Can Anybody Reccomend Me A Camera ?

[kylealastairlove]

so I would say im a bit of a photography 'noob' but I love taking pics, especially of landscapes trouble is though at the moment I only have a standard digital camera, a Kodak c613 to be exact and it doesn't seem to do justice on the pics I take they don't look anywhere near as good as they could do.
I also like to take pictures of my fish and my tank. love getting some close ups too but again with the Kodak its pretty hard to get a close up without it being blurred because the camera cant focus properly on something that is close up. I wanted to post some pictures of my fish and tank to the photo section but I don't feel the pictures have turned out looking very nice, and I know I can get a lot better pictures because my sister has a pretty decent camera and the quality of the pictures from her camera compared to mine Is a 1000x better
 
so could anybody recommend me a good (not too expensive) camera ??
 

 

[Lunar Jetman]

What is your budget?

 

[RCA]

Not sure what you mean by not too expensive?
 
One I would buy (as I have the older model) is the Panasonic Lumix FZ150.  This is a good all round bridge camera without the need for additional lenses.  Although, I do have a macro lens for my FZ100.  The FZ200 is now out, but to be honest I do not think it is worth the extra money and therefore would still opt for the FZ150.  The articulating screen is particularly useful, especially with a remote shutter and tripod.
 
If that is out of your price range, take a look at the Panasonic compact waterproof cameras.  I have been thinking about getting one of these as you have the added benefit of actually getting pictures within the tank - neat hey!
 
One thing I find with fish photography is often the camera will be focusing on the tank and therefore it takes some patience to get it to focus on what you are actually looking at.
 
Keep us posted on what your short list is, as I did tons of research before I bought mine, so maybe able to help further.

 

[kylealastairlove]

thanks for the replys errrm the budget, lets see... about £200-£300, will have to wait till pay day now before I go spending any more 
Panasonic Lumix FZ150 does sound to be quite good though,i have read some reviews and checked out some pictures from this camera, see as im a bit of a beginner I know there are so many camera's out there, how am I supposed to know which is the right one for me.

 

 

[RCA]

... see as im a bit of a beginner I know there are so many camera's out there, how am I supposed to know which is the right one for me.

 

 
You never will fully know, best thing is to jot down the criteria you are looking for in a camera, then the must have's and the must not have and take it from there.
 
I know the Panasonic will be top end of your budget, but it is one of the best Bridge Cameras on the market, and you can use its automatic settings or play around with its manual settings.  I feel it is as much a machine as a camera as it has so many features.
 
With the Panasonic I took 12 months researching, asked my family for birthday money, then they pushed me to "...buy that flipping camera.  How many pictures are you missing while researching it!?"  I would recommend for the FZ150 go to Amzazon.com - the US site and look at the review by "Rolla Gravett", it will explain some of the key features of the camera.  He also has 3000+ comments linked to his review, so you will learn a lot from reading through some of them.  Of course the UK site also has reviews worth noting, but the previous one will teach you a lot about the pro's and con's and learning's along the way.

 

[kylealastairlove]

thanks RCA I will head over to amazon and have a read !

 

[Joshwainwright]

For £200-300 I'd be looking for a used DSLR with a kit lens
 
I only really know Canon cameras so I'd suggest these, in order of their IQ:
Canon 400D (worse, although still good)
Canon 40D
Canon 500D
Canon 50D (better)
 
I'm a bit of a cheap skate so I only have the Canon 20D which is pretty old now and quite embarrassing to take out in public

 

[RCA]

kylealastairlove
How is your hunt for a camera going?
What sort of camera is your sisters?

 

[Lunar Jetman]

And if your sister has a decent one can she advise what you should get?