Best Digital camera for £100 or less
- Thread starter goddardo
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looking at the Which best buys table (best last)
See what special offers you can find
Samsung WB500 £139.80
Casio
Exilim EX-S12 £124.99
Kodak
EasyShare Z915 £89.97
Canon
PowerShot A3100 IS £119.95
Panasonic
Lumix DMC-FS62 £120.00
Fujifilm
FinePix S5800 £109.99
Canon
PowerShot A470 £82.99
remember to add a bit for a memory card, which is usually not included, or is very small.
See what special offers you can find
Samsung WB500 £139.80
Casio
Exilim EX-S12 £124.99
Kodak
EasyShare Z915 £89.97
Canon
PowerShot A3100 IS £119.95
Panasonic
Lumix DMC-FS62 £120.00
Fujifilm
FinePix S5800 £109.99
Canon
PowerShot A470 £82.99
remember to add a bit for a memory card, which is usually not included, or is very small.
I have the earlier version of this, superb camera for the money. Too bulky to carry round all the time though.
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With a compact camera very little can be added and once you buy that's it. Optical zoom will mean the camera is far more flexible digital zoom is a gimmick most people would crop after they have taken a picture.
The bigger the CCD the better light gathering and this is sometimes forgotten we get mega pixels quoted but to see the f stop, speed, and ISO rating so you can work out if you can take pictures inside a building without flash seems rare.
The discontinued FinePix S5800 did give a very good f stop at 3.5 and speeds of 1/1000 second and ISO 64 to 1600 quite impressive. The lens not too wide at 38mm but telephoto of 380mm is very good and very few D-SLR owners will have lens that good. However the only taking 2GB SD cards is something you would need to watch.
The Canon PowerShot A470 does not look very good compared with the FinePix S5800 and one becomes wary when their web site gives so little information about the camera
The EasyShare Z915 seems to have nearly same spec as FinePix S5800 but will take the HD SD cards and still current plus also has a few pictures on internal memory and I have forgot to put card in the camera in past so would see a very good buy.
Thank you to John D for list. However every camera has advantages and dis-advantages and a lot depends on what you want to do with the camera. I use a D-SLR and it is so big that I don't take it to many places where with a compact I would. And there is a lot to say for a camera that will fit in a pocket or handbag and also you have to use it and be happy with controls.
I have been using my Pentax K10D for 18 months and I am still learning the controls not helped by firmware upgrade which has now given me even greater control.
Do you intend to use with a computer? One can take SD cards to outlets like Asda and print direct without need for a PC in which case in camera cropping could help. However I take all my images in RAW format and then alter the levels, un-sharp mask, etc on the PC and I spend more time on the PC than taking pictures combining images and even turning into Black and White.
Although Jpeg is not as flexible as RAW even with cheapest camera you can enhance your images and I used my phone camera to take a panorama picture of family gathering in the pub combining 4 images together and the software is just as important as hardware and although all the adds tell you what camera will do few say what it's bundled software will do. Of course there are some good free packages like Gimp.
It seems a pity I bought the camera then learn how to use it. Now I would be asking right questions buying a new camera but originally it was luck. And it seems I was lucky and got a good one.
However good the spec for the EasyShare Z915 we have no idea how good it is built and at the end of the day we have to take a chance.
The bigger the CCD the better light gathering and this is sometimes forgotten we get mega pixels quoted but to see the f stop, speed, and ISO rating so you can work out if you can take pictures inside a building without flash seems rare.
The discontinued FinePix S5800 did give a very good f stop at 3.5 and speeds of 1/1000 second and ISO 64 to 1600 quite impressive. The lens not too wide at 38mm but telephoto of 380mm is very good and very few D-SLR owners will have lens that good. However the only taking 2GB SD cards is something you would need to watch.
The Canon PowerShot A470 does not look very good compared with the FinePix S5800 and one becomes wary when their web site gives so little information about the camera
The EasyShare Z915 seems to have nearly same spec as FinePix S5800 but will take the HD SD cards and still current plus also has a few pictures on internal memory and I have forgot to put card in the camera in past so would see a very good buy.
Thank you to John D for list. However every camera has advantages and dis-advantages and a lot depends on what you want to do with the camera. I use a D-SLR and it is so big that I don't take it to many places where with a compact I would. And there is a lot to say for a camera that will fit in a pocket or handbag and also you have to use it and be happy with controls.
