Finding a decent digital camera

-Loki-

I'm looking for a decent, not too expensive digital camera.

While I'm not looking for particular brand recommendations, what should I be looking for spec wise?

Wezoin

I'm not one of the camera experts but here's what they're going to ask you:

What kind of photography are you looking to do? (Landscapes, portraits, indoor, outdoor, etc etc)
What is your price range?

grouch993

Are you looking for a DSLR with interchangeable lenses and a hockey bag worth of equipment, little pocket camera that does a good job or something in between?

I have found reviews on dpreview.com to be a good place for comparisons and some information.

Dark Moon

Knowing what kind of photography you'd like to do and what form factor you're after would help a great deal. That said, specs don't mean all that much in point and shoots - there aren't set specifications for "has a UI its designer couldn't figure out" or "Kodak makes objectively bad cameras."

In general, however: Look at the megapixel count but only so you can disregard anything with more than 10-12MP. High ISO noise is greatly influenced by pixel size (smaller pixels = more noise), which is directly related to pixel density on the universally tiny sensors of point and shoots. Stick with Canon, Nikon or Panasonic Lumix point and shoots as a general rule. Never buy Kodak, Sony, Fujifilm*, Casio or Pentax compacts.

I'll go into more detail about specific things to look out for once I know whether you're looking for a compact to always have on you or a starter camera for a beginner photographer.

*With the exception of the Fuji F30/31, which were fantastic cameras.

Rohan

Dark Moon wrote: »

*With the exception of the Fuji F30/31, which were fantastic cameras.

As were the S6500 fd and S9600.

-Loki-

Sorry, I forgot about this.

I'm definitely not looking at an SLR. I'm not doing professional photography, I just want a digital camera that can do clear photos even with a bit of zoom. Generally something pretty compact, along the lines of this.

Ziggymon

-Loki- wrote: »

Sorry, I forgot about this.

I'm definitely not looking at an SLR. I'm not doing professional photography, I just want a digital camera that can do clear photos even with a bit of zoom. Generally something pretty compact, along the lines of this.

Compact cameras the Panasonic and Canon ones are generally regarded as excellent across the range but usually are at the higher end of the pricing.

Sony's top end compacts are really excellent but again very expensive.

Avoid Olympus and samsung low end compacts are generally of poor quality and are nothing compared to the higher end devices of the same brand.

Other than that whats price range are you after? and usually avoid looking at anything above 12 mega pixels and look for a bigger optical zoom instead.

-Loki-

Probably around $200au.

obolon84

I have the Canon Powershot SX120 that I got a few months ago and for my needs it's been perfect. It's got a pretty good zoom and many of the options you'd find on a DSLR. The only downside in your situation would be that it's not as compact as some other models, but it's still pretty small and easy to carry around for me.

-Loki-

That's actually a nice camera. I'll have a look at some tonight, since I'm going to be in a mall. I'll keep an eye on the Panasonic and Canon cameras.