[Di2001]

Hubby and I have finally decided to get ourselves a digital camera! We've been doing a bit of research but the choice is mind-boggling.

We want to spend about £150.00 and hope to get at least a 3 megapixel for this amount of money.

Can any of you guys recommend anything to us? Any help would be very much appreciated.

[Amy]

I've found that most digital cameras are very good despite what megapixel they are but that's just my experience! We have a 5 mp camera which is excellent but my neighbour only has a 3 and theirs is just as good.
My advice would be to shop around! one camera that's on offer in one store is probably going to be cheaper in another, just keep asking the staff which has been popular etc but don't get talked into a camera you don't want to buy.

[James]

When I am buying something I usually look around for user reviews.

These links might help you decide:

Epinions, Dealtime UK, Dabs and Amazon. Kelkoo is good for finding the best price.

[BusyBee]

I'd suggest that you buy something that is easy to use and not too complicated When you get used to them you can always upgrade. Better to start off simple and work up than get a really complicated thing where you cant even understand the manual.

I'm not normally one to advertise but check out the prices at:

http://www.internetcamerasdirect.co.uk

Make sure the camera supports removable memory, such as Compact Flash or Secure Digital. Go for a brand that has a good reputation in both Electronics/Media and Lenses, such as Fuji, Ricoh, etc (or Sony which uses Carl Zeiss lenses), some cameras are spoiled by poor lenses. It's better to go for a "Camera" name (Kodak, Olympus) than a "Electonic/Media" name (HP, Epson). If anything seems too cheap it's probably not all that good.

Make sure you have Optical Zoom (digital zoom is pointless). Make sure you have built-in flash.

If you need special drivers to connect the camera to the computer (ie it does not simply appear as a new drive when you plug it in) consider ignoring the camera software and buying a USB adaptor for the removeable memory type instead. My Ricoh needed special software and it had a horrible effect on my system. Spent under £20 on a Compact Flash adaptor, unloaded Ricoh software, and problem solved!

Get decent photo manipulation software. Many programs they supply with the cameras are not seriously up to the job. I think "The GIMP" is available for Windows, it is not easy to use, but is powerful and free. Otherwise Paint Shop Pro or Serif Photo Plus will do a good job. You will need to do stuff like resize, crop, remove red eye, so be prepared!

Most of all, have fun!

[Di2001]

Thanks for all your advice and links.

We're hoping to make a decision this weekend and make a purchase!

[Di2001]

Just to let you know we made our purchase from Amazon last night.

Have decided to go with a Kodak - should be delivered in the next day or so.