I'm thinking of buying a cheapish digital camera.

Does anyone have any recomendations about what sort to get, advice or other comments?

www.ebuyer.com

plenty of cheap ones there :)

personally id recomend you spend a little more and get into the quality brands like Sony and Nikon

I got mine on ebay. bought it from america and saved about £150!
Go for a brand that do non-digital cameras eg; Olympus, Fuji, Nikon, Minolta, Kodak, etc.
Make sure you get one that uses a memory card and doesn't store the images internally!

I would try Currys, Dixons, Maplins, Jessops before trying ebuyer (who have a bad reputation for messing orders up!)

Currys
http://www.currys.co.uk

Dixons
http://www.dixons.co.uk - have a better range than currys

Maplins
http://www.maplin.co.uk/

Jessops
http://www.jessops.co.uk/

I got mine from www.camerasdirect.co.uk.

I've bought a Canon IXUS V and a IXUS V2 from them - £100 cheaper than Boots and £50 cheaper than everywhere else when I got mine.

HTH,

Tony

Read this thread:
http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=451

(about half-way down)

:)

i bought a cheap one on offer in argos. Works well for 100 quid. I'm very impressed with its features and the extra's and got a 64meg card so plenty of storage too and for just 100 quid if it get wrecked then nothing really lost. Downside its costing me a fortune in ink cartridges for the printer :)

I own a Sony DSC-P1 and personally I wouldn't buy another Sony, even though the pictures are nice, because I've had nothing but trouble with the battery. It stops working at any temperature below about 5 degrees so it's useless outdoors, unless you take the battery out of the camera and keep it in a close-to-skin pocket, even in the warm you can never rely on it not being flat when you want to use the camera (seems to drain unpredictably) AND spare batteries cost FORTY QUID. Plus you are lumbered with their unique memory sticks, rather than the standard memory widgets everybody else uses. Remember Betamax? On top of all that, Sony are notorious for built-in obsolesence and correspondingly useless for software support, I am now stuck with Win ME because there doesn't seem to be an XP driver available for my 'last year's model' camera. If you want to buy a nice toy that looks cool and is fun at parties, buy Sony. If you want a camera, buy one from a camera maker. Based on friends' reports, my next digicam will be a Nikon, I think.

Are there any good, fair priced digital camera outlets in Sheffield barring the chain electrical retailers?

Also can some one suggest me a good 4.0M/pixel camera for less than £300 quid?

All I get in Dixons is some sales person who blatantly knows nothing about them tyring to sell me the one that his boss has siad he has clear before the end of the day!!!

Try Jessops, they are situated on Fizwiliam Sq (sp.) and in meadowhall.

They arent voted "best camera shop" for x amount of years running for nowt! :D

If you can manage it... find a good camera by doing a lot of research on and offline and then see if you can't get a good deal online too..

Be very careful to check that you're not going for a dealer that is useless on returns issues, etc... There's a lot of them out there...

IMHO though, high street retailers have a 10% + markup compared with online retailers like dabs.com, etc....

Jessops price match the net so you dont even need to worry about that :)

Originally posted by RPG
Jessops price match the net so you dont even need to worry about that :)
Oh? I wasn't aware of that....

Well in that case get a decent genuine price and take it in with you then :D

Try www.pixmania.com - They're the best deal I've found on the net.:)

ps. Use www.steves-digicams.com for a review.:)

Try www.internetcamerasdirect.co.uk and / or www.camerasdirect.co.uk.

(I got mine from one of those, but can't remember which :loopy: )

There is an article in this weeks ComputerActive on 'How to Choose a Digital Camera'. It may be worth browsing in a newsagents, although, I think that it's the best of the general computing magazines, and worth buying at £1.30 a pop.

I've got a 12 page, 67kb Easy Guide to digital cameras which I put together for my dad. If you pm me your email address I'll send it to you.

I bought a Canon A70 for £216 from Jessops, price matched from an internet offer by Empire Direct.

Thanks everyone for the advice, I'll give Jessops a look tomorrow, and visit some of the websites you've all mentioned.

