Beginner looking for some advice please :)

[N3il]

Hi guys,

I am after a digital camera prior to going on a holiday in a month or so. Its a ski holiday if that makes any difference, and I was wondering if anyone could make some suggestions rather than just randomly picking one

Price is not too much of an issue. Just want the best I can get really, but nothing huge

Many thanks

N

[Photo-John]

Can you give us a little more information? I ski and shoot a lot and I carry all kinds of equipment from basic point-and-shoot cameras to thousands of dollars of digital SLR gear. Why don't you tell us a little bit about what kind of camera you're used to using and what kind of camera you see yourself using on your trip. How much do you want to carry and how do you want to carry it? Do you plan to shoot any action photos or is it going to pretty much be for landscape photos? Answer those questions and give us a little bit of budget information and we can make some suggestions.

[N3il]

Sorry, I just want a point and click type camera, but for landscapes as well as some action shots on the snow I dont want to carry a huge amount either..

Budget doesnt seem to be an issue, i havent seen a point and click type camera that has been over what i can afford yet, but i suppose there may be some somewhere, shall we say around £400.

Many thanks.

N

[freygr]

I hate to say for action shots you need a fast shutter activation. Most PS have to think and you loss the shot. You need to go to your local camera store with knowledgeable help to see which cameras will work for you. DSLR don't have this problem.

[N3il]

Honestly a camera like that is out of the question for me, I dont have a clue..

I guess ill see if the camera shop in cardiff can give me any advice..

Thanks anyway.

[SmartWombat]

Point & click isn't going to do action shots.
You need to go a step above that.

You need manual shutter and aperture selection so you can preset it to speed up the shot.
Manual focus too, so the camera isn't trying to focus it for you, is a good idea.

If you don't have those, then you need to learn to pre-set the camera by pointing at something about he same brightness and distance as your intended action subject - then half-press the shutter to lock the camera settings.
When your victim reaches the right distance, press the button.

This pretty much rules out spontaneous shots, so getting a camera that allows manual settings is a good idea.


The Canon G9 may be over your budget.
It has manual shutter and aperture and manual focus (but a bit clumsy on the MF).
I haven't tried action shots with it yet.


The best P&S camera I've used that comes close to what you'd need is the old Minolta A1 or Konica Minolta A2. But they're not made any more.
They have manual aperture, shutter speed, zoom, and focus. I managed some good F1 shots with them.

[ernafiona]

Going ski holiday would mean you are going to need to know about how to capture action shots. Shooting sports and action is kinda unique. Many folks give up taking pictures of sports for one reason: blur. A really fast-moving subject can change position while the camera’s taking the picture, resulting in a blurry, ruined image. For this reason, the key to “stopping action” is to use a fast shutter-speed setting. As for the camera, you are gonna need a camera with a very high resolution, since you will probably want to crop your image later to bring the action closer. Having extra pixels actually extends the reach of your lens, which is very helpful for this type of photography.