Help - what type of camera do I buy ?

justa1972

justa1972

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Apologies for the unoriginality of my question but I am generally confused and in need of advise !

I have been taking photos as a hobby for about 10 years, just when I go on holiday or weekends away - landscapes and capturing the beauty of French/Italian villages and countryside is what tends to inspire me - along with the beautiful landscapes we have nearer to home such as the Lakes and Cornwall.

I genuinely have very little knowledge about the science behind photography - i have recently borrowed a basic book from the library and have begun to learn about aperture, shutter speed and something they keep banging on about - depth of field....

Family and friends tell me I have a good eye for a photo but I think my passion is capturing a photo or a scene without spending half an hour deciding what ISO I need..

I have always used compacts and have always been put off DSLR's for these reasons

1 - Size
2 - Weight
3 - Complicity
4 - Price

However, my last camera was a bridge camera (Panasonic FZ-28) and I really enjoyed the zoom and having a wider angle lens. So of course this has led me to wonder if I should consider a DSLR...

Is there such a difference in picture quality ? I only tend to take lots of photos if the weather is nice and I only view them on my 20" iMac.

The thought of carrying a huge bag around with 2 or 3 lenses in it whilst walking along the South West Coastal Footpath does not exactly float my boat too be honest - perhaps I am lazy...

I have looked at the smaller 3/4 slr's including the G1's or G10's but they are right at the top of my budget and at the moment I could only afford one lens.

I am going on holiday next Friday without a camera unless I buy one before ! I like the look of the new Panasonic FZ45 but there are no reviews yet !

I am totally undecided what type of camera to go for nevermind the model !

If anyone has been in a similar situation and has advice I would be glad to hear it

many thanks
 
A DSLR will offer you the best option regarding the images it can take, however, unlike the Bridge camera's, there isn't a lens that is a jack of all trades, so you would need 1 as a general walkaround lens, with wide angle capability, and mid zoom and a long zoom.

As you've mentioned, the G1's at the very top end of your budget say £350/400 personally I would point you in the direction of another bridge camera, especially as you also said, you just want to point and shoot, capture the moment, rather than work out what to set.

So perhaps a bridge camera that you can P&S, however, with full manual control, so when you want to play with the settings you can.

The best advice is go to your local camera shop and try out a few camera's

Canon S90 (baby brother) to the canon G11 are both great camera's and have manual control of the settings, Panasonic do a good selection of camera's, so do Sony, I bought earlier on this year the HXV5, ok it's just a P&S, very limited manual control, but the panoramic sweep function for landscapes is a great feature, used it in the lakes instead of the DSLR because it fit in pocket size, and was impressed with the results.
 
Last edited:
pete.rush said:
A DSLR will offer you the best option regarding the images it can take, however, unlike the Bridge camera's, there isn't a lens that is a jack of all trades, so you would need 1 as a general walkaround lens, with wide angle capability, and mid zoom and a long zoom.
Click to expand...

That's what the likes of the Nikon 18-200 lens are for....
 
Your background is similar to mine. I went and splurged on a D90 and a few lenses and honestly, I think I should have bought the D40, a tripod, a flash, and two lens and I would have been happier. People I find put waaaay too much emphasis on cameras and not enough on lenses and technique. I've taken shots with bridge cameras and compacts that compared favorably (in style and feeling if not in image quality) with those taken with DSLRs. Everyone talks about everything being tack sharp but really I feel it's overrated unless you're aiming to go pro. Style and feeling is far more important for my needs - but then I'm not shooting commercially. And even if I was shooting pro I'd grimace at using anything larger than a D90 although I know my editors and clients would prefer full frame cameras like the D700, D3 and D3X.

Buy a camera you can grow into but not too ahead of the pack. You won't regret spending more on lenses anyhow. That's about the best advice I can give.

And read up lots. :)
 
I'm with Pete Rush on this I think good Bridge camera is your best bet as your areas of interest do not seem to cover any areas that desperately need a DSLR (e.g.Sport).
 
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