Low-end Camera with Webcam function.

[piotref1]

Hello fellow users. 

As stated in the title I'm looking for camera that can be used as webcam. If the quality/price ratio would be worse than camera without this functionality then I would gladly choose the one without it. But please suggest ones that can be used as webcams and still are good when it comes to taking photos too!

I really love taking pictures and doing videos of weddings and other stuff when someone asks me but I don't do it very often. I won't do anything professional or doing it as job so there is no need to think about these aspects when suggesting camera for me. I just want something that will last me a long time. ^.^

My budget is.. pretty small because it's only 100-150$ maybe I could get it up to 200$ if it would be worth getting more expensive camera. Ignore cost of memory card and other accessories while suggesting camera but I will gladly take tips and suggestions about choosing them.

What I will use it for:
-Casual taking pictures of people during meetings.
-Shooting scenery when I would go on trip.
-Probability of shooting during evening hours or at night by campfire or when playing games in forest like CTF.
-Filming meetings mentioned above, woodworking.
-If possible as a higher quality webcam to minimize stuff that will be gathering dust.

-Trying to get as best pictures as I can.
-Sometimes doing photo shoot of cosplay or when friends ask me. Of course as told before not professional one just okay/good quality pics.

What I would like to see:
-Good quality pictures of course.
-In terms of design that it would just look okay.
-Built in accumulator, not battery powered.
-If it's possible.. Charging it using some type of USB cable or cable with male USB connector on one side.

[ALwin]

At your budget level, I dare say it's going to be impossible to find a camera that does everything you want.  Even if you increase it to $200, the best you'll get is a decent point&shoot or a bridge camera.

 

None of those will work as a webcam without a capture card, which costs at least another $50.

 

Additionally, a GoPro or GoPro style camera like the Xiaomi Yi or other sports camera will be better suited, due to their form factor and mounting accessory/harnesses, for some of the stuff you want to film (e.g. playing capture the flag).  You might even be able to use a camcorder if there is someone who is going to just be running around filming instead of participating in the games.

 

For photography, almost any camera these days is capable of capturing nice images. Of course the limitations of the camera will depend on their design. i.e. Don't expect things like very shallow DOF or nice bokeh with a point&shoot camera's tiny sensor.

 

All cameras will be powered either by standard AA, AAA, etc. batteries or proprietary batteries.  The only ones I can think of that comes with rechargeable internal battery would be a kiddie camera.  Though the GoPro and similar camera's battery can be charged by a USB power bank, it's not a built in battery like you want.

 

Extremely hard to find a very decent low light capable camera for under $200, so the camp fire better be large and bright.

[piotref1]

What I have written was just some things that I would do sometimes if they would happen and it wasn't meant to make people suggest camera that does everything of it. But mostly just pictures of meetings, people and stuff I'm total noob when it comes to this stuff so.. I blurted what was on my mind really xD" 

If any camera will do good quality pictures during day then I'm fine with it then. I hoped that there were maybe some cameras out there that could be recharged using USB.. but well. I will buy two pairs of nice accumulators then

If I would like to have something better that could do "decent" pictures during late hours and better quality all together I would probably need to spend around 400$?

[ALwin]

7 minutes ago, piotref1 said:

snip

$400 is barely a starting point for a camera with very decent low light capability.

 

Here are some nice photo cameras for your $150 budget.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?atclk=Brand_Canon&ci=9811&Ns=p_PRICE_2|1&N=4288586282+4291570227&mxp=150

[piotref1]

Thank you very much for the link and everything you said before.  

Last few questions I will ask in this topic that will fulfill information that I want to know. 

Is there any  camera that you would suggest can be used as webcam? Or is it better to get good camera and video capture card?  And if it's better to get camera and capture card can you suggest one too?
Would you suggest gathering more money to get better camera in general if I would do more photo shoots and woodworking and other stuff like this? And I think it would serve me for longer time then. And suggest one that would work mostly for taking pictures of things, scenery and people during daylight.
And how much I would need to spend on camera that would do okay pictures during evening? 

These are the last questions.  

[ALwin]

Barring any manufacturing defects or accidents, camera gear lasts only as long as you take care of it or until your requirements change.  Sure there is wear and tear, but with proper care they can last years.

 

As for recommending another camera or bigger budget camera... that depends: Where do you want to go with taking photos?  It doesn't have to be whether you want to keep taking photos as a hobby or become a professional.  It depends on what you want in a photo.  Point&shoot compact cameras are fine for taking decent snapshots, but they don't allow you to explore your creativity as say a DSLR.  Cameras like a DSLR or MILC have more features, more accessories, allow for more creativity compared to a point&shoot.  I know what I want in my photos so I invest in the gear, I have no idea what you want.

 

Camera and capture card for webcam... don't ask me. For a webcam I think a nice decent webcam is more than enough.

[piotref1]

Sorry that I written it badly.  Let's forget the webcam part. 

