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These new camera thingies... ???


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So I would like a considered opinion please from someone who knows...

I am saving hard and was getting to the stage of buying a Digital SLR... (I have an old Nokia F65 and was staying with Nokia as I can then utilise the lenses again... (as long as I buy the right body)... plus I kinda like the old film thing of not knowing what you're gonna get until you open it...

ANYWAY....... I have seen these new compact systems with interchangeable lenses... Marketing gimmck or are they any good?

My usage is holidays/weddings and events/car racing (got a big lens for that)... so lets have your thoughts please - oh can you use other lenses or only specifics?

Thanks

R

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OOOOHHHHH something for me to get my teeth into........

Bridge camera is what you're talking about, they are ok for a snapper that requires a little bit more, but for sports and weddings they just don't cut it... the issue is the size of the sensor the pixels are too small, so when you get to enlarge an image, it will grain out much sooner...... You would be MUCH better off looking at a proper digital SLR from one of the big companies i.e. Canon, Nikon, Pentax Olympus and Sony or Sigma. But be carefull, as 3 maybe 4 of the above use what is called a 4 thirds sensor, whilst bigger than a Compact or Bridge, they can still suffer.

I personally use Canon equipment, and have done for 23 yrs. I know a lot of people who use Nikon, and are just as happy, basically these are the 2 really big players in the market.

I would suggest going to a good camera store and checking out what bundles they have on offer, Canon have a very good starter Bundle at the moment, I'm not sure what Nikon are doing. Also this would give you the chance to actually handle a proper camera to see how they feel and what you like. Another bit of advice, is to buy one that fits your needs, now and for the next year or so as you grow in ability....... It won't be long before your latest toy is out dated, but it is still ore than capable....My camera BODY (just the body, no memory cards etc) was £1200, 6 mths later it was £800 another 6 mths and it was £700. you can now buy my camera body off Flea bay from between £400 and £640....

This is something else you could consider, after having a play in store......

Please feel free to contact me if you need/want any other advice..........

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My advice mate would be to go for a proper dslr is you can afford it but I wouldnt be in a hurry to buy new, go into a decent camera shop and have a play / feel of a few of the newer Canon and Nikon's and see if you prefer one or the other, tbh they are very similar in style and weight shape button design etc but people often prefer one style over the other. Then once you have decided I would then hit ebay up or find a local camera shop that sells secondhand camera and get a model from a couple of years ago as the savings are huge but the quality of pics you will be able to take will be pretty much the same as buying a brand new one ! Something like a Nikon D40 you can probably pick up on ebay with a couple of lenses for £300 easily and that is a great starter camera, then as you get used to it you can add lenses etc and then when you want to step up just buy a new camera body :)

oh and the first thing to do when you get the camera is take it off Auto mode ! ;)

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I looked into getting a Cannon 550d recently. After handlaing a couple i felt i did not need a camera with that many features and it would be wasted as im no professional. I ended up going for a fujifilm hs20 exr. Read a few reviews and went and had a look at one and i really like it. Not to eveyones tastes but it does the job i want and i can adjust majority of setting and even have dedicated buttons and wheels for exposure, apperture and iso etc.

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Although as Adam says before I bought my Nikon I bought a second hand Panasonic Lumix which was like a mini dslr and I learnt loads from it as like Adam I felt the step from nothing to a dslr was too big for me personally so I guess it also comes down to how confident you feel about making use of all the extra features mate ?

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I personally would buy a second hand Canon EOS 40D......High spec and still considered to be a competent machine.......for NOT a lot of money at all.............

But as I said before, go and handle a few, they are different, even though the look the same. EG, Canon cameras are slightly bigger than Nikon and slightly heavier...........

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Although as Adam says before I bought my Nikon I bought a second hand Panasonic Lumix which was like a mini dslr and I learnt loads from it as like Adam I felt the step from nothing to a dslr was too big for me personally so I guess it also comes down to how confident you feel about making use of all the extra features mate ?

Yep exact reason. Anouther year or 2 i will buy an dslr but at the moment im still learning about adjusting all the setting and how to create diffrent styles of photos. Allready learned a lot with my bridge camera and the bonus is it has a manual zoom lens which i like and its got 30x zoom.

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Although as Adam says before I bought my Nikon I bought a second hand Panasonic Lumix which was like a mini dslr and I learnt loads from it as like Adam I felt the step from nothing to a dslr was too big for me personally so I guess it also comes down to how confident you feel about making use of all the extra features mate ?

The new range off compacts are very capable cameras, the problem comes when you want to enlarge, and when you need real creative control....... They also have VERY limited lens range. Having a reasonably specced DSLR is a better bat, and remember, you don't HAVE to use all it's functions to start with....How many times do you shot in FULL manual mode doing your own metering etc... Mostly shot in AV or TV mode as this is usually creative enough for most....also don't forget editing software..........Another whole new world can VERY NEARLY make a bad picture good nowadays!!!!!!!!!

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The new range off compacts are very capable cameras' date=' the problem comes when you want to enlarge, and when you need real creative control....... They also have VERY limited lens range. Having a reasonably specced DSLR is a better bat, and remember, you don't HAVE to use all it's functions to start with....How many times do you shot in FULL manual mode doing your own metering etc... Mostly shot in AV or TV mode as this is usually creative enough for most....also don't forget editing software..........Another whole new world can VERY NEARLY make a bad picture good nowadays!!!!!!!!!

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I think for an enthusiastic starter into digital photography the new range of compacts would be more than capable tbh, plus the zoom on them is so good you often dont need many lenses. I agree that an entry dslr is a better camera but it can also be a much more frustrating option, I often see people get fed up as they cant get as good pics from an expensive dslr as they did with their previous point and shoot.

I always shoot in full manual mode as to me thats the point of having a camera that can do that and I hardly ever edit my pics I like to get them right out of the camera and if I do edit it's obvious I have done ! ;)

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I have a canon 1000d. Its the entry level dslr but its ace. Got it off ebay. Im selling my lenses' date=' they are on ebay at the min. Ive decided to go for one lense covering the whole range. I love it.

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Be VERY careful how large a lens you go for...... A lens going from 15-300mm whilst it may be very HANDY, there will be a HUGE image quality issue...seriously you are MUCH better off having 3 lenses that cover the same focal lengths....18-55, 35-125 and 70-300, or at worst 2 lenses 18-135 and 100-300. I think you might be very disappointed with just the 1 lens in the long run.....

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The ones im getting rid of are 18-55 and 55-250. Gonna buy an 18-200. All canon of course with IS.

I have the 55-250 with IS, as a spare lens, it takes excellent images, and I think you will be hard pressed to better it, especially at the price you paid for it. The 18-55 I'm guessing is NON IS, aparently the new IS version is head and shoulders above the old one, but I would go for the 15-55 if you can find one!!!!!

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Well itll probably stirr up the clucking lol but i sold my canon slr as it was too bug and clunky for my useage and purchased a sony nex 5 which is fantastic.. It has various lenses and is soo much more compact. I can take it anywhere and get it set up in a matter of seconds. The quality is no better than mu cannon!

Food for thought ;)

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