Looking for a decent enough camera for my daughter around £100-£200 tops.
Would consider second hand.
What should I be looking for
Thanks

An OK all-rounder or something that excels in certain areas (ie low light, landscapes etc)?

Ok all rounder I would say…

shredder what’s the planned end-output? Print/college work or social media?

And does it need to be particularly compact (pocket size) or something to go in a bag?

I have just bought a Lumix TZ80 after doing a lot of research. Outside of your price range (maybe not second hand) but the research I did still applies:

– Larger sensor size means better image quality (look at this over mega pixels) but generally less zoom capability (is zoom important to you? it was for me but if not go for the big sensors). Big sensors are particuarly important in low light, will your daugher be mostly shooting indoors/at gigs etc. as this is where it will make a massive difference
– Sony are leading the way with sensor sizes and also packed with nice features like tilting screens and touch screen
– Panasonic (Lumix) have very good quality high zoom compacts (TZ range)
– Look for something with some manual controls if your daughter is likely to take an interest in ‘proper’ photography
– Look for one with Wifi function, this is an awesome feature and one I am constantly using. Especially if your daughter uses social media etc. you can have a photo on the phone and posted online in seconds.
– Finally have a chat with someone in a shop, the guys at my local Jessops were a fountain of knowledge and holding/playing with the camera was useful.

Also factor in SD cards/case etc. into the price, it can all add up but these are usually cheaper online.

Mostly school project work but no doubt social media posting as well.

Pocket sized over bag sized would be better.

For small size, image quality and both point and shoot or full manual features – a used Sony RX100 MK1 can be had for just over yr budget (seen going for £210)

Not particularly tough cameras in my experience though, had one develop a lens assembly failure. Could have been bad luck. Nonetheless, excellent image quality and small.

A bit bigger but with wifi and a massive zoom you could get a Panasonic Lumix TZ60 new for around £220. Used/refurb units well within budget. Has wifi and a host of features. Not used one myself but good general reviews, and I have enjoyed using several of the Lumix TZ range in the past with no issues other than requiring a second battery as the battery life wasn’t stellar in any. Never is in most compact zooms tbh.

Bang on, Malvern Rider, that’s exactly what I’d recommend. Sony RX100 Mk1

Great camera, room to do clever ‘photography’ things with it like exposure compensation, full manual, that kind of stuff, but a great point and shoot camera too. Near-on bombproof.

My battered version is next to my keyboard right now. Oh, and it took the Moab photo that’s on the cover of the 2017 calendar, so the quality is definitely good enough.

Make sure you get the Mk1 (they’re up to about Mark V now) – I’ve seen them even in camera shops S/H and mint for £200.

Thanks guys with reference to the Sony bombproof enough to be chucked in a bag etc etc..

I have a Canon S90 I’d sell for about 75 notes. It was recommended by a pro-tog friend a while back, but I’ve never clicked with it (pun semi-intended). Shoots RAW as well as the usual stuff, uses regular SD cards and has all the usual DSLR settings (aperture, shutter, full manual etc.) It’s a little bruised round the edges, but functionally perfect. Drop me a line if interested:

pimpmasterjazz at yahoo dot com.

I’m happy with my TZ60 – great zoom and image stabilisation and it produces decent quality pics. Also allows shooting in RAW which I personally wouldn’t be without.

shredder – Member

Thanks guys with reference to the Sony bombproof enough to be chucked in a bag etc etc..

I’d always get some kind of case for it – even if it’s just a neoprene sleeve – the lens assembly of any compact camera (apart from the tough ones that do their ‘zooming’ internally) are all prone to dirt/grit ingress into the lens assembly.

I got an ACME Made soft pouch for my Nikon p300 that’s held up well.

Thanks guys with reference to the Sony bombproof enough to be chucked in a bag etc etc..

Not mine – RIPieces 🙁

Like I say, may have just been unlucky but I did treat it with kid gloves and kept/carried in a case. Only time I let it out of my hands/sight was a friend picking it up for me and putting it in his car…. hmmmmm….

Search online rx100 mk1 lens error seems to be a ‘thing’. It could be just a problem inhetent to digital zoom cameras in general, they do suck in a lot of shit, If buying used definitely listen out for any kind of odd noise in the zoom assembly whatever the make.

Tbh I never had any such problems with Lumix TZs, just upgraded them as new ones became available.

If you end up looking to buy new, I find this place invaluable…
http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/
…wish they covered bikes 😉

If you end up with an RX-100 I would definitely recommend a stick on grip. It’s a bit slippy without it…

Top camera, I’m thinking of buying a second one just in case the one I have dies…

I want a compact that:

is as small as my S100
shoots RAW
has decent lowlight capability
decent battery life (S100 is good enough)
makes my photos ace….. 😆

Is that an RX100?

Leftfield suggestion that favours outright image quality over everything else (it doesn’t have a zoom lens, it’s fixed and gives a field of view equivalent to 28mm) is the Ricoh GR.

Earlier models (the ones with 10mp) can be bought for £200. The IQ and low light performance will be excellent.

eBay Example for you

+1 getee speaks sense here.

Zoom? RX100
Slightly less pocketable but with better IQ at (fixed) 28mm – GR Digital. Oh yes, built in ND filter too!

Note that older GR models have smaller sensors but still make great street-shooters.

I don’t recommend the Sony RX100 Mk1. Mine developed a fault when it would switch itself on spontaneously. At a minimum this flattened the battery and additionally strained the lens assembly when it tried to open itself inside a case or pocket.

