Chrisharry, does your model allow you to do the panoramic shooting, where you can join 2 or 3 photo's together?

you cant on mine Barry but its an older model than that one, had it about 2 years now

See, this is an example of something I am never heard of (although can tell what it means).

and there is bound to be other stuff that I don't know about, but like..........

My point and shoot is past it's prime as well. I've got a DSLR, which does take fantastic pictures, despite 'only' being 8 mpx (a lower mpxl DSLR will always take better pictures than a high mpxl compact due to the quality of the lens, as others have said).

Wouldn't mind getting another compact - however the main recommendations on here for the Lumix and Finepix are all too large to fit in a pocket. Anyone know of any pocket sized camera's that will give decent results, preferably without too much shutter lag (being used to a DSLR the shutter lag on compacts really hacks me off). Decent low light performance essential as well.

my cameras alot smaller than the standard slrs but still too big to fit in your pocket!

imagine taking 3 photos of say a landscape, printing them off and taping them together to get a big picture, the camera does that for you...... I don't think I've got any examples here on my work pc but will post one when I get online tonight.

regarding the "pocket-sized", that's why I mentioned earlier my camera isn't one you would take on a night out!

As I said, I knew what panoramic shooting was.

I just wondered if there are other features / formats that I am not familar with!

This is coming from someone who knows what Megapixels, optical and digital zoom and macro photo's are btw. But is about the extent of my knowledge

Wouldn't it be easier to do that on bigger screened PC later????

A lot of cameras allow you to take the RAW image now. Effectively it means you have the digital equivalent of the film negative although ot looks like a normal photo. The camera does no processing on it but all the settings are saved in the photo. It means you can do the processing later on a pc or laptop which has far more power than the camera.

The way it works is that you take one photo in Panoramic mode. You then move the point of view to the left or right and can see a ghost image of the first pic super-imposed over the viewfinder image. This allows you to line up successive shots precisely and to maintain the aspect ratio - something very difficult to do otherwise.

So, yes, you could edit say, 3 shots, together on your pc, but the chances are that you'll have moved the camera up or down a bit between shots and will have to crop the images to make your panorama.

Lumix makes superb pocket sized point and shoots

At work but will dig out the model I have later

Before that i'd had Canon Ixus and thought they were great but the Lumix is noticeably sharper with great colours and has a 24mm "normal" setting with 16 x optical zoom

Also can set to ISO 800 so good for indoor shots without flash as long as there is a bit of light

Edit: Here's your boy http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/P ... index.html

I got mine for about £170 by shopping around

Edit 2 : £190 here http://www.portagadgets.com/uk/product. ... ctid=42657

and reviewed here: http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/ ... 20_review/

Just seen this which is a complete bargain

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/brand-n ... ed-1061928

Product Features
14 Megapixels
18x Zoom
HD Movie Mode
Motion Panorama Mode
Megapixels: 14
14 Megapixel CCD with Fujinon 18x optical zoom (28-504mm) and 3 inch LCD screen
1080p HD stills and 720p HD movie capture (30 fps)
HDMI port for easy image display on any HDTV
Face Detection with Blink detection and Smile and shoot mode
Full Manual Controls also Tracking Auto Focus and Motion Panorama mode

Cheers Groomy - will take a look at the Lumix compacts. Look pretty good from a quick glance, and Leica glass is a big plus point. What's the shutter lag like on yours?

Might upgrade my DSLR as well but just need to check my lenses for AF compatability (and divert some cash from the secret bike fund to the secret gadget fund - sssshhhhh )

I have a similar fund - i can even buy golf clubs and then put them straight into the locker at my club

But then made the mistake of buying this :



The beatings have now just about stopped

Shutter lag is really good for a compact by the way

Well if you buy a Zafira you deserve a beating.

Isedumup!

(and it's an astra estate and was free )

Have found this one. Interesting price at Argos, £259 down to £129 temporarily.

Seems good. but interested in the views of more experienced people.

http://www.cameras.co.uk/specs/nikon-coolpix-l120.cfm

Thanks in advance

21x zoom is a plus, no viewfinder is a huge minus..... don't know the camera so don't use this as a determining factor!

I don't have a view finder on my current one, so won't necessarily miss it.

Shutter Speed
.4 to 1/4000 seconds


Is that good? Is that what "they" call Lag?

I think so, that's basically the time it takes for the camera to record the shot from you pressing the button.

I have a digital viewfinder on mine and I've used it loads, especially when out in sunny days. would struggle without it to be honest..... x21 zoom is damn tempting though!


I'd wait for those in the know to voice an opinion!

Lag is the time the camera takes from turning it on and it being ready to use.

If you want to take night shots (ie without flash) then a shutter speed of 0.4s is not enough but I have seen a review of this camera that says it goes up to 8 seconds

The shutter lag is the time taken from pressing the shutter release to the time that the pic is actually taken. On an SLR it's instantaneous, on some point and shoots there's a noticeable lag and you don't always get the picture you want, esp when shooting action and kids.

Got the camera today for Christmas.

Lovely piece of kit (Nikon Coolpix L120). However, after taking a photo using the zoom and then trying to turn the thing off, it jammed and the lens would not retract back. No matter what was tried, it's still stuck and nothing can be done about it apart from returning it for a replacement.

The camera is apparently rated 2nd in Which camera, but having googled the lens issue, it appears to be a common trait.

gutted

Unlucky Rich hope it didn't spoil your day too much.