experienced photographers about?

dandare

just following on from others, the lenses for dslr are quite expensive but going for a good quality lens is important, like someone said a good fixed lens. if you think you need to zoom in/out use your feet, it'll change the image slightly but the quality is there.
but like others have said it all depends what you want to shoot, how you want to print etc

BillScarab

I'm still saving for a dSLR but I remember the difference in going from a good quality 35mm compact to 35mm SLR. I'd definitely go for a dSLR if you want to try and be creative.

Personally I don't like the idea of the 'bridge' cameras they cost virtually as much as dSLR but without the flexibility.

crox

I've just been on a training course to learn how to use my EOS 400D, there were several people using bridge cameras and there was little difference between the results of dslr and bridge cameras, but then we were all newbies.
Bridge cameras have advantages such as macro work, hard to get close with a dslr unless you fork out for a macro lense, there are other advantages such as you won't be changing your lense so you won't get dust on your sensor.
I did notice that the chap I was working with was struggling to find the settings on his Nikon D50 a lot more than I was with my 400D.

toasterman

Thankyou to everyone for your comments. You've certainly given me a lot to think about and some good honest websites to check out.

Just so I'm sure - what is the deciding factor when shooting at night?
What do I need to look for in a camera to show me how well it will perform at night?
Is there anything in the specs that will help me with that?

I don't think I'd be interested in the Fuji because I've tried a few before and have fallen out with the LCD screens. They seem to be quite dark when taking photos, but backlit much brighter when viewing a picture you've just taken.
The result is me frustratingly taking pictures not being able to see anything, then checking back to find I've taken a picture of someones head - and not the band playing on stage above them.
My current old one is a Fuji, but I tried a newer one a friend of mine was selling and it seemed to do the same....its weird.

I think I'll likely go with a Panasonic because on one of those sites recommended here I found some great night shots. Plus you can do closeup shooting, and the 12x optical zoom would have really helped me out trying to get a good shot of something at Longleat at the weekend that didn't want to say hello to paying visitors

[Deleted User]

I've got the older model of the 12x zoom, the Panasonic Lumix FZ5, i believe it's up to FZ8 now. It's a truly kick !!! camera. I've got a lot of weddings to go to this year; the last one I went to they decided my photos were nicer than the paid-for photographer (I did stand over his shoulder a lot)

I believe the newer models have a joystick for more manual control of settings. I've not tried many night photos; the stabiliser means jack all at night really, you need a tripod.

Here's a picture from the last time I went to the zoo with my Lumix..



Larger version here http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=54025315&size=o

The only night shot I had online, from the last lunar eclipse. Taken on a tripod with 2 second delay and after much messing with manual exposure settings



I wish I had a good reason to upgrade, but it's 5mp of joy to use and I see no reason to part with it

Have a look here for examples of night photography with the FZ7 http://www.flickr.com/cameras/panasonic/dmc-fz7/

toasterman

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Here's a picture from the last time I went to the zoo with my Lumix..
<snip>
The only night shot I had online, from the last lunar eclipse. Taken on a tripod with 2 second delay and after much messing with manual exposure settings

Have a look here for examples of night photography with the FZ7 http://www.flickr.com/cameras/panasonic/dmc-fz7/

Thanks for that Ringo.
The moon looks great. And the zoo picture is hitting the sorts of cool I was looking at in the EOS sample images that had swayed me away from the Panasonic in the first place.

Lyrrad

This may be of help

[url]Http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a?topic_id=1841&category=Panasonic[/url]

Panasonic's have noise issues at relatively low iso. I believe some models struggle at anything above iso200. It's the Leica lens badges that help to sell these cameras. Leica do know how to make lenses, but one should bear in mind that a very high percentage of lenses manufactured by Leica are normally for the rangefinder cameras and these lenses are not zoom or even auto focus at prices way beyond the cost of of any Panasonic camera

sco0ter

I got the Nikon D40 when it was on offer at currys. This was an essential buy for me because my old Dimage Z3 couldnt keep up with my daughter. No matter what settings it just wasnt fast enough to capture the action shots, and with the speed she moves I had to take the plunge.

I must say I was impressed with the reviews of it and how it compared to the D50 and D70. It is fast enough to capture photos without any blurring and in sharp focus and thats on the Kiddie setting. The sports setting and multi shooting settings are unbelievable for capturing moving objects. The 0.18 second start up time means its ready to shoot straight away with flash so no action is missed and it performs unbelievably when there is strong backlight.

The only thing I will say is that The card currys gave me with it was actually too slow for the camera and slowed down the multi shot setting but I replaced that with a Maxell X-series 2GB and it now shoots at full speed. This has been a great buy and I have taken some really nice portrait shots of my wife and daughter as well as shots of her playing and they have all been sharp and colour has been great.

If you are looking for a good review site try this

http://www.dpreview.com/

It does go right into the whole technical side of things as well but will tell you all you need to know before you buy including photo comparisons and samples.

0--ryan--0

I was in the same boat Toaterman and endud up going for the Canon 350D and I was blown away by the pictures. It will require a steady learning curve to take full control of the camera but the shots are worth it!!! I would say teh Canon Entry level dSLRs are fantastic.

JonnyThunder

If you're looking for decent prices in the UK, try out Warehouse Express

I agree though, DSLR is the way forward. You'll likely pay more, but you'll get great results. And being able to use the lens you want for the situation is a huge plus. Non-SLR cameras allow some amount of lens changing (sometimes) but its on a different scale with SLR.