need a camera genius quick... anyone..

[VWPowered]

ok got sent this..

Canon/Kodak DCS 520 digital slr camera, one of the first digi slr's, the spec is low compared to current models but still takes excellant images and looks uber impressive...............250 euros including charger, software etc etc. this camera cost £10,000 when first launched.http://www.epi-centre.com/reports/9804cs.html follow link to camera evaluation and more info.

now im thinking of offering the 93 Golf mk3 i got sat here as he wants the alloy wheels, but is it any good, will the pics be better than my cruddy Pentax E40...would this be a good first Professional (ish) digital...about time i got a proper camera and bang on for christmas although wont bother if its rank

[Richard]

Does it have a lens? You can't assume that an SLR will come with one and they are V expensive.

[VWPowered]

he says it does.. but i'll ask what sort, know nothing about cameras

[retrogeezer]

This one went for £150 with lenses,flash etc....

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-EOS-1-N-Kod ... dZViewItem

 

 

Camera technology moves extremely quickly, my £85 Fuji S5800 will probably take better photos.

[VWPowered]

umm, may leave it it is complete and working, freind has it, all he wants is my alloys so seemed a fair swap :Dbut thanks for all the info i now know a little more about cameras.. so would its quality be worse than my year old pentax e40 (as seem in most my pics here) which is dog rough...

[retrogeezer]

Only 2 megapixels according to some of that blurb so not great really, although Megapixels aren't everything, you need a good ccd as well.The ebay ad above says it comes with the charger etc which is essential - does it have all that stuff?It probably is a fair swap but unless you are SERIOUSLY into photography, it's widely believed you should steer clear of D-SLR's because of the amount of kit you need to carry about with you.There are plenty of good 'bridge' cameras around the £100 mark (like the S5800) that take great photos with little effort but are also capable of near pro photos when you use the specialised settings.

[55bloke]

I totally agree with the above! Avoid an SLR unless you are really serious about your photography. I can personally recomend the Olympus 750 ultrazoom as an easy to use but pretty high spec digital- I used one for about 3 years, and they take stunning quality pics, and at 4mp and with a 10 x optical zoom AND macro settings it'll do pretty much anything you could want. Search e-bay for well looked after used ones, you won't be disapointed.

[Milford Cubicle]

Looks like a properly clunky piece of camerashite.You can buy a modern SLR for similar coin.

[andrew e]

Just £93 on a panasonic FS3 lumix. Does the job well.

[gtd2000]

I have a mate that spent something like 4000 quid on a US imported Mac back in the early 90's - it was something like a 286 processor.It wouldn't be worth a fiver today.... My first Digital camera was US$1000 when first introduced (Canon S10) - I bought one 2 years later (brand new) for US$250.You'd probably get a camera, 10 x better, today for US$50

[gtd2000]

How about one of these - it's almost 1:1 for the bloody euro nowadays!

 

Deal shown here:

 

http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/291402/canon-eos-1000d-10mp-digital-slr-ca/

 

Canon EOS 1000D 10MP Digital SLR Camera + 18-55 IS Lens - £293.61 Less £10 voucher Less £30 Cashback - £253.61 @ Argos

 

Camera info:

 

 

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?jspStoreDir=argos&catalogId=1500001151&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.co.uk%2Fwebapp%2Fwcs%2Fstores%2Fservlet%2FSearch%3FstoreId%3D10001%26catalogId%3D1500001151%26langId%3D-1%26searchTerms%3Dcanon%2Beos%2B1000d%26Submit%3DGO%2B%253E%23tab3&cmpid=COJUN&langId=-1&searchTerms=canon+eos+1000d&referrer=COJUN&Submit=GO+%3E%23tab3&storeId=10001

[Father Ted]

I spent a small fortune a few years back on the Fuji S5000 - bloody good, 5 meg and you can get bolt on lenses - but its not an SLR - looks a bt like one though...Now cheap as chips. About £50 on the bay.

[Guest]

Are there any half-decent Sony ones out there for £100? Preferably one with really good anti-shake, I have shaky hands much in the same way as the original "Mr Shake Hands Man". I'd say about half of my photos come out as a blurry mess. Just a point and click to stick in my jacket pocket and take photos of shonky old crap I see on the roads and exciting updates as I make the Stanza less crusty. I know they're probably not the preferred brand, but I can't be bothered buying a load of new memory cards and my old Cybershot is nearly dead now.

[reallyloud]

It probably is a fair swap but unless you are SERIOUSLY into photography, it's widely believed you should steer clear of D-SLR's because of the amount of kit you need to carry about with you.

That sums it up perfectly. There are dozens of decent cameras that do the job as well as an SLR. I'd look at getting a brand new camera though, because like most sensitive electronic equipment they have a habit of going tits up at the wrong time (i.e spotting a base version Fiat Ritmo driven by a knickerless Angelina Jolie etc) I got my old man a Panasonic lumix DMC camera last year and my missus uses a Canon powershot - both are equal to my Canon EOS SLR camera - and a much handier size to deal with - remember its the person taking the shot not the camera! I'd set a maximum budget and do some homework online, choose the best spec and buy online - there are some cracking deals to be had.

[MrRegieRitmo]

Just £93 on a panasonic FS3 lumix. Does the job well.

Is that the one currently advertised where famous landmarks are 'dragged' closer to the camera? I really fancy one of those but was expecting them to be £200+ being Panasonic !!

