Hello chaps.

Are there any digital camera experts on here? I am after a new camera, but dont want to pay more than about £80. I have been told that I shouldnt be basing my choice on the megapixels, but I dont know why. I also dont know what I should be basing it on.

Aay help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Try amazon....

optical zoom
most cameras with over 5megapixels will give you great close up pictures BUT if you want to take holiday snaps you know the ones, distant hills, your hotel from the boat trip then you want as high a optical zoom as you can get because once you start using the digital zoom to close in you are losing your quality.
if it is just a general camera for everyday use inside at parties etc tesco have a cracking kodak 8megapixel but only 3x optical for about £45/50 and the kodak easyshare software is a doddle to use

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.203-3802.aspx

12 x optical

What about video cameras?

What's the craic with them?

I want a basic but not clumpy one, maybe a HD thing. Somewhere between £100-300 probably.

How much recording time per GB do you get on a card?

Idiots guide appreciated!

do you really need a video camera or a good camera that will record video as well just a thought

just had a quick look and they are cheap as chips now how much do you reckon my 10 year old jvc vhs-c camcorder the size of a car battery will be worth

Don't get blinded by the word megapixels. 1 megapixel is a million colours, how many do you need? The 10 mp's ect is marketing hype once you go over 3mp, much more important is resolution. The bigger the resolution the more intense the pictures. For example; I've got a 3megapixel Canon D30 SLR digital. I defy anyone with their 20mp compact camera to take a better shot than I can with this.

Where's Frank Reid when you need him!

he's hiding in his zebra patterned ford orion

Megapixels isn't the number of colours it is the resolution of the picture.

That is the numer of dots (of any colour) that go to make the picture.

For example a 3 megapixel camera has 2048 dots horizontally and 1500 and something vertical (2048 x 1500).

Picture colour and quality will be determined by the lense, the quality of the photosensitive matrix in the camera and the ability of the software to interpret colours, I think different manufacturers have different colour palletes also.

Hope this helps.

I stand corrected.

But what about video cameras?

ir yer wanna make homemade porn, just use yer moby Rip!!!

Thanks guys. But I am still no further forward. Is the Megapixel quantity important or not? Is a 3.0 optical zoom any good? Or is it rubbish? I saw one camara that advertised a didgtal zoom of 4.0 yet none of the other cameras even alluded to it. What is that?

Digital zoom is irrelevant,you can do that on your computer.
3X Optical zoom is pretty standard for a compact digital camera.
The megapixel thing only really matters if you intend to enlarge pictures a lot.The more megapixels the more you can enlarge before it loses quality.
If all youre after is a point & shoot uncomplicated camera have a look in Aldi,if they have nowt in at the minute then Asda & Tesco are as good as anywhere.

This seems ok for the price.
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.203-0219.aspx

Ok. So I now sort of understand what megapixels and optical zoom is. But I dont just want any camera. I want one that takes better photos than normal. So what should I be looking for, if not megapixels and optical zoom?

Just get a Sony one and problem solved.

For £80 you'll get a bog standard point & shoot digital camera from Asda or Tesco that will take good quality pictures at around 7 or 8 megapixels with a 3X optical zoom.
If you keep an eye on Aldi you might get lucky & catch a 10mp with 6 optical for the same price.

This was taken at Glastonbury on a Aldi 10mp 6x optical camera.I zoomed in 6x then took the photo.when I got home I zoomed on the computer & cropped it.

Yes but that was a picture of Amy Winehouse you took.

You did your best, you didn't come to fool us.

For normal sized photos 3 megapixels is enough. Cameras using traditional film can't capture any more detail than that.
If you want to spend extra money spend it on the lens. Some makes have Leica or Zeiss lenses. Nikon also have a great reputation for lenses.

To be honest it's not on the Bunker where you're going to find the best advice.
There are plenty of digital camera review sites on the web. The reviews will be twenty pages long but just look at the summary to get a good idea of what suits you.

I thought George Harrison had pegged it....

Ere Ripper http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.203-9264.aspx

PS does anyone know if you can reserve and pick up on that Tesco site?

it said it is available in some locations,i think the size of the one we have here you might be able to get it instore

Cheers Mr Timmy, but I bought a one yesterday- funnily enough from Tesco but one that isn't on their website. A Toshiba HD video camera for £145. Bargain.

Send me the link marra cause im after one, PS will i be able to put it through my business? As it could come in handy when im bleeding the radiators you never know what i might see

No link as it isn't on their website. It's in their shops though.