Popular Digital Cameras - Digital Cameras and accessories

Pentax Optio E90 Digital Camera - Black (10MP, 3x Optical Zoom) 2.7 inch LCD

Affordable good little camera, 2010-08-22
I mainly use cameras during holidays or celebrations, so I don't really need a very fancy, expensive o professional digital one. I was a bit annoyed with previous experiences with other brands when paying almost 100 pounds the colours in the images don't appear properly, and then decided to go for this Pentax, for about half the price. I've found it very easy to use: the automatic mode makes sure that you get the right settings for your captions, and if you want to change it, it just take a second to get the night mode, landscape mode, etc. Colours are amazing, really vivid, when seeing the images in your computer. With a SD card you don't need to worry about having the proper slot in your computer, unlike with XD cards. Batteries last long enough for a couple of days using flash every so often and viewing the images that you've taken. I give 5 stars to Optio E90 in this range of cameras, the value for your money is great. It's nice to have a manufacturer like Pentax delivering cameras for people that don't really want to spend too much or that just want to keep quality photos without making things complicated for them.

Canon EOS 500D Digital SLR Camera (incl. EF-S 18-55 mm IS Lens Kit)

• 15.1 MP CMOS sensor
• EF-S 1855mm f/3.55.6 lens included
• Full HD (1080p) movies
• High ISO up to 12800 for low-light conditions
• 3.4fps with up to 170 JPEG burst

The Best, 2010-08-25
The canon 500D is a brilliant camera. I was on a fishing boat off the Scilly Isles and it was very choppy but on high speed setting took wonderful shots of birds in flight.
On full Auto it is brilliant.

Panasonic Lumix TZ10 Digital Camera (12.1MP, 12x Optical Zoom) 3.0 inch LCD - Black

What versatility!, 2010-08-31
What a lovely camera! It beautifully combines ease of use and user control and produces excellent images. Videos are high quality, include the zoom function (which is fantastic) and are extremely easy to start and stop. The controls are generally well designed and easy to use with a nice combination of short cuts, dedicated buttons and menus. The screen resolution is very good and the 3 inch screen makes it pleasurable to review shots. Inevitably there is some compromise to be made. The camera is expensive but I think remains good value. Packing so much functionality and quality in means that compared to other similar compact cameras it is significantly larger and heavier. You can put it in your trouser pocket but it feels a little bulky. If you like quality, versatility and user friendliness, and don't mind the price and it's size - go for it!

Panasonic Lumix FZ100 14.1MP Digital Camera - Black (3.0 inch TFT LCD Display, LEICA DC Lens with 24x Optical Zoom and Full HD Movie)

• 14.1 megapixel high-speed MOS sensor
• 24x f/2.8-5.2 25-600mm lens
• 3-inch 460K-pixel rotating LCD and electric viewfinder
• Build-in stereo mix
• Port for an optional stereo microphone

GET 1 :-), 2010-08-22
Having read loads of reviews about Panasonic cameras, I went for the plunge and for this flagship hybrid. Yes it has more features than I would ever use as happy snapper, but the quality of the build and pictures are 1st class. Like most I suppose, I did read lots of reviews on Sony, Canon, etc....but as I was advised, it's all down to the lens and not the amount of pixels. Leica and Carl Zeiss being the very best and with theses attatched to a camera, you really can't go wrong...:-)

Panasonic Lumix FS30 Digital Camera - Black (14.1MP, 8x Optical Zoom) 2.7 inch LCD

• 8x Optical Zoom Lens
• 2.7" Intelligent LCD Display
• 14.1-megapixel CCD
• HD Movie Recording
• Megapixels: 14.1

Lumix FS30 review, 2010-09-01
A cracking little camera, very easy to set up and get going with. I've been really impressed with the images and range of zoom. Even good for close ups of flowers etc. Excellent value for money ***

Panasonic Lumix FZ45 14.1MP Digital Camera - Black (3.0 inch TFT LCD Display, LEICA DC Lens with 25mm Wide-angle and 24x Optical Zoom)

A pleasing camera, 2010-08-31
I brought this after my 4 year old Fuji bridge cam packed it in. I was quite surprised by the technology on offer with this product. I am no expert on cameras, i tend to use one as a hoby and i am still very much learning, so seeing as i dont have a few £1000 for a DSLR with all the lenses i would like, this camera type is perfect for me, its a jack of all trades, not fantastic at one thing, but pretty good at everything.

