Wishing to purchase a digital camera under £100

[Nathalierestrepo]

Hi,

I am an amateur photographer with an Instagram account: nathalierestrepo. I'm really enjoying doing photo diaries and have now developed a strong desire to purchase a camera. My budget is 100 British Pounds, not much I know but I'm not looking for anything fancy, just something to learn on.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreaciated.
Many thanks,
Nathalie

[Tony Jay]

Welcome Nathalie.

If you want to learn about photography then you want a camera that gives you as much control as possible so a point and shoot would probably not help your situation.
However, what you mean by learning about photography may differ from mine i.e. how to expose in a fully manual mode where you make the decisions about shutter speed, aperture, and ISO yourself.
If you clarify what your take on this is then appropriate options may be able to be advanced.

Regards

Tony Jay

[stamper]

You would quickly outgrow a low cost camera. At that price it would probably be an auto type of camera with no manual controls. If you liked photography you would then buy a better one and then regret buying the cheaper one. Best to aim for something around £300 that would last you a while.

[Nathalierestrepo]

Thank you for your fast replies.

To clarify, what I'm looking for is a camera that will permit me to do some things in manual mode such as control shutter speed, aperture, ISO. and I would also like burst mode. All these opstions being available even in a very simple way, I'm not looking for anything over 14 MP.

I would just like to take better pictures than my iPhone is permitting, filter them through Picassa or iPhoto for now.

Before investing in something expensive I would like to know this is not just a passing phase. I will do a course in the coming year and will invest when money permits in something superior.

I hope this helps

[jonathanlung]

Just as an idea (for anyone who knows more about this stuff than I do): The CHDK might allow a lower-cost camera that Canon has crippled through firmware to have full exposure control. Someone with experience with CHDK might be able to suggest a camera that fits the bill.

[ultraliner]

How about this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fujifilm-FinePix-S2980-Digital-Optical/dp/B006UD5K2Y/
Another option would be this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-PowerShot-SX150-Digital-Camera/dp/B005I8XMCC/

They seem to be about the same in terms of price and features, though from looking over internet forums, the Canon seems to be more reliable.

Hope that helps!

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

The suggestions below seem fine to me.

I had several Power Shots and they all took decent pictures. I'm not really sure they would be convenient if you want to choose aperture and shutter speed, but they used to be good value for the money.

Best regards
Erik

How about this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fujifilm-FinePix-S2980-Digital-Optical/dp/B006UD5K2Y/
Another option would be this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-PowerShot-SX150-Digital-Camera/dp/B005I8XMCC/

They seem to be about the same in terms of price and features, though from looking over internet forums, the Canon seems to be more reliable.

Hope that helps!

[Nathalierestrepo]

Thank you all so much for your help. I will look in to all of these options now. I'm going on a trip to South America over christmas and it would be great to have a better camera then my iPhone!

[Nathalierestrepo]

I'm completely going with your advice on the Canon PowerShot SX150. I looked it up already. However, I can't see whether it is possible to delay the time in which the camera takes pictures, like a count-down, to take pictures of myself if no one else can? Sorry I don't know the correct term for it which is probably the reason why I can't notice it under its features.

[Rhossydd]

I can't see whether it is possible to delay the time in which the camera takes pictures, like a count-down, to take pictures of myself if no one else can? Sorry I don't know the correct term for it which is probably the reason why I can't notice it under its features.

Yes, you can. The feature is called the 'self timer'