New Camera,

Hello, at the moment I am making do with a small and simple digital camera which has treated me very well so far. However after owning it for several years my photography skill has improved a little and i'm looking for something a little more intermediate for better quality pictures and greater control over the settings. Im not rolling in money so something about 100-200 British pounds, or $200-$400 would be fantastic. Thank you for your advice!

If you'd like a smallish camera, consider the Canon Powershot A630. It has manual controls and great picture quality, but is still small enough and light enough to carry around in a coat pocket (but not a shirt pocket).

How small a camera do you want?

I spent a lot of time and energy looking for a camera that best fit my needs. My "final two" were the fixed lens (superzoom) Fuji S9100 and the dSLR Pentax K100D. I bought the K100D.

If you're having trouble working out the type of camera that you want you might take a look at these two on DPReview and get back to us as to how these do/do not fit your needs.

(Click on Cameras in the upper left and follow the links.)

See I was thinking of getting a Fuji finepix S5600 but im not sure if I would see much improvement over my fujifinepx A510. Size is not important only price and quality!

The Finepix S5600 has just been superceded by the S5700 although whether it is any better is unknown. Unlikely to be anything wrong with it. And the 5600 might be discounted further to clear stocks.

The Finepix S series are good cameras and great value for money. However from my reading of review sites, Fuji come in the middle of the pack for quality of photo. Canon seem to lead the field although not in every case. Personally I refer Canon for quality and reliability. Look at the review sites suggested and take your pick.

Have a look here Cameras UK