Need help buying a camera

[Tringa]

I think Mike has summed up the things you have to think about very well. I can add only one other thing. There is also weight to consider. I belong to a Photography forum where most folks have DSLRs and lots of kit, but a number are also considering getting a decent smaller camera just because the full DSLR kit is heavy.

Dave

[Budding Ecologis]

Thanks for all of the help guys. I have purchased the Fuji FinePix HS10.

I have only had it for a couple of days and so far I am really liking it. Cheers

[squishy]

Good luck with your new camera.

My fuji was a fantastic learning step.

[nigel_b]

How does it go? "This thread is useless without pics!"

Love to see some results from the HS-10

[Budding Ecologis]

Nigel-B, These are a couple of the pic's I have taken so far.

[Batnovice]

Originally Posted by wizzo

P.s....where are you based? Also, the 'Bigma' I mentioned may be 150mm - 500mm (Much the same thing though, as you'll probably be spending most of your time at the long end anyway lol.!) Good luck!

Not convinced by 150-500 lens - I have a the tamron version the big issue is weight - to have decent glass in the lens make it heavy.

remember with a digital APS-C sensor that gives an effect mag of 1.5 over a 35mm sixed sensor - so a 300mm lens is equivalent to a 450mm

I'd go for a good 300mm zoom and a 90/100 decicade macro - if you occasionally need more than 300mm then think about a 2x multiplier lens for the 300mm - not as good quality as a native 600 but probably OK.