New camera dilemmas - what to do...

You might wanna check the prices first chris -

Body and 14-45mm Zoom - 590ish
or
Body and 20mm - 730ish


Then add the long zoom (45-200) - 280ish

So that's a grand.


But - the Micro 4/3 system does mean you double up the focal length to get 35mm equivalent, so with the short zoom and long zoom you get 28-90 and 90-400 covered in two lenses. It does look like being the *new* bridge camera, combining interchangeable lenses with a more compact size. lot of money though

 

Or - Panasonic's more reasonably priced offering:

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_...per+Zoom/DMC-FZ38/Overview/2718819/index.html


259
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-panasonic-fz38-digital-camera-black/p1032951

 

Damn....

 

That Micro Four Thirds System is very new and still expensive. It needs special, relatively expensive, lenses. Wheras there are shed loads cheap new, or 2nd hand for Canon and Nikon.

check here for the relative merits:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/PanasonicGF1/

 

I wouldn't go near 4/3rds if i were you! Stick to 1.6 crop or greater *thumbs up*

 

Would you care to expand as to why?

 

Yes - come along! We expect at least a 500-word essay on the subject!

 

Everything else aside... limited equipment puts me off (unless you want a pancake lens)

 

im not too hot on that particular camera, but what is the difference between say a 20mm pancake lens on that and a 'normal' 50mm prime lens and a 'normal' slr? surely they are two of the same thing but one is small and compact and one is bulky and requires a bag?

 

20mm will be wider.

50mm will be much better optically, and they arent that big, ive got a canon 50mm 1.8 and its quite small!

 

20mm on 4/3 is equivalent to 40mm on 35mm film.

50mm on a DSLR is equivalent to ~75mm on 35mm film.

50mm on a full-frame DSLR, or film is equivalent to 50mm on 35mm film (funilly enough ).

 

Just to let all know what happened with this thread...

- I'd tried Crispy's SLR in Sept, with a couple of lenses at an event
- then Dex's SLR in Nov at the rolling road day event (1 lens)
- vw_singh's normal digi camera also
- then another SLR at Brands in Dec (2 lenses)

From the results at Brands (high speed), I must have binned 90 - 95% of what I'd taken, realising there was significant operator error and also the lens swaps were also way too much effort.

So I figured the SLR was a no go. Too bulky (for me), no flippable screen, making it difficult to point it at strange angles. I wanted video and pictures, and I wanted to be able to zoom more than 40 times on optical/digital on one lens, if I really wanted to grab something far away, very quickly. Also the flippable screen I didn't see avail on the SLRs.

I was all set for Dex's sugggestion of the Panasonic Lumix 38, which sounded like a good alternative to try to the Canon S2 1S I'd had, but I then discovered it had a bespoke battery. I always liked being able to fill the S21S with AA batteries from a garage if I was really stuck.

So I ended up going back to the Canons, and bought a PowerShot SX1 1S, which has 10 mega pixels, 20x zoom, and 4 x digital, HD video (1080TP), and a far faster processor than the S2 1S, which means it can also do 4 frames per second, which moves it way forward from my old camera (utter POS in that dept).



So far pleased with it and the improved features from the old S2 1S. I do need to go on a photogprahy course to make the most of it, as there are features on these things which are so non-intuitive, even 3 years with the old one just scratched the surface

Can anyone recommend particular photography courses?

Thanks to all for the input on this thread, and the loan of cameras along the way

 

Looks to be a nice camera... i like the look of that widescreen LCD!

 

Chris - I think Jessops do some for particular cameras (or used to), but their HQ is in Leicester, so don't know if they do them down your way.

YOu could maybe try evening classes for general photography techniques, though now is a funny time of year to start them.

You could try investing in a magazine each month - something like Digital Photo, which also has a CD of Photoshop techniques in each month.

 

One thing; a `bespoke` battery will always last waaaay longer than AAs...

My Canon`s battery lasted me two trackdays, a BTCC event, and a car show, before needing re-charged.

That would be about 12,000+ pictures...

 

^^^^^ He's right!

(as usual )

 

Agreed!

 

It's fair comment, but my opinion on a 30 battery is someone's making a mint.

My personal preference still is to be able to grab batteries quickly from anywhere if I need to, if I've forgotten a charger etc.

 

I've just picked up a great book for mine, it is model specific so the same book for other camera may be pants

I've got D40 digital field guide, has full info of every function of the machine with picture examples, with technical terms and layman's how tos

or so get a hi ampage lithuim ion rechargables as main spares?

 

Some cameras can take both, though not sure about Chris's model.

Yes - a Nikon or Canon battery can cost silly money - 50+ for mine, I think. But you could buy a no-name lithium battery for <20 from 7-Day shop in Jersey and keep that as your reserve.

Unless your model is a particular heavy eater of batteries, you'd be hard pressed to empty two charged batteries in one session, no matter how many pictures you've taken.