In my infinite wisdom, I have decided that a new printer will be required aswell as mines a bit rubbish!!!

cheers

Have a look at the Pentax Optio S4. I ordered a Nikon Coolpix 3500 recently (the camera that was used for the Meet pix - Phan's) , but Pixmania screwed up on the delivery, so it gave me time to re-assess. I've spent much of the last two days looking on the web and have decided to get the Pentax. Least price I could find is at Empire Direct - £268.41.

Theres only a Few digicams worth even second glancing at currently, those being the Sony P10 and the new Olympus x10 zoom one

Originally posted by RPG
Theres only a Few digicams worth even second glancing at currently, those being the Sony P10 and the new Olympus x10 zoom one

Not according to the reviews that I've been reading the last two days. But, I guess, it's similar to buying a car, etc - each to his/her own.:)

theres two special features on the ones i mentioned

Sony - Full screen (on a 28" widescreen) video, limited only by memory card (1gb memory cards :P)

Olympus - 10x Optical Zoom.... i say no more :P

R - What is the full model name of the olympus - they have at least two 10X ultra zoom?

The Sony looks impressive - I may rethink.:)

Your first priority must be to decide what functions you really need (zoom, movies, aperture/speed control...), pixel count isn't the most important factor. A pro photographer would probably even turn their noses up at a £1500 SLR style digital so you must make compromises to spend under £300. I'm still using a 6 year old 350Kpixel Olympus - for routine family and holiday happy-snaps it's fine (SAMPLE: http://www.privateweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/PIC00020.htm ) not perfect but adequate for the purpose.

I'm looking to upgrade, I'm tempted by Olympus C750uz because I think more control including zoom (10x, optical) would be a plus, image quality and price look good.
On the other hand it would be nice to have something small enough to take everywhere and get decent happy-snap quality. The current (just out) issues of PC Pro and Personal Computer World do comparative reviews of mid-range digital (above your target price), but it may be productive to look at the criteria they are using to see what is relevant to you, they show examples to demonstrate that pixel count isn't the only criterion, you can get better images on a camera with better lense but fewer pixels. (PCW downgrade the C750 - the real life tests of resolution etc are fine but they've reviewed it at a price of £450, PC Pro priced it at £370 and flagged it "best value", their "winner" cost £563).

Sub £300: Canon A70 seems very popular 3.2 MPixel 3x optical zoom. Olympus C350 is cheaper (£160 at Dabs.co.uk) but otherwise very similar spec.

Originally posted by Carlwarker
R - What is the full model name of the olympus - they have at least two 10X ultra zoom?

The Sony looks impressive - I may rethink.:)

its the C750uz (as Robh said :))

Originally posted by RPG
its the C750uz (as Robh said :))

Thanks. Regarding the Sony, a majority of the reviews that I've read (both professional and owners) say that its one major fault is that greens are too bright and artificial. Being as most of my pix are shot in Derbyshire or outdoors - I think I'll give it a miss and keep with the Pentax Optio S4 (its less than a credit card in frontal dimensions - and weighs less than a quarter pound - it also uses SD cards, which are less expensive than Sony-Sticks, especially the pro. Regarding the Olympus - way out of the £300 budget range.

Cheers and thanks.

The quality of Sony gear has dropped considerably in the past couple of years.

I'm looking for a fairly inexpensive digital camera with an associated printer which can be used without a PC. I've seen them advertised by Canon but they look quite pricey. Anyone any ideas?

Originally posted by max
I'm looking for a fairly inexpensive digital camera with an associated printer which can be used without a PC. I've seen them advertised by Canon but they look quite pricey. Anyone any ideas?

M - from my browsing the last few days, there are several relatively 'inexpensive’ Canon digicams – the Powershot A70 seems to be the most recommended (£214 at Pixmania). I’ve found that these two sites are the best for in-depth reviews.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/A70/A70A.HTM

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/a70.html

It’s the printer that really adds to the cost,

Cheers.

Originally posted by Carlwarker
M - from my browsing the last few days, there are several relatively 'inexpensive’ Canon digicams – the Powershot A70 seems to be the most recommended (£214 at Pixmania). I’ve found that these two sites are the best for in-depth reviews.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/A70/A70A.HTM

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/a70.html

It’s the printer that really adds to the cost,

Cheers.
Thanks for that. It's the printer that's the problem. My father was taken with my camera when I went to visit him and insists he's going to get one despite not having a pc.

