Complete novice requires a simple to use camera to take away on family holiday & usual weekend stuff (pics of the kids at the zoo etc).
I have a compact camera but its embarrasing as everybody else seems to have the SLR type super zooms and stuff (I know how shallow this is by the way!).
Any suggestions ideally in the £150 – £300 range?

Cheers

Have been looking at entry level dslr recently and the nikon d3100 is probably as cheap as you would want to go at around £300

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-Digital-Camera-18-55mm-14-2MP/dp/B00403MA4M

Why not a decent compact?

Just got my nephew a Fuji X10…amazing pics…and plenty of scope for getting more into photography…id stay clear of dslrs on basis that they are bulky and youll get bored of lugging it about…i have a dslr but dont use it since i bought an x100s…the best camera is the one you have with you!

Thanks cloudnine – wow thats some saving!
Do compacts come with a zoomy thing lense?
I didnt mention Im also the worst picture taker like ever so my thoughts are just take loads of pics very quickly and delete out all the bad shots 🙂

The uncomfortable truth here is that a dSLR in and of itself will not take magically better pictures. A dSLR’s strength (well, one of them) is that it will afford you the ability to control exactly what your camera does; this is at odds with “Im also the worst picture taker like ever”. You can shoot everything full auto if you like but, well, you’re carrying a big, heavy, expensive camera around when something pocketable would suffice.

If you want to improve, learn how to better use your camera and take better photos, there’s merit to you getting a dSLR. If you want to point-and-shoot then a higher end compact is what you need; something like the Canon S95 perhaps, or one of the superzoom outings. Forget willy-waving.

If you want a middle ground, something you can grow into, consider CSC cameras.

Do want the super zoom or better image quality?

You won’t get the same amount of zoom on a SLR without spending £1000.

Most cameras at a price point are very similar to each other. I’d recommend sticking with the same brand you already have as the menu system and buttons might be similar so hopefully you’ll be able to get more out of the camera.

I picked up an Olympus PEN E-PL1 for an embarrassingly small amount of dosh off of Warehouse Express’ used listings. £139 with a kit zoom – and it is surprisingly good.

It isn’t up to current DSLR standards granted, but it is much smaller, lighter and as user friendly as a compact – but with close to DSLR image quality. And it was cheap. I am finding it a good companion to my brace of big, horrendously expensive Nikons 😉

Check out other Micro 4/3 offerings used, they are a good bit cheaper than the bigger stuff and probably ideal for what you are looking for.

Thanks for your answers all – narrowed my search down to the samsung nx1000. Ease of use will suite me and with the tablet for £355 seems a reasonable deal. Anything major against this choice?