I want to buy a camera, very cheaply, i am on a tight budget. So it will be basic, is there anything i should look for? I know this has been asked here before, but people were looking for far more expensive cameras.
The only thing i have noticed is the percentage of zoom magnification, x5 or x8 etc.
Thank you.
You want zoom if you're aiming to photograph birds. Can you give us a value for your 'tight budget'?
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
thank you, yes, i have been doing some research as i don't know anything about cameras. I want optical zoom as against digital zoom apparently, i don't know how much of the magnification i need. I am looking for a point and shoot for as little as possible, if the ones for $100.00 are better than my phone, then that would do, i don't think they are so maybe up to $200 ?. Its only for very beginning photography, i am not requiring a lot. Except of course that i can photograph birds, not expertly but so that they appear in the picture!!
Thanks, Elizabeth
elizabeth
Here's a cheapy that should serve you until the photography bug really bites..
FujiFilm FinePix S8600 36x Zoom Digital CameraBy the way that is optical zoom....
Rob.
Thanks for the tip Rob, very useful, on sale in some places too!
Elizabeth.
elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth,
You should be able to get a decent camera for the purpose you are looking for with that budget. My first camera was a Nikon L310 with 21x zoom which I got for $100 (half price as the new model was coming out). It did a good job, certainly helped a lot with identifying the smaller/distant birds. I think the key for you is to wait for a sale (they come around fairly regularly) and get one then. I'd reccomend 20x optical zoom as a minimum for birds. Note that for your budget, you would be pretty much limited to cameras setting up the settings automatically and you have little control over the photos that get taken. That should be okay though until you really get into photography and want to upgrade to a better one.
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
That's good to know that others have started out like this. Thanks for the info. Yes, the automatic camera settings will be okay to start with.
Elizabeth
elizabeth
I have managed to get a great deal on a FujiFilm FinePix S8600 36x (and am looking forward to using it, when i work out how) just wondering what memory card i need, are the cheap basic ones okay to being with?
Elizabeth
elizabeth
They might be okay to start with but you will find that the camera might be a little slow to write to the card if it's a cheapy.If that doesn't bother you no worries. Down the track you could get a better card and keep the cheap one for a spare. The better cards are faster in that you can get a follow up shot quicker. Have fun with the Fuji and don't forget to upload from your card to your PC as often as possible. Looking forward to seeing your photos.
Rob.
Okay, thank you for that advice.
Elizabeth
elizabeth
I suggest you don't compromise on the memory card, they aren't all that expensive anyway. A good write speed (I think that is the circle with the number in it- go for the 10 rather than 4) would be improtant so that you don't miss the perfect shots when you've only got a few moments before the bird flys off. You'd probably also want to invest in a hard drive for back-up storage, and transfer images and delete from your memory card often. If you do that your won't need any more than a 16MB card.
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
Thank you for that, I have already bought the memory card, but i will bear that in mind after seeing how i go. Looking forward to getting out to use it.
Elizabeth
elizabeth
I am sure that you meant 16Gb ad many pics exceed 10Mb
Peter
Yes, 16GB. Terrible error, you'd be lucky to get 2 or 3 pics on 16MB. Thanks Peter for the correction
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
FujiFilm FinePix S8600 is what my friend is using for startup.
I'm not sure I know exactly what do you need, but I can recommend you FixThePhoto website, there are plenty of useful tips and articles, hope it'll help)