Which camera is best? Mine takes blurry pics....

[rhythmcrazy]

What good camera would you recommend? My Olympus X-43 takes horribly blurry pictures. There seems to be something wrong with its auto focus. It lets me down time after time. I don't want a very expensive, intricate, big, or complicated camera - just something small & compact which you can aim and shoot clear pictures with, of which the auto focus actually works.

[jno]

most cameras have autofocus, and it should always work. If it doesn't, have you asked about getting it repaired? Sounds like you've just got a malfunction; it doesn't mean all Olympus cameras are duds. (They have a pretty good reputation, in fact.)

[The-HouseHusband]

It would depend on your budget, however I have found that most cameras in the Kodak, fuji, Panasonic or Nikon give excellent rates

[The-HouseHusband]

for "rates" read "results" !!

[daffy654]

If you give me an idea of your budget I can look on the Which website for their recommendations for you if you'd like.

[wiltsman]

I found this one on Which?

'A compact camera with a big zoom lens, the Fujifilm FinePix F600EXR is packed full of features to help you get the most out of point-and-shoot photography. This compact digital camera offer photo and video performance to shout about'.

It would appear to be the sort of camera your looking for. The report emphasises that it is a compact camera, and it is ideal for point and shoot photography. The price seems to be around £200.

But I agree with the remark by jno about getting your camera repaired, it could work out a lot cheaper than buying a new one!

[rhythmcrazy]

Thanks all of you for your feedback. daffy, I can afford a camera up to R1000 (which would be similar to about £80.00). jno, my camera is about a year old and my feeling is that it shouldn't have a malfunction - I have considered having it fixed but I'll rather shop for another brand. HouseHusband, thanks for your ideas on different brands.

[rhythmcrazy]

wiltsman, I had a look at the Fujifilm FinePix F600EXR that you saw on the Which? site. It looks like the sort of camera that I'd like. I'll shop around and see if they're available in my country (South Africa).

[Zacs-Master]

Rhythm, are you sure you've got the autofocus function set correctly? Are buoy pressing the shutter button half way before fully pressing it? If you just press it in one go, the autofocus won't have time to work. Manual here
http://www.olympus.co...ual/fe/man_fe47_e.pdf

[daffy654]

Canon Ixus 300 HS -£99.00
Canon Ixus 115 HS -£85.00
Nikon Coolpix S6150 -£79.00

These are all in the top 80 reviewed cameras on the Which website.

[woofgang]

before you get another camera, do you have a friend whose camera you could borrow to try to see if its you, not the camera? I ask because even with autofocus I used to get blurry pics until I learned to hold myself still.

[rhythmcrazy]

Thanks daffy for your recommended brands - I'll research them. Zacs and woofgang, it's definitely not me - I know about pressing the button half way to focus, and to hold the camera still - even tho I do that, the camera doesn't focus correctly. My older camera (Pentax Optio 30) works 100%. I bought the Olympus because its screen is 4x bigger than the Pentax's tiny screen. (The Pentax takes beautiful pics - no problem there with auto focus.)

[rhythmcrazy]

Thanks again everyone for your feedback. Consider this post closed for now - I'll think it over and decide what to do. Meanwhile I'll just use my old reliable Pentax, tiny screen and all.

[jno]

if it's less than a year old, check out whether it's still under guarantee!

[rhythmcrazy]

It is, and I took it back to the store yesterday for repairs. Once it's been repaired, I'll sell it. I also bought a Nikon Coolpix L25 yesterday, which is a cool, user friendly, easy to use camera.