Repair 35mm or buy cheap new digital camera?

"Matthew" wrote in message
om...

I went to my
local camera shop (Jessops), and he insisted that the only thing that
mattered was the number of pixels. When I told him I wanted to produe
6x4 prints, he said that in that case 2mexapixels would be fine, and
that all of the cameras were the same, had the same quality lenses,
and there was no real reason to buy one rather than another....

Anyway, I am sure this is not true, but I have struggled to find a
simple 'best-buy for £150' (or less - do I need to spend this much?
more?). Any suggestions? And whether the quality of lenses varies much
between manufactuerers?

It's not literally true, but it's probably true enough for the purposes of
4x6 prints. Here's one that would probably do the trick for $49 (after
rebate):

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&CMP=AFC-AFFIL

Though I don't suppose they ship to the UK. Still, there ought to be other
comparable deals to be had over there if you keep your eye out. As for
photo quality -- I'd suggest checking the various camera review sites
(dpreview.com, dcresource.com, etc) for reviews and samples of any camera
you might be interested in.

If you are willing to spend £150, though, you ought to be able to find a 3
or 4MP camera with a 3 or 4x zoom. I see the Minolta 414 for around $200
from time to time.

Mark

If you're about to travel, but a digital duty free. You'll probably get
better deals and new models in Asia. Go for the features you'll use, rather
than paying for things you'll never need. While travelling back from
Bangkok to Sydney earlier this month I was looking for a small flat digital
camera and was prepared to have lower pixel size as a sacrifice for small
camera. In Singapore I got the small camera I wanted with 5MP and a much
better price than in Sydney. It's a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T1 and very user
friendly.

"Matthew" wrote in message
om...
I have a 35mm Olympus mju zoom 105, bought three years ago in Bangkok.
Now it has stopped working (the lens is no longer moving in and out,
and is stuck about 1cm out). Here in the UK it will cost £50 or more
to repair it.

So should I fix it in Bangkok (in chinatown, somewhere else? anyone
know how much it will cost?), or buy a new one?

If the answer is to buy a new one, how much do I need to spend to get
something that will have the same quality or better? I went to my
local camera shop (Jessops), and he insisted that the only thing that
mattered was the number of pixels. When I told him I wanted to produe
6x4 prints, he said that in that case 2mexapixels would be fine, and
that all of the cameras were the same, had the same quality lenses,
and there was no real reason to buy one rather than another....

Anyway, I am sure this is not true, but I have struggled to find a
simple 'best-buy for £150' (or less - do I need to spend this much?
more?). Any suggestions? And whether the quality of lenses varies much
between manufactuerers?

u

If you're about to travel, but a digital duty free. You'll probably get
better deals and new models in Asia. Go for the features you'll use, rather
than paying for things you'll never need. While travelling back from
Bangkok to Sydney earlier this month I was looking for a small flat digital
camera and was prepared to have lower pixel size as a sacrifice for small
camera. In Singapore I got the small camera I wanted with 5MP and a much
better price than in Sydney. It's a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T1 and very user
friendl

It sounds like a good idea but beware that if it turns out faulty and you need
a replacement or refund it can be a pain. Faults in digital cameras are *not*
all that uncommon.

u

If you're about to travel, but a digital duty free. You'll probably get
better deals and new models in Asia. Go for the features you'll use, rather
than paying for things you'll never need. While travelling back from
Bangkok to Sydney earlier this month I was looking for a small flat digital
camera and was prepared to have lower pixel size as a sacrifice for small
camera. In Singapore I got the small camera I wanted with 5MP and a much
better price than in Sydney. It's a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T1 and very user
friendl

It sounds like a good idea but beware that if it turns out faulty and you need
a replacement or refund it can be a pain. Faults in digital cameras are *not*
all that uncommon.

"Matthew" wrote in message
om...
I have a 35mm Olympus mju zoom 105, bought three years ago in Bangkok.
Now it has stopped working (the lens is no longer moving in and out,
and is stuck about 1cm out). Here in the UK it will cost £50 or more
to repair it.

So should I fix it in Bangkok (in chinatown, somewhere else? anyone
know how much it will cost?), or buy a new one?

If the answer is to buy a new one, how much do I need to spend to get
something that will have the same quality or better? I went to my
local camera shop (Jessops), and he insisted that the only thing that
mattered was the number of pixels. When I told him I wanted to produe
6x4 prints, he said that in that case 2mexapixels would be fine, and
that all of the cameras were the same, had the same quality lenses,
and there was no real reason to buy one rather than another....

He is right about the 2 megapixels, but there are wide quality differences
between cameras, even of the same make. There are Web sites that offer
detailed comparisons of cameras. One is www.dpreview.com.


Anyway, I am sure this is not true, but I have struggled to find a
simple 'best-buy for £150' (or less - do I need to spend this much?
more?). Any suggestions? And whether the quality of lenses varies much
between manufactuerers?