The problem with choosing a phot printer is that inkjet printers in particular produce prints that are very sensitive to moisture, and fade in indirect sunlight in a matter of months.

There is a company in sheffield called Peak Processing that has an excellent service. Download their application from their website and use it to upload your digicam prints. Then select the size and format of your prints, and enter your cc number. 4 days later you will receive your digicam images printed onto Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper - the jump in quality, even from the best inkjet is startling.

The more prints you order, the bigger discount you get, and that's calculated on how many prints you order in total, not just multiple prints of the same original.

http://www.peak-imaging.com/htmls/reprint.htm#peakonline

I have opted for just using my inkjet to create proofs and contact sheets

Originally posted by max
I'm looking for a fairly inexpensive digital camera with an associated printer which can be used without a PC. I've seen them advertised by Canon but they look quite pricey. Anyone any ideas? "...fairly inexpensive..." is going to be a problem but Canon are doing bundled deals for the christmas market: Powershot A300 + CP-200 printer £299inc VAT - and maybe the discount retailers can improve on that ...

Originally posted by max
I'm looking for a fairly inexpensive digital camera with an associated printer which can be used without a PC. I've seen them advertised by Canon but they look quite pricey. Anyone any ideas?

I hear there is a new printer out that takes memory cards, just slot in you card from your camera and print away.

Epson R300

http://www.boondocksnet.com/cb/apfh-item_id-B0000E2Y7G-search_type-AsinSearch-locale-us.html

Originally posted by mikey
I hear there is a new printer out that takes memory cards, just slot in you card from your camera and print away.
There's been an HP printer out for a while that's done this too. Checking their website, it appears they now have a range available that does this.

I've told my father about the Kodak printer and camera offer. It's up to him now. Thanks for all your suggestions.

Originally posted by jayjay03
Are there any good, fair priced digital camera outlets in Sheffield barring the chain electrical retailers?

Also can some one suggest me a good 4.0M/pixel camera for less than £300 quid?

All I get in Dixons is some sales person who blatantly knows nothing about them tyring to sell me the one that his boss has siad he has clear before the end of the day!!!

Go and see Simon at Maplins, he is an expert on digital cameras and he will give you a good deal, tell him Evans-Wilkinson sent you.

Originally posted by alchresearch
The quality of Sony gear has dropped considerably in the past couple of years.

This is certainly true for some of their products, I think due to them working the Sony label but collaborating with other companies on some of their products.

They cannot be the best at everything to a commercial market.

Yeah, theres definatly a huge difference between different products, take PS2s, notorious for failure, but the digicams are in a world of their own!

I got a Sony Cybershot P52 for Christmas. 3.2 mps and 15 seconds of mpeg video ( I got my pressie early) It cost the equivalent of 146 pounds. Is that how much they are going for in the UK? So far I love it. I'm buying a CD burner also so I can mail my photos home :thumbsup:

Originally posted by Funke88
I'm buying a CD burner also so I can mail my photos home :thumbsup:
On the CD burner side of things... take a look at ebuyer.com and aria.co.uk... you shouldn't have to pay more than about 25 quid for a good speed CD-burner nowadays

We have an Office Depot here, which I think you also have in the UK? Anyway they are doing a deal for $19.95 for an I/O Magic Internal CD RW drive. Approx 12 pounds sterling. Wot a deal!
Ebay is good too but electronics are so cheap in the shops there's always some good price wars going on.

Why can't I buy a Digital Camera which has a mains lead to fit the make of camera that I buy ,instead of having to buy a universal one with different size plugs that do not connect properly?

You should always be able to buy original accesories from the manufacturer.

What make is it?
Have you asked at the retailer to order you one?
These universal ones are often cheaper than the original ones.

Originally posted by halevan
Why can't I buy a Digital Camera which has a mains lead to fit the make of camera that I buy ,instead of having to buy a universal one with different size plugs that do not connect properly?
The usual reason for this is to avoid people using a power supply that is incorrectly phased up or down to the correct amp or voltage...

