crispo – Member
Would it be possible to pick up an entry level DSLR for £250 then?
I don’t know much about cameras, just want to have the best pics possible from our trip!
Don’t worry about the minute details of X camera v’s Y camera too much and whether an SLR will take better pics…..
From your original post it sounds like you want a compact replacement for one that has broken.
Most compacts will do what you want. An SLR will potentially give you better picture quality, although if you will be viewing them on a computer screen or printing them out to put in an album then a compact will be fine. An SLR will give you better low-light performance but a decent compact will do fine in that regard too for most situations.
I bought the P300 as I found that my SLR was staying at home a lot of the time and I was missing shots. A lot of people freeze when faced with a ‘proper’ camera, where they are much more relaxed having their picture taken with a compact and certain situations where they won’t even notice you are taking pictures so you get much more natural results.
I’d say you want something that is compact so you are likely to have it with you. You will not carry a bulky camera around with you all the time and you will miss shots.
Most compacts will fit the bill; it just comes down to individual features and which one you ‘get on with’ the most.
Get along to somewhere like John Lewis where you can try a few out, tell them your budget and have a good play about with the different options; is the zoom good enough, can you find your way around the menu’s, are the buttons where you expect them to be, is it easy to grip the camera steadily etc. That’ll quickly get you an idea of what you want and what you don’t want.
Oh, and whatever you do get – spend 30 mins or so reading the manual. There will be numerous settings to help you get the best results in differing conditions and most of them do work and are there to get you a good result.
