Noobs looking for a camera ...

[Nicksfix]

My wife and I are planning on a lot of travel / picture taking this upcoming summer and we are seeking to upgrade our current camera. It's quite alright, you can laugh at what we are currently using, why not, we are. Our current (outdated) camera is a Fuji - something, 35mm. It works alright and all, but we are now looking for an upgrade. I'll be honest, I'm retarded when it comes to this camera stuff. My wife isn't much sharper either on these.

I know a lot of you guys / gals in here have some high end equipment and shoot some fab. stuff, but remember, we (wife and I) are mere amateurs at this sort of stuff. We are not looking for top notch stuff, but yet we are not looking at low end crap either. Upon looking at places like Best Buy, Wal Mart, we are lost. One person tells you one thing, the next person tells you the opposite. It's really getting frustrating. Pricing .... I don't know what is a good deal and what is a rip-off. The pricing on this stuff is all over the board. Where to really buy from ? Quality ... same scenario, we really don't know what to look for.
What we are seeking as far as a camera is concerned ... obviously great clarity, zoom features, in motion (action features). That's the extent of what I personally know what to look for. Just something that is user / noob friendly, something you don't have to break out the instruction manual for when you attempt to do something.


Price range, I'm lost. What's good, what is bad ? We were thinking that we will go up to around $500-$750. Is this a good range for a camera ? We can go more if absolutely needed.

Are there more features that we should be looking at before making a purchase ?
A certain brand to consider as a purchase ?
Any certain brands to shy away from ?

Open for suggestions fellow GTP'ers.

Thanks much. 👍

 

[Sprite]

Well if I may recommend the Fuji X20.

Review

Review #2

Preview

Apparently it's a cracking little camera. Seeing as your used to Fuji then this might be a good place to start. It's the baby brother to the camera I have at the moment Fuji X-E1.

 

[35mm]

Our current (outdated) camera is a Fuji - something, 35mm.

A film camera?

 

[BobK]

I bought a Canon SX40 HS last year that I'm very happy with, and my son just purchased a Nikon Coolpix 520 which also appears to be an excellent camera. They seem to be smack in the middle of what you're looking for. They're both quite capable but do require reading the extensive manuals to get the most out of them. On the other hand you can leave either on full auto mode and get perfectly acceptable shots. They have 35x and 42x zooms respectively; my son and I go to a couple airshows every year which makes the extreme zooms very desirable features for us; we can reach right into the cockpit from 1-200 feet away for instance.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Canon or Nikon; both are established, quality brands. I understand Olympus is a good brand as well, but I don't have any experience with it so I can't comment. I did look into the Fuji line when I bought the Canon (which replaced a Canon S2 IS btw) and after reading between the lines on the specs and the actual customer reviews, decided it's a brand I personally would stay away from.

Some people may recommend a Sony or Panasonic. The most important part of most any camera is the optics, and some advice I've heard that seems sensible is that Sony/Panasonic make primarily electronics-oriented products, whereas Canon/Nikon have been making high quality lenses for a long time. Having said that, some people swear by them.

I don't know what to say about Kodak. A couple decades ago I wouldn't have hesitated to recommend Kodak but my research has me considering them as a second choice rather than frontrunner.

I'm sure you'll get suggestions to get a DSLR. I'd recommend against that unless you want to make a career out of learning how to use the camera. Additionally, you'll likely end up spending more on lenses than you did on the original camera. Sure they do a better job, there's a reason why the pros and dedicated amateurs use them exclusively. But that all comes at a price, and it's not just a financial cost.

 

[F1GTR]

As above, Fuji X20, or a Sony RX100. Both very capable cameras and will make for great backups if you find you want to move up to a DSLR. I did a similar thing a few years ago when I was starting out, bought a Canon G7 to learn the basics on then moved up to a Nikon D80 before finally settling on 35mm and 120 film.

 

[Sprite]

Just heard about this compact coming shortly too. Ricoh GR. it's up for pre-order now you can see a bit more about it here. Link

 

[35mm]

^ I might be wrong, but I don't think the Ricoh is a beginners' camera.
Nice camera, yes. But maybe not the best option here.

 

[Nicksfix]

Well if I may recommend the Fuji X20.

Review

Review #2

Preview

Apparently it's a cracking little camera. Seeing as your used to Fuji then this might be a good place to start. It's the baby brother to the camera I have at the moment Fuji X-E1.

Thank you for the recommendation / reviews. Kinda funny, this Fuji X20 is one that we actually had our hands on.

A film camera?

Digital with a card. I remember purchasing an upgraded card for this when it was purchased 7-8 years ago. The original could not hold more than 100 photos IIRC. The upgraded one, well, we never had a problem with space.

