Digital Camera (Cheap ones)

[pointer2null]

I'm looking to get a cheap digital camera - the £60 price mark.


I know sod all about the latest and greatest camera tech so I'm open to advice.


I know that optical zoom is better than digital.


I know that the more pixels the better the image quality, but above the 16 Mega Pixel mark I probably won't notice the difference.


Do I want a camera which takes AA batteries or one with Li-Ion cells? What else should I look for or avoid?

[simonm]

I'd keep an eye out on hotukdeals, the Amazon top 100 and the asda reduced section 

[Punkstig]

I know that the more pixels the better the image quality, but above the 16 Mega Pixel mark I probably won't notice the difference.

Not necessarily, its more down to the lens itself! (Just to make things more complicated for you.
I take it you're after a simple point and shoot compact thing, so look for a Carl Zeiss lense

[simonm]

For £60 your options are quite limited, you'd be better to go for an older camera with a better lense rather than a pixel count.

[solorider]

for the power source I would go for AA batteries, I used to always use cameras with dedicated batteries, but the main issue with them is if they do go flat you wont be able to go to a local shop and get a new battery, but AA batteries are generally available everywhere

[simonm]

Amazon top 100: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Sellers-Electronics-Point-Shoot-Digital-Cameras/zgbs/electronics/332215031/ref=pd_ts_zgc_ce_332215031_morl?pf_rd_p=413622947&pf_rd_s=right-2&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=560834&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=03QTKSWPSPVEHXPHH4DV


top in your price range (£55): [size=78%]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-COOLPIX-L27-Compact-Digital/dp/B00B4QSO20/ref=zg_bs_332215031_9[/size]


and it uses AA's.


You can get much better for your money, but they'd be used and possibly abused.  If you don't know what you want a point and shoot is fine and there isn't a huge amount of point in shopping around until you know what you want and have the funds to splash out to get the features you want.

[simonm]

A Canon here too:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5599011.htm?cmpid=APP003

[simonm]

Apparently not a good idea to use them at laser light shows either:
http://gizmodo.com/its-dumb-easy-to-wreck-a-20-000-camera-with-just-a-co-771211069

[pointer2null]

[/size][size=78%]One thing that never seem to be quoted - the exposure time. Obviously is gonna be different on a digital camera, but I remember friends having things that would blur an image unless you stood perfectly still for 20 minutes.[/size]
[/size]
[/size]Any ideas how long a set of batteries last? I also remember digital cameras that would kill a set of AA's in 30 mins.[size=78%]

[Hedgetrimmer]

Digi cameras tend to have various settings to handle different kinds of subjects, eg moving objects, night exposure, harsh light exposure etc. Mine was only about £60/70 from Tescos and not having any aspirations to professionalism, I'm quite happy with it. (Fujifilm Finepix AX). It's only 12MP, and uses AA batteries. One thing about digi cameras and normal alkaline type batteries - you have to use quality batteries (I ALWAYS use Duracell), cheap ones drain unbelievably quickly. Even then, if you snap away with abandon, you soon get through them, but with multi-pack offers always available somewhere it's not too much of a problem. For the next one I will definitely be looking for something with a better lens tho', because as has already been said, this is the key part for quality pics. Mine sometimes distorts the edges of images, I'm told it's due to a cheap lens.

[simonm]

Most cameras have an iso value but I've never found that it does much unless you go to an slr.  Because you're not exposing a film, you're capturing light on a sensor I so doesn't make much sense unless you want a long exposure.  That's all beside the point though, most digital cameras will allow you to set an exposure value according to your needs.

A set of ni-mh batteries will last a good while, go for quality batteries with a high mah value.

Digital cameras have come a long way with pen cameras and slrs.  They're great.

[Hedgetrimmer]

A set of ni-mh batteries will last a good while, go for quality batteries with a high mah value.

Sorry, idiot here again. Looking on a new pack of batteries to identify this, absolutely no indication of what's what. In a shop, whoever's selling them won't have a clue either, unless you're buying from a dedicated camera shop, in which case you'll probably pay over the odds. Can you enlighten me a little? Ta. 

[Dead Eye]

Ni-MH stands for Nickle-Metal Hydride which is basically the internals of the battery. Ni-Cad (Nickel-Cadium) are an alternative but are pretty crap from what I remember. Most batteries should be labelled, but for the most part just get a decent brand

The mAh is the mili-Amp hours. This is the number of hours the battery can continuously provide a current of 1 mili-Amp for before it is depleted. The larger the value, the more capacity the battery has and the longer it will last Good AA batteries are probably around 2,000-2,600 and this is again labelled on the actual battery

I THINK I got that all right, but I may be wrong in something. I'd look out for the mAh over anything else though, as this is what determines the capacity and therefore how long its going to last

[Hedgetrimmer]

Thanks Dead Eye - I would guess that the Duracells fit the better quality, higher mAh, as they do last reasonably well?

[adeejaysdelight]

I ordered on of these on Friday -
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140935087681?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
 
I did a bit of research online and this one seems to offer good value for money. I was thinking, from a safety perspective, if the camera is not good enough to get a reg plate whilst in motion, it is probably not much use as evidence. I am not a lawyer though, so I'm not sure how it works.
 
This seems like a decent little camera -

Xdreme 1080p Action Camera Review

[simonm]

Thanks Dead Eye - I would guess that the Duracells fit the better quality, higher mAh, as they do last reasonably well?

Mah don't apply to alkaline/standard batteries, only to rechargeable.

I'd always go for rechargeables for convenience and cost.

[BBROWN1664]

Your phone will be better than a £60 camera normally. Not saying that £60 cameras are crap but phone cameras these days are pretty good

[simonm]

Your phone will be better than a £60 camera normally. Not saying that £60 cameras are crap but phone cameras these days are pretty good

Not true I'm afraid.  Low light, lack of flash and a sensor that is much smaller than a digital camera means that the photos from a low end phone are generally very poor for printing off.  Top end phones are probably as good as low end cameras. Imo.

[Hedgetrimmer]

Would've thought that any half decent camera would also have more (camera dedicated) functions than a phone camera too.

[pointer2null]

You haven't seen my phone lol


mAh - does apply to all batteries; it's a measure of capacity.

[BBROWN1664]

The load = the A part

[pointer2null]

Yes in a way (strictly speaking the load is A x V (V X A = P when P is power in Watts))

[simonm]

You haven't seen my phone lol


mAh - does apply to all batteries; it's a measure of capacity.

If a battery doesn't specify mah due to its chemistry then as far as I'm concerned it's incomparable.  Therefore whilst you're correct, and I am incorrect, you cannot compare a rechargeable with an alkaline as each has its benefits and disadvantages.

Yes, I've decended in to talking rubbish but whilst I know what I mean I can't be bothered to explain any more.

[simonm]

As an aside I'd always go for a camera with a proprietary li-ion battery over one that took aa's.

The aa form factor is not convenient compared to a rectangular pack.

 Only one of my digi cameras takes aa's and its the cheapest one that I use underwater.  My Panasonic dmc t27, my eos and my ixus all use proprietary li-ion batteries.

[Hedgetrimmer]

Ye Gods, I'm only a happy snapper! Think I'll stick to what I know...