First Camera

[clf]

Originally Posted by keithst24

I am looking for a compact camera ...would the Samsung WB30F be a good choice as starter camera ?

personally I didnt like the WB30, because it was very limited, by comparison to the 250. The lens was different too, and I felt a lesser quality. But it was designed for the point and shoot market, so realistically, it wasnt too bad. In the price range when new, I preferred an older Canon Ixus model from the previous year, that was still available new at a reduced price.

[clf]

Originally Posted by philm

I certainly would,nt be showing that shot if that,s the quality of pics from that camera ????.
As previously said you really need to be looking at some physical cameras to see how they feel,but you need to keep in mind exactly what he wants to do with it if it,s just happy clappy pics then any reasonable bridge camera may suffice but if he is more interested in the technical/creative side of things then dslr is going to be your best option plenty of good quality second hand ones about.
My 12 year old grandson started with an old bridge camera but within month got fed up with the lack of control so ended up by a nikon dslr with extra lens his pics improved 10 fold.

That shot was an extremely bright day, with manual focus set to its closest point to show the fleck colours in the paint. However keep in mind this is a 1/2.3 inch compact camera sensor (6.2x4.6mm, compared to an APS-c sized sensor 23.2x15.4mm), the depth of field normally is restricted with such sensors. But with this, the DoF is quite acceptable - certainly for macro/close up shots, compared with other compacts.

Another impressive aspect of the WB250 is the ISO range of it. Quite a bit cleaner than my 300D DSLR and cleaner than my 50D (but the 50D can be cleaned up, and retain more detail).

Looking at the black text against white, there is minimal chromatic aberration, for a compact pocket camera.

Not sure if the following shots will upload without compressing.

first one will be ISO 100 f3.2 3 second exposure,



second will be ISO 3200, f3.2 1/10th sec exposure,



both spot metered with -0.3 exp compensation and autofocus

enlarged crops and a noise test below. preset WB can be fine tuned, but I never bother in camera.







I dont know why the upload has changed the size of the 3200 crop image. The 100 and 3200 are the same size, and cropped from layers to retain the same position

[philm]

those are much better you can certainly detect the noise at 3200 but still remaining pretty sharp.

[clf]

Originally Posted by philm

those are much better you can certainly detect the noise at 3200 but still remaining pretty sharp.

Perhaps I should've been clearer, chroma noise. There's obviously firmware intervention, which is better than any camera I've tried. The closest comparison I have is light room.

Have to keep it in context too, this is a 3 year old £189 compact camera with the functionality of a dslr camera fitted with a 24-432 mm lens with macro

sent from my ZT

[Gate Keeper]

Originally Posted by keithst24

I am looking for a compact camera ...would the Samsung WB30F be a good choice as starter camera ?

You might benefit from the story about Samsung pulling out of the U.K. market because of reduced camera sales.

https://www.ephotozine.com/article/s...-market--28684

[clf]

Originally Posted by Gate Keeper

You might benefit from the story about Samsung pulling out of the U.K. market because of reduced camera sales.

https://www.ephotozine.com/article/s...-market--28684

Sorry about that Lol . apparently when I left Jessops, my old branch went from selling 15-20 units a month, to 0

Samsung were always a hard sell and I'm my view, they only got decent cameras after they split from Pentax. (Not that there was anything wrong with Pentax) they seemed to get better . still in some cases a little gimmicky though, but the potential was there. I was snooty about them at first, however I was convinced later.

Incidentally, the previous model to the 250, was called the 690, and is worth a look too. (But doesn't have WiFi or touchscreen) I think it had better build quality too, my father has one! The 690 had a Schneider branded lens, and the 250 was branded Samsung. They are the same lenses. I was told that Samsung took over Schneider, although I never verified this.

sent from my ZT

[keithst24]

Well I have won this.....hope it's OK as a starter ......really just for Rover 75/MG meets etc......will see how I get on.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2224326488...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[Rocket]

Originally Posted by keithst24

Well I have won this.....hope it's OK as a starter ......really just for Rover 75/MG meets etc......will see how I get on.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2224326488...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

That looks ok for a 1st timer. I look forward to some pics in the near future.

[clf]

Originally Posted by keithst24

Well I have won this.....hope it's OK as a starter ......really just for Rover 75/MG meets etc......will see how I get on.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2224326488...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I think I bid on that one, but when I pressed confirmed the price had already exceeded what I was willing to pay lol. (£40)

It is a great camera, and superb for learning the principles of photography without going the full hog into an SLR or DSLR, and if you dont like going manual, auto is very reliable. Give you a tip, when shooting portraits indoors, pop the flash up and tip it towards the ceiling (it is articulated) with the tip of your finger whilst resting/pressing the pad of your finger on the shutter release You can also turn up the flash compensation too, to give it a little boost. I actually have a small piece of Blu-tac stuck to the front to allow me to keep it pointed to the ceiling.

[keithst24]

Originally Posted by clf

I think I bid on that one, but when I pressed confirmed the price had already exceeded what I was willing to pay lol. (£40)

It is a great camera, and superb for learning the principles of photography without going the full hog into an SLR or DSLR, and if you dont like going manual, auto is very reliable. Give you a tip, when shooting portraits indoors, pop the flash up and tip it towards the ceiling (it is articulated) with the tip of your finger whilst resting/pressing the pad of your finger on the shutter release You can also turn up the flash compensation too, to give it a little boost. I actually have a small piece of Blu-tac stuck to the front to allow me to keep it pointed to the ceiling.

The seller relisted as non paying bidder ....I asked if she had a buy it now....we agreed to pay what it finished at first time around before she was let down £53......may of found one cheaper but as it looks in VGC with box etc I thought was worth a bit more.....thank you for flash tip......will post some pics once I have received.............off to Fuerteventura next weekend so a week of trial and error