Assistance with new Camera

[Ecstasy]

I'm new to digital cameras and with asking for assistance from stores they always point you to the most expensive camera or something with the highest MP or optical zoom or this or that, and that doesn't do anything except turn me away. I talked to a friend briefly and he told me that none of this matters, so I'm completely stumped.

Price Range: Nothing over 220
Primary Use: Taking pictures of scorpions & snakes.
Secondary Use: Vacation in London(July)
Options: I would prefer a rechargeable battery, faster picture speed, easy to use.

I'm just interested in purchasing a camera and not planning on doing any lenses and sensors or what not because I would rather not get into all of the technical things. I will post a few pictures of some of the other people that have taken pictures and how they've came out so maybe it will help with the suggestions. I've tried to list everything I can possibly think but I may of forgotten something, so please if you need to ask anything to help me choose what digital camera will fit me the best please post as I've set it to automatically notify me.

[Anbesol]

Try a Canon Elph, or an Olympus tough. There are a lot of good cameras available in your price range and they are all very easy with fast image cycle rate. So, its going to be impossible to land on one specific best answer for you.

[Ecstasy]

Try a Canon Elph, or an Olympus tough. There are a lot of good cameras available in your price range and they are all very easy with fast image cycle rate. So, its going to be impossible to land on one specific best answer for you.

Thanks for the direction, but any specific of the models that you would recommend? I don't mind paying closer to the $220 range as long as it will deliver the quality.

I like the water resistant ones due to the fact it rains a lot in the UK so I will still be able to take pictures in the event that it will rain, I was glancing at the Olympus Tough 6020, but is that the better Tough choice?

[WesternGuy]

Be careful of any claims of "water-proof" or even "water-resistant" as a lot depends on how much water a camera and lens are exposed to and under what type of conditions. If you are going to be shooting a lot in the rain, you might want to look at some of the "rain sleeves" by Optech...http://optechusa.com/rainsleeve.html. They are reltively inexpensive and may prove useful in the UK rains. I have no reason to use them as the place I live does not have that much rain and most of it comes in summer thunder storms of less than 30 minutes duration and you wouldn't want to be photographing in one of them anyway.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

[Ecstasy]

Be careful of any claims of "water-proof" or even "water-resistant" as a lot depends on how much water a camera and lens are exposed to and under what type of conditions. If you are going to be shooting a lot in the rain, you might want to look at some of the "rain sleeves" by Optech...http://optechusa.com/rainsleeve.html. They are reltively inexpensive and may prove useful in the UK rains. I have no reason to use them as the place I live does not have that much rain and most of it comes in summer thunder storms of less than 30 minutes duration and you wouldn't want to be photographing in one of them anyway.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

I know a lot of companies false advertise and I was talking with another guy who suggested a Panasonic ZS7, and I looked up the features, has very good features:

# Light Sensitivity: ISO 100, ISO 800, ISO 400, ISO 200, ISO 80, ISO auto, ISO auto (1600-6400), ISO 1600
# Image types: JPEG
# Shooting Modes: Frame movie mode
# Exposure Control Type: Candle, Beach, Transform, Snow, High sensitivity, Starry sky, Soft skin, Baby1, Baby2, Photo frame, Portrait mode, Aerial photo, Hi-speed burst, Film grain, Flash-burst, Pin hole, High dynamic, Party/indoor, Night portrait, Self-portrait, Pet, Scenery, Food, Fireworks, Panorama assist, Night scene, Underwater, Sports mode, Sunset

12x optical zoom with image stabilized zoom among other features, it's a bit more then what I originally wanted to pay, but I'm thinking it may be worth it, and the guy even showed me some pictures he has taken with it. I'm just trying to find other reviews on it.

[WesternGuy]

If you Google "Panasonic Zs7" you will find a bunch of reviews and comments such as... http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/ZS7/ZS7A.HTM, or http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-came...-33978853.html. They give you both the pros and cons. These "web" reviews may be your best bet, as you may not find anyone on this forum who has this exact camera.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

WesternGuy