To much choice DSLR or FZ50

[Anastie]

I used to do masses of photography. But over the years got bored carrying around different lenses. Then discovered digital photography and enjoyed having the all in one zoom lens. Loved the no more large bag full of lenses and flashes to carry around. A couple of years ago I bought a Panasonic FZ3 which I love. It gave me a great lens and compact size.

I am now after a change! Looked at Nikon D40, Olympus E410 and at a Pentax K100.

All DSLR's. But I then saw the FZ50. Not to much cheaper than the others but cheaper and one lens!!

I like depth of field preview, and compact size. Any thoughts on my choices? I wonder looking at this if I may have decided on the one lens panny solution. I just don't want to regret not going DSLR!!

Thanks

[Pirate!!]

Ahoy!

OK, so take this as Pirate's golden nugget advice. Mmmmmmmmmm! Right. FWIW, you can get a Sony Alpha A100K (even off eBay) for circa £350.00. You can also get a Pentax K100D from Argos for £279.99 with kit lens. Not as good as the Super version, but hey! Good enough.

Panasonic DMC-Fz50 (IMHO) is still the leader of the prosumer/bridge pack with one exception, the Sony DSC-R1. OK, so the Panasonic's have theoir shortcomings in terms of noise. Nothing new there. Easily sorted with noise reduction software.

There are other makes with better IQ (Fuji for example) that reportidly have better IQ, but no image stabilisation (OIS). For any long zoom camera at 300mm or thereabouts, OIS ought to be a major consideration), otherwise it's tripod time (not always convenient).

Frankly, for the price, I would look (again on eBay) for the Olympus E510 2 lens kit.

I also have the Panny FZ3 and am currenly looking at both the Sony R1 and Panny FZ8 as potential replacements. Nothing wrong with the FZ3 per-se.

So, in conclusion, here's my shortlist (subject to your budget) and in no particular order

DSLR

Pentax K100D kit from Argos (or K10D) - (also look at Samsung GX-10) + Sigma 70-300mm APO DG Macro from OneStop Digital.
Olympus E510 2 lens kit via eBay - general decent dSLR with LV
Sony Alpha A100K (eBay) - prices dropping fast. New models released.

PROSUMER/BRIDGE

Panasonic DMC-FZ50, FZ18 or FZ8
Sony DSC-R1 (if you can find one cheap enough) - try eBay
Fuji (various models) - no OIS

Personally, and I reiterate, I don't know your budget, the Pentax K100D looks good. Why go prosumer for the same money as dSLR? This is why the Sony R1 went belly-up . . . overpriced!

Good luck. Let us kow what you decide.

[onefivenine]

By the sounds of your past experiences I think you'll regret not going dSLR.

You could - for instance, get an 'all-in-wonder' 18-200mm lens with Image Stabilising, on a dSLR, and no compact/bridge/P&S will compete with it...

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by onefivenine

By the sounds of your past experiences I think you'll regret not going dSLR.

You could - for instance, get an 'all-in-wonder' 18-200mm lens with Image Stabilising, on a dSLR, and no compact/bridge/P&S will compete with it...

Here Here I think you will end up regretting not getting a DSLR you are used to the flexibility that they give and the time will come
Maybe not today maybe not tomorrow but one day LOL

you don't have to hump loads of kit around

[Yandros]

D40+kit lens, and a Nikon 18-200mm VR

Yours for £693, then put the 18-55mm kit lens on ebay

Lightweight all-in-one image stabilised DSLR!

The only thing it lacks is DOF preview unfortunately

[Brammers]

I second the previous advice - cheap DSLR + a superzoom lens, 18-200 or 18-250. Make sure you get one of the stabilised ones (Nikon 18-200 or Sigma 18-200) or a body with stabilisation (Sony, Pentax). DSLR superzooms are slooooooow at the long end, you'll need the stabilisation in anything but the brightest sunlight there. I still fondly remember my Minolta A2's 28-200 2.8-3.5 - imagine that in DSLR size today!!!

I don't think Olympus do superzooms? Someone correct me pls!

The AF will be better, write speeds faster and high-ISO performance will largely offset the lens speed. Better viewfinder too.

DoF preview... Is it really that good? You're aware that it's not accurate - it just gives a rough idea? The only thing I ever use mine for is demonstrating what an aperture is...

[Pirate!!]

I love my DoF button Brammers! Night shots make the most of it (I tried it in NY). The difference in the viewfinder when adjusting aperture and having the DoF button pressed on the A100 will nail the image from OOF to in-focus. Not essential granted, but a nice tool.

[Brammers]

Yeah, it shows a difference for sure. But you do know that the DoF previewed in the viewfinder isn't the same as in the final shot? It's only an estimate. And seeing as we all know that small aperture = large DoF... I just don't see the point really.

