Digital Cameras - UK Online Electronic Store

Fujifilm Finepix F200EXR Digital Camera - Black (12MP, 5x Optical Zoom) 3" LCD

Fuji do it again, 2009-06-15
This is the camera that the vast majority of us have been waiting for, in a sensible package it crams a high resolution advanced sensor with some extra tricks up its sleeve, a respectable 5x zoom lens, a shorter than average wide angle start point and last but not least a fully automatic mode that seems to do what it should........take the best possible picture in the circumstances.

It is the Extended Range Function that makes this camera what it is.

In normal to good lighting conditions it functions as a conventional 12mp camera.

However should the lighting conditions have a large difference between light and dark, then the camera shifts into the Extended range function. The 12mp sensor is now split into two 6mp sensors, one taking a slighty overexposed image and the other to take a slighty underexposed image. These are then combined to make one 6mp picture but with all the detail in both the dark and light sections of the image (and by god it works).

Should the lighting conditions be very poor and/or there is a risk of picture shake. It will shift to its high ISO - Low noise mode. Again it splits the sensor into two 6mp sensors and takes identical exposures and then combines the two images, cancelling out the majority of noise artifacts from such a high ISO setting. The high ISO also allows for a faster shutter speed and therefor less shake. This function can also allow you to take pictures without flash for a more natural balance or where flash is prohibited.

A small point to note that these last two functions result in 6mp image output from the camera, so excessive cropping/zooming/large print size could result in a slightly lower picture quality than expected.

The camera can be forced into using either of the two functions described above or can be switched off to function as a normal 12mp camera all the time (plus all the other usual modes).

Also to note is that battery life is awful in the EXR mode, as all the processing functions are fully active all the time including constant focusing

The 28mm start point on the lens helps, you know when your stood in the corner of a room trying to get as much in as you can. This camera (like any other with a similar start point) just gets so much more in the frame than those with the classic 35mm start point.

The zoom is also a revelation, whilst limited to a 5x limit it has lots of steps through its range. So its never a case of to close or not close enough.

Could go on for ages its brill....

Remeber plenty of memory (especially if you are going to use fujis amazing video mode, so much better than the rest at 30fps). A spare battery or two...... they dont last long. Watch out on the replacement front have seen some very low capacity batteries marked as high capacity (look for at least 900 - 1000 mha, have seen one as high as 1200mha which should help). The battery is not unique to fuji, i have a Kodak Klic 7004 battery (equivalent by Uniross 1000mha £11) that works fine.

Any niggles ..well yes i find that i keep jogging the function dial, but thats probably me just being clumsy when i get it out the case.

Buy and enjoy... you never knew you where that good at taking pictures!

N.B. I have noticed alot of people complaining about noisy pictures at iso 1600 setting. This (and iso 3200) is available at full 12mp resolution and will be noisy. Switch to EXR High/Low noise mode - problem solved.

Nikon D40 with AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II

• 6.1 megapixels
• 18-55mm lens size
• 2.5 inch LCD screen size
• 2.5 frames per second
• SD memory format

to buy or not, 2009-06-28
this is my frist DSR camera i have had alot of compacts in the past up to 10m this was what i was worried about because it is only 6m but having be on hoilday and taking just over 1100 pics on it and the wife take pics on a compact 10m
the pics on this are so much fuller of colour and the fine detail is alot lot better and for the price i would tell every body to one and it has lots of informtion on the menus that help you learn how to take better pics

Canon Digital IXUS 100 IS Digital Camera - Black (12.1 MP, 3.0x Optical Zoom) 2.5" LCD

• Canon
• 3595B006AA
• Digital Cameras

Little wonder, 2009-06-22
Fantastic little camera. I have a bigger digital SLRs and this packs in almost as much. Superb image quality and HD video too. It's truly pocket size - smaller but a bit fatter than my mobile phone. I have no problem recommending this item, especially with the clever little SanDisk Ultra II SD Plus 4GB SanDisk Ultra II SD Plus 4GB 15MBS which folds in half to pop straight into a USB port.

Mr E.

Canon Digital IXUS 95 IS Digital Camera - Silver (10 MP, 3.0x Optical Zoom) 2.5" LCD

Lovely little camera!!!!, 2009-06-22
I purchased this as a replacement for my Pentax Optio M40,which was fine apart from the LCD screen being useless in bright or sunny conditions,so I wanted a camera with an optical viewfinder. This Canon is a little gem,the LCD screen is much better than the Pentax,with the viewfinder as a backup in really bright conditions.It is very versatile and easy to use, shots taken in auto mode are really good whatever the conditions, and you have Program mode if you want to have more control. Well done, Canon!!!!

Sony DSLR-A200K Digital SLR Camera + Zoom Lens Kit (18-70mm F3.5-5.6)

More than just an "entry" camera, 2009-06-26
Having looked carefully for a low priced DSLR,I found this camera,it is all and more than I expected,easy to hold and handle,very quick and silent in all functions.An excellent camera for anyone on a fixed budget.Sony DSLR-A200K Digital SLR Camera + Zoom Lens Kit (18-70mm F3.5-5.6)

Sony CyberShot S930 Digital Camera - Silver (10.1 MP, 3x Optical Zoom) 2.4" LCD

bargin at the price, 2009-05-27
having had a sony camera for years and now having a more expensive main camera we found we needed a cheaper camera for those day to day events.
having got it going which took minutes this camera as all sony cameras delivers some exceptional photos and video for a bargin price. a super buy and worth every penny and taking less than 60 seconds to get it working just what is needed.

