Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
General => General Chat => Topic started by: Mourneman on March 14, 2012
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Looking some advice about buying a new point & shoot,my Nikon coolpix s8000 has unrepairable damage & really this time I want something a wee bit more robust but still at a reasonable price,came across this http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/fujifilm-finepix-xp30-waterproof-compact-digital-camera-orange-10096417-pdt.html & was quire impressed with the spec,at £ 109.00 it seems to be quite the bargain,also has a cool feature of a G.P.S built in,basically turn on the camera take the shot then later while uploading to PC the co-ordernates of each shot will be included.With the 3 years instant replacement it work out at £136,not bad ;D
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I've always found that reading the reviews of amazon can be a help as its lots of people with different opinions. But remember some of those people may not be the most technically in touch e.g. Granny bought herself this camera to use beside the pool at her retirement villa.
Off the top of my head I remember reading that it was a good camera but I also remember hearing something about the image quality not being the greatest. Again that's off the top of my head. I'd even try one out in somewhere like jessops or similar.
The waterproof feature will be great to have when it rains, but then again you can buy covers for your camera that do the same job.
I've just read what I've said and it doesn't really help, it just gives you more to think about. Hopefully it helps in some way.
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I can't sing the praises of the Lumix LX5 enough at around £249. I have a Nikon D70s and D80 with the full range of genuine Nikon Lenses and they have not been used since I bought the LX5 2 years ago.
The main purpose of carrying a camera is to capture great quality images/memories of interesting days out. The LX5 pictures are of the highest quality and will stand the test of time. When looking back at your photos in 30 years time they will be crisp and clear and a great reminder of your fitter, healthier days in the hills and elsewhere.
The only feature that appeals to me on the Fujifilm FinePix XP30 , that's not on most cameras, is the GPS, but is this really important enough to sacrifice good quality pictures for. I'd prefer top quality photos and carry a notebook to write the location down if necessary.
Here is a sample photo from the Fujifilm FinePix XP30 taken under perfect conditions:
http://cdn-static.cnet.co.uk/i/c/rv/e/digitalcameras/fujifilm/finepix_xp30/xp30-story1large.jpg
It's not great to be honest... 14 megapixels sounds good but is irrelevant. A 5 mega pixel camera with a good quality Leica/Carl Zeiss glass lens will outperform a 50 megapixel camera with a plastic lens.
If the water proof feature is important you could do what I have done. I have the LX5 for my fancy shots in dry weather and the Kodak EASYSHARE SPORT C123 for when it is chucking it down or I'm snorkling/diving. Both cameras are extremely light weight so there's no reason why you couldn't carry both in the hills if you really want to be able to take good shots in all weather conditions.
Great review of the XP30 here: http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/compact-digital-cameras/fujifilm-finepix-xp30-review-50003768/
Don't let me put you off, but I just beleive quality pictures are more important than camera features.
8)
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Dowser, r u bringing the C123 to the easter camp?
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Brilliant advice Dowser,think your right,photo quality is more important,anyway most dual purpose gadgets tend to fail,ie video,DVD player,washer-dryers,I do remember you saying before about the c123 Kodak,the only thing putting me of was the AA batteries,nothing worse than losing power half way throught a walk,how do you find it?
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Dowser, r u bringing the C123 to the easter camp?
I can't make it to the Easter Camp as I'm off to Lanzarote. I think I'll probably be seeing you some evening next week... Possibly Wednesday, if that suits you. I'll PM you. I will bring the C123 with me then and you can check it out. In the meantime, I will carry it with me this weekend and post some photo's from it on Sunday night.
I had to gt the C123 instead of the C135 because Kodak have gone bust and didn't make the C135 after all. I had pre-ordered the C135 on Amazon, but they emailed me last week to say Kodak had cancelled it's build :'(
Fairdy Well Kodak
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Brilliant advice Dowser,think your right,photo quality is more important,anyway most dual purpose gadgets tend to fail,ie video,DVD player,washer-dryers,I do remember you saying before about the c123 Kodak,the only thing putting me of was the AA batteries,nothing worse than losing power half way throught a walk,how do you find it?
I'll be honest, I didn't realise it was AA's till I received it. If you buy good quality rechargable Ni-MH 2800mah AA batteries, they will outlast most built in batteries. Also, if you carry replacements you can change when required, which you can't do so easily with camera specific batteries unless you buy a spare which is usually quite expensive. At least with the AA's if you forget to lift the batteries out of the charger before you leave the house, which I've done many times, you can always pop into a Spar and buy some.
I honestly haven't used the Kodak C123 yet, except for a few shots in the house which seem quite good.
I will make a point of using it over the next couple of days, in and out of the water, and will post a review asap for you.
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Cheers for the advice Doswer,here's a few other i've also being looking at.
http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/Products/LUMIX+Digital+Cameras/LUMIX+Digital+Cameras/DMC-FT10/Overview/5435983/index.html
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005IFX18K/ref=asc_df_B005IFX18K6997773?smid=A1012M4KGMPBTL&tag=hydra0b-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22218&creativeASIN=B005IFX18K
http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=olympus+tough&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=16007012145328970420&sa=X&ei=6v9h
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Sorry to hear about your camera Mourneman. You photos have been brilliant especially the panaramic one. Hope you new camera be as good
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So bit the bullet today & bought a new camera,ended up going for the Olympus tough tg-320,waterproof,shock-proof model,got it from Argos for £149.99,with three years full insurance for £ 36.99,quite pleased with the photos taken from it ;)
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here's some photo's taken with the new camera
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/6879988558_ab91b68035.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/78041970@N04/6879988558/)
P1010007 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/78041970@N04/6879988558/) by cue13 (http://www.flickr.com/people/78041970@N04/), on Flickr
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7037/6879990174_5bddda688c.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/78041970@N04/6879990174/)
P1010001 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/78041970@N04/6879990174/) by cue13 (http://www.flickr.com/people/78041970@N04/), on Flickr
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7131/7026083325_16fed1e335.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/78041970@N04/7026083325/)
P1010009 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/78041970@N04/7026083325/) by cue13 (http://www.flickr.com/people/78041970@N04/), on Flickr
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Not bad quality at all.
If it does you a few years it will be worth the money, I think thats where some cameras I've had have failed. They break after a year and arent worth getting fixed.
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Nice one Mourneman... that's a great looking camera and it gets excellent reviews:
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/olympus-tough-tg-320-digital-compact-camera-review-18765
Looking forward to seeing lots of cool photos ;)
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Well field tested the olympus tough tg-320 on monday ,must say i'am very dissapointed with its performance :P after only taking about 30 shots & few minutes of footage the battery light was coming on,few minutes later battery dead,camera shuts down.Reboxed the camera & armed with he receipt i'am off to Argos,going to ask them to change it for another one as it has to be a bad battery,theres no way a camera build for tough enviroment battery fails after ten minutes,so hopefully the new one works out better or it will be going back as well ! :-\
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new camera within a minute ,if this one fails it will be back to a new nikon ;D
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remember to charge the battery this time ::)
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hows the camera doing now john? i think i'm going to have to get a new one myself very soon
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I got the waterproof finepix, awesome wee camera so far. has a little bit of lens flare in bright sunlight but thats the price you pay to have shock proof glass infront of a lens.