I have been using my Pentax K10D for 18 months and I am still learning the controls not helped by firmware upgrade which has now given me even greater control.
Do you intend to use with a computer? One can take SD cards to outlets like Asda and print direct without need for a PC in which case in camera cropping could help. However I take all my images in RAW format and then alter the levels, un-sharp mask, etc on the PC and I spend more time on the PC than taking pictures combining images and even turning into Black and White.
Although Jpeg is not as flexible as RAW even with cheapest camera you can enhance your images and I used my phone camera to take a panorama picture of family gathering in the pub combining 4 images together and the software is just as important as hardware and although all the adds tell you what camera will do few say what it's bundled software will do. Of course there are some good free packages like Gimp.
It seems a pity I bought the camera then learn how to use it. Now I would be asking right questions buying a new camera but originally it was luck. And it seems I was lucky and got a good one.
However good the spec for the EasyShare Z915 we have no idea how good it is built and at the end of the day we have to take a chance.
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There is no such thing as best as each will have something better and something worse than it’s rival.
Looking as basics.
The lens quality will alter and there is no way to read the specifications and know a high or low quality lens. However the big makes Canon, Nikon, Pentax etc. are likely to reasonable lenses fitted. The more light the lens gets into the camera of course the better and this is measured with what is called the f stop. Best quality fixed length lens may get to 1.4 but for a zoom lens somewhere between f3 and f4 is the norm when wide open. Since indoors you are likely to want a wide lens if you want the camera in that sort of event you will want something with a 35mm equivalent of 35mm or smaller mine has a 18mm lens may seem odd but many of the very cheap cameras have wider lens then the more expensive types mainly because the focus is not as critical with wide angle so they can get away using less expensive auto focus system.
Step outside and the requirements change and now you are looking at the advantages of the telephoto lens.
Move into sport and you need the fast shutter speeds, these are misleading look at the flash speed rather than just the fastest speed as there are two bits to a shutter the opening and the closing bit and to get the fast 1/4000 of a second speeds the shutting bit starts before the opening bit has finished opening so it scans the film plane. However for the flash both close has not started and open has finished so that’s true speed of lens. Taking pictures of racing cars with slow flash speed camera can distort the car and make then longer or shorter. Unless you are using a tripod speeds below 1/15 second are of no use you can’t hold camera still enough.
Last is the ISO that’s how sensitive the CCD (thing that replaced the film) is and this is often variable between 64 ISO (ASA) and 3200 ISO (ASA) in most cameras above 600 makes the picture look grainy and so normally 100 ISO is selected however when you are inside a big building so flash is not an option being able to use high ISO numbers and low f stop numbers can mean difference of a picture or a black image.
If I take one camera as an example and explain each point maybe I can show you what you need rather than just general I am picking the Pentax Optio WS80 by sticking in a pin and I will try to explain each point.
Waterproof well does mean your not worried if it gets splashes but although it says 1.5m I would say main point you can use it in the rain.
10 Megapixels far more than required however it does allow you to crop pictures latter on PC and still have a reasonable picture consider it like a digital zoom.
Memory Cards SD/SDHC the last bit means it will take big cards over 2GB.
Zoom the 5x could mean anything but where it says focal length equivalent 35 – 175 that tells you what it can do. 50mm is standard so 35mm is reasonable wide angle and 175mm is reasonable telephoto there are better ranges but cameras become a lot bigger. Aperture f/3.8(W) – f4.7(T) this is amount of light which enters camera the amount is reduced as you use telephoto lens which is why it’s duel marked.
Although that is nothing special next bit Sensitivity ISO 64 – 6400 is and my D-SLR is only 100 – 1600 and it means in spite of lens not opening out so well it can still take pictures in very low light conditions without a flash.
Exposure compensation -2EV to +2EV (in 1/3EV steps) If you go to next stage and want to take HDR photos this is a bit limiting I use exposure bracketing or +/- 2EV with 3 or 5 images but for normal compensation because some one is in a shadow it is ample.
Digital Panorama I have to do after I have taken picture and it compensates for the lens not being so wide so assuming two images that makes the lens more like a 20mm lens giving some overlap.
