Camera help?

[the_muppet]

This is probably a long shot but is there anyone who can help me choose a digital camera for my brothers birthday?


I want to get Peter a camera for his birthday in February and I figured the best time to be able to afford this was during the holiday sales. However, I know next to nothing about digital cameras, only ever having one myself, and that one was bought for me! (A Canon IXUS 70 which I loved.) Anyhow, knowing nothing, I don't want to spend money on something that's crappy. So if any of you know even a little about cameras and would like to offer some advice, I'd be very grateful.

I've been looking at the PC World website, figuring I'll get it from there. Here's their digital camera link:

PC World cameras

Here's some I was looking at:

Canon IXUS 115
Kodak EasyShare M522
Samsung PL22

Doesn't have to be one of them though, so if they're no good, just tell me. Tell me another one that I should get! I just want something good that will last him a while, and I'd like to spend around £100. Or less if possible and it's a good deal.


Thank you in advance if you're able to help me ♥

Comments

[legoline.livejournal.com]

Not sure if this helps but I have a Panasonic pocket camera that makes decent enough photos. Panasonic cameras have Leica lenses which are really good. At least the model I and my Dad own do.

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

Thanks - which model is it so I can Google it?

[legoline.livejournal.com]

Whooops. *facepalm* The Lumix ones. I'd probably go with them again any time.

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

Thank you =)

[chaosmaka.livejournal.com]

I only had Canon cameras so far and I loved every single one and every cam is still working and good so I'd say the Ixus is pretty cool :)

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

I do like the idea of the IXUS, purely because it's the newer model of the one I had - didn't know if that was a good enough reason to choose a camera though =) Which models do you/have you had?

Thank you ♥

[chaosmaka.livejournal.com]

I also had an IXUS cam :) But it's pretty old now, I don't know the exact model. But I loved it and it made really good pics :) And now I have the EOS 450D and I still have an EOS 300.

No prob :) ♥

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the advice, and for taking the time ♥

[moyawyvern.livejournal.com]

My last 2 cameras have been Canons, and I have loved them both. If it is something where you might be helping him out initially, having a camera you are at least basically familiar with is good.

That being said, my first digital camera and my mother's current one were Kodaks. The only bad thing about my old Kodak was that my current phone has more megapixels, so enlargements came out pixelated. Other than that, it took some great pictures. My mom's camera was one she found for about $89, and it is surprisingly good. It looks very similar to the Kodak you linked. It is fast and responsive enough to take great kid and pet pictures, which is what she got it for.

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

That's great, thanks so much - I was thinking maybe a Canon would be good as having had one before, I could maybe help him out with it =)

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

That would probably be too expensive for me to afford, but I do agree about Canon, though that's only based on the only one I ever had!

Thanks for your advice =)

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

Thanks for taking the time, and I probably will go with a Canon one of some description =)

[heyhoolou.livejournal.com]

Seconding the person who mentioned the panasonic lumix ones; they're quite good for a pocket cam!
I have a canon ixus too, which I'm very fond of (I think it's one a step up from the one you've linked to), but in general Canon is a good brand and they make good, durable products. I had one of the early EasyShare cams, and I wasn't too impressed with it. Granted, it was quite a few years ago, but it was slow and complicated and didn't produce pictures of a quality high enough to make up for the things I felt it was lacking. They might've gotten better, I shan't be able to say, but I'd put my money on the Canon :)

Hope you've had lovely holidays darling! *hugs* ♥

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

I have checked them out now on Amazon and some of them appear to be incredibly expensive, and I really just can't afford that kind of money, sadly. I do think though that Canon would be a good bet, so am going to do a bit more research into what I can afford in the Canon range.

Thanks so much for taking the time to chip in here lovely ♥

*hugs*

[heyhoolou.livejournal.com]

They are quite a bit pricier than the canon ones, but admittedly, they do also take better pictures. I will say however, that the canon ones produce absolutely fine pictures, especially compared to the price of the cameras!
Good luck finding the right one, darling. ♥

Camera thoughts....

[ms-3m.livejournal.com]

Am I too late to the party? As usual? lol

My last three or four cameras have been Canons. Before my last purchase though, I did look at the Panasonic Lumix. I've read some really good reviews for the Lumix but my practical side took over. Right now, I have the Canon Powershot SX200. It's two years old I think. I'm getting ready to shop for a new one as I think I've worn this one out (in a manner of speaking) as I carry it around with me All. The. Time!

I kinda defaulted into Canon with each purchase as I always like to have multiple batteries and at least two chargers -- one to leave at home and one that stays in my suitcase. So with the Canons that I selected, I was able to carry these accessories forward. Saved me some money. I like that the Canon version/s that I have used, use an SD memory card... of which again, I have multiple.

One of the things I look for is not so much the mega-pixel size but the amount of optical zoom versus digital zoom. When you have to pop-over into the digital zoom, your picture quality goes way down. Another thing to look for is how fast the image writes to the disk. I think this has to do with how large the CMOS? sensor is. The larger the better. Plus the quality/speed of the memory disk is a factor -- in the case of camera usage, I truly think price = quality (for disks.)

My current Canon...the flash isn't as strong as other cameras that I've seen around but I usually have the camera set flash-off.

I guess in the bottom line, you need to know what kind of pictures that Peter likes to take -- this will help determine what kind of camera to purchase.

ps. You won't go wrong with Nikon either.

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

It'll be Peter's first camera, so I'm not overly worried about all the gizmo's and stuff, just something reliable and easy for him to use. I think that as I only ever had one camera myself (sadly no longer working) and that one was a Canon, then that's probably what I'll go for, provided I can find a good one in the cheap price range, of course!

Thanks for your help and good to hear from you; Happy New Year lovely ♥

*hugs*