If Looking To Buy a Camera, Here Are Two Winners

I have been a photographer for many years. I have used film cameras, compact cameras, and professional cameras. Currently I use a DSLR.

Because of my passion for photography, my friends often ask me which camera to buy.

I would always recommend a DSLR, but their needs are different to mine.

Most of my friends want a camera that's easy to carry, easy to handle and takes great pictures.

I often do research for my friends and try to find a model that meets all three needs. Because people have varying needs, here I am recommending not one, but two cameras. These two meet different needs.

Of course, Amazon pays me if you buy a camera using a link on this page. But I am recommending these two models because I believe they are the best buy.

Here are the two products I recommend to my friends:

I love this camera despite a Canon DSLR that I use for most of my photography. When I going in crowded places, or when I am traveling with plenty of stuff, it helps me to carry a compact camera instead of a bulky DSLR. This one fits in the pocket.

I have had a look at many compact cameras, but found that most have very low image quality. The small lens compromises the image quality in most small cameras. Remember, lens is the most crucial part in a camera. Smaller the lens, poorer the quality.

However Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20K has a 8x optical zoom lens. What that means you can "optically" zoom eight times. Remember optical zoom is always better than digital zoom. And this camera also has 32x digital zoom. (Avoid using digital zoom if you can in any camera.)

It has multiple settings - auto, landscape, portrait, night-time and macro.

Just like the true test of a friend is what he/she does during your bad times, the real test of a compact camera is what it does in bad light.

This camera takes great pictures in poor lighting conditions. Here's a pro tip: use a camera stand or stabilise the camera on a solid surface while taking pictures. Avoid hand-held pictures in bad light. Use timer.

For the price it is available, this is the best buy.

Now, most people want the ability to record a video and most mobile phones offer that feature. You can do the same with your digital camera. But you need high-quality video camera to be able to record good video. 

This is where Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera comes handy. As the name suggests, it fits in your pocket and captures good footage. Of course, don't expect this camera to do the work of an expensive camera and produce high-quality HD video. But it is better than digital camera.

Kodak Zi8 is a fantastic video camera for shooting home videos. I like the fact that it is so small that it doesn't make the subject conscious about the camera being thrust in their face. This comes handy for filming your children or pets. It's good if you want to upload some work-related videos on YouTube. 

Since publishing this page, I have found another winner, which I want to share with you. 

It is  Panasonic TA-1 Ultrathin HD Pocket Camcorder Enabled with Skype and iFrame. 

For its price, this offers HD recording. And it is very light to carry. It might need a bit of time to get used to, compared to a FLIP camera, but the user interface is very easy to navigate. It has a flash and can take pictures as well as record video. The best part is that it has Facebook, YouTube and Skype interface.