Cheap/used DSLR or good compact camera

Hi

I've been in Japan for 7 nights now (tokyo 4nights/kyoto 3nights). Usually my iphone pix in the morning is "good" enough to share on Facebook. But never good at night.

Yesterday night I attended the Kurama fire festival and obviously I couldn't get a single decent shot.

SO im planning of buying "a camera" to capture "moments" better.

I'm leaving now to Nara then Osaka for the rest of the day and back to Kyoto for the night. Heading to Miyajima tomorrow and then back to Tokyo the day after.

Did some research last night and I know that bic-camera and Yodobashi could have better prices than Europe (Ireland and amazon.co.uk) specifically. And they do tax-free.


Bic-camera is available infront of me next to kyoto station and apparently a very big Yodobashi is around osaka station (where Im heading later today)

Budget is around 150-200 euro but could stretch a bit more if i get a bargain on an entry level DSLR. (250 euro .... 300 MAX) again and I'm not even a beginner photographer.

I tried kakaku quickly yesterday and something like sony WX350 at bic-camera or yodobashi could go for ~23,000 yen tax-free which seems "good" compared to europe?

So what do you recommend? Cheap/used DSLR or just good point-and-shot camera?
What about menus? Do they come in English too? Should I worry too much about warranty?

Should I get something today before leaving to Miyajima and while around Osaka?
Or can it wait till Im back to Tokyo in two days?

Sorry for the long post :)

It seems that most of the cameras sold in Japan now have the choice of multiple languages. Just have the salesman set it to what you want. 10 years ago there were some models with only Japanese but I think they've all been phased out.

You might ask for a used camera shop at the info center and look for a used camera there. Sometimes the big camera shops like Yodogashi and BIC have a few. You can save some money this way. I've passed several shops that specialize in used gear, and have been able to pick up some used lenses at a decent price.

If you get a new one, the warranty is probably only good in Japan, and will be written in Japanese anyway.

Whether you get a DSLR or a point and shoot is up to you. The PnS cameras are usually more automatic without a lot of input on your part. You select the mode you want, zoom in and out, and push the shutter. The DSLR cameras give you more control over what you take or can be just as automatic as a point and shoot. If you don't know the controls (iso, saturation, sharpness, priorities, etc,) you'd be spending more money on something you might not use.

Also, the PnS cameras are easily carried , and the DSLRs have to hang around your neck.

The larger lenses give you better sharpness and saturation than a narrow lens that comes on a phone camera or PnS.

I like the Panasonic Lumix with 21x zoom for a point and shoot, but take a look at the features and see what you like best. At the moment I'm using a Pentax K-r DSLR because it takes the O-GPS1 attachment that writes the latitude and longitude on each photo. You can also get some point and shoot cameras with GPS built in.

If you go with a cheap camera, you might be disappointed to see that it won't take significantly better pictures than your smartphone (especially if your smartphone is recent). In particular, your "night shoot" problem will NOT be solved by a cheap camera. Low light conditions are perhaps the most difficult for a camera to operate in, and a low-end camera will be just as lousy as a smartphone.

sony WX350.... Do they come in English too?

No, Sony and Panasonic cameras have no English menus. Every other major brand should be okay.

Thanks guys. Very helpful.

I went to Yodobashi Umeda and while was a bit overwhelmed I came up with this small list:
- powershot sx700 hs for 24,540 yen (227Usd) thats before tax refund
http://kakaku.com/item/J0000011838/
Price at amazon 299usd: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-SX700-Digital-Camera/dp/B00I58M2...
But I can't navigate kakaku any further ... For the cheaper stores, are they online only? Tried to click around and use google translate but it's not that practical on iPad :)
- finepix s9400w for 26460 yen before tax (~244usd)
http://kakaku.com/item/K0000615840/
Price at amazon 283usd:http://www.amazon.com/Fujifilm-FinePix-S9400W-Digital-3-0-Inch/dp/B00H...
Please note that both are super expensive on amazon uk

Now the s9400w price look cool as if I'm holding a DSLR but I'm not sure if having a 50x on a compact will justify this one over the easier to carry yet with good 30x optical zoom sx700 hs?
Plus rating on kakaku looks better for the latter.

More questions:
a) Do you recommend any of the above?
b) Do you recommend any other compact in the range 18,000-25,000?
C) Can I get a good used DSLR in the above range (b)? If so, where in tokyo? Map camera?

Thanks

I would look around at the canon or nikon compacts. Check out the Nikon 1 series, but I am not sure how much they cost. I use DSLRs and rangefinders, but never really went into compact territory. You can check out the Canon rebel series, I think they sell one for around 50,000 yen, which I believe should be at the top end of your budget if I do the conversion right in my head.

That said, if you're still in osaka, there's a Naniwa camera store just across the street from yodobashi camera where you can possibly find a used digital camera. I don't know much about the Kyoto area, however.

To be quite honest though, in your price range most cameras are going to be about the same as far as performance. The difference are not really going to start showing, especially for a consumer camera.

Thanks Nazzy30.

Based on google 50k is around 365€ which is out of my budget especially for a compact ... and for a guy who is not a serious photographer that's too much money I'd rather spend on something else.

Based on other (old) posts, I was optimistic that I could find a used late-2012/early-2013 entry-level DSLR for around 40-45k

Im heading tohiroshima for tonight. Then 25 and 26th will be in Tokyo before leaving. So my best bet is Tokyo now I suppose.

Thanks

You might want to try here.

https://www.mapcamera.com/html/worldguide/english_page.html

Thanks guys. Based on your comments I did more research (about photography in dpreview) and my findings are:
1) lumix is very good but I have to skip since it doesn't have english menu
2) compacts for under 25k are good enough on day light but won't bring "justifiable" advantage in low light over smartphones
3) to get a "decent" compact I need to go up to the 35k-50k range

And hence two are the contenders now:
Olympus Stylus 1 - 399£ on amazon uk - 53460\ in yodobashi (~308£) without tax refund
Based on: http://kakaku.com/item/K0000589967/
PowerShot G16 - 368£ on amazon uk - 44530£ on yodobashi (~256£) without tax refund
Based on: http://kakaku.com/item/K0000566012/

Any winners between the above? Should I consider other comoacts on the new range 40-50k?
Range is still low for CSC?

Will pass by mapcamera tomorrow too to look for bargains.

Ibrahim

You won't find bargains in MapCamera.

I'd suggest Fujiya Camera in Nakano. I'd also suggest an Canon EOS M(not the newer EOS M2), with 18-55mm lens. This has a very good APS-C sized sensor, and you should be able to get a good second hand one for about 25,000 yen (about 190 EUR)