Suggests for a digital camera

[WebMaster]

Here on my country estate, Webby Towers, I get a lot of wildlife in my garden which I'm wanting to photograph (this morning I had stoats frolicking in the sun on the lawn).

My current digital camera is pretty old - something like 2 mpix resolution, x4 optical zoom - so I've got no chance of getting a close-up of my fury friends,

One option would be a camera with a dirty great optical zoom on it, although presumably a higher resolution would help too, as once I'd taken the pictures, I'd be able to zoom in more on the computer without loosing so much image quality.

There seems to be a lot of overlap in functionality with digital camcorders too, and often they have much better zoom than a camera, but are a lot cheaper. So that's the first question: would I be better with a camcorder, and just taking stills with it?

Standing at the window with a camera all day gets a bit boring though. Maybe I'd be best off with a camera which has a motion sensor built in. I know this feature is available in things like security cameras, but is it also available in digital cameras?

Yet another option would be to buy a cheapo digital camera, take the back off, and attached a 30 foot bit of cable so that I could cause it to take pictures from a distance away by closing the circuit.

Any suggestions?

[locutus]

I have a friend who is a photographer and I've picked up a few things talking to him. You seem to have the basics covered, Optical zoom over digital zoom and high megapixels.... one thing he always says is try before you buy, and check the quality that way as some boast high digital zoom and high megapixels but the camera doesn't pick up colours very well and also pictures can look grainy.

A good tip for buying electronics is check out the items in a big high street retailer then see if you can find the one you choose cheeper online.

[Michael Browne]

Check out Panasonic Lumix TZ2:

Leica lens, 6.0 mega pixels, 10x optical zoom, 2.5 LCD screen £100-£115

[barracad]

Kill two birds with one stone and get a camera phone. This one's pretty cheap:

[Psycho Bob :o)]

Often ( most often ) a video camera's digital still capabilities are far inferior to it's moving image abilities. I see your reasoning for a digital camcorder, but they dont really cut it for stills ( boo ) due to resolution and CCD sizing etc.

I've never yet seen anything to beat a decent stills camera ( be it digital or film )

Panasonic Lumix range are particularly nice at the moment.

[stroke a badger]

Panasonic Lumix TZ5 looks good

[Lula]

Wotcha Webby, photographing the local wildlife eh?

I have a Fuji Finepix S5700 and it is the dogs danglies.

I will forward some pics that I took at the eden project last year and you will see what I mean (that is, if I can find your email addy)

[WebMaster]

Hah ok Lula. My current camera is great for normal use, just not for close ups of stoats.

I take the point about camcorders too ... think I was just wooed by the x40 optical zoom

[stroke a badger]

I use the below and LOVE the results:

Canon 40D Dslr body
Canon 28-135mm IS lens
Canon 70-200mm F4l L series

I have had both the lenses for approx 4 years and they have survived high degrees of humidity, drops in less than padded camera bags and general use. I bought the 40D last August and it is in my eyes the best camera Canon have made, with that said Canon has just released news that the 50D will be out soon.

I confess I am a photography geek - but I love it!

[renegotiation]

'Which?' magazine happen to have a good 5 page feature on cameras in the issue for this September. They tested 21 digital compact models and 5 DSLR models. Not that means much to me. I will happily scan and email you the report if you aren't able to get hold of the magazine from someone. Or I could photobucket it as well I suppose.

[WebMaster]

Originally Posted by stroke a badger

I use the below and LOVE the results:

Canon 40D Dslr body
Canon 28-135mm IS lens
Canon 70-200mm F4l L series

Woah, you forgot to mention that the 40D body starts out at almost 600 quid

[stroke a badger]

Doh - sorry I got the wrong end of the stick!!

Have a look at the Ixus 85is. My wife has one and for the price/size it is fantastic.

Before spending any cash have a look at camerapricebuster.com to compare prices and don't forget hotukdeals.com for cashback

[honey5]

we have a
Canon Powershot S5 IS

specs

Technical Specification.
Style
Extended Zoom
Megapixels
8
Resolution
3264 x 2448, 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 640 x 480, 3264 x 1832
File Formats
JPEG
Memory Cards
SD/SDHC
Zoom
12x
Focal Length Equivalent
36 - 432mm
Shutter Speed
15  1/3200 seconds
Aperture
f/2.7 - f/3.5
Sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
White Balance Settings
Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash, Custom
ExposureCompensation
-2EV to +2EV (in 1/3EV steps)
Viewfinder
Electronic
LCD Screen
2.5 inches
Flash Modes
Auto, Manual Flash On / Off, Slow Sync Speed, Red-eye Reduction
Flash Range
5.2m
Shooting Modes
Portrait, Landscape, Night Snapshot, Sports, Stitch Assist, Movie, Indoor, Night Scene, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium
Maximum Movie Resolution
640 x 480 pixels
Maximum Movie Frames Per Second
30 fps
Maximum Movie Duration
Up to 4GB or 1 hour
Macro Focus
0cms
Metering
Multi-pattern, centre weighted, spot
ManualControls
Shutter priority, Aperture priority, Manual
Image Stabilisation
Yes
Lens Converters
Yes
Self Timer
10 seconds or 2 seconds
Video Out (TV Playback)
Yes
Computer Connection
Yes
Batteries
AA
Dimensions
117 x 80 x 77.7 mm
Weight
450g

takes fantastic photos, but if i knew how to use it might be easier, then i could get the best from it

so i really rely on my fugi finepix A405, and that does me

honey x

[WebMaster]

Yeah I was really tempted by the Canons that I saw, went for a Panasonic in the endthough ... a Lumix FZ18.