I've got a planned 9 night holiday In the Scottish Highlands in August and before i go, i want to buy a top spec digital camera. I don't want anything cheap bought from eBay and have a budget of anything between £300-£500. Ideally a brand name like Canon, Sony, Nikon, olympus etc etc. So any keen photographers on here recommend a good make, model for someone like me that is only used to snap and go type cameras? I don't want one of those anymore, i want something to take excellent pics with while on holiday and take some of the fatty too.

You're unlikely to find a new top spec camera in your price range. How about second hand? MPB have some excellent used equipment, if you are after a compact look at something like this:

https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/u...u-1459650/

I have one of these to supplement my Nikon heavyweight equipment. Excellent quality, pocketable, manual settings should you wish to progress beyond point and shoot, and a viewfinder which I find invaluable. Only drawback is a limited zoom range. Panasonic and Canon also do some excellent compacts in the same price range. 2011MY 4.4TDV8 Autobiography Baltic Blue
TVR Griffith
Alfa Romeo Mito QV

Gosh didn't realise the price of some of them on the market, may have to remortgage lol. I can do 2nd hand if it's been well looked after. I do rather want more than just point and shoot, i like the idea of looking professional though have no experience what so ever, but willing to learn. That link looks a great site, i will give it a good look over later, thanks for that.

Check out the Sony offering’s, but even the glass will likely be out of budget.

I have a Sony A7 with various glass, but being honest some of the shots that come out of my iPhone 13 Pro Max are absolutely superb, I know allot of that is down to the image signal processor.. but at that end of budget don’t rule out a phone upgrade.

These are from the last couple of weeks for example: (Just realised the upload mullers the quality)

Click image to enlarge

Barmybrummie wrote:

Gosh didn't realise the price of some of them on the market, may have to remortgage lol. I can do 2nd hand if it's been well looked after. I do rather want more than just point and shoot, i like the idea of looking professional though have no experience what so ever, but willing to learn. That link looks a great site, i will give it a good look over later, thanks for that.

For a well meaning amateur with little experience I’m inclined to agree with TGH above, a relatively recent iPhone produces remarkable pictures if you happen to have one. To learn how to use all the features of the iPhone cameras you could do worse than look at the link below it’s definitely not a case of just pointing and shooting.

https://iphonephotographyschool.com/author/emil/

You could do worse than a Sony RX100. I have a mark 5, along with my A7R3 and it’s just such an easy camera to use and it’ll fit in your pocket.
True, mobile phones can and do produce some excellent results but to some they might look a little over-processed and aren’t always great in low light.

There’s an old saying that says the best camera is the one you have with you when the shot presents itself

Be aware that the Sony RX range has a very small battery and they don’t last long, so you’d want at least 1 or 2 spares. Got - 2017 SDV8 Autobiography in Loire Blue
Had- 2008 TDV8 Vogue SE in Java black
Had - 2007 S/C in Stornoway Grey

About 11 years ago I took the plunge and bought a DSLR to replace my much used Canon A series 35mm film cameras (A1 and AE1 P). After much research I bought a Nikon D90 with a range of lenses. A while later I bought a Lumix compact digital camera to use for work (I’m a surveyor, so lots of pictures of buildings) which had an excellent Leica lens. I found the compact could produce really good images, just as good as the Nikon, but was much more portable, so I’ve ended up using that more than the big camera. That said, the best pictures I’ve taken more recently are on my I-phone 6s.

In short, with your budget I’d look at something from Sony or Lumix, but don’t rule out using a smart phone. These images are from my iphone.

Ive invested quite a bit of money into SLR cameras and many lenses... its become a hinderance, in that I seemingly need so much stuff, to take with me if I want to shoot pics. ie one body, and lens, leaves you short, a triple set of zooms will work, but its the last thing you want on a holiday. and gets my missus temper flying, as its a bit of a faff to set up. ive decided to not take the big camera away again, unless its for solo days out. so, im using an iPhone, and being pocket size, it goes anywhere. cameras these days are dropping out of favour, unless you are moving up to mirrorless with an SLR, or simply using the features on a simple iPhone. sales of pocket cameras have really hits the buffers... there's no market for them now. basically, take a booster battery pack for the phone, free up a load of space, and try it. try not to zoom with the phone, do that in an edit program back home. you can straighten and touch up wide angle shots, with free software, and the results will amaze you.

On the subject I was looking at some of the DP Review photos, shot on iPhone: https://m.dpreview.com/samples/1716186585/...&pid=7

I love my Sony A7 but it’s only really used for staged shots now  Sold - Bell a 2015 MY16 Loire Blue Autobiography 4.4 SDV8
Previously George a 2007 MY07 Java Black VSE 3.6 TDV8
Previously a 04 MY04 Defender 90

So I'm thinking then that I'm being somewhat rather OTT in going for an expensive camera like RR2B advised on. When a very good quality pocket type camera will be just as good but without all the faff of having to change lenses etc etc. Some very valid points you guys have made, thanks. I'm gonna have to do some research into these me thinks. Some great photos some of you have taken with an iPhone, but then I'm not an iPhone fan but those who do have them say the camera is awesome. I think a high quality pocket camera with extra features will be the way to go.
I'm just your normal average Joe that's never ever used high tech cameras so without some experience in using them out would be a lost cause. Any tips on how to get the perfect picture?

And Andy S, how the hell did you get your hands up that high to capture the spitfires?

My L322 is just a big camera bag!!!



Like all things which most folks generally take for granted, photography beyond 'point and shoot' can become a serious business! Once you switch the dial to 'M', it's nothing like as easy as people imagine. The lenses are the important bit, not the camera body. This lot is worth a good bit more than the car!

In truth, unless you want to become a complete geek, save your money and use your phone. Your (limited) budget won't make your shots any better and a good photographer will take a better shot with an iPhone than a novice with the best of gear. No offence intended, but if you just want to look serious with a DSLR, you'll need to move the decimal point to the right!  The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom

And Andy S, how the hell did you get your hands up that high to capture the spitfires? Laughing

Well, I’m taller than average! The truth is I was in a chase plane (an Airvan) which flies alongside the Spit so a friend of the person getting the ride in the Spit can take pictures. I was doing a tour if the heritage hangar on that day and they had a spare seat in the Airvan, so asked the group doing the tour if anyone fancied it. I was in like a shot, but didn’t have my camera, so tried the Iphone. It worked brilliantly.

The cameras on the smart phones have been one of the biggest battlegrounds for the last few years with a heck of a lot of money spent refining the hardware and image processing. That’s why todays phones can take such amazing pictures in a variety of scenarios. Most of the time I just use my iPhone 12 Pro, but occasionally I’ll pull out by Canon DSLR and the few lenses I have.