but their goods are not top priority in these iffy times but they do seem to come up with some very good offers and the shop I use always seems to be well patronised apart from the mini lab. Another reason I need them to stay is that I have about £150 gift vouchers tucked away somewhere, time for a search methinks.
     
  13. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    Tried it out last night and am very impressed with the results both inside during the party and outside whilst fireworks were set off.
    So idiot proof that even the host was able to take this one..
     
  14. Sheff

    Sheff Resident of Nat Pres

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    Well Ralph, I bought the S8100 in the end. Ordered from Jessops on line, inc leather case, batteries, charger and 2MB ultra card for under £170. Camera no longer available for home delivery as out-of-stock, so collected from nearest shop with stock which happened to be Stratford, but well worth the trip at that price. Only disappointment is the lack of a belt loop on the Fuji case, so off to see local tent maker to stitch one on I think.

    Thanks again for the tip - I never knew these existed.

    Iain
     
  15. sigsnguard

    sigsnguard Member

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    So - is that what a Mod's living room looks like...? Most impressive, even if it isn't!
     
  16. mendiprail

    mendiprail Member

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    I have had an Olympus SP-560uz for just over a year now and I've found it to be brilliant for my needs. It has a huge zoom, 27mm - 468mm or something like that, which is all you really need in a camera. The camera can shoot in jpeg or raw and produces excellent photos on auto. Now I'm starting to explore the settings a bit more, I'm yet to find something I want to do with it that I can't do. Recently I took it down to the WSR and produced the following results http://mendiprail.fotopic.net/p55621237.html. I would definately recommend this camera, although I'm not sure what the pricing of it is currently. Jessops were, when I was researching my camera, more expensive then other retailers, but this was over a year ago. The software for organising images, which comes with the camera, is also very intuitive and easy to use. It takes AA batteries, which is useful, because it does tend to drain them fairly quickly in low temperature conditions.

    Hope it helps in some way :)
     

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