Mainly directed towards the photo master Ken but other input welcome. We have a basic digital camera, We have camera’s in our phones. But we have a new breed of animals born and bread in our field and would like to photograph them all if we can so we can share this miracle of nature’s cycle with you guys. But the kit that we have got is just not good enough to get a close enough shot. What camera/ lenses should we buy to capture this wonderful experience for all to share? We don’t want to spend shit loads of money but don’t mind forking out a few quid to get a half decent photograph. We have had Canon SLR old style film and Nikon digi camera’s but time matches on and we have no idea what is the best option to purchase. Thank you in advance.
If you need to reach out just that little bit further without the hassle, cost and bad back that a system camera brings you can't go too far wrong than to look here. Bridge | Fujifilm United Kingdom I can't do any deals at the moment though as the Fuji rep's stopped speaking to me for some reason...
What's your budget and what do you want to achieve? Do you need a long or short lens? Camera Price Buster - UK Camera Price Comparison is good to compare products and prices.
Hi, I use a canon 450d slr with a 18-55 and a 75 - 300 lenses. Its got enough zoom in the right light to shoot anything. I have had digi cams for about 9 years after being brought up "proper cameras" but went for the slr 2 years ago when the prices dropped. Just looked on T'bay and there is some great 2nd hand deals. Don't get sucked in with the latest models at the likes of Jessops, unless you are a pro you won't notice the difference, spend it on a quality lens, you'll notice that difference!
Bridge camera! I sold my Canon D-SLR and bought a Nikon Bridge camera. The D-SLR was a massive pain in the arse to take anywhere had to always have more than one lens with me! plus people treat you like you are a weirdo if you point a SLR at them. The Bridge is great, not much bigger than a compact and have taken some superb pictures with it..really impressed. I've taken more photos this year with my Bridge camera than I did with the D-SLR over two years!
Thanks for the information guys. I am not sure how many pixels we need, and don’t see the point in spending loads of money to a mega mega pixel as we don’t intend to blow the pictures up to the size of the wall, ok if we get a really nice one we might want to frame it. We mainly want to try and photograph the animals that are living on our land and the dear that wander past. We also get owls that appear at dusk etc. I think we are going to need a good quality long lens as clearly we can’t get anywear near them. I hear what you are say Gblade about the lens v camera advice. I guess budget would be about 500 quid +/- dependant on what we could get to do the job, I am also guessing that nowadays video also comes as part of the package. We have a family of hares, that have just had their Leverets and it is great to watch them playing around in the field. We are also having a couple of owl nest put up on large poles which we hope will be used next year. We are also going to the closing ceremony of the Olympics so it would be nice to have half good camera to take pictures during that but without having to drag around a suit case full of kit. I am leaning towards a slr and couple of lenses maybe. Or a all in one do it all pretty well type of thing. Open and empty mind at the moment.
Give me £500 and I'll find you a camera that'll do three times more than your requirements that will still fit in your hand bag and enjoy a fortnight's luxury holiday in Tiverton with the change mate. X-S1 | Fujifilm United Kingdom The megapixel race has plateaued out a bit recently as RIP print software lets you blow pictures up beyond their expected size. Bladebhoy's Forth bridge picture was about a 19MB file. At normal printing resolution, this would return about a 10" x 8" print, but my RIP took it to 40" x 30" without pixelation and that was only because I had a 30" roll of paper in the printer at the time. I'm pretty certain it would have gone bigger. Anyway, the overall chip size is important when you only want to concentrate on part of the frame of the image. If you just manage to catch your Leveret in the bottom right hand corner of your shot and need to crop it you've only got 4 million pixels of a 16 million pixel chip to make your picture out of. Modern cameras are able to operate in light levels that the troglodytes who still maintain a claw like grip on film could only dream of, and then only when dreaming under the influence of opiates. The camera above, for example has an maximum ISO rating of 12,800. Compare that to the 200 ISO rating of your run of the mill, holiday snap consumer film. It's zoom lens, which is manual, rather than powered (a godsend, trust me), covers from 24mm, a decent wide angle, to 624mm, a piss taking telephoto, especially when you remember I used to make a decent living out of photographing motorsport with a 200mm lens and a x1.4 magnification lens converter. The most important thing on your camera is the bit of glass you shoot through and the quest for the ideal lens is a long one open for debate at every step of the way. It is extremely difficult to find a bad lens on a modern digital camera that you pay more than £100 pounds for, but on the other hand I have a lens in my loft that, new, cost more than my FireBlade did and now it's value is more that of a doorstop. So, you pick your glass to suit your job. If you need a camera you can grab quick when you see the witch burners congregating in the field, zoom in until they fill the frame and get the shot despite it being twilight on the winter's solstice, you don't need to be working out where your short telephoto zoom's end cap is so you can pack it away safely and clean so you don't get dust on your camera chip before you fit your long telephoto zoom for the shot, that is, if you can find where you put it. If it's important that it has to fit in your shirt pocket, there's a new Nikon, who's name escapes me, that has a zoom lens that looks like a marital aid. But if compactness isn't a necessary factor, I'd go bridge camera. The lenses tend to have more glass, they're easier to hold steady, and even though they're electronic, the viewfinders are proper viewfinders, not ultra bright LCD panels that turn out to be neither bright nor ultra. My SLR only comes out for weddings and only then if my palm is crossed with enough silver to give me Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
No doubting that Ken is the man to talk to. I am a big Nikon fan and use a D2XS DSLR with a selection of lenses, but it isn't ideal all the time, due to size and portability. I am therefore looking at things like the Canon Powershot G11, the Samsung EX1 and then there are a couple of Nikons, one of which as Ken says has a kind of Ann Summers lens. Also look at the Panasonic Lumix range such as the LX5. One thing I would say, is that don't necessarily be swayed by high megapixels. The lens is the key to it all, as that is what transmits the light etc onto the sensor.
I'm in the same quandry. My eldest Birthday is in August and she wants a proper camera. I have a few EFS canon lenses unused as i've upgraded to "L" lenses, so was thinking of a 1100D body only, and giving her the 18-55, 50mm prime and 70-300 Sigma. Anyone know if you can still get the 1100D new????
I'm liking this one and will prob be getting it soon Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 Review: Digital Photography Review I can get an adapter so I can also use my a type DSLR lenses with it
Brilliant camera, very versatile. A friend uses one and he is into caving and gets some cracking shots with it. Well recommended.
I looked at this one recently as a replacement for Jeanette's when her LCD packed up. It was a serious front runner but I can't use a camera without a viewfinder so tried to put her off (no chance). In the end I got a replacement screen for the broken one which only set me back £16 and a sweary afternoon.
Yep, the lack of viewfinder is an issue for me too, which is why the Canon Powershot G11 scores well. I was impressed by the Samsung EX1, but again no viewfinder
We've got a G11 hack here in the office and it's a cracking camera. I need a longer lens, personally, but the quality of the Canon is brilliant.
It is what I think I will go for as my everyday camera. The only and this is a petty thing, is the size of the G11. It isn't quite pocket sized, but I guess you can't have everything. At the end of the day it is a damn sight smaller than the D2XS with 17-55 on.
