350d vs Sony DSC H9 "Bridge Camera" etc etc

jimihat

jimihat

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Jim
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Hi guys

Happy 2008 to one and all.

Anyone who has seen my previous posts will hopefully understand that I am a real newby to photography and still very dumb!!!

I have a Canon 350d with EF-S 18-55 USM II kit lens. I have been taking a few nice pics with it but find focus is sometimes very difficult to achieve on anything other than an inanimate object (ie a person) and am not getting on too well with nightime landscape shots (of lit/semi lit buildings etc etc) and wonder if a so called "bridge camera" such as the afore mentioned Sony would be better suited to a pleb such as myself??? I mention the Sony only to give you an idea of the kind of kit I'm talking about so any other suggestions are welcome.

My main questions I suppose are:-
Would the picture quality be anything near that of my 350d?
Would my life be made easier with a different lens/body?
Any other comments or tips are very welcome.

I shoot mainly landscapes and portrait photos as well as some shots of my many musical instruments (example in the link below).
I am going on holiday to Las Vegas in about 7 weeks and want to be totally happy with my kit before I go as the photo ops will be plentiful!!! I will also need something that will be able to handle the nightime neon shots etc.

http://i7.tinypic.com/7x1un92.jpg
 
The picture quality would be similar, but better on the 350D.

You could go ahead and buy a new lens for your 350D - the lens is pretty much the most important part of the camera. The more you spend, the better quality photos you will get.
 
Yup - the focus speed is a lens issue, not a camera issue. Try getting a (Canon) 50mm f/1.8 for the Canon and see what difference that makes over the kit lens. About £50. You'll be blown away. If you're not there are lots of people on here who will buy the lens from you. So, nothing to lose.

The 1.8 bit means it lets in lots of light so will be reasonably capable at doing night time shots, although a tripod / bean bag / friend's shoulder may also be required.
 
Thanks guys; a 50m lens just has one range I take it, ie no closing in or zooming out?
 
To me, it looks like you have some shake on your guitar picture. You need to check your shutter speeds and make sure they are not too slow if you are using the camera handheld. The picture above has a shutter speed of 1/5 second which is way too slow for handheld.

An SLR will reward you with better pictures if you learn how to use it and a couple of pointers for what to look for. I'd look at some books as pointers to explain aperture, shutter speed, ISO and the relationship between them if I were you. One of the big advantages of digital over film is that the camera records the settings, so you can look at the pictures and learn from them as you know what settings were used.

While people talk about buying more kit, I'd try to persevere with what you have and learn how to drive it. The thing about the wide aperture lenses (low f-numbers) is that the amount of picture in focus (known as depth of field) is very shallow and may not always be what you need. The guitar picture could have been rock solid using a tripod and timer release or a remote shutter.

I would say keep trying with the SLR.
 
Good advice above. The kit lens can take great pictures but you need to understand how to get the best from it. That said the 50mm f1.8 is going to be essential for your night time holiday shots in Vegas. (as is a wall to rest the camera on or small tripod). Get it sooner rather than later and start practising with manual or aperture priority settings so you know what you are doing when you get there.
 
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