Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hogwonguy1979]

I've had a nikon 3200 coolpix for the past 3 years but have become unhappy with it, resolution is ok, great for daytime pics but what drives me nuts is all my nighttime photos all turn out fuzzy.

i'm heading to yangon and se asia in a couple of weeks and want to get some nighttime/evening shots so i'm looking for a reasonbly priced digital camera. i was at ipark today and saw some good ones around 200k. any recs? what about those that can record video, are they worth it in that price range?

[idonojacs]

It looks like the rest of the posters are burned out and the "which camera should I buy" debate. I don't blame them. But I'm game. Here goes.

Don't be a cheapskate when buying a camera for use in Korea and travelling. There's lots to take pictures of, and you will want sharp, well-exposed pictures to show others. But you don't need to spend a fortune, either. About $400 will get you a really nice camera.

A good place to start is to look at the reviews at Steve's

http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html

What I like about this site is that he has shot the same subjects for about 10 years, so you can get an idea of how cameras compare. He also offers fairly succinct, unbiased opinions.

If you look at user reviews, such as on Amazon, some of the postings verge on lunatic ravings against certain brands; it almost looks like a disinformation campaign by their competitors.

The way to cut through this noise is to look at actual photos taken by actual people with the cameras. Just go to flickr.com and look for the camera you are interested in:

http://flickr.com/cameras/

A good source for camera info, reviews and realistic price info is B&H Photo, the professional's source - really.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/1082/Digital_Cameras_All_Digital_Cameras.html

Now, to answer your question, if you want a camera that does night shots, takes good video, will be used when travelling and is fairly easy for a novice to use, there's only one camera I would recommend: the Fuji S6000fd.

Sure, there are plenty of great cameras out there, but none that I know of that do all this so well while giving you the flexibility of running off AA nimh batteries, nearly essential when country hopping.

Look at the sample pictures from Steve's, especially the sample video of the race car:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2007_reviews/fuji_s6000fd_samples.html

I have never seen video this good from a digital camera, though I haven't exactly checked every camera. With the manual zoom lens you can zoom in and out while filming very precisely and without noise.

Fuji makes a more compact version of this camera, the Fujifilm FinePix F31fd. I would be tempted to buy one as a pocket camera, but it uses a lithium ion battery, and I don't need to lug around another battery charger.

OK, here's the deal: Next time a poster asks what camera to buy, you give the reply.

[spliff]

I like this....

http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/12473/panasonic_lumix_dmc_tz3/

[KOREAN_MAN]

Fujifilm FinePix F31fd. No contest.

Very, very little noise compared to other point-and-shoot cameras. So you can increase the ISO and get enough shutter speed which won't make photos look fuzzy. You won't regret buying this camera.

[discostar23]

I'd go canon, i recently upgraded from the cool pix to a canon ixus 10. cheap (i got mine in japan) 230,000won. great photos

[IlIlNine]

[IlIlNine]

[hanguker]

Wow...a childish rant and a double-post. Good stuff

But true, most of those Finepix slim cameras take good "party" shots. They're designed for club kids taking pictures in nightclubs. Also, even with the relatively better quality (still looks like crap...just clearer crap), you can't print more than a snapshot-sized print.

Most, people won't be taking iso 1600 shots, though. Anybody with a bit of know how would use a tripod with low iso and slow shutter for a good and clear night shot.

[IlIlNine]

[deadman]

I bought a Fuji Finepix F20 today from a camera shop near Namdaemun.

I'm not sure if I got a good or bad deal but just for reference I paid 280k Won for the camera with a 1GB card and spare battery (10kW by itself) plus cleaning kit and case.

They quoted 230k Won for the camera body itself, I guess the 1GB card was 50K.

The F32fd was 30k Won more. I compared the specs, but the only difference I could see was the face detection technology. Got the cheaper one.

The Canon IXUS 75 was quoted as 310k Won for the basic body, the same price as a place on the ground floor of the Yongsan electronics department store.

The shop I bought it from was at the bottom of a long downhill market street in Namdaemun, just around the corner to the left.

Hope that helps.

[spliff]

Perhaps you should have bought online, the price you paid seems a slight bit steep...this is the same camera, is it not?

http://search.auction.co.kr/Search/Search.aspx?keyword=f20&category=02011500

[deadman]

[spliff]

Only 30k or so, could have been worse. I wouldn't sweat it! Anyway, you don't need to use your CC to buy something online here, just do a bank transfer to the sellers acct, quite painless actually.

[IlIlNine]

The only downside with those fujis is the expensive xD picture card. 50,000 for 1gb sounds right. I paid 290,000 for my F30 not too long ago with case and 1GB card.