Seeing as we have quite a few camera novices on here I thought this would be the best place to ask

I'm on the look out for a digital camera and wanted to know what to look for,,, only going to use it for work and family, at the moment I have a little pocket sony 7.1MP and it just doesn't cut it....

I'm looking for something more like this style
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NIKON-L820-VNA33...51b4f36a93

Thanks lee BETTER looking half of the famous Twinlanders
The wanna be other half - http://www.freel2.com/forum/member-carriec.html

Interesting question! I have asked Santa for one of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-Coolpix-P520...nikon+p520

Along the lines of what you said, my Panasonic 7mp compact camera will not cut the mustard when zoom is needed and with my big holiday next year, this is the perfect camera for my needs. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

I made the mistake of going for a bridge camera try for a dslr.

Bought the wife one of these as a stocking filler. http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/cameras-camc...7-pdt.html Bought it purely on its physical size - she wanted something tiny that didn't take up much room in her handbag. Had a little play with it before wrapping it up and I'm very impressed with the features and quality of the pictures and video's it takes. I've left her one special picture on there as a surprise.  Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
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Present: Audi A3 S Line.

SYFL2 wrote:

I made the mistake of going for a bridge camera try for a dslr.

Thanks for your replies boys
Just had a search on the Lumix DMC-XS3 Steve looks like a nice little compact camera like the retro look to it as well... BETTER looking half of the famous Twinlanders
The wanna be other half - http://www.freel2.com/forum/member-carriec.html

I'll be honest i bought a panasonic bridge camera and its been gathering dust since the missus bought a panasonic compact zoom camera, cos the bridge camera is not much better!
Either go for a decent compact camera or a DSLR.
Most people i know who bought a bridge camera have changed it for a DSLR, and i'll be doing the same as well!

Spent quite alot on a dslr. Got a Canon 5d mkiii
Best move I ever made
Dunc

Thanks D99, looks like I'm swaying towards a compact more & more

Quote:

Pointyed2

that's a nice camera but a little expensive for what I need it for  BETTER looking half of the famous Twinlanders
The wanna be other half - http://www.freel2.com/forum/member-carriec.html

I know there is a lot of people who are SLR fans and don't like bridge cameras. I was that way until last year.
But for most family work they can be a little bit faff changing all the lens etc.

I bought this Canon, I don't use all the setting bust its great for about 90% of the use i use it for..
Just a thought.

Slaneydore, what are you wanting to use your camera for?
Are you wanting to 'get into' more serious photography? Or are you just after something for general use?
There is no doubt a DSLR will give you the best possible image quality (as long as you learn to use it) but the sheer bulk and weight might mean you never take it with you (which is why the interchangable lens mirrorless cameras are gettng more popular). Likewise, basic compacts have been overtaken by the cameras on everyone's phones. For some people they'd be better off buying a new phone with a better camera.

There are quite a few 'serious' compacts out there that might meet the image quality you want but still be small enough to take with you more often. A decent photographer will get good photographs with the most basic of cameras. Others will buy the biggest and best gear and still take rubbish photos.

If you can envisage what you'll be using it for it then comes down to budget.

Stuart

I have the exact same camera as mentioned in the original post, works fine for me, good at action shots and macro as well as the usual, the zoom is as much as you need most of the time, only issue is it can be a bit battery hungry, and doesn'tgive you much warning when the batteries are getting low. On the plus side it does take AA batteries so no problem obtaining them.

@stooby
Looking for a new camera for just basic stuff, eBay listings, forum posts, the odd family shot here and there... I have a Nokia lumina 820 that as a decent camera on it but it seems to make the images look unnatural for some reason
All of my photos in my gallery were taken on my lumina 820 BETTER looking half of the famous Twinlanders
The wanna be other half - http://www.freel2.com/forum/member-carriec.html

Slaneydore..
Sounds like a decent compact is all you need which is easier to carry, then if you become more serious about photography go for the DSLR, and skip the bridge alltogother because from experience a bridge will fall way short of your expectations and will make you feel restricted!

Don't know whether you use an iPad, tablet or PC but if you want it for uploading the odd photo to this site, eBay and others, why not think about looking for one that has wifi built in as you can then send pictures to your other devices without faffing about with cables or memory cards etc. Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.