Recommend a <R3000 camera

Praeses

Praeses

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Hello all

I'm looking for a relatively compact camera (no additional lenses etc) as I will be going tourist-mode in France mid August. If I had R4000, I'd go for the Canon 1100D, but alas, I'm a student :p

Key points:
Good image quality (I don't care about the mega pixels, I want quality pictures)
Fast start-up
At least 12x optical zoom

I was eyeing the Nikon Coolpix L820 (http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/nikon_coolpix_l820_review/image_quality/). Any experience with this camera would be greatly appreciated!

If there are better alternatives for under R3000 please feel free to mention them :)
 
Do your best to get an SLR. You can start it up quickly and take many many more photos at once than you could with a digital.
 
Thanks for all the comments!

GTi: I don't want to buy second-hand, even though that's a good deal.
Bromster: I definitely want a digi cam!
ost: Can you maybe find out which Nikon your friend has?
OGroteKoning: That's a nice deal, but the battery life is a bit iffy. It takes a bit nicer photos than the Nikon, but with the Nikon I can use lithium ion AA batteries which will give me 3.8x longer battery life :p Tough decision between the two though, as the Canon is quite a bit more compact.

I guess I can just buy an extra battery pack for the Canon...
 
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Praeses said:
Thanks for all the comments!

GTi: I don't want to buy second-hand, even though that's a good deal.
Bromster: I definitely want a digi cam!
ost: Can you maybe find out which Nikon your friend has?
OGroteKoning: That's a nice deal, but the battery life is a bit iffy. It takes a bit nicer photos than the Nikon, but with the Nikon I can use lithium ion AA batteries which will give me 3.8x longer battery life :p Tough decision between the two though, as the Canon is quite a bit more compact.

I guess I can just buy an extra battery pack for the Canon...
Click to expand...
After a few of sets of lithium batteries you would have spent enough to have paid for a new proprietary battery.

All my dSLRs can use AA batteries as well but apart from testing I've never had to use it fortunately. I say fortunately because although the AAs power the camera they do so in a diminished capacity. So yeah, I'll take proprietary batteries any day over AAs.
 
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bwana said:
After a few of sets of lithium batteries you would have spent enough to have paid for a new proprietary battery.

All my dSLRs can use AA batteries as well but apart from testing I've never had to use it fortunately. I say fortunately because although the AAs power the camera they do so in a diminished capacity. So yeah, I'll take proprietary batteries any day over AAs.
Click to expand...

What he said!
 
I would definitely recommend a Nikon Coolpix. They are well priced and I have no complaints about those I've owned. An SLR might be a bit of a nuisance to carry around while travelling where a compact camera can almost fit into your pocket.
 
Got myself the Canon SX260 with the bag and 16GB SDHC bundle for R2899 at Makro. Really a nice camera - menu is fast, photos are great and I love the 20x zoom!
Now to find a cheap additional NB-6L battery! Should I stick to an original Canon battery? Does it void the warranty if I use a different brand?
 
Praeses said:
Got myself the Canon SX260 with the bag and 16GB SDHC bundle for R2899 at Makro. Really a nice camera - menu is fast, photos are great and I love the 20x zoom!
Click to expand...
Nice - looks like a decent camera.
Praeses said:
Now to find a cheap additional NB-6L battery! Should I stick to an original Canon battery? Does it void the warranty if I use a different brand?
Click to expand...
I have no idea about the warranty but if you find a reputable manufacturer then you'll probably be ok. Still, and I don't know why, I've always been just a little bit concerned when it comes to the batteries I use in my gear and always use the genuine article.
 
bwana said:
Nice - looks like a decent camera.
I have no idea about the warranty but if you find a reputable manufacturer then you'll probably be ok. Still, and I don't know why, I've always been just a little bit concerned when it comes to the batteries I use in my gear and always use the genuine article.
Click to expand...

Me too - don't want the battery to overheat and blow up in your fancy gear! But the Canon batteries are so expensive...wonder if it'll be cheaper at a duty free shop at Dubai on my way to France? :p
 
Praeses said:
Me too - don't want the battery to overheat and blow up in your fancy gear! But the Canon batteries are so expensive...wonder if it'll be cheaper at a duty free shop at Dubai on my way to France? :p
Click to expand...

It may be.

Thing is I'm almost certain my fears are groundless but it's that almost part that's holding me back. Locally the LP-E4 and LP-E4n's my two main cameras take go for R1895 and R1995 respectively. To date I've yet to buy spares (I've never run out of battery power) but considering the price of the cameras they go in I'd probably pony up for the genuine article.
 
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