Panasonic Lumix TZ7 Digital Camera - Black (10.1MP, 12x Optical Zoom) 3.0" LCD

• 25mm Ultra Wide-angle 12x Optical Zoom LEICA DC Lens in a Compact Body
• HD Movie Recording in AVCHD Lite with Dolby Stereo Digital Creator
• Advanced iA (Intelligent Auto) Mode with Face Recognition and Movie iA Mode
• Large 3.0-inch, 460,000-dot High-resolution Intelligent LCD with Wide-viewing Angle
• Venus Engine HD with HDMI Compatibility and VIERA Link

a point and shoot that will give an SLR a run for its money, 2009-07-01
i have owned digital cameras for some years now, my other Panasonic models are the LX2 and the TZ3. I also own traditional film SLR but have not been swayed towards digital SLR yet, and this is a camera that is not going to change that decision!

i have only 2 major criticisms of this camera. firstly there is no manual mode, for focus or aperture/shutter settings (but my lx2 gives me that) and secondly it has a dedicated (not AA/AAA etc.) battery. That means you have to buy a couple of spares because if you are as prolific as I am with pictures, you'll take about 120-150 before you've flattened the battery from full charge.

this is a slim and lightweight camera, and squashing a 25mm to 300mm OPTICAL lens into that package is pretty amazing. at my preferred 3:2 ratio even at 300mm i have a 9.5MP picture, native should I choose. at the widest angle there is a little distortion (curving inwards) and this is most apparent if you are using a stitching program to glue together several landscape pictures but providing the overlap gives some room for manoeuvre. in single shots you may be able to see it in the lines of buildings but also in a way its quite an 'arty' effect used on TV very often to enhance the wide angle view, so some may even think its another benefit!

at 300mm it is relatively hard to keep it steady when used hand held, but the picture stabilization if very effective and even at relatively slow shutter speeds i have had some remarkable results. the digital zoom is quite effective too, it works far better in bight light and low ISO (which you can override).

so the question has to be, why should i carry around with me an SLR with a bag full of lenses, and when i find something i need a picture of, faff about swapping lenses, to get what may only be a marginal improvement what this can deliver in a single slim package?

i have to put up with autofocus, also mostly letting the camera take control of the aperture and speed, you can adjust the +/- EV quite effectively and using the slow shutter limit you can force a faster shutter, using the ISO settings you can force more of an exposure.

having said that the automatic is pretty good, the face detection is ok, not 100% (but you can train it!) autofocus gets it right even though glass, white balance is very good, and the compromise between the ISO and the exposure is actually pretty good with all things taken into consideration. it is geared towards hand held use so while some of the quality factors drop a little, it is the aim to produce a relatively sharp image, and it does that very well.

i have used some of the picture modes to good effect, starry sky works an up to 60 second exposure of a clear night sky works well, night scenery also pushes the camera to do a good job with low light dusk and night street scenes. useful here is the 10 second or 2 second timed release which is instead of a cable release.

hunt out reviews on this camera if you need any more convincing but this is for me a landmark bit of camera kit that is such an all-rounder i do not feel i need to carry anything else. as great as it is to get good pictures, the more complex the attempts to capture that photo means you spend less time looking at it with the naked eye, and more time lugging equipment and setting things up when this camera can do what i believe is more than an adequate job.

this is the point and shoot that will capture that moment in less than the time it takes to decide which SLR setting is best for the moment that just passed!

Canon Digital IXUS 85 IS Compact Camera - Silver (10 MP, 3x Optical Zoom) 2.5'' High Resolution PureColor LCD II

Great Camera, 2009-06-29
Was going to get something completely different, but read some reviews and instantly changed my mind to this camera - and wasn't disappointed. Its really easy to use, takes great pictures and is very nice & neat. Only negative was that whoever packed the box forgot to put the software cd in, but who uses the supplied software anyway?!

Panasonic Lumix FS7 Digital Camera - Black (10.1MP, 4x Optical Zoom) 2.7" LCD

Love it!!, 2009-06-29
I bought this camera as a replacement for my Kodak, and I just love it.
For once I did some research on the internet about the best to buy in my price bracket, and the Lumix make always seemed to come just out in front of the Sony Cybershot which I was first interested in.
I am no professional, just a point and shot type of person, and I very rarely read the instruction booklet, I just go for it, but found this very easy to work round.
It had it's first outing at an outdoor concert, where is was day going into night, and the phots it took where jsut amazin, and had all my friends commenting on how good the quality was. The night scene, and the sports mode really helped capture some great pictures. And the fireworks feature caputured the closing scene beautifully.
I'm no expert, but I think this camera is great value for money, it's small but robust and can easy fit into your pocket, and I would recommend it to anybody who just likes to 'point & shoot' and get good shots. (Tho the shutter speed is still not as fast as I would like, it's a major improvement from the Kodak)
Buy it, play with it, LOVE IT!!!

Sony Cyber-shot DSCS950B - Black (10.1 MP, 4x Optical Zoom) 2.7" LCD

sony so easy, 2009-07-01
great little camera charged in no time so easy to use not too fiddly.a great starter camera for anyone,easy to read screen instructions i cant fault it fantastic for the price.