Choosing easy to carry camera for portraits

hypercoolers said:

Hi,

I've used a Canon 350d for years but only ever in automatic mode (shame on me - still wanting to find time to learn!) I find it too bulky to carry around a lot and it's now difficult to upload as windows 10 won't recognise it and Canon aren't providing drivers for it.

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You can take the card off the camera and to use a card reader to read its contents into your computer. Some computers has the readers embedded otherwise it is not expensive to add an external reader and you will not have problems associated with Canon drivers.

hypercoolers said:

So, I'm looking for an easy-to-use, easy to upload and easy-to-carry camera that takes good portraits of my kids (my main use). It doesn't have to be really small just perhaps not as bulky as my last one. I only have a budget of less than £150 so I presume I may be looking at older models.

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You do not told us the lens you have - I suppose the kit lens. If that is the case, perhaps it could be a better idea to get a faster lens, something like 50 or 35 f/1.8 and to learn to use it and the features of your camera. You do not need a Rocket Science PhD to learn to use your camera effectively.

hypercoolers said:

I don't know if this is a difficult ask?! Any help/pointers very gratefully recieved as I've been looking at bridge and compact cameras but don't know if I can get the quality of portraits that I'm hoping for.

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I think it is wiser to extract the most you can from your current stuff before to go to the next step. Your experience will help you to make a yet wiser choice when that moment arrive.

All the best,

Hi, it sounds like you made the classic error of purchasing the wrong camera for you, which is a shame really as the money spent on your 350D would have purchased a good compact camera easily. Anyway, if you are willing to learn how to use it will (still) give excellent results, even though its a few generations old now. In the meantime, do you have a smart phone, a later model phone will have a decent sensor and be more than suitable for what you ask. The biggest advantage being you will generally always have it with you and it won't cost anything.

So I suggest stick with the DSLR and learn to use it for the times when the bulk won't matter, or round your home etc. In the meantime try your phone and see if it will deliver what you want.

If the latter isn't up to what you would like, then there are many cameras around £150, I suggest a visit to Jessops if you have one and have a look and handle some.

Good luck

Peter

Pretty much what's been said already. You can use a card reader for downloads. I'm not sure what's out there in point and shoots to be smaller and more convenient. The phone cameras have been beating that market segment to death.

Maybe a nice used (maybe even new) prime, like a 50mm f1.8 will pump up the quality of your portraiture some and with some practice and study of the capabilities of the body you have, you'll get some new life out of it.

If you have a Canon kit already then consider the Canon 100D.

hypercoolers said:

Hi,

I've used a Canon 350d for years but only ever in automatic mode (shame on me - still wanting to find time to learn!) I find it too bulky to carry around a lot and it's now difficult to upload as windows 10 won't recognise it and Canon aren't providing drivers for it.

Click to expand...

Use a card reader. Everything will recognize it, no extra drivers needed. Uploads will be faster as well.

Mark

You aren't going to get a lot for such a modest budget, so maybe go the card reader route for now. Most photographers use them by choice as they are typically faster to upload files than connecting the camera by cable.

If you do want a new camera your best bet will be a clearance item or used or reconditioned. Don't buy anything introduced more than about three years ago as cameras have gotten better and better. You should be able to find something halfway decent from a few years ago. I'd recommend a reputable local camera shop or one of the specialized online vendors like B&H or Adorama over Craigslist or EBay. With a reputable vendor you will get what you pay for.

Informal family portraits don't need anything very special. You should shoot from some distance with the zoom lens zoomed in a ways. If you shoot from too close with the lens wide your kids will look less natural, though it's a good idea to shoot your kids from a variety of angles and distances as they play. A bunch of static shots of your kids lined up facing the camera won't remind you of good times.

Pretty much any camera can take adequate family pictures if there is enough light. Most cameras you can afford will do poorly in low light, which includes indoors. You'll almost certainly need flash indoors and the results may still be poor. Take most of your shots outdoors on sunny days and you'll be much happier.

Cameras you might like that aren't too expensive used would include the Canon S cameras like the S90, S95, on up to the S120. This line has been made for some years with only modest changes between models. They are small and easy to use, but give better pictures than an average point & shoot because they have a bigger sensor (though still much smaller than a DSLR sensor). The Canon G cameras have been made even longer. They use a similar sensor, but in a bigger body with more buttons and dials, so they're aimed more at the photography enthusiast. The G12 would be about as old as I would go in this line. Older Panasonic LX cameras are of similar size and ability. The LX7 has been made for a few years and is very good. The preceding LX5 is also attractive, as well as the smaller LF1. The Fuji XQ-2, XQ-1 and XF1 were less popular, but are interesting little cameras with a lot of style and generally good image quality. The Olympus XZ-1 and XZ-2 are also very good choices, direct competitors of the Panasonic LX line.

While these are all attractive little cameras and entirely suitable for family photography, do keep your expectations modest. They won't be a replacement for a DSLR, but would give you a small camera you could easily carry that could take lots of pictures you'd treasure. Just don't expect them to take pictures in low light or zoom in very far (they all have modest, zoom ranges) and you'll get along fine. Of course, you can also just use a cell phone, but these cameras do have better image quality, better controls, and zoom lenses. They can do more than a phone.