[scott_king]

Hey all

About to buy my dad a new digital camera for his birthday but don't know where to start. It will primarily be used for taking pictures at trials and enduros as well as standard family stuff like holidays and birthdays.


I do not really want to go the SLR route and would prefer something compact but with good quality and usability.


Any help would be appreciated!


Thanks

[2/4]

I'm not sufficiently technical to offer advice beyond saying it hikes the price range and reduces the choice but I recommend going for one with a viewfinder.

[hop blip and a jump]

my missus has got a panasonic lumix it's awesome!!!

[ShercoBen]

If you got an SLR you would have the added advantage of a faster shutter speed therefore less blured pictures whilst you are moving quite fast during a trial

[Dan Williams]

Check out the ratings on a site called dpreview. They really do test the cameras pretty throughly. The Panasonic Lumix are highly rated as are the Canon G series. A lot depends on how much you want to spend and how proficient your dad is. Some great shots can be taken with very inexpensive cameras but it's easier to really push it with a more advanced camera that lets you manually set F-stop, shutter and exposure.

[City Trials]

Panasonic lumix IS awesome! Compact. Does excellent film clips. Great photos. Click here.

[Bentspoke]

Your problem with point & shoot cameras is always going to be speed,
Not just the large aperture & fast shutter speeds available on an SLR but equally as important is the processor speed and FPS (Frames per second)
When you see the action you want to photograph you press the shutter, on an SLR the reaction is near instant.

On most point & shoot cameras there is a delay of up to a second and much longer in poor light.
I have a Nikon P5100 as a carry around, it's a great camera and classed as a high end point & shoot but I would never recommend it for sports photography.

[jon v8]

I got a Lumix TZ5 for Christmas,its excellent and you can get around the shutter speed by taking video.I was going to get a Nikon SLR,but last summer on long hikes in the mountains in France I couldnt be ar-ed to carry my Nikon 35mm as it was big and clumsy - missed some lovely shots.That convinced me that a decent compact was more likely to get taken and used,the picture quality may not be quite so good but nor is my eyesight for seeing the images.
My learned photograhpy friends pointed me to the Lumix,and I've taken loads of pics with it,most of them spend so much time faffing around setting up that they never actually do much with their posh SLR's.

[Slapshot 3]

Anything with the name Canon on it. SLR's, I use EOS 30D, are best but I've also got a wee pocket job. Powershot 590 and it's done everything I've asked it to so far. A half press on the shutter button to focus and and almost instant reaction on full press, plenty of shutter speed range as well. I'll always use an SLR when I can but nowt wrong with some of the modern pocket cameras.