newbie starting needs advice!

[johntychwith]

hi there i have got a lumix tz3 but want to advance to a digital slr, im totally new to this and will have around 500 pounds to spend on an slr. any ideas on which piece of kit would suit me best?? i live up in the welsh hills so landscape pics are easy to get around here!! thanks guys, heres some pics i took on my trip to NZ a few weeks ago with my lumix digi. thanks !!

 

[Boynielaad]

If you live in the hills and want to do landscape you'll need to consider a wide angle lens. Remember digital multiplies the focal length of your lens by c. 1.5x Hence, to get a 24mm equivalent (what, in 35mm terms, was a pretty standard landscape lens) you'll need around 18mm focal length - some kits have this as a zoom.

You may also want to start looking at the fast jets which come your way - check out some of the spectacular captures on the motors / transport forum.

Go to a shop and try as many as you can.

None of the manufacturers are (really) any better than the others and no-one can tell you what suits you best.

Consider what older lenses you may be able to use on new equipment eg; some of the older Minolta AF lenses are excellent on the new Sony Alphas.

 

[AndyB]

Depending on the SLR you choose it might have a crop factor that alters the angle of view (not the focal length). So on a crop sensor DSLR you want to look for the wide angle zoom lenses in the 10-20mm ranges. On a full frame look for something like 17-40mm.

Thats only a suggestion based on what most people regard as a landscape format but you don't necessarily need to go that wide.