El cheapo point and shoot

[nuphoria]

I have been after a decent but cheap camera to replace one I have but don't carry due to size.

It had to be small, easy to use, record video and take regular batteries so I can buy/recharge without any drama. I also wanted a common memory format for easy/cheaper upgrades.

So this is what I came up with:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350322268720&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

The Samsung S1065 10mp camera.
Covers all the bases I wanted and was available for this stupid price of £32.99 (refurbished and still with 12months guarantee. I couldn't resist! Current RRP £60ish but available cheaper lots of places.- - mine was a steal I reckon.
I'm not a wonderful photographer and certainly don't require expensive equipment for anything so I'll see how this one pans out and write up a proper review when DHL get their finger out and deliver it so I can play with it lots.

My previous camera (up for sale when I sort it out) was just too fancy for me really. It's this: http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/29_C-770_UltraZoom.htm which is brilliant for wildlife etc with it's 10x optical zoom, but I really don't get the use out of it I thought I would at first. So I thought I'd get a cheap one which I was likely to use more.... we shall see

[Mr. Whippy]

IMO,

Most of the inexpensive PnS cameras have gotten so good, that as long as it has the features I want, the next most important issue to me is what memory card does it take, followed by do I already have spare batteries for this?

[nuphoria]

Yep, I totally agree with you, hence my choice

I just picked up some eneloop type 2100mAh AAs to throw in it - should do the job I hope.

[Chako]

Most of my photogrpahs are done with probably the cheapest camera at my house, the Canon S5 IS. It does suffer from barrel distortion, but for posting photos in forums, it matters naught.

That camera looks good nuphoria.

[Whoey]

looks decent and seems to be a bargain. Most P&S are pretty nice these days

[andre0407]

In any event, it's a whole better camera than my cellphone's, that I consistently use to shamelessly post low-res pictures of on this site.   

[cerbera147]

That's the same camera I have and look at my great pics 





Seriously though it's a whole lot of camera in a small package 
One plus for me is that it takes SD cards of which I have many lying about; a previous camera only took the more expensive xD card 

All my photos on this site are on the 1 megapixel rating as the 10 MP is about 3-4 MB    Excellent if you are printing though

Good find 

[Fisting_Chili]

Hey there,
I have a very similar model Samsung 10.2 mp point and shoot and it is pretty damn good!  You can see from some of the pics I put up that it has a great macro feature.

good luck!

[Neil]

How grainy does it get in low light?   That's my normal gripe with cheap cameras.

[Chako]

Grain has a lot to do with the size of the sensor and pixel density. The fact is, a small point and shoot/super-zoom/bridge camera with an APS-C sized sensor will always be grainier then a larger sensored DSLR irrespective of the cleanup software used.

[Fisting_Chili]

Grain has a lot to do with the size of the sensor and pixel density. The fact is, a small point and shoot/super-zoom/bridge camera with an APS-C sized sensor will always be grainier then a larger sensored DSLR irrespective of the cleanup software used.

Is that English??  Lol

[nuphoria]

So far so good with it. First impressions are great value for money and very easy to use. I'm in bed on my iphone so will report more soon

Incedentally, a ruddy spider just fell off the ceiling to attack me in the dark. Needless to say I am not amused 

[jekostas]

Grain has a lot to do with the size of the sensor and pixel density. The fact is, a small point and shoot/super-zoom/bridge camera with an APS-C sized sensor will always be grainier then a larger sensored DSLR irrespective of the cleanup software used.

PSST

You got your sensor sizes mixed.

APS-C sensors are used in dSLRs (and a few very, very high-end compacts like the Sigma DP1 and Leica X1).

Pixels are points that create electrical charge.  To shoot in low light, you have to boost the output of that electrical charge.  The more pixels in a smaller area, the more likely they are to "crosstalk" - this is electrical noise that's found in pictures.  dSLRs get around this problem by spreading the pixel sites across a larger area, so it's less likely the outputs will interfere with each other.

[Chako]

Lol. You are correct, I did get my size format wrong didn't I. 

Anyways, here is a link that explains it all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_sensor_format