I'm hoping someone here will be able to offer a couple of suggestions or point me in the right direction, as I've been intermittently reading articles / reviews all day and I haven't made any progress. (It's related to selling, because I need a camera to take decent images :D).
Anyway, the jist is, my old camera malfunctioned today and I really need to replace it. I am not a skilled or knowledgeable photographer, and I'm not very rich, either, so what I really need is a budget-conscious compact point n' shoot digital camera that will take good, clear macro images (99% of my images will need to use the macro function) without too much fuss or fiddling between products (preferably none 
). I realise "budget conscious" can limit the options, quality etc, so I'm not expecting I'll be able to take magazine quality images, just looking for the best option under $300 (or $200 :D).
I'm looking to buy a new, non-grey import from an Australian retailer - I've searched and read (and searched and read!) for articles, first for recommendations, most of which are outdated (even the ones that had a post date of 2016 referenced model numbers I can't find anywhere), then for what kind of specs I should look out for when looking at a camera in order to determine whether it's suitable, but most websites just have overall reviews on specific models and don't tell what spec or feature of the camera is resulting in the relevant performance aspect, except for DSLRs etc....if that makes sense... Most of them also only seem to mention cameras in the $400 and above price bracket, so maybe what I'm looking for isn't possible or available?
So, can someone please save my sanity and help me understand what features a camera should have to take decent macro images, or offer a brand / model suggestion? (The now-passed away camera was just a Samsung ES55 - it was ok, but often a bit grainy / noisy).
TIA 🙂
Hi,
I've bought many of these over years and think they are one of the best simple cameras.
Even if not this model I swear by Olympus. Very robust and water resistant.
Thank you kopes 😄 Looks like a pretty good option to me. (Olympus is one brand name that did not pop up in all my searchings - It was all Panasonic Lumix this and Canon Powershot that, so half of them were probably paid advertising in one form or another, but none of the model numbers matched what's available here anyway, while the closest matching ones seemed to be around $600 
).
@heihachi_73 wrote:
Similar to your ES55, I also have an ancient Samsung S750 (from circa 2007) which also suffers from grainy images; it's all up to the amount of light I think, it's probably fine when taking photos outdoors in sunny weather, but indoors under a single CFL lighting the entire room, it's as good as it can get even at highest quality, ISO 80 and with the self-timer.
That's actually good to know 🙂 (As in, at least it probably wasn't what I was doing that was causing it. 😄 ). I have a tripod as well (quasi-Christmas gift, via a JB Hifi gift card in 2014) and I think I've used it twice I know I probably should be using it, but the best spot in the house, in terms of lighting, is kind of an awkward space, and I like to move the camera around to all sorts of different spots and angles, so I found it easier to just hold it and move around the object myself, plus I found image clarity was still less than perfect, which I thought the tripod would help with, but obviously more of a camera / setting issue. I'd probably be half-decent at dance-freeze games, now though. Except for not really being able to dance.
I'll have to try adjusting the ISO on the next one, I only ever really experimented with some of the more basic settings, partly because I don't know what I'm doing or what the options would affect, and partly because I worried I'd forget what I'd done and not know how to change it back.
My old (old) camera was a Ricoh (which I had for ages and it put up really well with all sorts of abuse, including being held together with gaffa tape towards the end ) that used 2 AAs and I really liked that, because I could charge up spare batteries while using others, but the Samsung had its own rechargable lithium battery, less convenient but lasted quite a long time between charges - will note the advice re: required batteries, though, as that wasn't even on my radar.
Ta muchly for all the tips and info. 🙂
@lyndal1838 wrote:Digi, I have had over 50 years experience with cameras, starting as a teenage member of a Camera Club and going through two husbands who were professional photographers/camera shop owners.
The writeups on Panasonic Lumix and Canon Powershot are not just paid advertising. They are two of the best, reasonably priced cameras on the market. If you can find one with a Leica lens you will have top quality. I would recommend you to look at both of them and see if you can find a model that has the features that you need.
Take yourelf into a specialist camera store and see what they can show you. You often find that cameras are sold in Australia under different model numbers than overseas and the writeups are based on the overseas models.
Thanks, lyndal, it's difficult to know for sure sometimes, as some lists were nearly all Panasonic and Canon cameras, just different model numbers, and they only seemed to mention pros not cons, whereas when other brands were mentioned, they seemed to be looked at with a much more critical eye.
The Samsung was actually supposed to be a stop-gap solution , so I didn't really want to go down that road again, but alas my bank-balance is saying no to all the ones that I could find that seemed to fit all my other needs etc. (My phone's camera is terrible, too, so I can't use that while I save a bit for a decent camera, unfortunately) I'll definitely have a chat with someone at a specialist store and see what they can tell me.
