Picture Perfect!

So you’ve had a good old read of the June issue and learned how to work it in front of the camera, now here’s how to work it from behind. For the best snaps you need the right tools, so we’ve taken the pain out of shopping around and picked out our faves based on function, price, and how hot they look. With the summer not far off (it’s really not, we promise!) make sure you’re prepared to capture every moment with our snap happy best buys, one for every occasion!

Festi Photos

Festivals are a heaving, muddy, crazy mess of randomness, so your camera needs to be the same. You need to be able to point and press at a moment’s notice, like when Jay from The Wanted walks within five feet of you, or you spot Jessie J having a quick wee behind the hot dog stand. Hasn’t happened so far but it will do one day and you need to be ready! You’ll also need high definition video for when your faves are on stage, with a decent zoom to get up close and personal without going all shakey from your sheer excitement. Plus you need all that for a good price because, let’s face it, you’ve just forked out for the ticket and now you’re pretty skint. Our choice? The Panasonic Lumix DMC – S3. £59.97. Bish bash bosh.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3, £59.97 www.currys.co.uk

Perfect profile

What’s Facebook without a decent profile pic? Yes that shot of you laughing next to your bezzie looks completely effortless, yet you’ve had to consider lighting, colour, focus, how actual amazeballs you look, and it truthfully took 20 tries to get right, right? Maybe you need a camera that understands! The AE100 can shoot in low light conditions for that perfect party shot, or use the fisheye effect to add some extra funk, or use the Color Accent feature to pick out the hue of that gorge Fuchsia frock you just got. It has 14 megapixels, anti-shake settings for when you just can’t stop busting a groove, and all kinds of other fun options for you to try. And thankfully only £69. Boom.

AE100, £69 www.benq.co.uk

Memory maker

Photo albums, cameras with wires? So old fashioned! We’re in the digital age now and it’s time to get with the program. That means never again having to wait until you get home to share a truly awesome snap of you and your pals, simply press a button and whoosh – it’s on Facebook for the world to see! The Samsung SH100 has built in Wi-Fi so you can create memories wherever you are and share them instantaneously, alongside the awesome 14.2 megapixels, 5 x optical zoom, and anti-shake. It’s a bit dearer at £99.97 but hey, that’s what battering your eyelashes at your parents was invented for.

Samsung SH100, £99.97 www.currys.co.uk 

Fashion over function

For fashionistas for whom everything has to be an accessory, your camera has to look hot too, right? Hooray then for the Lomography Diana Mini – it’s perfect in its vintage, retro-y goodness and fits right in your itty bitty clutch bag! It’s old school cool, needing 35mm film (remember that?!) and to quote our mate the Biebs, it’s just pretty swaggy. All for a price that matches its size, just 50 quid!

Lomography Diana Mini, £50 www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk

First time photographer

Complete camera novice? Or just a bit low on dosh? How about a digital camera for less than £40 that’s so simple to use your baby bro could have a go (but he won’t because his sticky fingers would ruin it, obvs.)

It might be cheap as chips, but the Fujifilm FinePix L55 still packs a massive 12 megapixels, a 3x optical zoom, face recognition, meaning your pics will always be in focus, and image stabilisation, meaning if your hand wobbles, your picture won’t. Learn to take the perfect pic, all while being stylish in either red, white, blue, silver, black or pink, AND with change from two £20 notes. 

Fujifilm finepix, £39.95 www.jessops.com