I bought a Canon SX40 HS last year that I'm very happy with, and my son just purchased a Nikon Coolpix 520 which also appears to be an excellent camera. They seem to be smack in the middle of what you're looking for. They're both quite capable but do require reading the extensive manuals to get the most out of them. On the other hand you can leave either on full auto mode and get perfectly acceptable shots. They have 35x and 42x zooms respectively; my son and I go to a couple airshows every year which makes the extreme zooms very desirable features for us; we can reach right into the cockpit from 1-200 feet away for instance.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Canon or Nikon; both are established, quality brands. I understand Olympus is a good brand as well, but I don't have any experience with it so I can't comment. I did look into the Fuji line when I bought the Canon (which replaced a Canon S2 IS btw) and after reading between the lines on the specs and the actual customer reviews, decided it's a brand I personally would stay away from.

Some people may recommend a Sony or Panasonic. The most important part of most any camera is the optics, and some advice I've heard that seems sensible is that Sony/Panasonic make primarily electronics-oriented products, whereas Canon/Nikon have been making high quality lenses for a long time. Having said that, some people swear by them.

I don't know what to say about Kodak. A couple decades ago I wouldn't have hesitated to recommend Kodak but my research has me considering them as a second choice rather than frontrunner.

I'm sure you'll get suggestions to get a DSLR. I'd recommend against that unless you want to make a career out of learning how to use the camera. Additionally, you'll likely end up spending more on lenses than you did on the original camera. Sure they do a better job, there's a reason why the pros and dedicated amateurs use them exclusively. But that all comes at a price, and it's not just a financial cost.

Canon and Nikon were other brands we had in our hands. I don't recall which models of each though, sorry. They appeared (from my little knowledge) to be fine. The Kodak line was sort of odd. This is where it got tricky for us. One establishment swore by them, the next establishment dissed on them, badly ... IDK.

I like the fact of how you said the zoom in feature was very desirable on your suggestion, something I'm looking at. I want to be able to do just that, zoom in on something from a distance / possibly in motion without ruining any clarity.

We also looked at Sony. They seemed (to us) to be alright, but then again, we got the opposing two sided story from different retailers. Basically leaving us in the dark ... again.

As above, Fuji X20, or a Sony RX100. Both very capable cameras and will make for great backups if you find you want to move up to a DSLR. I did a similar thing a few years ago when I was starting out, bought a Canon G7 to learn the basics on then moved up to a Nikon D80 before finally settling on 35mm and 120 film.

Fuji X20 and Sony RX100 duly noted, thanks. Do you have any personal experience with these ?

Just heard about this compact coming shortly too. Ricoh GR. it's up for pre-order now you can see a bit more about it here. Link

I'll look into that a little more. Thank you for the link.

^ I might be wrong, but I don't think the Ricoh is a beginners' camera.
Nice camera, yes. But maybe not the best option here.

Is or is not a beginner camera ? Again, we are not pros at this camera stuff and we prefer to - (KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid).

Thanks for the input guys. It is all duly noted and will be looked at. Any more inputs / suggestions are welcome.

Thanks again. 👍

 

[F1GTR]

I've tried both the X10 (the X20's predecessor) and the RX100. I own a Ricoh GRDIII, and while I'll probably order a GR once they're out, I agree with DiabolicalMask. It's more of an enthusiast's camera, the lens doesn't zoom (fixed at 28mm equiv.) and many of the menus are customisable for the user's preferences. It's not hard to learn how to use and customise, but you may find the fixed lens quite limiting. The Fuji and Sony have zooms with a good range. Another camera to consider is the Panasonic LX7. Out of the lot (excluding the Ricoh GR, which really is my choice) I'd say the RX100 is the class leader, great Zeiss lens with a useful zoom range, bigger sensor, good movie mode, and the build quality is just that little bit better.

 

[Nicksfix]

^
Thank you for this input. It is appreciated.
My wife and I were talking about this and some of her acquaintances pointed towards the Fuji ... (probably the X20). She did not get the exact model, so I can only assume this would be the one they are referring to ???

I'll also note that Panasonic LX7. Thanks again.

 

[Mikeybc]

For your budget you can get a Nikon D-3200 DSLR with a 18-55 VR lens, it won't have the ability to zoom in close on distant objects but it's a camera that you can grow into and be happy with for many years. Don't be intimidated by a DSLR. Most have full auto and scene modes just like the compacts and if you find yourself wanting to learn more about photography or get into it a little more seriously you won't be looking for yet another camera. Low light performance is also very good.

 

[Nicksfix]

^

Thanks for the insight ... appreciated.

 

[Sprite]

Agreed that the Rioch might be a bit tricky to use and I'm sure the price maybe higher.

I read another review for the X20 (as I'm thinking of buying my partner one) link

 

[Nicksfix]

^
That is a nice review you've posted, thanks. 👍

My wife has been reading up on this and she appears to like it, it seems to be fine with me as well. I'm thinking this "might" be the one we go with. Not 100% sure though. We are going out again sometime this weekend and check out the posted recommendations.

Thanks again all. 👍