It's very easy to blow a piece of electronics by goosing it with the wrong current... which is obviously a lot more inconvenient than just not being able to plug it into anything

Originally posted by halevan
Go and see Simon at Maplins, he is an expert on digital cameras and he will give you a good deal

I own a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P92. It's a beautiful camera. My only problem with it is that it doesn't come with a cradle for charging or linking up to the PC.

I started buying Sony gear whenever possible a few years ago, mainly because Hewitts on Ecclesall Road will give you about 15% discount if you ask them, so I can buy Sony for the price of Toshiba!

The result is that now everything has the same badge (even the PC's) and everything uses the same power leads and memory sticks. accessories, etc, etc. It sames a fortune in the long run and it means that at last I travel light when I go away on business. I discovered USB charging leads on eBay to sort out the other stuff like the PDA and mobile. So, travelling with digicam, video recorder, laptop, mobile phone, pda and shortwave radio means just 1 transformer and 3 wires. Heaven!

I quite fancy buying a digital camera, can anyone recommend a good one? Preferably £250 or less.

Originally posted by Funky Dave
I quite fancy buying a digital camera, can anyone recommend a good one? Preferably £250 or less.

My latest one ( a canon ) cost £130. It's 3.2 megapixel, it massages you, does the ironing, and hoovers up crumbs.

Go to Jacob's or Jessop's, tell them you've got £250 to spend and I'll bet they spend it for you.

Just bought little Pentax one at £199 from Jacobs its marvellous.

canon ixus 430 - £20 over your budget but a spanking good camera.

Sorry, I just thought he wanted a 'snap' type digi camera.

Does anyone know of a good place to buy a digital camera? I have looked in PCWord but it seems quite expensive. Can anyone suggest a good one to buy?

have you tried on line - we just got a sony camera advertised at £340 in dixons for only £245 on the internet and the camera was delivered to us two days later - there are a miriad of good sites

I bought mine in Jessops in Meadowhall (also one in town). They pricematch to the internet so are pretty competitive and know what they are talking about to!
Places like Dixons and Argos, are usually more expensive and the staff aren't camera specialists.

Dixons.....seem to have loads of deals on at the mome'....Index, Argos......cheap but dont know about the quality.

If Jessops are price matching then they are probably the best there staff are very helpfull - there printed prices were more than many we found on line - so i guess a good shop round on the internet to get the best price for them to match is the best idea

Go to Harrison Cameras on London Road. They'll give you proper advice and help (unlike Dixons).

Then buy online from Amazon as they're considerably cheaper.

And don't forget the NI-MH batteries and charger :-)

I bought my first one from Gadget Shop in Meadowhall last year, it was crap and only cost £40.... A couple of months back from Curry's on Attercliffe Retail Park, top of the range nearly for about 89 quid, definitely worth the money, and for once the customer service was pretty good.

Originally posted by DJ01
If Jessops are price matching then they are probably the best there staff are very helpfull - there printed prices were more than many we found on line - so i guess a good shop round on the internet to get the best price for them to match is the best idea

Jessops will always help you out with regards to buying a digital camera. The one in Sheffield when I went in and stated I was looking for a replacement camera he asked me what "memory card" my previous one used... saving me a fair bit on a new "memory card"

You wouldn't get that with the internet...

I got one from Gadget shop t'other month. It was brand new in. It was £60 and you can take tons of pics, it takes an SD card if you want even more pics, it zooms in/out and is small and compact. It also can record video, which is good if you don't want to be carrying a big camcorder around with you... Its made by Oregon Scientific... Have a nosy in the shop, its a little gold thing. Its a battery gobbler, especially when you use the flash, so don't forget to buy some rechargeables.

Originally posted by Foxxx
I bought mine in Jessops in Meadowhall (also one in town). They pricematch to the internet so are pretty competitive and know what they are talking about to!
Places like Dixons and Argos, are usually more expensive and the staff aren't camera specialists.

i agree

what i did was to print out that amazon price for the camera i wanted, then take it down to jessops and theyll match it.

theyll also usually give you a bundle deal and you dont have to pay amazon postage. bargain!
i save about £100 on their instore price

Jessops is the best place I agree.