I want to take nice pictures of people in different costumes, casual clothes during conventions for example Anime&Manga ones. 
I like carving in wood, repairing stuff and just trying to make stuff from nothing. 
When going on trip with friends to take nice quality pictures of scenery and places. 
Sometimes filming what I'm doing like how to do some stuff.  
And photo shoots in woods or indoors of friends. 


These are the things I want to do the most while using my camera. I hope that will be enough. But I still would be willing to spend more money if the quality of pictures would be visibly better.  If you would need more detailed information then please ask. 

Edit.

I misread this part and misunderstood the part when you asked where I want to go with taking photos and I'm not really sure what you mean with that.. Sadly English isn't my main language and because of that some things just doesn't seem so clearly as they probably should.

 

Edited February 16, 2016 by piotref1

[ALwin]

34 minutes ago, piotref1 said:

I want to take nice pictures of people in different costumes, casual clothes during conventions for example Anime&Manga ones. 
I like carving in wood, repairing stuff and just trying to make stuff from nothing. 
When going on trip with friends to take nice quality pictures of scenery and places. 
Sometimes filming what I'm doing like how to do some stuff.  
And photo shoots in woods or indoors of friends.

All of these things can be done with a point&shoot camera just as well as a DSLR/MILC.

 

Does that mean all cameras are equal? NO.  There are differences in the photos produced by different cameras.  Differences due to sensor sizes and the range of lenses available to different camera systems.  While a photo taken with a point&shoot and a photo taken with a DSLR can be equally well exposed, capturing the same scene with the same amount of detail and image quality, there are differences in aesthetic quality that comes out of each camera.

 

I'm reluctant to go ahead and say you need to spend more than $200 until you really understand what those aesthetic differences can be and what you want.

 

Here's a side by side comparison of images taken with a point&shoot and a DSLR I found on the web.  Both photos look nice and pleasing and the person in the photo would be pleased with either, but do you notice any aesthetic difference?

 

[piotref1]

Actually a few of them. Main difference that I see (and assume based only on this picture) is that DSLR can take photos without focusing on certain thing the same way point & shoot and additionally can adjust focus on given object.

In the DSLR case the person is looking good, sharp and because of background being blurry it makes you look straight on her. 
When with point & shoot camera case, background and woman in the foreground have the same amount of focus given by the camera. Because of that your mind will firstly focus on the picture as one and then adjust itself to look at the bigger part of picture (background) and after that it will adjust to see more details in the person posing in foreground that should be given the main part of focus. 

Other differences that I see but I will point few things first. 
- Quality of pictures are different even when given that both are taken at little different angles.
- I don't know why exactly but I assume that this differences are there because of different lenses and cameras having different MPx. 
- I assume that pic were taken in short amount of time.

1. In the DSLR side there are more details bluntly said. 
For best example lets take hair of the woman on the pic taken with point & shoot blend together and even if you can see clearly folds of material of her pants they are different when compared to DSLR. 
On the DSLR picture hair of woman has more strands visible and the folds on her knees are more sharp looking and you can see more of them clearly. 

2. Colors are different. 
When comparing two of them the best example there would be again, her hair. 
Point & shoot picture has her hair blend in with the dark color between two white squares near the end of strand of hair on her right side. 
DSLR picture colors are more lighter when shoot & point look more dull. Strands of her hair doesn't blend with the black color of stripes like mentioned earlier.  
3. Skin and shadow given by the hat. 
With DSLR it's visible that her skin is smoother but that may be because of the way that colors and shadows are captured. 
Shadow with point & shoot camera is darker when with DSLR it's more lighter and maybe less visible just by tiny bit.

Overall in my eyes DSLR looks sharper, more detailed and has better overall feeling thanks to focus set on the woman. 
I'm a little bit pedantic and weird when it comes to aesthetic stuff. Sometimes I can't just name stuff that I want but when compared this two I would gladly save more money for DSLR to just feel better with pictures that I would be taking and how they look. 
In my opinion it's not just about how the person will feel about picture but also if the person that took the picture is happy with the effect that he or she achieved. 

I hope that's good enough to exhaust bigger part of this question that you asked.  

[ShadowCaptain]

20 minutes ago, piotref1 said:

Actually a few of them. Main difference that I see (and assume based only on this picture) is that DSLR can take photos without focusing on certain thing the same way point & shoot and additionally can adjust focus on given object.

 

And don't forget, you can use a smaller aperture to make more of the photo in focus, and give a deeper depth of field, which is often great for landscapes or if you want the background to be visable during a portrait etc

[ALwin]

Ok so if you like the look and feel a larger sensor camera is capable of producing then I suggest you save up for a bigger budget and get a larger sensor camera.

[piotref1]

Thanks for dealing with me all this time and some of stupid questions that I asked I will probably buy one from the DSLR buying guide that is pinned on the forum when my budget will get bigger. 

Thank you both for your responses but mostly ALwin for long answers and giving me comparison between two types of cameras.  In the meantime I will try to learn more on my own about other stuff that  I will need to know before and after buying camera.