[Pirate!!]

Well my ol' chummer . . . I likes me DoF button. Like I said, it aint essential, but it does help. Surprising really . . watching OOF bits of an image come into focus when pressing and turning buttons/dials.

A darned nice feature (IMHO), which I really wish Sony had retained. So . . that's 2 bottles of vino collapso down my neck!

Time for the anti-freeze! Actually, (off topic), I'm looking to aquire another cam for 'her indoors'. The FZ3 is OK, but the viewfinder is small. LV is OK FWIW. Looking for Sony R1 (eek) or Panny FZ8 (ahh). The latter looks fave @ the mo. There are some right muppets on eBay!

[Brammers]

Well my ol' chummer . . . I likes me DoF button. Like I said, it aint essential, but it does help. Surprising really . . watching OOF bits of an image come into focus when pressing and turning buttons/dials.

I just don't get what it actually does for you... You already know that the DoF gets wider, but the DoF preview won't actually tell you how much wider - it just gives a rough idea. To me this makes it useless. Note that old film SLRs did actually show the exact DoF - they didn't use the crazy viewfinder technology that screws it up today, so to me this has to go down as one of those legacy features like top LCD screens - something that's simply been replaced nowdays.

[stylgeo]

What do you mean it is not accurate? If the DOF preview button closes the aperture at the excact f-number you set your camera, then, if only darker, the image would be exactly the same recorded in your sensor as the one you see reflected through the pentaprism!

[Yandros]

Originally Posted by stylgeo

What do you mean it is not accurate? If the DOF preview button closes the aperture at the excact f-number you set your camera, then, if only darker, the image would be exactly the same recorded in your sensor as the one you see reflected through the pentaprism!

Err, no I don't think so. I believe the DOF you get though the viewfinder (wide open or stopped down via DOF preview) is about 2 stops off.

[Brammers]

What do you mean it is not accurate? If the DOF preview button closes the aperture at the excact f-number you set your camera, then, if only darker, the image would be exactly the same recorded in your sensor as the one you see reflected through the pentaprism!

Nope. That's what should happen. What actually happens though is that the viewing screen in your camera is 'oiled' - the matt glass messes around with the light. The advantage is that you can see the effect of focus with slow lenses - the disadvantage that depth of field is no longer correct.

Take a zoom lens. Start at wide - say f2.8, and zoom it in to say f5.6 at 70mm - or whatever. The viewfinder should get 2x as dark as the lens loses 2 stop of light. Does it?

[tdodd]

18 months ago I faced a similar decision. Back then I had narrowed my choice down to an FZ30 or some sort of DSLR. I had a Pentax 35mm SLR, a flash and three lenses from back in the 80s, when I used to be a hobbiest, but had slipped into happy snappy mode over the years with little 35mm P&S cameras.

It was a very tough choice whether to spend £340 on the FZ30 or a whole lot more on a full blown DSLR and one lens, just for starters. I am a bit of a stickler for quality, performance and VFM in my purchasing decisions. The clincher was when I actually tried out an FZ30 in the shop. I hated it. The EVF was horrible and grainy, and lagged terribly when following a moving subject or just panning around to explore compositional options. Based on that alone I knew I would not be content. Throw in the lousy high ISO performance, slow AF for sports, shutter lag etc. etc. and the tempting £340 entry (and exit) point did not seem very tempting at all.

I bought a 30D with 17-85 lens and do not regret my decision one bit. I've sold pictures taken in my first two weeks with that camera and successfully shot a wedding for a friend a couple of months later, having added a 580EX flash to the collection.

18 months on I have added a 40D body and five more lenses to my kit list. So far I'm in for about £5k and I don't mind one bit. I'm enjoying my photography and making a few bob on the side.

This may sound a bit snobby, and I certainly don't mean it to be, but I suspect if I had bought the FZ30 it would hardly get used - hopeless for weddings and sports/action/birds in flight or evening event photography. The small sensor also limits the ability to create a shallow DOF for more creative photography as well.

If I was looking for a bridge camera then, based on the value I now place on high ISO performance, I would suggest looking to see what Fuji offer these days, with their super-CCD sensor. They also tended, 18 months ago at least, to offer a wider end to their zooms - 28mm equivalent rather than 35mm. Whether that's still true today I don't know but back when I was looking at the FZ30 I think now that the equivalent Fuji of the time would have been a better bet.

[stylgeo]

Hmmmm, I've never thought of that! Trivia of the day! Thanks for clearing that out! So, the DOF button is inaccurate? But if I dial in, say f/16 in aperture priority and press the DOF button, doesn't it close down to f/16? You can clearly see the aperture becoming a pinhole. I am sorry, maybe it's because it's late but I can't figure this out. What do you see in the viewfinder in that case?