Help!!!!!

[midge]

hi all, i really need help.i want to get my husband a really good digital camera for christmas.he`s never had one,he uses a canon slr at present,so i want one thats perfect!
the only brands i know are,olympus,canon,fuji,minolta,nikon and sony.i was looking at the olympus c-60z but after reading reviews i`m not sure it`s that good compared to others.i want a good quality camera,with zoom,gives great pictures etc,but i am totally lost.i live in n.ireland and camera shops are rare,most buy out of the big stores that sell all from fridges to tv`s ,vaccums etc and the same staff sell it all,so good advice is hard to find.
please help
midge

[Slnce-z-GSI]

Hi,

don't worry. But let us know something.
You've said, that your husband own some film SLR. The first question is, whether he is a serious photographer, or jus a more advaced amaterur?
The next questions are:
- what kinf of photography he does? (outdoor, indoor, night, macro. portrait...)
- do you want for him some nearly proffesional digital camera (SLR ?), or it will be just aditional camera for snapshots when the big film SLR is not convinient to take along? This affects a lot.

Just let us now as much as possible what is the desired digital camera expected to manage.

bye

M..

[leadeater]

Just wanted to add a few comments to the good info above - could you let us know your budget? It would help to narrow down the suggestions a bit. Also, are the "brands you know" actually available to you where you live? It wouldn't make sense to recommend a Panasonic if you can't get it.....

Phil
p.s. - there is no such thing as a perfect camera....

[midge]

more info ok then
he would be a keen amateur but would like more time to get into it more.he takes general snapshots,landscapes,action snaps ie our son playin rugby the other at swim galas,he does take twilight and has done some night shots and the usual holiday and days out snaps.
he would like a digital camera for takin out as the slr is bulkie to take and as you know takes time to focus etc,also he likes the idea of printin of his own computer.
my budget is up to £400.
brands available to me are:olympus-nikon-fuji-pentax-sony-konica(minolta) and samsung.i know he wants a zoom lens. hope this will help you to help me as all i know about them is the more pixels the better which is why i had looked at olympus c-60z
thanks folks.

[Rhys]

more info ok then
he would be a keen amateur but would like more time to get into it more.he takes general snapshots,landscapes,action snaps ie our son playin rugby the other at swim galas,he does take twilight and has done some night shots and the usual holiday and days out snaps.
he would like a digital camera for takin out as the slr is bulkie to take and as you know takes time to focus etc,also he likes the idea of printin of his own computer.
my budget is up to £400.
brands available to me are:olympus-nikon-fuji-pentax-sony-konica(minolta) and samsung.i know he wants a zoom lens. hope this will help you to help me as all i know about them is the more pixels the better which is why i had looked at olympus c-60z
thanks folks.


OK. For prints up to A4 size, I can recommend the Canon S1 IS. This is three megapixels and a 10x zoom lens.

Don't try to get more than 6 megapixels because then you're really running into quality problems.

As for buying, try www.7dayshop.com. They should ship to N. Ireland and UK VAT is pre-paid.

[Slnce-z-GSI]

more info ok then ....
thanks folks.

OK, this is much better.
Mentioned Canon S1 IS is not a bad one (very good video mode), but it is missing the AF illuminator, so to focuse in low-light is not very good. Also the quality of its images is (I found it in the review on this server) a bit lover than Canon standards (whis is rather high)

If you would be able to manage it, I would take Panasonic FZ20. It has beautiful lens (the fastes you can get for you money - good for sports) with optical image stabilization, AF illuminator, make nice photos, has 5MPix so full quality A4 photos are NO problem and it fits into you budged (in GErmany it is cca 500 euro).
Another option is Olymups C-765(does not support external flash) or C-770(more expensive, but supports external flash) which are much smaller.
Try to get the FZ20 and I am sure that you husband will by satisfied. If you can not manage to get it, go for C-770 or metioned Cannon. I thing in this case the C770 makes better images than S1 IS.

what do you thing?

M..

[PhilR.]

he would like a digital camera for takin out as the slr is bulkie to take

That is one of the main reasons why my 35mm photography had greatly declined. It is also why I would disagree with the above concerning the FZ20. The 20 is a great camera, but it is also a great *big* camera, easily the size/weight/bulk of an slr, which your hubby already has. Better to get him something much different that what he already has, IMO.

As for the megapixel statement "the more pixels the better" you mentioned. This is not always true. More pixels just means a *bigger* picture (and file size as well), but not a *better* picture. You should determine what is the maximum size of print that you want to make, and then get megapixels accordingly. You can easily get a 6-8 mp camera, but this would not make sense at all if you are only going to print small pictures.

Because your needs are completely within the ordinary, and the fact that your budget is quite large, there are at least a hundred cameras that would satisfy your demands. I don't think it really matters which brand you buy, as long as it is from a major manufacturer. If I were in your shoes (which would look unbelievably wierd) I would determine how many mp's I need, what size zoom I want, find the cameras that have these, and then buy the one that your husband would most likely be least embarrased to be seen using. If he really likes his slr and that company makes a digital, you might start there...

Phil