I am looking to buy a reasonably priced pocket sized digital camera that can also do video. Any recommendations would be gratefully appreciated as I know nothing about cameras

Best advice I will give you is to go for one that has a decent optical zoom 10x or moe (this retains image quality when zoomed in) unlike digital zoom which leaves the picyure looking pixelated when zoomed in. Dont have a compact personally as I use a dslr so cant give advise on a particular model

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Originally posted by martin62
I am looking to buy a reasonably priced pocket sized digital camera that can also do video. Any recommendations would be gratefully appreciated as I know nothing about cameras

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Unless you were set on super zoom ability....

I would really recomend the Panasonic FT2 or FT3..... You can stick them in your pocket, drop them in puddles, run them over and they keep on going.... My FT1 has been abused to hell and back and still takes amazing poster worthy photos and some really good video. Built in optical stabalisation is pretty damn good too...

Just nice that you dont have to worry atall about how wet its getting.....kinda important in this moist summer we are having

As above, I would choose something convenient. Most "proper" makes are decent cameras. We bought a fuji thingy a few years ago that had a lens that didn't stick out at all, as previously the lens had caused problems when used on ski holidays 9long story, but it worked for us!)
Startup time used to be an issue, but seems largely solved. And I am a huge fan of the lithium batteries that come with the cameras, seem to have better life than the AA type and the camera's are smaller too. Again, that may have changed.

Spend a bit more and invest in a Canon G12, or look second hand for a Canon G9 (G10, G11 etc). They are amazing cameras, with all the features and image quality of a DSLR, in a smaller bombproof metal case. Persoanlly, I would steer clear of anything taking AA batteries, as they tend to be crap in cold weather, and never last as long as the recharagable battery packs.

You get what you pay for with cameras... Dont be blinded by someone telling you how many mega pixels there cameras is - it is all down to the size and type of the sensor.

I always go for one that will take a photo very soon after pressing the button, some of them have a delay which is annoying if your subject moves, kids/pets etc. There was a review website which included this shutter time delay which I found useful, can't recall it now. You should be able to test them in the shops with flash off, then buy on-line.

I used to have a Nikon P300 which was an excellent compact camera with a very fast lens (F1.8!). Optical zoom was limited to 4.2x but it had a very useful wide angle at the other end of the scale. Picture quality was excellent for a compact and it would record HD movies.

Sadly the Nikon went walkies the last time I was servicing for a friend on a rally, and even though I liked it I was reluctant to splash out another ~£270. I've now picked up a Canon SX230-HS which I got as a manufacturer refurbished item through eBay for about £120. I've only had it a week or so but initial results look promising and they get very good reviews. The lens is not as fast as the Nikon, but it has 14x optical zoom which is very useful, and it has built in GPS to tag your pictures if you want, though that's not something I especially wanted.

The Fuji F550 EXR is also a very good compact travel camera and Amazon have it for £170 at the moment.

The Canon G series are absolutely superb cameras, with very fast lenses, viewfinder and complete manual control if you want it, but they are significantly chunkier than a compact, have limited zoom and a price premium (though the G12 can be had for around £300). If you don't need the zoom and the size isn't a problem then they will give you some professional quality results.

I would reiterate twybrow's comments about megpixels; more is not better, especially in the small sensors that compact cameras use. As more pixels are crammed in, the area of each pixel has to be reduced and this lowers it's sensitivity. This means more megapixels most often means more noise. However, the quality of the lens is at least as important as the sensor - the best sensor in the world won't produce good results behind a slow lens that produces lots of aberrations.

Thanks for your help guys I think I have a fair idea of what to look for now

If you want a compact camera, you should think about an Olympus D 760. I've just got one. It is metal bodied and has 16MP & 12.5 optical zoom. takes HD video. It was £100. The only downside is it's only available from Jessops. Only had it a week but it seems excellent value for money and quick/ easy to use

hi
i have just purchased this £59.99 from argos ebay

SAMSUNG WB690 DIGITAL COMPACT CAMERA 12MP 18X OPTICAL ZOOM 3 INCH LCD - SILVER 8806071587660 | eBay

not received it yet, but reviews seem good
12megapixel and 18 x zoom
hth
steve

That is a very good deal on the Samsung. Image quality tends to be fairly average on the Samsung travel cameras, but you do get a a lot of features for the money.