I was also thinking of buying the same camera in Singapore. Can you give
me some idea of price in US dollars and when you bought it. Also, what
kind of warranty did you get. Lastly, have you had a chance to shoot any
video, I'm especially interest in your experience with indoor video.

Thanks....


Viviane wrote:

If you're about to travel, but a digital duty free. You'll probably get
better deals and new models in Asia. Go for the features you'll use, rather
than paying for things you'll never need. While travelling back from
Bangkok to Sydney earlier this month I was looking for a small flat digital
camera and was prepared to have lower pixel size as a sacrifice for small
camera. In Singapore I got the small camera I wanted with 5MP and a much
better price than in Sydney. It's a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T1 and very user
friendly.

"Matthew" wrote in message
om...

I have a 35mm Olympus mju zoom 105, bought three years ago in Bangkok.
Now it has stopped working (the lens is no longer moving in and out,
and is stuck about 1cm out). Here in the UK it will cost £50 or more
to repair it.

So should I fix it in Bangkok (in chinatown, somewhere else? anyone
know how much it will cost?), or buy a new one?

If the answer is to buy a new one, how much do I need to spend to get
something that will have the same quality or better? I went to my
local camera shop (Jessops), and he insisted that the only thing that
mattered was the number of pixels. When I told him I wanted to produe
6x4 prints, he said that in that case 2mexapixels would be fine, and
that all of the cameras were the same, had the same quality lenses,
and there was no real reason to buy one rather than another....

Anyway, I am sure this is not true, but I have struggled to find a
simple 'best-buy for £150' (or less - do I need to spend this much?
more?). Any suggestions? And whether the quality of lenses varies much
between manufactuerers?

I was also thinking of buying the same camera in Singapore. Can you give
me some idea of price in US dollars and when you bought it. Also, what
kind of warranty did you get. Lastly, have you had a chance to shoot any
video, I'm especially interest in your experience with indoor video.

Thanks....

I have a suggestion to make here. If you want great video get the Logitech
pocket video 550, it's superb, and concentrate in your choice of digital camera
on the quality of its stills.

I was also thinking of buying the same camera in Singapore. Can you give
me some idea of price in US dollars and when you bought it. Also, what
kind of warranty did you get. Lastly, have you had a chance to shoot any
video, I'm especially interest in your experience with indoor video.

Thanks....

I have a suggestion to make here. If you want great video get the Logitech
pocket video 550, it's superb, and concentrate in your choice of digital camera
on the quality of its stills.

We bought on 12 July and paid S$856, which translated to AUS$720 - don't
know what that is in US$. That was at the airport (we were in transit,
changing planes) so you might get a better price in town. It has the usual
12 month international guarantee. I tried the movie feature in a restaurant
last weekend and apart from my daughter getting stage fright it seems to
work OK. The only hassle is that the camera case is big enough to hold the
camera and cradle, whereas I really need a case that just holds the camera
as I don't need the cradle when I'm out and about - that kinda defeats the
purpose of having such a small camera! Our local camera store has some good
small cases so I'll take the camera with me next time I go in to find a case
that's the right size. You might try to get a small case too when you buy.

"MrC" wrote in message
...
I was also thinking of buying the same camera in Singapore. Can you give
me some idea of price in US dollars and when you bought it. Also, what
kind of warranty did you get. Lastly, have you had a chance to shoot any
video, I'm especially interest in your experience with indoor video.

Thanks....


Viviane wrote:

If you're about to travel, but a digital duty free. You'll probably get
better deals and new models in Asia. Go for the features you'll use,
rather
than paying for things you'll never need. While travelling back from
Bangkok to Sydney earlier this month I was looking for a small flat
digital
camera and was prepared to have lower pixel size as a sacrifice for
small
camera. In Singapore I got the small camera I wanted with 5MP and a
much
better price than in Sydney. It's a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T1 and very
user
friendly.

"Matthew" wrote in message
om...

I have a 35mm Olympus mju zoom 105, bought three years ago in Bangkok.
Now it has stopped working (the lens is no longer moving in and out,
and is stuck about 1cm out). Here in the UK it will cost £50 or more
to repair it.

So should I fix it in Bangkok (in chinatown, somewhere else? anyone
know how much it will cost?), or buy a new one?

If the answer is to buy a new one, how much do I need to spend to get
something that will have the same quality or better? I went to my
local camera shop (Jessops), and he insisted that the only thing that
mattered was the number of pixels. When I told him I wanted to produe
6x4 prints, he said that in that case 2mexapixels would be fine, and
that all of the cameras were the same, had the same quality lenses,
and there was no real reason to buy one rather than another....

Anyway, I am sure this is not true, but I have struggled to find a
simple 'best-buy for £150' (or less - do I need to spend this much?
more?). Any suggestions? And whether the quality of lenses varies much
between manufactuerers?

"Viviane" wrote in message
u...
We bought on 12 July and paid S$856, which translated to AUS$720 - don't
know what that is in US$.

About $503 USD......