Some technical advice for the new kid

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Deadeye Duck

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Andy
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Hi guys & gals,

I'm in the process of deciding what DSLR to buy having used S5600 for a while and now wanting to upgrade, however I won't start another A200 vs D40 thread as there's about 90 million when I search, so I'll just happily read through all that to make up my mind.

The reason I started this thread is to ask for a wee bit of advice about the differences I am to expect from my current S5600 to a 18-55/70 kit lens of a starter DSLR.

Looking at the lens on my current camera, it says:
"10x Optical f=6.3-63mm 1:3.2-3.5 ø55"

trying to compare this to the specs of kit lenses is causing my brain to implode as I just can't seem to work out which bit is associated with what.

I know 10x is the amount of zoom I can get that wont be processed digitally, and that ø55 is the thread size for filters but the bits like f=6.3-63mm is confusing the life out of me because i cant help but think f stops are not measured in mm and 63 is a bit of a big number to associate with f, and how can it be a ratio of 1:3.2-3.5, surely it's one or the other?

There's obviously something I'm missing here but I just can't see it for looking...

All help will be greatly appreciated,
Andy.
 
Ok, firstly the "zoom"
A DSLR Kit lens will not "Zoom" now where near as far as your S5600 would, but then again your bridge camera has to cater for a long focal range because its a fixed lens.

Forget about the zoom, you just buy more lens.

F numbers are F-stops. In basic terms, the lower the number (wider the F-stop) the more DOF(Depth of feild) will be in your shot - meaning it will blur the background and Visa-versa.

At First when I made the move across, I wonder WTF I had done, I lost all that "Zoom" and Spent a fortune doing it, But dont let that put you off, there are plenty of len's out there to get you back in range.

Wiki : F-stop and you will learn everything you need to know :)
Or

click here:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Wiki:+F-stop&l=1
 
the max f stop will change as you increase the zoom. it is common on most lenses other than the top end stuff normally. i think the kit lens is f3-5.6 ish.so f3 at 18mm and f5.6 at the 55mm end.

if the lens only mentions one f number, then it is a fixed f stop across the entire range( eg the 70-200 f2.8s 24-70 f2.8 etc)
 
Cheers buddy(ies).
Yeah, I worry a bit about what I'll lose in the step up but like you said I'll soon have it back when I buy more glass.

Cheers for link, it made me chuckle.

EDIT: thanks for the other link, I didn't spot that on previous searches. I may be a while in my next reply, I'm not the fastest reader haha.
 
The f=6.3-63mm part refers to the focal length of the lens, and as it's a 10x zoom, the number goes from 6.3mm to 63mm (10x). The ratio after that is the aperture. Aperture numbers are actually a ratio of the lens diameter to the focal length, so 1:3.2 is the ratio at the wide end of the zoom (6.3mm), and 1:3.5 is the ratio at the long end of the zoom (63mm). Normally these are just called F numbers as other people have pointed out, and the "1:" part is dropped, so you have an F number of 3.2 going down to 3.5 at each the long end of the zoom. Zoom lenses often have varying F numbers, but not always...
 
I went from a bridge camera to a D60 twin lens kit. I had 10x optical zoom with the equivalent 35mm focal length of 350mm. The 55-200mm on my cropped sensor gave me the equivelent 35mm focal length of 300mm. I compared both at full zoom and there was very little difference. I would not try to compare the bridge camera to a DSLR when looking at F stops as it gets too complicated for beginners(that includes ME).

So in short you wil need at least 200mm to get close to you 10x from your bridge camera.


There was only 1 reply when I started typing :bang:
 
You are in the same boat as I was a few weeks ago. I was considering the D90 but eventually went for a D40x and boy am I glad I did. The D90 would have been far too advanced for my first DSLR whereas the D40x is much easier to get to grips with from a beginner's point of view.

You will not be disappointed with either camera. I can assure you. From there you can then graduate through the range and learn a bit more as you go.
 
Yeah, I've managed to push my budget up to about £300, after about 6 months of ums and ahs, I've narrowed it down to those two. Now I just need to make a decision. I'm actually looking forward to the bigger bodies of the DSLRs as I found it hard to get a comfortable hold on the fuji at times and I don't even have big hands.

I picked up the a200 body in ASDA while doing a bit of shopping with the other half, however after setting the security thing off about 3 times i a minute because it was unbelievably sensitive, i gave up without so much as putting both hands on the thing :|
 
Get yourself down to somewhere like Jessops where you can have a proper play with them. The cameras that is....
 
Yeah, I'm going to head down there and a few other places tonight (late night shopping ftw). The last time I went into the local jessops it was run by canon fanboys and it was a bit annoying because unless i litterally shouted at them, they spent the entire time looking uneasy and telling me to get a 450d instead:

"whats your budget?"
"oh about 250 to 300, I was looking at the a200 and the D40..."
"Ah, in all honesty I think you should get a 450d instead, I wouldn't trust sony or nikon"
"why not"
"just dont, but seriously you'd be better off with a 450d"
"are you going to sell me one for £300?
"well, no..."
"well stop banging on about it them!"

Since then, I've found out theres another one in town though. Please tell me they're not all like that?
 
Sainsburys had some canon's for £199 a while back, no doubt all gone now!

The f-stops affect the shutter speed at a given ISO.

Think 2.8 or less = expensive lens, really blurred out backgrounds and high shutter speeds.

For focal lengths <50mm = wide, >300mm = long zoom (all in "35mm equivalent" terms).

Hope that helps.
 
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