Against it Batteries Lithium-ion Rechargeable may seem great but on holiday means you have to take charger and can’t just pop into local shop for some AA cells.
No manual controls also limits it use in the special cases although watching young Digital photography art students maybe it’s an advantage and this is why it has to give you so many special modes like Surf & Snow, fireworks etc. Flash range 3.4m not so good when you look as ISO but I am sure enough for most purposes.
If you compare this one to EasyShare Z915 the EasyShare Z915 has a lens with a much better zoom but not water proof and can’t take pictures in the same low light conditions so not better or worse it’s just different and that’s the whole point you select best for you not best for some one else.
Looking as basics.
The lens quality will alter and there is no way to read the specifications and know a high or low quality lens. However the big makes Canon, Nikon, Pentax etc. are likely to reasonable lenses fitted. The more light the lens gets into the camera of course the better and this is measured with what is called the f stop. Best quality fixed length lens may get to 1.4 but for a zoom lens somewhere between f3 and f4 is the norm when wide open. Since indoors you are likely to want a wide lens if you want the camera in that sort of event you will want something with a 35mm equivalent of 35mm or smaller mine has a 18mm lens may seem odd but many of the very cheap cameras have wider lens then the more expensive types mainly because the focus is not as critical with wide angle so they can get away using less expensive auto focus system.
Step outside and the requirements change and now you are looking at the advantages of the telephoto lens.
Move into sport and you need the fast shutter speeds, these are misleading look at the flash speed rather than just the fastest speed as there are two bits to a shutter the opening and the closing bit and to get the fast 1/4000 of a second speeds the shutting bit starts before the opening bit has finished opening so it scans the film plane. However for the flash both close has not started and open has finished so that’s true speed of lens. Taking pictures of racing cars with slow flash speed camera can distort the car and make then longer or shorter. Unless you are using a tripod speeds below 1/15 second are of no use you can’t hold camera still enough.
Last is the ISO that’s how sensitive the CCD (thing that replaced the film) is and this is often variable between 64 ISO (ASA) and 3200 ISO (ASA) in most cameras above 600 makes the picture look grainy and so normally 100 ISO is selected however when you are inside a big building so flash is not an option being able to use high ISO numbers and low f stop numbers can mean difference of a picture or a black image.
If I take one camera as an example and explain each point maybe I can show you what you need rather than just general I am picking the Pentax Optio WS80 by sticking in a pin and I will try to explain each point.
Waterproof well does mean your not worried if it gets splashes but although it says 1.5m I would say main point you can use it in the rain.
10 Megapixels far more than required however it does allow you to crop pictures latter on PC and still have a reasonable picture consider it like a digital zoom.
Memory Cards SD/SDHC the last bit means it will take big cards over 2GB.
Zoom the 5x could mean anything but where it says focal length equivalent 35 – 175 that tells you what it can do. 50mm is standard so 35mm is reasonable wide angle and 175mm is reasonable telephoto there are better ranges but cameras become a lot bigger. Aperture f/3.8(W) – f4.7(T) this is amount of light which enters camera the amount is reduced as you use telephoto lens which is why it’s duel marked.
Although that is nothing special next bit Sensitivity ISO 64 – 6400 is and my D-SLR is only 100 – 1600 and it means in spite of lens not opening out so well it can still take pictures in very low light conditions without a flash.
Exposure compensation -2EV to +2EV (in 1/3EV steps) If you go to next stage and want to take HDR photos this is a bit limiting I use exposure bracketing or +/- 2EV with 3 or 5 images but for normal compensation because some one is in a shadow it is ample.
Digital Panorama I have to do after I have taken picture and it compensates for the lens not being so wide so assuming two images that makes the lens more like a 20mm lens giving some overlap.
Against it Batteries Lithium-ion Rechargeable may seem great but on holiday means you have to take charger and can’t just pop into local shop for some AA cells.
No manual controls also limits it use in the special cases although watching young Digital photography art students maybe it’s an advantage and this is why it has to give you so many special modes like Surf & Snow, fireworks etc. Flash range 3.4m not so good when you look as ISO but I am sure enough for most purposes.
If you compare this one to EasyShare Z915 the EasyShare Z915 has a lens with a much better zoom but not water proof and can’t take pictures in the same low light conditions so not better or worse it’s just different and that’s the whole point you select best for you not best for some one else.