The best feature (and perhaps the reason one might buy this) is the zoom, it is quite incredible what you can see. If you have steady hands or are using the iA feature you can take max zoom photos with out too much loss of quality. I took this camera up to a hill a few miles from where i live (where you can see for 10 miles all around to all the various towns/villages and land marks in my area. I was quite startled by how close up i could get with photos and video, being able to take a video and zoom in on a place 6 miles away so it fills a 19 inch monitor back home is quite astonishing if you never done it before.....although at that distance you get a fair amount of haze. I also tried it out on a passing plane about medium height up (for a plane) and could almost make out the number on the underside of the wing (i could see it was a Ryan Air quite easily).

The buttons are really well placed and the ability to switch to video camera mode in a instant while still framing a shot is really handy feature.

The Intelligent Auto mode is quite something, the down side is you cant take RAW images in this mode, but then if your making use of the iA mode the chances are you dont have time to set up a shot or your not some one who might use RAW images. For a general use mode or when you want to quickly snap something you just spotted, this mode is the ticket. You cant take a bad photo unless you really try too, i took it to an outdoor festival with various lighting effects late at night and was able to take a large amount of good quality photos with no effort other than to point and shoot.

I did have to watch out for exposure on some photos where the bright lights were causing the artists to have glowing faces, but this was easily solved by zooming out or in some more so the sensor i think could adjust its self, but on the whole i was impressed, especially with the close up shots of the artists face. When i got home i thought a few looked quite professional and would not look out of place in a music magazine, i even could pick up the pimples and wrinkles in their face despite being 30 or so meters back.

The macro mode works fine, i not noticed any real major advancement on my 4 year old Fuji, the obvious increase in megapixels does make a difference and i am getting quite clear shots compared to what i am use to, but to be fair to the FZ45 i have not taken many macro photos yet and the ones i have taken have been quite nice. I want to buy the lens enhancement at some point which should increase the ability of this.

This camera has a few "snazzy" modes like panaoramic (makes a shadow of your last image so you can line up the next) and a starry night mode that i have tried out. The starry night mode sets the shutter to 60 seconds, i have played about a little with this and had some quite interesting shots of the sky with very little noise (i did try this on my fuji but the images were so noisy you couldnt pick a star from noise). I am quite excited about having a play about with this feature as the nights get darker earlyer.

Downsides? Well so far only 2 noticable things, the first is the view finder is a digital one and it does not feel as crisp as you may want it to be. The other issue which is more than likely my memory card (its a cheap one i brought for my compact a few years old and its only a class 4) is that a few RAW images i took over the weekend appeared as blank files when i got home. Not a big issue as i tend to take quite a few shots, but i plan to buy a Class 10 panasonic "gold" one and will see if that makes any changes.

Oh and the other downside is that the cameras price has dropped quite quick over the past 2 weeks since it came out. It started at £350 on launch, then went down to £330, i brought it at £320, it then went to £310 the next day!... and now a week later i see its £275! typical eh! i could have brought that new memory card... hehe oh well, i have a weeks worth of photos i would never have taken if i didnt have this camera... and thats the joy of photography, you can capture a moment that will never happen again....and who can put a price on that?

Sony DSCW320B Cyber-shot Digital Camera - Black (14.1 MP, 4x Optical Zoom) 2.7 inch LCD

• Very high resolution imaging
• Choice of beautiful colours
• Capture smiling portraits
• -

Perfect little camera, 2010-08-29
I bought one about a month ago and it is just fantastic, no faults. If your looking for a small camera, easy to use that takes high quality picutures then buy this camera!