Not only do they pricematch amazon (see above) but their customer service is excellent! :D

The other half decent place is John Lewis, who are quite cheap to start off with and have decent guarentee's

I've had about 6 to date and for what it's worth, the Sony Cybershot DSC-P9 is far superior.
4.0 mega pixels, Crystal quality for it's pettite size.
Sony Shop, Meadowhall.

The photo printer to go with it, is a must too!

Just a small addition for any of you getting the whole digital camera thing off to a big start...

When it comes to printing the photos you could save yourself an absolute packet by looking at something called a CFS inkjet system...

ie: Continuous Flow...

... where the ink is fed from a bulk ink bottle to special cartridges and not only doesn't require new cartridges every 30 or so prints, but also is a LOT cheaper (but only if you're intending on using the printer regularly)...

I got one for heavy print out usage for a project I run and it works very well with the Epson C84 I got...

If you want to check it out then the site is here:
http://www.inksupply.com/index.cfm?source=html/cobra.html

.. and no, I don't get commission or ought, it's just a system I got together for a school I provide tech support for and it's saving them an absolute packet in ink costs too.

I bought mine from Jessops in town. I went into Jessops and Harrisons to get all the expect advice I needed and found the best price I could on the net (which was Amazon). I then 'phoned Jessops and they agreed to match it - but they didn't have any in stock. However, they said they'd get me one and the manager called me back at 9am the next morning saying my camera had arrived!

Thanks to everyone that has replied. I will give Jessops a try, and have a look on Amazon too.

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=1121401615&action=c2hvd3N1YmNhdGVnb3J5X3NlYXJjaA==&cat_uid=33

i just bought the fuji finepix a210 from asda for £150 u get the premium kit what contains the camera,picture cradle,ac adapter and rechargable battery,64mb & 16mb xD picture card,2 aa battaries,camera case and hand strap,video and usb cables,software and a free voucher for 50 images to be put on cd this also does video and doubles as a webcam and has 3x optical zoom not a bad little camera for the price and takes decent pictures.
hth,
Sarah x

Cameras shop around,on the internet.I bought a Fuji6900 from Sherwoods in Birmingham, Cano A80 from UK Digital.
If you need fancy batteries (ie not AA) try Sabah Oceanic.Not joking! Ibought 2 Fuji batteries for less than 1 in UK,ordered Thurs pm delivered am Monday.
Lenses try lensmateonline or B+H USA.
Jessops OK if in stock or could be 6-8 weeks.
Good Hunting.

It may be a bit late now, but I can highly recommend the TRAVELER digital camera that Aldi were selling a few weeks ago.

For £89 you get:

4 megapixel camera
case
carry strap
1800mAH batteries
battery charger
mains adaptor
USB cable
TV cable
32Mb memory card
software
3 year warranty

The quality is outstanding!

My local branch still has a couple in stock.

30 minutes after reading in this thread that Jessops will price match internet prices I'd gone to Jessops in town and spent over £800!

:D

Alan

Trupix sell digital cameras via ebay. Very cheap, I dont know how they make a profit and based in Sheffield.

Originally posted by nxs
i just bought the fuji finepix a210 from asda for £150 u get the premium kit what contains the camera,picture cradle,ac adapter and rechargable battery,64mb & 16mb xD picture card,2 aa battaries,camera case and hand strap,video and usb cables,software and a free voucher for 50 images to be put on cd this also does video and doubles as a webcam and has 3x optical zoom not a bad little camera for the price and takes decent pictures.
hth,
Sarah x

Quick Google search revealed the same model available for £116.29... always shop around on the net - www.ebuyer.com always have some real bargains. :thumbsup:

we got a digital camera (epsilon) from the gaget shop for £100 last year which I expect has come down in price since. It's served us very well and has a good video mode on it too.

I've not ordered from them yet, but http://www.internetcamerasdirect.co.uk look quite good

Best advice would be to have a look in the main retail shops for the camera which suits you, read reviews in magazines/online, then order from Ebuyer.

Amazon are selling a 3megapixel Pentax for £99. Think I'll buy one myself.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001XIZSK/qid=1091623220/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_11_1/202-9259323-6075013

Similar threads merged. Thanks Nomme.