[andrew e]

Hirst these princess shots were taken on a £200 sony cyber shot (TS 7 sumthang) prior to me killing it, I haven't uploaded anything bar the Ace cafe shot on the panasonic, but its been quite effective at snapping trains doing 100 mph outside my window, I just need to figure it out

 

My advice (what I did anyhow!) was pop in jessops and fondle everything, I wanted a fast response to snapping for ketching the moment, and a on off switch that couldn't accidentally go off in your pocket [zoom mimicing lazy lob effect/] you get to see how easy the cards/battery slip in out too.

 

Shame Jessops are so expensive and will not deal

[andrew e]

Just £93 on a panasonic FS3 lumix. Does the job well.

Is that the one currently advertised where famous landmarks are 'dragged' closer to the camera? I really fancy one of those but was expecting them to be £200+ being Panasonic !!

Er possibly Reg, I'll let you know Nice bit of kit though, well happy for the money

[Guest]

Hi all, i'd have to agree with most of the previous posts; the canon/kodak is likely to be quite heavy and when fitted with a decent lens fitted it will be a big bit of kit probably weighing around 2.5kg all in!If you want to branch into D-SLR's with all the settings and post processing that comes with it then it sounds like a really good deal otherwise you would probably be happier with a decent bridge camera from canon, nikon or fuji.Well thats my pennies worth...andrew

[retrogeezer]

I had an s5000 as well up until a couple of months back, swapped it in for the S5800 (which has anti-shake by the way!) - it was £85 quid but appears to have gone up a fiver.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fujifilm-FinePi ... 332&sr=8-1

 

It has great reviews and you get a lot of camera for your money, you can also buy an official Fuji refurb (usually just returns) for £67 plus postage:

 

https://secure.fujifilm.co.uk/shop/cons ... epix-s5800

 

Also recommended is the S8100fd - has a few more features and 18x optical zoom:

 

https://secure.fujifilm.co.uk/shop/cons ... 0fd-119771

 

Only thing with the refurgs is they only have a 6 month warranty.

[Milford Cubicle]

I don't rate those newer Fuji S-series cameras much, they aren't as well-built as the older ones and the spec is more geared towards casual users.

I had an S5500 and it took three drops from roofs to maim it, it'd just end up taking slightly surreal-looking photos like this until I gave it a smack and it started working again. Brilliant camera

[VWPowered]

in an arty sense that's not a bad picture lol, but yes must be quiet tough :pthanks guys really appriciate the comments

[406V6]

As a photographer of 30 years experience and a digi SLR user for 5+ years, to answer the original question the Canon/Kodak DCS 520 should be avoided by everyone except dedicated camera collectors. It is outclassed in virtually every respect by modern inexpensive cameras and a modern SLR would walk all over it. Don't touch it !!!

[r.welfare]

I must admit I'm a point-and-click merchant - although I have put a couple of digi camera books on my Xmas list.

 

I've been using a 3.2MP Sony Cybershot DSC-P40 for the last 5 years which cost me about £120, and that's what I tend to take my eBay car shots on. Must admit that I think they come out OK, although I'm no expert:

 

 

We were given a Sony Cybershot DSC-H2 as a wedding present 2 years ago - not an SLR though. I think it cost about £250. Only 6MP but a 12x Carl Zeiss zoom lens. I really must have a play around with the settings to get the best out of it.

[retrogeezer]

I don't rate those newer Fuji S-series cameras much, they aren't as well-built as the older ones and the spec is more geared towards casual users.

Agree on the build quality, the S5000 I had was Made in Japan and it showed.....

 

Tons more features on the 5800 though, bigger screen - loads of scene modes, decent exposure time for night shots. It walks all over the 5000 for spec and the way the technology moves so quickly it will be obsolete in 18 months so doesn't need to be made from granite.

 

I took these with it in auto mode:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Owain-328i]

The Canon EOS 1n is an awesome camera, ive got one tucked away here, however it was designed as a 35mm, not a digital, but ive never used that kodak jobbie so i can really comment. However for image quality, and easy of use, look at something that was designed to be a DSLR in the first place. If you do go for it, be aware that Canon EF lenses arnet cheap, and the EOS body is not compatible with the earlier FD mount lenses.If you're not into it, get a point and shoot (although the EOS 1 does have a point and shoot mode)

[Father Ted]

As a teenager I pissed about with a kitted out OM10 (with optional over ride) and an assortment of lenses and the school darkroom. I discovered that I wasn't much of a photographer when I went working for Limehouse Studios and met Michael Lingard who looked at my portfolio and rather kindly didn't laugh too much.

 

I moved onto point and shoot cameras after that , sticking with 35m but using the variety with the built in zoom lenses. Then I moved onto my first digicam - a Cybershot DS2 whcih with its whopping 2x optical zoom I still have.

I moved onto the Fuji S500 a couple of years later and bought a couple of additional lenses and love it still - it does what I want and Im still a crap photographer.

Fuji ^^^

 

Nokia N95^^^

 

Cybershot^^^

 

Samsung 35mm Thingy.^^^

 

Oh and proving you dont have to have a megabucks camera - Im quite proud of this shot using the Nokia N95

Nokia - Bridlington Beach

[andrew e]

Aye the camera phone captures the moment, these are from the 24 hours 2 years ago, quality is shite but the atmosphere isn't.

 

 

[retrogeezer]

Looks like father ted's been exploring.......anywhere good?

[Father Ted]

Nowhere that hasnt been done & posted a thousand times before.Vernon Carus, Whittingam,Devonshire Rd Hospital, Tardy Gate Manufacturing Co and of course the ROF at Chorley are under my (very wide) belt. Mills are my thing, but having an NHS ID card works in my favour for blagging admission onto NHS sites.

[VWPowered]

 

see mines crap when i try pîcs like this or is i dumb