Bridge v's D-SLR

[andy_fozzy]

Hi all.
Need some advice here.
I own a Canon 400D and various lenses, which doesn't get used much these days, so I'm thinking of selling it and getting a decent bridge.

Trouble is, I'll miss the quality of the 400D, so was wondering which bridge cam is going to be best in terms of quality for me.
I know nothing will be D-SLR quality......

Any idea's?

Thanks, Andy

[pixelpixel]

I am a bridge owner and I am looking to go the other way shortly I have a Sony dsc-h7.

I think the Canon G9 is what your looking for. One of the forum members has one, have a look at his flick site

Update: Just seen this

[Pirate!!]

Tough choice, but the leader of the pack is still the Panasonic DMC-FZ50. However, IF you can find one, look for the Sony DSC-R1. No longer made, it was (and still is) a class leader in the bridge/prosumer sector.

The problem was simply Sony priced it too high, so you could by an entry level dSLR for less. Anyway, that's history. I'm looking for one at the moment to replace my FZ3.

[loz]

I wouldn't say the FZ50 was the leader PQ wise.
It is a great all rounder with a fine telephoto.
But the small sensor packs in too many pixels and noise raises its head very early on. Combined with aggressive noise reduction it led to poorer PQ above ISO100

Looks for the replacement from Panasonic though, as they have acknowledged its weakneses and promise the next generation won't suffer.

PQ wise, the new Fuji S100FS sounds good as they fitted it with a larger sensor than normal in order to combate noise.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08...ujifS100FS.asp

Either way - on paper at least - this is one of the more promising cameras we've seen thus far in the build up to PMA, and we'll be interested to see how it performs in the real world; noise and the lack of dynamic range are the two most common issues facing current small-sensor models.

The daddy was the Sony R1 with a proper APS-C CMOS sensor. A lot of people are longing for Sony to introduce a replacement for it...

[Habanero]

Originally Posted by Pirate!!

However, IF you can find one, look for the Sony DSC-R1. No longer made, it was (and still is) a class leader in the bridge/prosumer sector.

That's interesting, as I'm also considering seeing if I can pick up an R1 as a first digital camera whilst waiting for the EOS 5D to be updated.

[loz]

Originally Posted by loz

IPQ wise, the new Fuji S100FS sounds good as they fitted it with a larger sensor than normal in order to combate noise

Mind you, this hands-on might put you off
http://gizmodo.com/350970/hands-on-f...-faux-dslr-why

As they say, if you are going to buy something as big and expensive as a DSLR, then why not buy a DSLR...

[Habanero]

Originally Posted by loz

As they say, if you are going to buy something as big and expensive as a DSLR, then why not buy a DSLR...

I guess the S100FS could be ideal if you don't want to bother with interchangeable lenses and the dust issue. It sounds possible that it could be a step up from some of the physically smaller superzooms in terms of image quality. I think Gizmodo also made it look bigger by zooming the lens out to maximum length and attaching the hood for all their photos.

[loz]

Originally Posted by Habanero

I guess the S100FS could be ideal if you don't want to bother with interchangeable lenses and the dust issue. It sounds possible that it could be a step up from some of the physically smaller superzooms in terms of image quality. I think Gizmodo also made it look bigger by zooming the lens out to maximum length and attaching the hood for all their photos.

And of course there aren't many DSLR 28-400mm F2.8/5.0 lenses.
And if there were, they would be a lot bigger than the S100FS's.

Equally, find a DSLR that also takes movies.

So it isn't all as negative as gizmodo would have. But I agree with them that it is still a bit big though compared to other bridge cameras.

But it could be an ideal walk about camera if the PQ is as good as they claim.

The other negative I saw but I couldn't find any confirmation of was that it only has a "dumb" hotshoe for an external flash, which would be disappointing.

[andy_fozzy]

Thanks for your input guys

That new Fuji looks like just what I'm after.
All I can find is a release date of March 08.
I wonder if that USA or here or both?