I need a new camera; I have some fairly exacting specifications - can anyone help?

[KatyMac]

It needs to take the photo quickly (my current one has a big pause)

Can you get cameras that plug in to charge (like a mobile phone)? If so I want one of those

& it needs to be easy (no complicated knobs or twiddles)

& it needs to be cheap (less than £100 ideally much less)

Help?

bump

No-one?

Cameras that take photos quickly tend to be the high end models. I would be surprised if you could find one for under £100.

Talk to Digital Depot. They're local to me and usually pretty helpful.

Really - gosh I thought mine was really crap as it takes maybe 2 seconds to go from pressing the button to taking the photo & everyone moves

The Panasonic Lumix S3 has a pretty good response time and you can get a good price on Amazon (£56.50 free delivery) at the moment. You have to take the battery out to charge it though: this is true for most digital cameras.

That looks good

We use the camera so much we are changing the batteries pretty much every couple of days - it's so boring I wish we could just plug it in

Are you using normal batteries? IF you go for one with an lithium battery, they last much longer. I have a Lumix and the battery lasts for ages, and bought an extra battery so that I can swap.

I use energiser batteries (I don't know if they are special but they are designed for MP3 player & cameras apparently)

This kind of a battery

Lithium, I think they are called.

Much much better than normal AA batteries. You don't have to buy the original ones from Panasonic (or whatever camera you buy), google battery for and buy generic one.

So you have to buy a charger too?

Erm. I think the charger comes with the camera. You buy the camera complete with this kind of battery and charger. Wait. I will check

here battery with charger

John Lewis has that one cheaper, and the one that MrA recommended earlier is also with a Lithium battery pack.

The charger will normally come with the camera. Try Canon ones they are pretty much point and click

Canon Ixus take really quick pics and has a rechargeable lithium battery. Mine's a 650 I think and very good. Specifically bought because of lack of delay taking photos. Think you can get then pretty cheap now

Shutter lag times are available here with reviews on the cameras and the Panasonic S3 scores quite highly.

KatyMac hardly any cameras use the sort of batteries you buy in a shop now, they all come with their own rechargeable battery you take out and put in a charger which is supplied with the camera.

So I need to factor in a spare battery to my costs & they often seem to need a memory card as well

Oh! I am dim aren't I? So none really charge up like a mobile phone they all have batteries I take out and charge but not duracell or everready AA's again

You are not dumb. Technology moves on.

You can get a generic battery (ie. not a branded one) for a couple of quid on eBay or Amazon.

They are better than AA batteries, but you do have to remember to keep the spare charged and keep it with you cause you cannot just bung in other batteries when you are out.

You will be amazed how long they last though.

I'm a childminder so I use it a lot at home really (observations & diaries etc)

So having the spare available will be fine (as long as I remember to charge it)

You won't need a spare, you just need a daily routine - take battery out and charge it, take the memory card out (yes you will need to buy one, best to get a fast one like this which will be good for video too), put it in your laptop's SD card reader (you do have one? If not, budget for an SD card reader too, you will sill have change from £100 if you go for that crazy deal on the Lumix), upload the day's photos, delete from SD card.

You don't need an SD card reader, just plug it in with the usb. Daily is daft too - even using the camera a lot we only have to charge it occasionally

If you use it at home you will be fine without a spare, if you are very organised about charging it. I am not, so had to get a spare one.

Even going on holiday, I rarely have to charge mine. They last ages.

Thanks everyone

I'm on a steep learning curve

Camera batteries last for ages these days. I will take a camera on holiday for a week and not need to recharge it until we get home.

They come complete with all the bits and pieces to get you started, for charging batteries and downloading photos. Most of the top best buys according to Which are Nikon Coolpix. The S9100, L110 and S100 have top marks for shutter delay and vary in price between £130 and £160. One of my workmates is a keen photographer and told me that you don't need a camera with higher than 10MP unless you plan to blow your photos up to poster size.

I am following this with interest as I am after a new camera as well.

Really - goodness!