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Yes my D-SLR seemed to have that problem and I realised it was the auto focus and anti-shake and to get action shots they have to be turned off. With compacts there is often no manual mode so there will always be a delay.
M
Mickymoody
Is there really such a good thing as a 'good digital' camera?
The purpose of a camera is to be ready to take a great shot, on the spot, and every digi cam I ever used, the batteries fail, just at the wrong moment. Stick a new set in, and it fails immediately.
Technology before it's time, promises the world, but a £100 digicam, not so good.
My best camera ever was a 110, looked like an oversized pack of fags, and was bashed about, had tape holding it together, but still managed to get a picture published in a magazine. (Trains not porn!)
I can see a D-SLR would be good, but not at the price range mentioned.
The purpose of a camera is to be ready to take a great shot, on the spot, and every digi cam I ever used, the batteries fail, just at the wrong moment. Stick a new set in, and it fails immediately.
Technology before it's time, promises the world, but a £100 digicam, not so good.
My best camera ever was a 110, looked like an oversized pack of fags, and was bashed about, had tape holding it together, but still managed to get a picture published in a magazine. (Trains not porn!)
I can see a D-SLR would be good, but not at the price range mentioned.
M
Mickymoody
Tried all different types of battery, but when attached via USB to the computer, it powered up OK.
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I have noticed my D-SLR will not auto power down when connected to the PC and it is easy to forget and discharge the battery.
With cheap 110 cameras one had to be careful about the flash. The cheap flash would short out the battery for millisecond as flash was fired. Not a problem with standard batteries but if one used NiCd batteries they could provide more power and would fry the thyristor.
OK I will admit the Zenith is still going strong, and the Olympus trip was a great camera too but film is getting harder and harder to come by.
The Kodachrome64 was discontinued a few years back and unless you want Black and White one has little option but use digital cameras.
And only my SLR cameras were able to zoom or change lens and when one looks at digital cameras around the £100 mark we are looking at lenses with 5 to 20 times zoom these were unheard of in the 110 camera days.
However as yet not really sure what "goddardo" wants.
Jessops who one does not consider as being a cheap shop is offering the The Fujifilm Finepix A170 at under £50 the spec is shown below.
Not as good as some of the other cameras talked about on this thread but half the price. Even some of the mobile phones take some really good pictures and one has to ask it it a camera with a built in phone, or a phone with built in camera?
And to work my D-SLR it took me a year doing an AS level to get to grips with the controls and options and the best camera in the world does not make one into a good photographer. Location and Chance can mean someone with no knowledge can take world class photos with cheapest of cameras but rare and most people don't want world class photos they just want family snaps.
With cheap 110 cameras one had to be careful about the flash. The cheap flash would short out the battery for millisecond as flash was fired. Not a problem with standard batteries but if one used NiCd batteries they could provide more power and would fry the thyristor.
OK I will admit the Zenith is still going strong, and the Olympus trip was a great camera too but film is getting harder and harder to come by.
The Kodachrome64 was discontinued a few years back and unless you want Black and White one has little option but use digital cameras.
And only my SLR cameras were able to zoom or change lens and when one looks at digital cameras around the £100 mark we are looking at lenses with 5 to 20 times zoom these were unheard of in the 110 camera days.
However as yet not really sure what "goddardo" wants.
Jessops who one does not consider as being a cheap shop is offering the The Fujifilm Finepix A170 at under £50 the spec is shown below.
Not as good as some of the other cameras talked about on this thread but half the price. Even some of the mobile phones take some really good pictures and one has to ask it it a camera with a built in phone, or a phone with built in camera?
And to work my D-SLR it took me a year doing an AS level to get to grips with the controls and options and the best camera in the world does not make one into a good photographer. Location and Chance can mean someone with no knowledge can take world class photos with cheapest of cameras but rare and most people don't want world class photos they just want family snaps.
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS62 @£120 neat little point and shooter - Nice Leica lens too. also a 'Which best buy'.
We bought the FS3 model in Suanapore 2008 about £60 - I like the battery life with quick (standard) charge time... Pix ok, usual popular controls.
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We bought the FS3 model in Suanapore 2008 about £60 - I like the battery life with quick (standard) charge time... Pix ok, usual popular controls.
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