i'm new, and dont have a clue!!

[nightshade]

I rather like the look of the Lumix TZ3 but have not seen any reviews
it has anti shake and a 10x optical zoom looks great in black

[Words]

If you are carry scopes with you for bird watching, a DSLR will add to what you carry. May not be a problem (I see you are ex-army!), but they end up being quite bulky with carry bags etc, especially with long lenses. In terms of getting started the Lumix cameras mentioned will do a good job, and are convenient to carry around. They also do video which DSLRs don't.

I started with a similar camera to the Lumix (a Canon S2) and did upgrade to a DSLR after a year of very heavy use. I don't consider it a bad route. I learnt a lot about what I needed with the smaller camera, so knew I would get my money's worth when I upgraded. As for cost... almost everything I buy for the DSLR costs way more than the Lumix/Canon S2 option so in the long run a year of testing with the smaller camera becomes small change.

But if you do plump for a DSLR, you won't be disappointed. Just beware of the cost of lenses!

[nightshade]

Going along the Digi-Scoping route there are several neat small camera options warehouse express used to do a Nikon with a tilt turn back

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by nightshade

Going along the Digi-Scoping route there are several neat small camera options warehouse express used to do a Nikon with a tilt turn back

I think you are thinking of the Coolpix 4500. It has many really good features, I liked the one I bought so much, I bought another in case the first one broke. Without a 'scope you won't getfar with bird pics.

Warehouse Express - Camera Accessories and Lenses, Photography Equipment, Canon, Nikon Digital Cameras

Should give you some food for thought. The link is to general article on digiscoping, so I hope it won't be construed as a commercial endorsement.

[dunkyg99]

thanks so much for all the help so far folks, i am well impressed with this site! so im now getting an idea about costs!!!!!! more than i thought! was thinking about £200, could maybe stretch to £250 if i have to. that seems to put the fz50 into reach, just! any more thoughts given that budget? also, i will be "hunting" kingfishers, garden birds and anything else i come across whilst out walking in my local park!!

[Dan Salter]

Yes with that kind of budget your prob looking at the FZ30 or 50...

I dont want to scare you but some of the lenses alone for the proper Digital SLR cameras for bird photography (used by the "hobby/semi pro" photographers just on this site) are well into the thousands. then again....some of the binoculars we all use can be around the £900 - £1200 price range....the world of OPTICS is very expensive at the serious end...you truly DO get what you pay for with scopes, binoculars, cameras, lenses, microscopes etc....

granted there are binoculars available for £80 - £100 but within 6 months you will be thinking about that £300 pair...and when you get those and your mate has some top of the range swarovskis or Leicas (£900 - £1200) you try them and really start to see what binoculars are meant to do !

Check out some of MATTXYZ's photos (click his name in the blue list if he is online)...some of his macro or bird photography was shot on an FZ30/50 (albeit with the add on adaptors) and it was enough to prompt me to buy one! ( i just havent had the time to learn the camera properly yet) and there are other FZ users on here getting amazing results!

lastly...if your tight on budget....the FZ50 supersedes the FZ30...BUT there is very little difference and some even say the FZ30 is better....my point is it can be found cheaper than the FZ50 in shops or on ebay as its an older model

[chiglet]

Dunk
I freely admit to being a Nikon fan [I've still got my Nikkormat FTN bought in 1970] so am biased....
However as has been said. Good equipment ain't "cheep"...but [I hate that word] you will [sooner or later] have to bite the bullet...and "think about Upgrading".....
I gave my Fuji5200 to the g/f. Not because it was not a good camera..far from it. [Some images are posted on this site] but because it had a "Time Lag" on pressing the shutter.
A [true] DSLR has no descernable time lag. Essential for "action" photography. OOI the Fuji has an SLR equivelent lens of 35-290mm. So that type of camera could be an option.
Slightly disjointed 'cos I've been up for 22 hours. But I hope this helps
Luck in the future
Chas

[dunkyg99]

hey folks, im kinda starting to get the idea, albeit slowly!! so take the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3, how would that compare to the fz50? im only seeing the optical zoom but theres a huge price difference so what else am i looking at? all comments gratefully appreciated and i appologise in advance if im taking up your time asking dumb questions!!

cheers, Dunk

[nightshade]

The best way is go and look at the suggested cameras.I started digital with a tiny Minolta and soon moved on to a Minolta with a built in telephoto similar
to the Panasonic fz30 then onto a Nikon D70s (which was replaced under insurance ) to the current and very excellent Nikon D80.
The waste of money getting to the D80 appalles me why not look on sites for offers on DSLR bodies only 7 day shop has body offers and £100 cash back from Canon for instance

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by dunkyg99

hey folks, im kinda starting to get the idea, albeit slowly!! so take the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3, how would that compare to the fz50? im only seeing the optical zoom but theres a huge price difference so what else am i looking at? all comments gratefully appreciated and i appologise in advance if im taking up your time asking dumb questions!!

cheers, Dunk

The TZ 3 is a good camera but not necessarily the best for bird photography - although it has the "same" optical zoom (ie 10x) as the fz50 the tz zooms from 28-280mm (35mm equivalent) , while the fz goes from 50-500mm

you can probaly find a fz50 or fz7 available in your price range and this will be a good camera to get you started - however it might be asking a bit much of it to get things like kingfisher which are notoriously hard for even pro spec cameras to lock on to.

you could alternatively look at getting a second hand DSLR such as a canon 20D or 350D - which can usually be found for arround 200 notes , and a second hand 90-300mm zoom (arround 70-100 notes) which would also be enough to get started with - you could then save up for one of the budget long lenses like the sigma 170-500 or 135-400, which are about 400 notes new or arround 250 for a good second hand example.

or you could get a second hand film slr - you will get more for your money - for example canon eos 3 s which were once the top amateur model (the iv was the pro one) can now be had for under 300 notes - however if you go that route remember that you will have the running costs of getting film developed and printed. Before i went digital i spent somewhere in the region of 800 notes on D&P in less than a year.