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Semi-Professional Digital Cameras Under £200
Between the world of pocket sized digital cameras and the DSLR lies the budding photographer who does not wish to spend a fortune buying a DSLR and yet is unhappy with the pocket sized camera that gives him very little or no control on the way the picture is taken. To meet the needs of these budding photographers I look at some of the best semi-professional digital cameras that are all under £200.
Fujifilm S8000FD
First in the line is the S8000FD from Fujifilm.
The camera offers a whopping 18x optical zoom image stabilization and an 8 megapixel 1/2.35" digital sensor. It goes upto ISO 1600 at full resolution and ISO 6400 at 4 megapixels. It features full manual controls but also supports point-shoot with automatic face detection and auto-focus. The lens is 27 - 486 mm. Minimum focus distance is 1cm in macro mode. The flash is built in popup type with modes auto, on/off, slow sync. All modes have red-eye reduction option though the flash is far from the lens so red-eye is less of a problem than it is with smaller cameras. SD or XD cards can be used for storage. The LCD measures 2.5" and supports 230k, 60fps and an electronic view finder is also provided. 4xAA batteries are required for power. NiMh rechargeable batteries can be used if desired. A mains adaptor can also be used if no batteries are available. PC connectivity is via USB.
The camera body is metal/plastic and the camera is pretty compact (111.3 x 78.2 x 78.9mm, 460g) but offers a comfortable and steady grip and feels solid. In manual mode the menu system cam feel a bit messy and takes time to get used to. Shutter lag is quite low ~0.42 seconds without flash and 0.57 seconds with flash. There are also high-speed and ultra high-speed shooting modes available that shoot a burst of 15 frames per second at lower (4MP) resolutions. Despite the high zoom, barrel and pincushion distortion is low ~1%. While the camera performs well at low ISO modes, at higher ISO modes the picture quality at pixel level suffers. Also expect purple fringing1 at maximum zoom.
Overall this camera is a great buy for the budding amateur. Panasonic's DMC-FZ18 is a competing equivalent model. Also the S8100 is the successor to this camera which offers 10 megapixels but with the same CCD size, so its low-light image quality will be lower. The S8000 and S8100 are identical in all other respects.
Fujifilm S1000FD
The next camera is the Fujifilm S1000FD. This is the smallest and cutest of the group here (102.5 x 73 x 67.8mm, 325g).
This is a 10 megapixel camera (1/2.3” CCD) with 12x optical zoom (33 - 396mm) and 2.7" LCD. Otherwise it is similar in construction and design to the S8000 it has a few differences. Maximum ISO speed is ISO3200 (3MP). Shutter lag is 0.42 seconds without flash but increases to 1.68 seconds with flash. The main disadvantage is lack of image stabilization. Image stabilization is important at maximum zoom as even a slight camera shake will ruin the picture. So you cannot use the S1000 without a tripod at maximum zoom. Purple fringing is also present at maximum zoom. Otherwise this is a very bag-able backpacker’s camera and a fantastic camera for the budding shutter bug. Also check out the S1500FD the almost identical but slightly more expensive successor to the S1000 which has dual image stabilization and thus overcomes the camera shake problem.
Fujifilm S2000HD
The last camera I’ll talk about is the S2000HD again from Fujifilm.
This is a 10 megapixel camera (1/2.3” CCD) with 15x optical zoom (28 - 414mm). It has the much needed image stabilization feature and high-definition movie support (720p, 30fps). Again a SLR like but compact design (111 x 78.9 x 75.7mm, 386g). Shutter lag is 0.42 seconds without flash and 0.56 seconds with flash. The LCD is 2.7" 230k, 60fps. It takes SD cards for image storage, XD cards are not supported. PC connectivity is via USB.
Pictures from the camera tend to exaggerate blue colour a bit, so expect brighter skies and bluer water. Pictures are a little brighter than expected and may at times lose detail in the bright areas. Image stabilization is brilliant and this means lower ISO modes can be used to get sharp pictures. The camera can shoot a maximum of 15min of HD video at a time. You can shoot as many clips as you want but each can be a maximum of 15mins long. The zoom can be used during video shooting. Autofocusing is great and works even in total darkness due to the powerful autofocus lamp. Full manual control is possible though aperture priority control is missing. Full manual focusing is available but it can be bit tricky when using the 200k dot resolution viewfinder. Macro mode focusing distance is 1cm. The flash is quite powerful and red-eye reduction is available. Shots remain noise free unto ISO400 after which noise does start to creep in. There is a general lack of fine detail in the images and while this may not affect small 8x6" photo prints, it will affect you if you intend to print very large photos or crop2 the picture.
Conclusion
It may seem that all the cameras listed here have some cons. Remember these are not true DSLRs, so there will be some compromises. Their reviews may seem critical as the reviewers are professionals who expect a lot out of their camera, however all cameras here offer excellent zoom and give far better picture quality than the ordinary pocket camera. They also allow for much finer control over how the picture is taken by switching to full manual controls. Besides they are very fairly priced with most of them about the same price as a high end pocket sized compact. So overall they are indeed some of the best value for money semi-professional cameras.
