Advice on new Camera

[Donjon]

I can see from reading that the Camera's being talked about here are a little out of my league but was hoping that someone may have some advise on Camera around the £300-400 mark

I currently use a Canon Powershot A95 which although a few years old now is still quite good. More recently because of a move of house we have become more interested in wildlife and wildlife photography and the camera although ok struggles to pick up colour and also getting close enough to target for a half decent shot is difficult. Im not looking for professional shots and dont expect to reach the quality and clarity of some shots posted here but would like to appreciate more the ones i do get.

I was looking at the Canon Powershot G10 and quite like what i have read but one review mentioned the Canon D1000

Ideally i would like to keep the Camera as compact and light as possible as it will also be used as our main camera while on holidays etc.

Any helpful advice would be appreciated if anyone has used these or other similar cameras.

[Jim Ford]

This looks like quite sound advice regarding the Nikon D40, which you can pick up for around £200:

Recommended Cameras

But I don't suppose you can go far wrong if you follow the crowd and go for Canon.

Jim

[Lancashire Lad]

Hi Donjon,

If you don't want to get into the realms of a full blown DSLR camera system, (The downside of the Canon D1000), with all the additional lenses & accessories which that will inevitably entail, I would strongly recommend that you go for a bridge type camera.

Bridge cameras offer almost all of the major benefits of DSLR's, but in a "stand alone - you don't need anything else but the camera" type of package.

Admittedly, they are not as small as the pocketable types of camera, but they are still quite lightweight, and offer substantially more in the way of specification - and ultimately, photographic opportunity.

I would suggest having a look at the Fuji Finepix S100FS, which is currently selling for about £350.00. (Have a look at some of Snake's Bird images on WAB for an idea of the quality that can be achieved with that camera).

Also, Nikon are just about to release their Coolpix P90 bridge camera, which has a truly staggering specification. It is 12.1 Megapixel, and has 24x optical zoom lens. (= to 26mm wideangle to 640mm telephoto), c/w image stabilizing. It is due for release in Britain in March, but is already being advertised for sale on the net at around £340.00.

Note that the Canon Powershot G10 only has a 5x optical zoom - not too good if you are into bird photography, or anything which would entail long range shots.

Regards
Mike.

[Donjon]

Would like to thank you both for your suggestions

After reading your link Jim and some reviews on other sites, i got dragged from piller to post reading more about SLRs and pluses and negatives. The D40 was going to be my choice till i found out about the D40x but noone had it in stock.

I eventually decided to go for the Nikon D60 camera which seemed very similar to the D40x and with the current Nikon £30 cashback offer it comes in at just little more than the Canon G10 i was looking at but the D60 seems to offer more of what i need than my original choice and also the D40.

Thank
John Stewart

[Lancashire Lad]

Originally Posted by Donjon

.....I eventually decided to go for the Nikon D60 camera which seemed very similar to the D40x and with the current Nikon £30 cashback offer it comes in at just little more than the Canon G10 i was looking at but the D60 seems to offer more of what i need....

The D60 is a fine camera, but without the relevant lenses it will offer you nothing.

You will need substantially more that your originally stated budget of £300-£400 to enable you to purchase the lenses (i.e. telephoto, wide-angle, macro) that you will require in order to be actually able to reap the benefits of the DSLR.

Regards
Mike.

[camo]

Hi

I have a friend who is in a similar predicament and after musch deliberation we agreed that a Bridge Camera was appropriate for him.

I am a devotee of DSLR and am happy to carry a bag full of stuff, get excited about the potential of a new lens and would not appropriately dressed with out a beast hanging from my neck.

But the switch from Compact should only be made if you want everything that comes with it, and once you make that leap you are committed to a life of having the wrong lens attached. A bridge camera with a good optical zoom with produce fabulous pictures and will only be out performed by a DSLR in difficult light conditions, specifc shooting techniques or with a very good Photographer. I accept much of my photography would be as good with a bridge.

However for me there is one big factor; buy a bridge and it will give you years of use and even if you subsequently move to a DSLR it will be useful. Buy a DSLR and you may hate the effort involved in getting a good photo and it will be no use to you except to advertise in Ebay.

Specific to your enquiry I understand the Canon 1000d has good reviews and when I have handled it, it is light and its functions are based on the more elaborate models. The camera comes with a kit lense which is OK and lenses are interchangeable with say the 450D and 50D which are the next levels. The Canon alternative to a 1000D is either an old model (i.e. 350 or 400) or upgrade to next level. I often seen on this site the advice to spend money on glass rather than the body, so if you are spending £400 on a body you can look forward to years of spending on glass.

Roy