Does anybody have any suggestions for a decent camera around the $500 range. Ideally I'd like to be able to get some video footage with it but understand that it's never going to be super high quality on my budget.
Has anyone got any experience with buying second hand to get a better model ona budget
Cheers
I think in that price range you might want to look at the Canon 10G. It's a compact camera and in my opinion one of the best currently on the market.
Image quality will rival if not exceed that of entry level DSLRs with a cheap lens.
It also offers 640x480 movie recording and you can get an underwater housing for it.
Cheapest I have seen this camera for is here: www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au/canon-powershot-g10-digital-camera-147-megapixels but shop around I am sure you can get a better deal with a bit of bargaining.
BTW, the cam used to be $619 but Canon as well as other companies have increased their prices due to price drops of the AU$ against the Yen.
if you are using it whilst sailing then the GoPro Hero rocks, other than that have no idea
I've been looking for a compact camera in the same price range and have almost decided on the new Canon D10. http://www.canon.com.au/products/cameras/digital_compact_cameras/powershotd10.aspx
I have a digital slr but would like a compact to carry when sailing, this one is waterproof, freezeproof, shockproof and dustproof. I have used some other waterproof cameras and wasn't happy with the results, I prefer Nikon or Canon.
the G10 (or G9 if you want a cheaper) is brilliant, it is the type of camera a pro would buy to take with them when they dont want to lug around their pro stuff.
Pros
very well built
can shoot RAW (if you dont know what this is look it up but basically allows about 4 times more 'latitude' for editing or saving a poorly exposed photo, all the pros only shoot in this way)
it can be left as automatic or taken as manual as you like.
It's auto mode is as good as any other compact on the market.
V good lens.
huge battery
Cons, it wont slip in a jeans pocket. (though for its size it packs more punch than anything I have ever used)
for something smaller and more point and shoot I'd for for something from the canon ixus range.
Yes, I shoot canon, yes I love their interface, yes I am pimping them a lot here but it's for good reason.
I worked in camera sales before taking up photography and only one canon was bought back faulty the whole time. the most commonly returned camera was that bloody olympus waterproof thing that never sealed up properly.
Sandman, I have an early IXUS and it has been good but I don't think they have a waterproof model. I like the idea of carrying the camera with me while sailing.
The D10 is a newly released model, not to be confused with the G10. Also the D10 is waterproof to 10 meters so doesn't need a waterproof housing.
i bought a sanyo xacti waterproof video camera for that price.
certainly not as good as a point and shoot for still photography but very user friendly and waterproof.
en.letsgodigital.org/
If anyone is after a Waterproof enclosure for the old type IXUS, give me a call.
I dropped my camera and broke it. And now have no need fot the housing.
Its in really good condition, both the housing and the seals.
Nasty, If you could find an IXUS Camera this would be a really cheap way to get a waterproof camera on the water
Cheers
www.steves-digicams.com/camera-reviews/pentax/optio-w60/pentax-optio-w60-review.html
This one ticks all the boxes for me.
I have the W20 which has been in the water many many times over a 2+ year period (heaps of pics under my profile taken with this camera).
The new W60 has a 5x optical zoom (most compacts only come with 3x) with wide angle lens (28mm - 140mm) and best of all can record HD video as high as 1280 x 720
From a quick search on eBay you can get one of these babies for around $360
Big writeup on the Canon G10 (I've skipped to page 24 - Conculsion)
www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong10/24
You're looking at just over $600, and another $400 for underwater housing, if that's your thing.
www.shopbot.com.au/default.asp?orderby=&p1=&p2=&kw=canon+g10&position=search
You may want to consider a Nikon P6000 instead. I've just bought one but haven't used enough to comment, apart from any compact feels very schit after a SLR. This camera includes GPS tagging, but I've yet to see it actually work. Video is quite good, using it a lot. It has replaced my video camera. The camera can upload to Nikon's version of Flickr, straight from the camera.
