Help picking the right camera

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piman2k

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Hi guys

I'm still a newbie here so you'll forgive me if this topic isn't in the right place. I made the best decision I could.

Basically, I've been taking pictures of cars at a totally amateur level for years, as I love them. And I would really really like to get much better at it, so I'm looking to take a step up the ladder. But I'm having REAL problems deciding what to do about it.

The main pics I take are:

  • Static Cars in daylight
  • Static Cars at NIGHT
  • Track action

I've pretty much set my heart on an EOS 450D with the 18-55 kit lens for the daytime pictures. And then I was thinking about getting either a 55-250 IS lens or a 75-300 USM lens so I can get started on track photography and panning techniques. This should come in about £650. Are either of these lenses going to give good night pictures?

But I've also stumbled across the new Fuji S100FS which has 14.3X Optical Zoom, goes to f2.8 and focus' for close ups at 1cm. This is about £400.

So I'm really stuck. I love taking pictures but I want to be able to take good pictures in the day and at night.

Any advice is good advice as I've never ever properly talked about photography, so I consider myself a complete newbie. Thankyou for your time.

Ryan
 
The S100FS looks like a fine camera.

The main restriction on these types of camera is the physical size of the sensor and the speed of camera response (start-up; auto-focus; etc..).

The size of the sensor effects image quality and depth of field. Image quality I expect will still be very high and the difference to that of the 450D may not be a concern to you. The fuji will have a greater minimum Depth of field due to it's small sensor, but again this may not be a show stopper for you because of the types of pictures you are taking.

Advantages of the Fuji, with that lens on the fuji (28mm - 400mm, 35mm equivalent), unless you want to do wide landscapes, you will always have the right lens on.
 
Because you mention night time stuff I'd tend towards the canon. I'd expect it to have better high ISO performance but I'd qualify that by saying I've no knowledge of the Fuji
 
Mr Flash, can you give me any specific reasons?

Will, I figured that the lens on the Fuji would be wicked. Do you think that I'll be limiting what I can do in the future with that camera. I don't intend to spend many hundreds of pounds on a collection of lenses given that my interests lie in automotive stuff.

dod, hi there :) What is it that makes the Canon good at night? Will I be able to get crisp, clear shots under streetlight and such?

Apologies for the 101 questions, I'm so keen to learn and I'm trawling this forum with the search button, but I am loving the help so far!
 
Well, the Fuji is a bridge camera, with a much smaller sensor and no option to change lenses, which means that you'll start to feel limited by the lens as your photography progresses. For motorsport use it will be hopeless and night images at high iso will be very noisy, due to the small sensor.
 
mattyh, I have a great tripod I got from Jessops a few months ago to replace one I had stolen. Grrrrrrrr.

Flash, that sounds really interesting. I have a friend using the S100fs and the night pictures were quite cool, but I'd definitely like to progress my photography. That is after all the point. So it looks like the EOS 450D might be better.

Can you suggest to me a lens that you'd pick to take pictures of moving cars and be able to pan with so the background was blurry? So far I've found (Canon) 55-250 IS and (Canon) 75-300 USM. Both come in at under £200 which is about my budget.

But if you know of a better lens, please put it down here!
 
I'm not a Canon shooter, so there will be others who can advise you better, however I've seen some shots taken with the 450D/55-250 combo and I was very impressed, especially given the price of the lens
 
Okay, well thankyou anyway! That's given me some serious food for thought. As it happens the 55-250 is available in a pack with the 18-55 IS for £615 from Warehous Express. I shall look into it further. Thanks!
 
piman2k said:
Okay, well thankyou anyway! That's given me some serious food for thought. As it happens the 55-250 is available in a pack with the 18-55 IS for £615 from Warehous Express. I shall look into it further. Thanks!
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You could ask Jessops if they will price match or beat that price...
 
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