General Chat

I would like to treat myself to a new digital camera, which I know nothing about at all. This I want to take photos for my other passionate hobby, visiting open gardens for charity.
I do not even know how they work at all, and I do not want to give alot for it. This would have to be purchased either from Tesco or Argos, as they are my nearest.
And, when I have taken the said photos of the gardens, with the owners permishion, of course, what do I do then
Simple instruction only please, as they are all my brain can take at the moment.
Many Thanks
Julia in Derbyshire

Just one piece of advice - make sure your new camera has a proper viewfinder to look through, like and old camera. The digital cameras that only have a small screen can be a devil to see clearly in bright sunshine and unless you have perfect young eyes picture composition is difficult too.

To follow on from what Eddie has said.... if you go into your local Tesco (I find their photography staff more helpful than Asda) they will advise you. I don't know what your budget is, but for around £70 to 150 you can get really decent little cameras. I would state my budget, then look at what I can easily hold, point and click. The viewfinder thing is a bit of a problem at first, although I managed to overcome that and judge where to aim and click, lol... took some interesting photos at first, mind. But..... you simply delete them! Easy peasy.

The photos are loaded onto your pc via a cable... I keep mine attached all the time, it makes it so easy... and Windows have a good programme... also Picassa, edits nicely.

The only problems I seem to have, and they are exclusively mine, lol, is that I seem to be unable to make my photos stick on an e-mail... drives me nuts!

Oh and the more megapixels, the clearer the picture... but personnally I can't see a huge difference between my 5 mega and 12 mega....

Good luck, and honestly, it will take you about an hour of fiddling around with it to fall in love with it forever!

Love

Daff xxxxx

Thanks all for the advice.
Daff, what type is your camera please. Possibly going to Tesco this afternoon and have a look, so the more info. I have, the better.
Julia in Derbyshire

Vivitar make the most simple to use everyday inexpensive digi cameras ,one now comes with a usb connector already attached to the camera ,,,,,go for facedetection,good size screen 3" or 31/2 ,,,,size of screen is no indication of photo size!!! and a zoom,lots are 3x up to 5.7.12.,and highest mp you can get,the output quality will shine though,,oh and batteries,some run a chargable one or some on 3a's,which maybe better if youre taking lots of snaps,they are easy to replace on the spot,than a rechargable one if it runs out of power.
youll get a usb cable with, most cameras anyway some come with a cd photo programme to load on computer which allows editing and viewing.

Kay???? Thanks for that. Which model would you recommend. I have the Argos catalogue out on the worktop having a look., and actually fancied one of those.
Julia in Derbyshire

My favourite is a Fujifilm..... 8.3 mega pixels, son uses my Panasonic Lumix... which is easy to use, as has been said. I also had a Panasonic Lumix (I think, lol) bought for my 50th, but that disappeared at Peterborough a couple of years ago... it took wonderful photos, but was only 2.5 mega pixels.

The Panasonic is easier to use to start off with... but once I got used to it, my Fujifilm one is great for macro, which you would possibly use for flower close-ups... oh, and it is over 2 years old, so they have improved a great deal.

I am learning all the time... I now have a lovely digital SLR, a Canon, but that is a different category altogether.... I am still trying to figure out if it makes me a cuppa in the morning, lolol

I bought an extra set of rechargeable batteries.... so there is always a set in the camera and a set in my handbag... I keep them in one of thos Christmas cracker lipstick holders, lol perfect!! I also bought extra cards, so that I always had a spare... as I said, I am very much an aim and click sort of girl.

Oh... and one tip? To catch children and animals on the move, use the sports setting...... be prepared for about 30 photos from a 2 second press, mind... but at least one of them will be fantastic.... guarantee it.

Have a wonderful time choosing and using xxxx

Love

Daff xxxx

Julia, if its a first digi camera keep it simple to operate with best output for what you need it to do,,,,,,youll need to buy a sd card a few £ for extra storage as most have little memory,,these you can take to any supermarket that has a machine,put in card and just print off what you want,,,,
once you get used to digi ,you can get a higher graded one next time,,,,,I use Nikon so a different league and was expensive..but find my phone with sd card takes smashing snaps and can load on computer or email them on and free up storage.,,,,}}}}

I lied, lol sorry... my first digital was a Sony... just found the battery charger for it!!

Love

Daff xxxx

I got mine from Tescos & it a Samsung S630.......& it has ASR...Advanced Shake Reduction, which i really need lol

Hi Girls and Eddie, well I have done the deed. I went to Tesco in our nearest large town. Young man was very helpful, and did not 'pounce' as soon as I was looking around. I bought an Agfaphoto 12.0 Mega Pixels.
It had £5 off so cost me £49.97., plus £7.97 for a memory card. Young man showed me everthing, put the batteries in, and the memory card., and it came with it's own carrying strap and a 'plastic' leather,case and a lead for the computer, aswell as full instructions. And, it is in my favourite colour that I wear alot, Fuschia Pink.
I'm sure I will have plenty of questions on the way, so be prepared for me posting a load of rubbish.
Many thanks to you all
Julia in Derbyshire

Julie enjoy,get clicking away at everything and anything to practice on,,try all the different modes, youll be taking it everywhere ,,,,}}}}}that was a good price and love the colour aswell.

A higher number of megapixels are really only important if you want to print really large (A3) photos.

Glad you have got your camera Julia, not one I have heard of I have to admit, hope you have fun with it. I was going to say (before I realised I was too late lol!!) that I can find nothing bad to say about the Panasonic Lumix, mine is fantastic, love it, daughter and DiL both have one as well, bit dearer than yours though.

Hi Ann in Glos, they had the Panasonic Lumix, but it was abit more than what I wanted to pay, as a beginner. They also had the Vivitar, that Kay???? mentioned, and though the same price as the one I had, I liked the look of this one. And, it does not 'clash' with what I wear when I go visiting the gardens that I want to photo.
Will have to start and use a bigger handbag with all I have to carry about with me when I go out. Digital camera, mobile phone, carrier bags for the plans I buy, note book to list the plants and from where, heart tabs. and Coro-nitro for the OH, pain killers and Oromorph for me. Oh, and me purse.
Take Care
Julia in Derbyshire

Aah I have black cameras, goes with everything.