Hi from a newbie!

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doodledblue

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Hi all,

I am looking for some friendly advice please! I wouldn't call myself a photographer just someone who enjoys taking photos and admiring others work. Up and until now I have been using just a basic Kodak but as I say I do enjoy it and would like to learn more and have some fun with photography.

I've been offered a Fujifilm Finepix S2950hd and wanted some views. I want something more advanced than the basic point and shoot but nothing that will overwhelm me straight away. I my thinking is a bridge camera would be better rather than just diving right in with a slr and being an all the gear and no idea type of gal!

I like taking scenic shots (beach, overlooking the city etc) but also want to be able to capture the kids growing up and just generally explore.

Any views on this particular model and bridge cameras in general would be fab! Thanks in advance.
 
Bridge cameras are a bit of misnomer IMHO - they're just glorified compacts with a long lens and are a bridge to nowhere.

They can take great pictures though, and if all you want is nice clear snaps then that's the way to go. But they're not much good for action shots because they tend to be a bit laggy and slow to react, and because of their very small sensors everything is almost permanently sharp, so you can't control depth of field creatively and blur backgrounds very easily. Just two serious limitations for serious picture taking.

So if you want to be a bit more creative, a DSLR is by far the best way to go. They are not hard to use - even the top end pro models have full auto modes. Just put it on P, aim and shoot.

Either way, what's you budget?
 
Thank you for your reply. It's very useful and has definitely given me something to think about. Budget wise, think lower end of things. I'd prefer a second hand or refurbished one at present as sensible me doesn't want to put all my eggs in one basket, go out and blow a load of money and be awful or not dedicated enough!

Thank you for your advice, I shall scour the net looking up different types of slr to learn some more.
 
Hi doodledblue,

I'd say take the plunge and go for an entry level dslr camera. A Canon 1100D with a lens will set you back about £400 or i saw comet selling the 1000D that i have for with the 18-55mm lens kit for £329 now the 1100D is out. Yes there is more to learn and it can seem very daunting at first but you do so much more with an slr camera than with a compact or bridge once you've learnt how to drive them. And with an slr once you have the camera body you have a universe of lenses so you have everything from ultrawide angle to 800mm super telephoto. If you can afford the lenses.

And if you get stuck with anything there's plenty of help out there like this forum and lots of books and magazines to help you out too.

In terms of books I'd recommend anything by an author named Michael Freeman. I've read 3 of his books and they're well written, in plain English and are really easy to follow.

With whichever option you decide to go for, good luck.
 
Thanks I have a Canon 1000d on order. Can't wait to have a go.
 
Hi welcome:) Have you bought a lens to go with the body?
 
Hi, just the 18-55mm at the moment. Going to get my head round it then explore lenses. Do you have any recommendations?
 
I bought the S2950 about 3 months ago after years with a Fuji A170compact. Took a while to get used to the 2950 but I have taken some (in my opinion) beautiful pics with it. It is very easy to use, comfortable to hold and I was hooked from day one.

The problem is, I started fiddling with the manual modes and getting a bit clever and have now bowed to the inevitable and bought myself a Canon EOS450D.

I guess that's the "bridge" bit and it worked. I now have all three and will be keeping them all as they all serve a purpose. Just got to keep boning up on how to best use the 450D but the Dummies book has been very useful.

Lenses - oh my god. Don't know where to start...........

BBG
 
Hey there!! Good to have you among us :)

Do you have a name miss?
Looking forward to some pics from the (soon to be) addiction ;)
 
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