Comparisions between G10 and P6000:
www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=p6000+g10
But for $500 try eBay. You can probably pick up a very decent, 2 year old DSLR for $500. Dunno about lenses though. Speaking of which don't fret over megapixels, 6 is ample. Just remember HD television is about 2 megapixels.
I recently picked up a fixed 55mm lens for $200 brand new and it is sharper than what my camera can actually handle. BTW dpreview now has in-depth lens reviews.
... but I digress. What are you going to use the camera for? There are guys on this forum that are camera mad and I'm sure this thread will eventually be very, very long 
Heres some IXUS footage I took using Slowboats setup in mentioned waterproof housing. Footage is much sharper on PC than on YouTube though, see Slowies comments re camera in You Tube.
Hey evilPanda,
Another cam option would have been Panasonics Lumix LX3. It's Leica quality with the price tag of a panasonic camera and it fits easily into your pocket.
Plus is shoots 720p HD video.
Make sure whatever you buy has a viewfinder to compose & check through.Buggered if I know how anyone takes decent shots using those stupid windows on the back!
The perfect windsurfing video camera is finally here! Saw this in the Fin Review today - looks like Sanyo has overtaken Panasonic and delivered what I've been waiting for - It's about $750 though but not too bad for what you get.
- waterproof
- 30x optical zoom (panasonic only 10x)
- HD video (Panasonic SD)
- records onto SD memory card
- Has hand strap (big drawback of the panasonic)http://www.sanyo.com.au/products/digital-cameras/digital-movie-cameras/vpc-wh1exyl
This is the one I have previously been looking at:
panasonic.com.au/products/details.cfm?productID=6563
@FletcHuz,
Three problems that don't make this the perfect video camera for windsurfing:
1) 43mm on the wide end is way to narrow a field of view to be usable for anything in water, especially helmet mount stuff
2) Camera is rated water resistant to 3 meters, not water proof, if you helmet mount this baby and do a high speed crash there is a good change water will be forced through the seals inside the camera
3) 30fps frame rate, PAL uses 25 fps meaning if you want to mix footage from this camera with footage from another camera you will need to transcode everything first. Results may vary
Don't get me wrong. I can't wait for a light weight, waterproof HD video camera with wide angle lens and. While this camera is closer to that I don't think it perfect.
Apparently Sony have just announced a HD module which variable frame rate, wide angle lens shooting at 720p all in a package the size of a 50 cent coin. What eve more interesting this apparently will sell for about US$50 per unit wholesale... expect to see this module find it's way in a GoPro HD or similar in the near future.
Yeah good points! Perhaps perfect was a bit overstated - I guess it's the best I've seen so far. I still think a "go pro" or similar would be required for helmet mount but this would be pretty cool for the beach or in water shots...
12.1 megapixels CCD image sensor
Waterproof up to 10m
3x optical zoom with optical Image Stabiliser
Face Detection Technology, Anti-Blur & Scene Detection
2.5-inch PureColor LCD II
PowerShot D10 Body
Lithium-ion Battery Pack NB-6L
Battery Charger CB-2LY
Cheers for all the advice. I was intending to use the camera on the beach and hadn't really thought about watershots, but now you've started mentioning them....
Nasty!
I have the Olympus 1030 SW, it works well and is around $500. Pics and video is good. Used it at the Speed sailing event at Burrum Heads and turned out good. 10 m waterproof and shockproof. Can be used in snow, beach etc. easy to use and a good screen on the back.
GCMOZ
On the Nikon P6000.
Used it a bit now. In good light it is actually very good. Most people would find it indistinguishable from a dSLR (most people). Colours are very accurate, resolution is excellent and images are sharp. Perfectly happy with it, even impressed.
However, over ISO 400 it starts to get much worse. Above ISO 800 shots are almost rubbish. Shooting at a party for example, results look like they are from a camera phone, and that's in "party" mode.
Bit of a Jekyl and Hyde.
Again, I've yet to see the GPS tagging feature actually work.
Consider the Canon G10 which gets better reviews.
