My next step up - Canon S3, Panasonic DMC FZ30 or anything else ?

[RSK21]

Hello,

I've been lurking around this forum for a while having been active in the AV are for some while. Seeing some of the amazing photos which appear on here has made me decide to take the plunge and graduate from my point & shoot Nikon to something which will allow me to be a bit more creative.

I don't feel I'm ready to take the plunge into DSLR quite yet as I feel I need to combine ease of use wth features I can "grow into" and DSLR seeems daunting in that respect - am I being over cautious here ?

So with that in mind I'm loking at the "bridge" style cameras and the Canon and Panasonic listed above seem to be well regarded. Can anybody here give me hands on experinces of eiher of these ? Equally are there other cameras I have perhaps overlooked of a similar nature ?

Budget is £300- £400. Canon can be had for under this and Pana around £345.

[salubrious_k]

I have a Canon 350D and last week I bought my wife a Powershot S3 for her birthday, so this last weekend I've had a fair bit of hands on experience comparing this to my DSLR.

I'd say overall I'm really impressed with the camera, and if it weren't for just a few things I'd actually be jealous. Well - I am jealous I guess, but I'm going to be "borrowing" it lots :D

I'd say it's easy to use and the functionality is well designed and easily accessible, but in contrast to that it's also extremely feature rich, and so it is also complicated to learn how to use.

The image quality is superb (in sunlight anyway, we had good weather), and the colours are handled very well (this is important considering that it doesn't have RAW). I am very impressed with the image stabilisation, in fact indoor handheld shots could be taken at 1/6 second as long as you were well braced. However despite the lens sounding like it has a fast aperture to me (2.7-3.5), it isn't actually fast for the focal length and sensor size, so you find yourself needed the IS in lower light conditions (or when zoomed in). In addition to this point, it is also less easy to get decent bokeh because of the aperture not being particularly fast. I think this must be the case with all compact's though as they have a small sensor.

The other single criticism that I had in comparison to my DSLR (other than aperture) was the amount of noise. It isn't at all bad, ISO 400 shots are completely useable, and ISO 800 are okay for emergencies, but compared to the noise on my 350D it is considerably greater (even than ISO 1600 shots on my 350D).

Overally though, I'd heartily recommend this camera as a very versatile and high quality compact (and as an "entry-level" taster for getting a DSLR). I hope this all makes sense, feel free to ask me anything.

[chris1210]

I wouldn't say the world of the entry level D-SLRs is daunting at all. To get the best out of the fixed lens SLR-like cameras you need to understand the basics of the triangle of ISO-Shutter-Aperture anyway, and its no different to the SLR. Obviously theres the expense, but you can pick up the D50 for £380 with the kit lens, or even on eBay you can get the odd good deal.

So much more versatility, speed is fantastic, quality stunning. I was gonna buy an FZ30 until i changed my mind, there's no way i'd go back now.

[RSK21]

Originally Posted by chris1210

I wouldn't say the world of the entry level D-SLRs is daunting at all. To get the best out of the fixed lens SLR-like cameras you need to understand the basics of the triangle of ISO-Shutter-Aperture anyway, and its no different to the SLR. Obviously theres the expense, but you can pick up the D50 for £380 with the kit lens, or even on eBay you can get the odd good deal.

So much more versatility, speed is fantastic, quality stunning. I was gonna buy an FZ30 until i changed my mind, there's no way i'd go back now.

Hi Chris,

Can you tell me more ? Am interested that you were on the same route as me and changed tack. What would I need to get started in terms of lenses etc and what would this allow me to do ? In short how much am I going to need to spend to start with as I explore the (no doubt limited) bounds of my creativity ?

Apologies as I recognise that this is a bit of a "how long is a piece of string question" but would be really intersted in yur views given it seems you were in a similar position to me.

RSK

[Pirate!!]

Pana FZ30 - a fine camera, now discontinued as FZ50 superceding it. Keep looking for FZ30 bargains!

[chris1210]

Well, to start off with, i (personally) wanted the same kind of focal distances that a good fixed lens camera had, a good range if you like. I therefore bought the kit package with the 18-55 lens along with the highly recommended Sigma 70-300APO. That totalled, brand new @ £520, sounds a lot, but the quality of the kit is brilliant.

So instantly i've got what a Panasonic FZ30, Fuji 9500, or Canon S3 offered me, with the option for never ending changes of lenses etc. It's not until you get your mits on a D-SLR that you begin to realise how straightforward they can be to use (although i made a concious effort to use manual exposure, helped by a great book 'Understanding Exposure').

The quality of images even in a novices hands like man are great, plus you get the fantastic depth of field (or lack of it rather) if you desire, to really make your focused subject stand out from the background. Another massive bonus i found was the optical viewfinder, it really makes you realise how poor an LCD screen of EVF is for composing (never mind manual focusing!).

Once you have the camera body, you're left to choose what road of photography you want to go down, macro, portrait, scenery, sports... and its only a lense or two away - i really love that fact.

Also image noise was a big issue for me as i tend to shoot quite a lot in low light conditions.... whether or not the newer non-slrs are changing im not sure, but up until the FZ20 they struggled even at ISO 400 or 800, where as my D50 is perfectly usable upto 1600. I also havent found that i miss the image stabilisation from them either (yet).

I'd pop to Jessops to try them out....... you mightn't even like the feel of them. Try the D50 and 350D, the 'entry' D-SLR's if you like.... the 350D is a bit smaller and some people prefer that (not me) but more expensive.

Have fun

[salubrious_k]

I think that Chris has given some excellent advice and his description of the pros of a DSLR are spot on.

I would say as a counter argument is that what you gain in quality and versatility, you lose in size and weight. But if you were looking at the DMC-FZ30 or the S3 then that's not exactly a camera you can fit in your pocket, so I don't think you'd be losing much there anyway.

With the DSLR's you don't get Image Stabilisation (or not at a cheap or light price anyway) but the camera's more than make up for that deficit in the speed of the lens and the high but very acceptable ISO levels you can use.

As to being daunted by the features/usage of a DSLR, I wouldn't say that's much of an issue, especially if you are looking to "grow into" the camera. The manual on my wife's Powershot S3 is just as complicated if not more so than my DSLR as there are so many more features.

All you need to get started with a DSLR is a basic understanding of aperture, shutter speed and ISO.

Incidentally, I found a really good short introduction to this on the web the other day that I printed off for my wife to read. Here is is if you're interested: http://www.photosecrets.com/tips.p11.html

[RSK21]

To both Chris & Salubrious,

Thankyou very much indeed for your considered and helpful responses - I think I have a clearer view of where I need to go to now and I'm leaning towards a D50 kit to start off with.

Just need to do a little more bacground reading and the areas to explore and links you have provided are much appreciated.

Many many thanks

RSK

[RSK21]

OK - have taken the plunge and am colecting Nikon D50 from Jessops tonight - clearly didn't need much persuaion and in my herat of hearts I think I knew what I wanted really !

Thanks again guys.

@ Chris the link you sent me was very useful and has set me off looking up a whole load more stuff rather than doing any work today.

@ Salubrious very much enjoyed your photos on Flickr and yes in answer to your question every new husband does think that about his wife. With a bit of luck I'll be able to prove it to mine now with the help of a decent camera !

[salubrious_k]

@RSK21 - Thanks!

Hooray! DSLR's 1 - Ultra Zoom's Nil with a 90th minute scorcher from 30 yards.

You definitely won't regret it! And I'll look forward to seeing some photos online soon.