There are many reports online about this issue with the Mk1. It’s clearly a design fault. Sony were absolutely useless about addressing it. Wouldn’t even entertain discussing the problem. First attempt at fixing it did not fix it. I sent the support person link to several youtube videos showing the problem. Support person claimed not to be able to understand what I was talking about because he ‘wasn’t allowed to look at the youtube Videos at work’. I don’t like Sony and won’t buy another camera from them (although I think that problem was fixed in later versions). I have a Nikon problem with a design issue and they offered a lifetime, unconditional, transferable fix. The contrast between Sony’s behaviour and Nikon’s is marked.

Despite being out of warranty John Lewis helped out with a contribution to a fix. I like John Lewis.

There are many reports online about this issue with the Mk1. It’s clearly a design fault.

This is interesting to read about as I wasn’t aware of it.

Sony were absolutely useless about addressing it.

This however I am familiar with. Sony really is useless at supporting its products, focusing instead on continually launching newer versions of the same thing and newer models. They are also useless at providing firmware updates, in stark contrast to Fuji who ostensibly reinvent your camera for free every six months by improving the firmware.

Sony’s other big problem is that they, apparently, don’t do any of their own warranty or servicing in the UK at least. It’s all contracted out to a third party which then focuses on rejecting as many warranty claims as possible to keep the cost to Sony down.

I had a Sony A7rII (a camera body that cost £2600) on which the lamination on the rear screen started to degrade and rub off within four months of it being new. The service company refused to warranty it, claiming instead that the camera had been dropped. Given that the wear was around the entire outside edge no one at the shop could work out how that was possible. They were so embarrassed that they paid for the fix themselves.

One issue common with many pocket compacts is the dreaded ‘Lens error’ which I’ve found is nearly always caused by the camera turning itself on in a pocket. This strains the lens motor at best and kills the camera at worst. The RX100 has a slightly recessed on/off button, but it can still happen – especially pressing it while reaching for the camera in a pocket. To be fair, the Canons all do this too – I’ve killed an S90 that way.

One thing that switched me from Canons (S50, S90, S95 in the past) was that the Sony’s flash isn’t motorised. The Canon S95 flash was on a motor and it sat under your finger when holding the camera, so I killed the flash on that camera (though the camera still worked fine). The Sony is on a spring (which also makes it great for bounce flash too).

I kind of view the RX100 as expendable and I treat them very hard and expect to go through one every couple of years. But then it’s the ‘cheapest’ of my cameras and I appreciate that that’s not the case for most people. 🙂

Wish the RX100 mark V came with an expendable price tag, its close to a grand 😮

I have one of these at home that gets no use anymore, I always just take snaps on my phone:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-TZ7-review

If you/she wants it, you can have it for the cost of the postage and a donation into a charity tin.

I got a panasonic lumix ft5. Its small enough for a pocket, the lens doesn’t extend which killed my last camera, it can take a drop- even into the sea which killed the one before that and the pictures are pretty good.
Mind i’m not a photography expert.

Slippy Rx100s (or any other camera) can also be made less slippy with some tactically placed sugru.

Optical viewfinder or GTFO.

I’ve got a Fuji X20

It’s been pretty good, though I’m not a fan of compact cameras and usually reach for my dslr.

It’s got tons of options for creative control, shoots RAW and all that shizzle, has an optical viewfinder (although you can see the end of the lens in it) and it turns on by twisting the lens, no button to accidentally press.

I’ve treated mine horrendously and it’s still going. Macro and super macro modes are incredible for detail.

Wife bought me a canon sx700hs powershot for Christmas 2015/16.Some great features,fantastic zoom and pictures.I regularly pop it in my back pack. Also the lens retracts atoumatically if you accidentally power on in bag or pocket.Was out of your price range a bit at £200 but it will have dropped in price Im sure.

I use a Panasonic Lumix LX5.I just had a quick look on Ebay & you can pick up a used one for £125.
It’s a few years old,gets hammered, taken out in all weathers,in the camelback on the MTB & in a pocket when I’m out on the road bike.
It’s not as good as my DSLR camera’s but gets more use due to it’s lack of size & portability.It’s only let me down once,the summer rain at Rivington was to much for it on one occasion.
It’s been out in the rain lots of times since & survived also survived the occasional journey to the beach.
It has Apperture priority & shutter priority modes plus a few other modes.
Not a bad little camera.

chipps

One thing that switched me from Canons (S50, S90, S95 in the past) was that the Sony’s flash isn’t motorised. The Canon S95 flash was on a motor and it sat under your finger when holding the camera, so I killed the flash on that camera (though the camera still worked fine). The Sony is on a spring (which also makes it great for bounce flash too).

Canon removed the motorised flash on the later S120 and S200 for that very reason (probably saved a few £ in manufacturing too!)

A bit of a blatant plug, but I’ve just listed a S200 in the classifieds for well under your budget.

There’s load of choice and good options in this range, one thing I’d add would be to look for something with built in wifi if want to transfer and use photos on social media via phone/tablet easily.

If you went for an RX100, I’d recommend the Sony case – although that isn’t cheap in itself, but I think there are copies. Can’t use a stick on grip with it though

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Ft4vXC]2016-03-24_08-19-52[/url] by davetheblade, on Flickr

If you’re interested, I have a Sony RX100 m1 that I’d let go for 120 plus p&p. I used it as a backup camera on a trip after my main camera conked out, and I’m hard pressed to tell which shots are taken with which camera. When I got home I immediately bought a m4, just because I wanted a viewfinder.

Pics here, btw:
http://www.autresdirections.co.uk/PHOTOS/2016_Cuba/index.html

I’ve got some nice cameras, however, the one camera that takes most photos is an Olympus Tough TG3.

Simply because it’s tough and waterfoof.

The Sony A6000 and canon G9x don’t get much of a look in.