Can someone recommend an idiot proof camera

[Dave S]

Hi, I am looking for a little NON TECHNICAL advice and some of the pictures on this site seem to be very good and a lot of people seem to know what they are talking about.
I want to buy a new camera for around £300 but it must be simple to use ie point and click.
Some requirements that I would like;
A decent Zoom
Lightweight or a least no extra bits to carry (no light meters, flashguns ect)
One that I can load onto my computer and doesn't need film.

My main uses would be for pictures of fish (I'm an angler), birds in the garden, butterflies and insects, plants and the usual family snaps.
At the moment Iam looking at the following simply because they are in Argos and around the right price but any alternative advice will be gladly received or a recommendation from the list, maybe it will be overwhelming in favour of one type which would make it nice and easy for me.
Nikon D40 6mp DSLR
Sony Alpha 200 10mp
Olympus E420 10mp
Sony cx200
Canon powershot G9 12mp
Thanks in advance.

[Pete Eeles]

I'd recommend the Canon Powershot G9 since this is a camera that you can progress from "shoot and click" through to quite sophisticated techniques, including RAW processing (i.e. high-res images). It's really good for landscapes and regular photos, and "ok" for insects, but no compact will ever be as good as a DSLR with a dedicated macro lens

And I have one

Cheers,

- Pete

[m_galathea]

Hi Dave,
If you want a camera that is simple to use (point and click in your own words) then I wouldn't buy a DSLR. If you're not interested in using the features that they have, then even with a better quality sensor and glass the results are unlikely to be a lot better.

My recommendation would be to by a good quality compact camera, after all you want a lightweight model. IMO you're more likely to use a small camera too. The disadvantage to this is that the zoom probably won't be much bottle and you'll be lucky to get any good shots of birds in the garden (unless you have a spotting scope too).

I have used some of the Canon Powershot cameras (G5 and G6) and these were good and I reckon would suit you well. The lastest G9 that you list is possibly better (?) but doesn't have the rotating back screen which made the previous models so useable.

Alexander

[Shirley Roulston]

No one has mentioned the Panasonic DMC-FZ18 with LUMIX lens, the 18 is the zoom, you can buy a close-up lens, wide lenes and additional zoom lenes. The camera cost about £200.

[NickB]

No one has mentioned the Panasonic DMC-FZ18 with LUMIX lens, the 18 is the zoom, you can buy a close-up lens, wide lenes and additional zoom lenes. The camera cost about £200.

Not a bad choice....
I was looking at my old butterfly images taken with the Panasonic FZ50 + close-up lens and also some other pics I took. And they are not bad; the "idiot modes" were definitely better for night and evening/sunset shots than the idiot using manual settings, so in that sense it is idiot-proof (in my case at least )
N

[eccles]

Recent 15x plus super zoom compacts seem to have lost a bit of quality compared to previous models. The latest Olympus models for instance are indifferent at full zoom. The Panasonics are probably the best of the bunch, using Zeiss optics. Many of the previous models with around 12x zooms perform better though. The Panasonic FZ8 and Canon S3 were good. Nick's example, the Panasonic FZ50 had excellent optics, larger than average sensor for a compact, and despite poor low light performance inherent in nearly all compacts, was about as close as you can get to DSLR quality without actually getting one. The use of an achromatic close up lens usually gives better results than the in-camera macro facility. If you don't want to take the DSLR plunge and can pick up a second user FZ50 you won't regret it.

Having said that, many entry level DSLRs are reasonably idiot proof with plenty of program modes to ease the novice into better photography, and make no mistake, the worst DSLR is still better than the best compact. About the cheapest is the Sony A200 which, with the kit lens, is less than some higher end compacts. Also check out Nikon D40 or D50 and Canon 400D or 1000D.

[Prof Farnsworth]

Nikon D40. Point, shoot, enjoy and as you learn it will allow you to play for quite a while before you will need to upgrade. Plus light and small.

[Dave S]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've now settled for the Cannon G9. I did a bit of research and then tried a couple and it seemed quite a way ahead of the others. The biggest difference that I've noticed is that previously I might take 10 photos and find that 1 was ok where as now it seems that 9 out of the 10 will be quite good, (the quality, not necessarily the composition as thats down to me). The biggest problem is that it doesn't come with an instruction booklet so I'm having to try and find out how to use it via the internet which is proving quite difficult, so most of the features are currently going unused but its early days yet so hopefully by next year I might be able to display some pics. The only downside seems to be a fairly small zoom (6x optical) compared to some others but I guess there must be a reason.
If anyone has a G9 and could recommend some useful settings to try out or tips on using it (or a good website which explains how to use the features and to actually set them on the camera), I would be very grateful. Thanks.

I think Nick B's comment about the automatic Idiot Modes on a camera being better than the "Idiot with a manual Mode" probably covers me quite well at the moment which is why I'm avoiding a DSLR.

[Hamearis]

[url]http://www.mediafire.com/?4smjmlmezjq[/url]

[Dave S]

Thanks for the Mega-fast reply, I'll check it out shortly.

[eccles]

Check out the Canon photography forum's macro section: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/for ... y.php?f=38
I seem to remember someone there posting pictures from the G9. I don't know if he had any extras like close up lenses or whether he just used the macro modes within the camera, but some of the results were very good. It scores over many other compacts because it has a larger then average sensor.

[Roy Ledgerton]

Reference lack of instruction manual for G9. I recently bought this camera. I asked Canon why they didn't supply a full instruction manual. Their reason was that it was environmentally unfriendly but I could buy one from a third party supplier at a cost of almost £17.00 or print one from the cd which came with the camera. It would seem that they prefer to shift environmental unfriendlyness on to their customers or third party suppliers or as I suspect it is cheaper to put it on a cd. Either way their sales philosophy doesn't match the quality of their product.

Roy

[Pete Eeles]

I have a Canon Powershot G9 and (unless I remember incorrectly) it definitely does come with a manual. It's just that the manual comes in the form of a digital file that is on a CD, not not provided in dead tree format.

I realise that this can be considered "unfriendly" by those of us that are used to printed manuals, possibly a negative as far as the product quality is concerned, and probably the fact that the only reason it is done is because it saves Canon money - but in the grand scheme of things, these are small prices to pay for saving a forest.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Roy Ledgerton]

Hi Pete

With respect it only 'saves a forest' if owners are prepared to sit in front of a computer screen to view the instructions on the cd and do not take up the option of printing the instructions. As always there are no simplistic solutions to complex problems.

Regards

Roy

[Pete Eeles]

Completely agree Roy!

[DaveW]

Even if the manual is on a CD, you can't read it if you don't have a computer! My parents fall into this category. After contacting Canon CS they were eventually passed on to another company who printed it out, loose leaf A4. Even then they would have been charged for it until my father explained again about not having a computer.

[Roy Ledgerton]

Hi All

Just to update everyone on my previous post regarding lack of instruction manual for the G9. I complained to Canon Customer Services regarding this ommission. I received a phone call from Canon this afternoon apologising for the long delay in answering my complaint. In addition they gave me the phone number of the firm who supply printed instruction manuals at a cost of £17 together with a reference number so that I can obtain a free copy. I contacted the firm and they will send me a manual by first class mail tomorrow.