The flash on my Samsung S630's packed up. I've had it six years and I guess it's not worth repairing, it cost less than fifty quid - and yes I've RTFM!
There's a helluva lot of cameras out there!
I'm leaning towards Nikon Coolpix L27 at around £55. It's got 5x optical zoom (old Samsung 3) and 16 Megapixel (old Samsung 6). I like the idea of AA batteries as I ran the old Samsung on NiMh and always carried a couple of spare. I suspect I may be caught out if I had to remember to charge a camera before going out.
What's the opinion out there?
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I've owned, bought and sold a lot of digital cameras over the past 2-3yrs.
Buy this from Ebay for £60... www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-Cyber-Shot-DSC-HX5V-Black-with-16gb-memory-stick-/131097517937
It has 10x optical, full HD movie, GPS, auto macro, great low light performance, excellent image quality. Also has a "lowly" 10.2mp which is a good thing.
It will compare with any new digicam up to £250 and the low used prices are a steal. We have 3 of them and they are *the* performer in their class.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Tue 21 Jan 14 at 21:20
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It's got 5x optical zoom...
...It has 10x optical...
Aiming this at the way cameras are marketed, rather than at either of our friends here, but the ratio of widest to longest is (or should be) of minimal interest to camera buyers, just as most car buyers wouldn't check the ratio of furthest-forward to furthest-back seat position. What matters is where it actually goes - a 28-112mm equiv zoom is vastly more useful than a 35-175mm even though its 'zoom ratio' is smaller. A 24-96mm is better still, but even quite expensive compact cameras make you dig deep to find out how wide they go.
FL is right about pixels. I have 75x50cm prints on my walls taken with my old 6MP Pentax DSLR, and they look great. Quality over quantity every time.
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WDB correct of course about the zoom coverage. For most folks both for family use and pro a good wide angle is always valuable. The Sony HX5V is 25-250 so scores very well in that area.
Of course the long end of a 10x zoom isn't to be discounted as a rarely used gimic. The Sony has an excellent image stabilisation system so taking hand held shots at max zoom is not an issue. The longer zoom is a real boon when making videos too... which even if bathtub doesn't see that as an esential feature the superb HD video quality would soon prove useful.
The Sony has a good 10 frames per secong burst mode too which is very useful for capturing the exact shot you wanted from a fast moving subject like cars, pets or kids.
It also has a 180deg sweep panorama mode. This produces some stunning landscape shots and also standing in a room with your back close to one wall you can photograph 3/4 of the room in one image.
Did I say I really rate these cameras?
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Thanks for the recommendation Fenlander, but:
1. I wouldn't dream of suggesting to SWMBO we buy a second hand camera. Fancy your chances?
2. That Sony has a wealth of features I doubt I'd ever use. There's many on the old Samsung I've never used.
3. SWMBO has an ability to take videos, record audio and do various other things inadvertently. That Sony opens up whole new ways of doing things.
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>> Thanks for the recommendation Fenlander, but:
>>
>> 1. I wouldn't dream of suggesting to SWMBO we buy a second hand camera. Fancy
>> your chances?
>>
>> 2. That Sony has a wealth of features I doubt I'd ever use. There's many
>> on the old Samsung I've never used.
>>
>> 3. SWMBO has an ability to take videos, record audio and do various other things
>> inadvertently. That Sony opens up whole new ways of doing things.
Give all the above, the "Nikon Coolpix L27 at around £55" will do you just fine.
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Ahh you need to change her attitude.... second hand is good.
I know why you would say about the features you don't need. But the main ability of the Sony is to be slipped out of a pocket/handbag, switched on and get the best out of any photographic situation on fully auto. The rest is icing on the cake that you can move into as it takes your interest.
On the last point. The Sony has a nice clicky dial on the top near the on button and one of the positions says "Easy". No worrying about accidental miss setting in a button based menu that might have changed this or that parameter. If it's on Easy its all done for you at default settings.
Fully appreciate if it's not your thing though.... we all have different perceived needs.
If the camera is for Mrs B and she wants new then probably the most important thing is to get her into somewhere she can handle a selection at your price point. Some will be to big/small and some are hard to hold and on others the menu/setting buttons completely lack logic.
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Got the Nikon Coolpix L27 for £49 from Tesco on-line.
RTFM, I noticed a facility that would identify a face and take a photo when it smiled. Tried it on SWMBO (down boys, the facility) and it works.
A little square on the screen moves to a face, and when it smiles the flash goes off, without touching a button.
I don't know whether to be impressed or scared at this level of software at this price!
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Fenlander, I've now got an HX5V from eBay. Tell me, when putting the USB cable in, it goes in smoothly. When pulling it out it requires a mighty great tug. Is this right?
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Oh yes, and if you're still looking for a low-light camera then the RX100 has been getting rave reviews with its sensor the size of an elephant. Expensive, mind.
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I hope you are not the mofo who outbid me.
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Mapmaker... didn't realise you were serious in getting one of these. I truly believe they are the best pocket compact at sensible used money... and in fact better than some more modern designs with more pixels and less quality.
It is my everyday (and Ebay image) camera plus both teen daughters have one. I have also bought / sold another... as well as an HX9V which isn't as good overall despite the higher pixels/zoom.
I assume you mean the big plug on the bottom that, on mine, feeds to the USB & AV plugs. Yes it is a firm push in but on removal there is a release button on the plug... well there is on the original Sony lead. It's obvious in this image just above the word type 2...
auih.merchantrunglobal.com/ImageHosting/ViewImage.aspx?GlobalID=1003&MerchantID=478&ImageID=515&DisplaySize=-1&ListingID=25513
BTW if you need extra batteries generic aftermarket are fine... unlike the HX9V which refuses to operate with them.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Mon 10 Mar 14 at 14:09
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I do use some extra genuine Sony batteries but also a couple of these which work just as well.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-NP-BG1-NPBG1-Rechargeable-Battery-for-Sony-Cyber-shot-camera-UK-/130659593198
Last edited by: Fenlander on Mon 10 Mar 14 at 14:17
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Second-hand price has gone up £20 since this thread started... if you look at eBay history a fair number made in the £40s...
Fenlander. I 'needed' a new camera as I'd lost the charging lead to my old one (somewhere in the house) and an entire second hand camera was barely more expensive than the new lead... So it seemed rude not to.
Thanks for the tip, a RTFM problem. The button isn't exactly obvious as a button... (or I'm a bit stupid; quite possible.) Annoying that it doesn't charge through the USB though. When the separate battery charger takes up as much space as the camera it's rather annoying. But I'm pretty impressed allround (on an hour's playing) so thanks for the top tip.
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>>>Annoying that it doesn't charge through the USB though
Yes/no.... depending on use times per day. Our preference is for a stand-alone charger so one battery can be left on charge while you are out using the camera. Mainly as we use it a great deal for HD video which is one of its strong areas but does cane the battery a bit.
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It's just why would you *not* have that feature?
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>generic aftermarket are fine... unlike the HX9V which refuses to operate with them.
I have an HX9V and it works just fine with aftermarket batteries.
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Ahh OK... obviously it didn't like the one I had.
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What compact, digital camera? - Fenlander
