Perhaps i'll get a response in the appropriate forum...?

Indraneelan

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I'm currently looking for a cheap camera to take with me on a trip to india, in order to take pictures that are a worthwile reproduction of the view i could get there (in particular, stunning colours, skies, silhouettes etc...), also to take pictures in low light conditions, bearing in mind i only have a super compact at the moment. I've been recommended the c2500L for this, and the reviews rate it, though obviously they're all 5yrs old.

The question is, can I get one for under (preferably considerably under) £100? seen one on ebay that went for £113, but i don't know where else to look for to buy one.

Also, can anyone confirm this is a good choice or recommend something different?

EDIT - someone mentioned just today that I might have trouble with it being only 2.5MP, what kind of size prints do you think you can get out of that?
 
2.5 mp will probably only be OK for 4x6 prints. I would suggest looking for one with a minimum of 5mp. I don't know anything about the brand your looking at so I can't comment.

If your looking for cheap you might just get a decent Point& Shoot (P&S) film camera and good film. Then have scans made of the best shots so you can punch them up on a computer later. That way you won't be dependent on memory cards (you would probably want to have serveral of at least 1gig) and batteries. You would also want to consider some form of backup for your memory cards on your trip so you don't chance loosing your shots if a card goes bad.

Just my opinion
 
hmm, that doesn't sound good. Not sure why but i'm not too keen on taking a film camera, and i was hoping 2.5 would be good for a4 if the camera was good enough. I guess not though. So what 5MP digital large lens camera can i get cheaply? I don't need any features whatsoever, just good quality photos, and a bit of zoom would be nice but not essential.
 
I have not kept up on the various features of the lower end digitals. That being said I think you would be fine with any of the major brands. Nikon Coolpics have a good reputation as do the Sony Cybershot cameras. You'll just have to compare the features they have with what you want.
 
Indraneelan said:
hmm, that doesn't sound good. Not sure why but i'm not too keen on taking a film camera, and i was hoping 2.5 would be good for a4 if the camera was good enough. I guess not though. So what 5MP digital large lens camera can i get cheaply? I don't need any features whatsoever, just good quality photos, and a bit of zoom would be nice but not essential.
It's the features that let you do the cool stuff, like focus on time and expose properly.

With your budget I'd get a film camera.

Alternatively, you can still do with a point and shoot if it has either a manual mode or exposure compenstation:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...952&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
 
Don't forget there are added expenses that one must take into account if they are going on a long trip with a digial camera.

* Memory. For me, it could be days before I have access to a computer to off-load the pictures from my cards. The longer the trip.. the more memory you might have to tote around.
* Battery. Digital cameras consume more battery power than typical film cameras. Some film cameras have the added bonus of being fully or partially mechanical thus operate even if the battery dies.
* Security concerns. There's a premium on fancy digial cameras.

Just like other said... I'd go with a film camera.
 
I would go for a nice used film slr. You aren't going to get the quality and features you are looking for in a digital camera for cheap, and as mentioned, there are lots of additional costs and concerns when buying a digital camera. You can get a nice used film slr on ebay for cheap, one that uses no batteries even, if you so desire.
 
i went overseas traveling for 8months had no problems with my digital cameras. remember you will be in places for short perriods of time and places you possibly will never visit again! this is why digital is better cause you can take many photos of everything then just go through your photos and delete them if there no good! charging batterys and off loading images is somthing you have to keep in mind, but you can do this almost anywhere!
* Security concerns. There's a premium on fancy digial cameras.
security goes with everything not just digital cameras, if someone is going to steel, i dont think they will be too picky on the fact that it is digital or not!
This is just my opinion, i traveled with a compact digital and all was good, and got many great pics!
 
Indraneelan said:
hmm, that doesn't sound good. Not sure why but i'm not too keen on taking a film camera, and i was hoping 2.5 would be good for a4 if the camera was good enough. I guess not though. So what 5MP digital large lens camera can i get cheaply? I don't need any features whatsoever, just good quality photos, and a bit of zoom would be nice but not essential.


maybe you can find a 2nd hand Fuji finepix S5500 for about £100-150.
4MP 10x optical zoom ..35-350mm.
 
cheers 2frames... that's been helpful, looks like the kind of camera i want. Do you know anywhere I could have a look at untouched up sample photos? the s5000 is an option as well i presume, i saw something about the CCD in the s5500 being 'more conventionla', sounded like the CCD in the older one was a bit better, or was it just that it used Fuji's interpolation double resolution thingy?

also, the s5500 says it only has quarter of a second as the slowest shutter speed, but i'll definitely look into it. Cheers again, keep piling on the suggestions please.

Securit concerns btw, i'm just hoping i can manage, there's lots of things i don't want to use, but the main point is i'm taking my super compact with me. The camera i'm looking for now is only for shots i feel require a better photo quality to be worthwhile. Memory shouldn't be a problem as i think you can get some fairly large cards for£30 or so. I don't like the idea of not being able to see my shots at all until I have them developed so i'll probably stick with a digital.

I may go down the film route after talking to more people though, mainly concerns over availability of technology (power, offloading images) but if that happens i'll have to change my whole plan as i'm keen on taking loads of photos and i'll have to rethink that.

Cheers again, and also pnce again, any and all suggestions of cameras with good colour reproduction and good low light operation will be appreciated.
 
btw, another camera i'm looking at is the olympus c5050 if anyone has any thoughts on that...?
 

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