Panasonic Lumix TZ8 Digital Camera (12.1MP, 12x Optical Zoom) 2.7 inch LCD - Black

Great camera, 2010-09-01
I bought this as a replacement for another Panasonic camera that was I a year old. This had been dropped and was not worth fixing. I was going to get the same one again but was glad I didn't. I love this camera. The build is good and feels solid. It take beautiful pictres, nice and clear. Lots of different scenes to use and I'm still working some of the features out. I would definately recommend this lovely camera to anyone.

Canon PowerShot SX210 IS Digital Camera - Black (14.1 MP, 14x Optical Zoom) 3.0 Inch PureColor LCD

• Stylish, 14.1 Megapixel metal body IXUS in four colour options
• Genuine Canon 24 mm ultra wide-angle 5x zoom lens with optical Image Stabilizer
• Wide 8.8 cm (3.5 Inch) PureColor II Touch LCD with touch control
• Touch autofocus, custom icon layout and tap control
• Easy to use, with Smart Auto, Face Detection and on-screen Hints and Tips

The Best Camera Of This Kind, 2010-08-20
Quite simply, this is the best camera of this kind/class. It's a little gem, if you are on the lookout for a camera like this and can't decide between makes/models, just get this one, you have no reason not to. It's not perfect, but what is, but it does come pretty close. No cameras in this field are perfect, but this is the best of them. To answer some points that I've read by others -

The flash - people have said that it's right where they usually put a finger. Well, hold it somewhere else! Honestly, it's not an issue, in that area you can easily place your fingers elsewhere, underneath, front, back, or at the side of the flash. It's a good move by Canon with having a pop up flash on the top, as it's more efficient. These high zoom cameras that have a flash in the body, often have dark areas where the flash simply cannot reach as the lens is in the way. It's known as lens shadow. That happens with this, can't be avoided, but it's better by having a high flash on the top.

The zoom lever. Again, it might be different than what you're used to, but it's easy enough to operate. People also have said that the dials and controls are too small and crammed together. Well, have you seen the size of this camera! It's very compact, amazingly so. The controls have to go somewhere, there simply isn't room on the top anymore as the camera is so thin. If you have big hands/fingers or might have some hand difficulty, then I can see that it might take a while for you to become accustomed to the controls, but looking at the camera right now, I can't see any other way of laying it out, and in any case I think it's fine just as it is.

I've seen complaints about the movie sound altering. That's a wind cut filter. Without that, when it's windy, you'd simply hear a big muffled sound on your recordings, of wind! The filter cuts this down as best it can so you can still hear other stuff, voices and so on. It's a good feature.

I've seen people say that you can hear the zoom motor if used when recording movies. Well you can, but it's quiet. It moves in a slightly slower, quieter speed when filming to reduce this. It's a tiny camera and the lens has to have a motor! But it is quiet and a lot more so than similar cameras. In an environment where there might be people talking, or activities happening, you would not hear it.

Some things that stand out to me about this -

It feels very sturdy in the hand and is very easy to hold. You just want to pick it up and not put it down.
Superb zoom, and also decent digital zoom when in movie mode.
So far, more than reasonable pictures and movies in all conditions, including low light.
A quick movie mode option, just one button to press. Whilst in photo mode, you can press this movie button and it will begin to record a movie straight away, and you can still zoom, etc. Press the button again and the movie stops recording and it's back in photo mode.
It's quick, very quick. It's ready almost straight away after taking a photo, to take another, even with using the flash.

There are so many options on this and settings, it is worthwhile spending time to get to grips with it. Don't let that put you off though, there is an auto mode and an easy mode, so you can start snapping and filming straight away.

If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment.

As I've said, if you're after a camera like this one, then just get this one. I can't think why you'd get another in place of it.

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

So far so good, 2010-09-02
So far I've taken a variety of photo's in differing light conditions - all came out very good. Obviously in low light and at distance the flash is pointless, but with flash set as "OFF" the camera automatically compensated... so with a steady hand good photo's were obtained. I also tested the video feature, which was great.
I definately would recommend this camera to others, it is excellent value for money.