FOAK: Digital Cameras

I need a new digicam, 'cos I've noticed my Nikon Coolpix is producing
shots with fairly major barrel distortion at the wide end of the zoom.

Criteria are:

Up to £150
Must take SD / MMC cards (which rules out anything by Olympus, which is
a shame)
Has to be easily pocketable
Not too worried about pixel count - lens quality is much more important.

Been thinking about the Panasonic Lumix LZ5 and Canon Powershot A540.

Anything else worth looking at?

Cheers,

 

I considered the LZ5 when I was looking but didn't like it having no
viewfinder (thought it might be hard to see the LCD in bright conditions) -
I ended up with an Olympus C765 (I know you ruled Olympus out but memory
cards are dirt cheap). It's nice having manual focus for dodgy lighting
conditions.

 

I assume you're limiting the choice to SD/MMC as you have some of these
cards.
However, flash memory is so much cheaper these days, it makes little
difference.
Check the prices here http://www.7dayshop.com

 

It's not so much the cost of cards, more that I don't want to have to
keep 2 lots of cards with me. Almost everything else I own takes SD /
MMC cards.

OK, so the cost does come into it, 'cos xD is a minority format, which
costs around double what SD costs, plus I can see it going the same way
as Smart Media - I have 2 cameras here which are almost useless as you
can no longer buy the cards for 'em.

 

xD is double the cost of SD and is a format only used by Fuji and
Olympus.

Last time I went with a format used almost exclusively by Fuji and
Olympus, I ended up with 2 cameras that take obsolete cards.

I'm playing safe this time so that I can still get cards for the camera
in a few years time.

 

Whilst I understand your argument, you *should* understand that "a few
years" will probably mean its all so out of date it needs replacing anyway
as far as electrical stuff is concerened...

So, assuming you're just doing snaps and nothing professional, buy what's
best for you now, knowing that built-in obsolescence will mean it is
destined to be binned by 2009...

Dave

 

I disagree with that, actually.

My Fuji faux-SLR still takes awesome pictures, so it still gets used. Or
rather it did get used until my large capacity Smart Media cards started
playing up. Which means I can no longer use it, even though it's in
perfect condition and I'd like to use it.

(Yes, I could buy some new cards on ebay, but Smart Media tends to go
wrong after 'x' number of writes, so I don't really want to risk used
cards)

 

Why? Obsolescence doesn't mean your camera is crap, just that you can't get
bits/cards etc for it as the manufacturer wants *more* of your money and
there's cock-all you can do about that......

So the built-in obsolescence caught up with it.....

Dave

 

Well, yes, you could see it that way.

If you buy something that takes SD / MMC cards, it's not something I
need to worry about, though.

 

If you're after *very compact* look at the Casio Exilim. I got their
Z600 model for £150 at jessops, it's a top bit of kit for a small point
and shoot, takes great photos[1][2], and has a 550 shot battery life. I
think the newer version is 7.5 mpixels instead of 6.

[1] http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=166453692&size=l
[2] http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=165981501&size=o

 

Those photos look pretty damned good.

The only issue is that the reviews I've read talk about moderate barrel
distortion at the wide end of the zoom, which is the only reason I want
to ditch my Nikon.

Having said that, it appears most digital compacts suffer to some
extent.

Do you have any pics taken at a wide angle with vertical objects towards
the edges of the frame?

 

No, but I'll take one tomorrow in daylight and mail it to you.

 

Cheers.

I'm trying to avoid this kind of thing:

http://www.italiancar.co.uk/Algarve05/images/DSCN0612.jpg

 

It's not just the barrel distortion, is it? The chromatic aberration on
that lampost is nasty.

 

Yup, overall I'm really disappointed with it's performance. Although
it's a higher pixel count than my old Olympus and Fuji cameras, the lens
quality is nowhere near as good - not really what you'd expect from
Nikon.

Other than the barrel distortion, the Casio Exilim range get some really
good reviews, plus Casio sell them at discount prices online.

Looks like I may go for it.

 

SteveH says...

Try taking photos of more interesting subjects, like naked women doing
lezzer type things with each other. No-one will be looking for barrel
distortion then.

 

Drop me a mail at : a d m i n * a t * b r o w n z * d o t * o r g

I'll check our obsolete stock sale list for potential bargins tomorrow.

 

Emailed.

 

Lovely chromatic aberration there, too.

 

Only if they're wrestling in a barrel of mud.