I’m always a bit sad when I leave Ogijima (well, at least nowadays, I know I’ll get back there soon, not like when I lived in France and didn’t know when I’d return). Yet, this is when one can get some of the best shots of the island.
And as we’re talking photographs, I’m about to buy a new camera, but as I’m quite illiterate on the issue, I wanted to know if any of you could give me some advice. My budget is about Yen 30,000 (€300, a bit more in $) and I’m thinking about getting a bridge camera (I’m getting tired and finding myself more and more limited with a compact, and I don’t have the skills nor the budget for a bigger one).
Right now, I’m looking at these cameras :
- Sony Cyber-shot HX200V
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150-K
- Fujifilm FinePix HS30EXR
- Canon PowerShot SX40 HS.
If you know any of those (or others) and could advise in favor or against them, I’m all ears. Also, I just realized that as I’m in Japan, I also need one that have a multi-language option.
Any thoughts?
And in any case, thanks in advance, know that you will contribute to make this blog better. 
Nice! I have a Canon Powershot (don’t remember which model off the top of my head, but bought it about 2 or 3 years ago) that I’ve been pretty happy with. Good photo quality and a decent amount of filter options. That said, I haven’t tried those others so can’t speak as to how they compare. Good luck with your purchase!
Paul (@BlueKutsu) recently posted..Let’s Enjoy Japanese: Fail
Thanks for your feedback Paul.
Whoops, I was mistaken. My Canon is a…IXY Digital 3000 IS. Thought I had a Powershot, but that just shows how much attention I pay my equipment, I guess. =P
Anyway, regardless, I’m happy with it.
What kind of camera do you have now, David?
Ni problem.
My current camera is… uh… let me check (yes, this is how much attention I pay to my equipement) a Casio Exilim EX-H15. (it’s a compact)
It’s about two years old. I was happy with it for a while, but lately I find the image quality to not be as good (or I’m more demanding, I don’t know) and worse, lately, sometimes, I need to press the button several times before the photo is taken. Not good, so I’d rather change before it dies.
Gotcha. Well, I recommend doing a little research on the ones you’re considering if you haven’t already. With a lot of the compacts, I think the photo quality (megapixels) is generally beyond what the average person needs these days. Some cameras have cool features or filters that others might be missing, though.
Paul (@BlueKutsu) recently posted..J-Word Play #27
I’ve had my eye on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150 but it is quite expensive here in Australia at around $650. I’ve seen them advertised in Japan for around 30,000 yen which is a better deal. It is highly rated with a powerful sensor, great Leica lens, and excellent image and video quality.
John
Japan Australia recently posted..Summer Activities in Japan
Yeah, I finally understood why Japanese people seem to all have crazy photo equipment all the time : Cameras are much cheaper here (all the cameras that I mentioned are about Yen 30,000 as they’re about Y10,000 more in Europe). I guess it’s a good thing, especially when I see that computers seem to be twice the price here.
I’m giving myself a week or two to decide and we’ll see. (I also need to make sure they are multi-lingual, if they’re in Japanese only I’d be screwed)