[Tonks01]

Hey guys looking for some advice,

For a number of years I have been traveling with a Fuji Finepix S7000, it's done me well and finally got me off shooting everything on auto

In March I'll be off to SE Asia for 3-4 months and then onto New Zealand. I want to start playing with different lenses, having more freedom with my settings etc.

I was thinking of finally moving on from the s7000 and perhaps picking up a Nikon D40 along with a couple of lenses.

Just looking for opinions really. Do you think moving on from a s7000 to a D40 is a logical and/or necessary step? Second hand the D40 prices seem good (sub £200)

[chrisgeary]

I think you have to ask yourself whether you are prepared for the extra bulk and kit associated with an SLR or not? You will definitely have more creative options. I dunno what the shutter lag is on your S7000 but if timing is important then an SLR is a must. You can certainly travel light with an SLR, a D40 and 18-105 would make a nice travel kit.

[Tonks01]

Originally Posted by chrisgeary

I think you have to ask yourself whether you are prepared for the extra bulk and kit associated with an SLR or not? You will definitely have more creative options. I dunno what the shutter lag is on your S7000 but if timing is important then an SLR is a must. You can certainly travel light with an SLR, a D40 and 18-105 would make a nice travel kit.

Thanks for your reply, although I do travel very light I think the extra bulk would at least be justified. My friend is coming along with a Canon 450d and much of the holiday will focus on photography.

just seems to be a nagging in the back of my mind whether my S7000 will give me what I'm after. Being my first 'proper' camera I have nothing to really compare to. I could be looking at my pictures thinking they look OK but unaware that I could have improved results with a more robust camera.

[daven1986]

Why not post some pictures on the photo sharing subforum to get opinions? I have just got a dslr (sony a200 with 2 lenses) and I find it a joy to use. There isn't THAT much extra bulk just one more lens.

[dazza74]

If you can find one in your area Argos are doing the sony a200 + 18-70 lens for £230. Another camera to look out for is the Nikon D40x, it's 10 megapixels this as opposed to 6 megapixels for the Nikon D40 and seems to be selling for about the same price 2nd hand on Ebay. Whatever you buy at sub £300 prices you can take on holiday and then sell on for roughly what you paid for it when you get back if you wish (another way to look at it )

[Tonks01]

Thanks for the advice, photos added! look forward to the feedback :

Photos taken with my Fuji S7000

EDIT : Cheers Dazza, the D40X does appear very nice, never really looked at 2nd hand cameras until now - their price definitely makes an upgrade more viable

[SevloW]

Stepping up from a bridge camera to a dslr is a bit of a leap. I went from a Fuji FinePix s602z to a Canon 300D. Initially I was not too impressed but once I had adjusted the in-camera settings i.e. sharpness, contrast etc there was a lot of difference in the quality of the photos (as you would expect). The Fuji does most of this for you. Your Fuji is capable of some excellent photos, especially macro shots. What you should also look at is not only the Nikon range but Canon/Sony as well. If your interest in photography grows then you should be aware of the costs involved in adding lenses to a Dslr body. One of the big improvements was the lack of shutter lag compaired to the Fuji, this was a big plus for me, too often I would take a photo only for the shutter lag on the Fuji to spoil the outcome.
As a walk about camera for general photos the Fuji is excellent, but is not up to Dslr standard.
I would go for a Dslr with the kit lens (18-55) and a 55-200mm or 70-300mm.

[dazza74]

Originally Posted by Tonks01

Thanks for the advice, photos added! look forward to the feedback :

Photos taken with my Fuji S7000

EDIT : Cheers Dazza, the D40X does appear very nice, never really looked at 2nd hand cameras until now - their price defiantly makes an upgrade more viable

Canon 400D is another to look out for as well. If you can find one at argos though that sony a200 with kit lens is a bargain for £230.

[shotokan101]

Has anyone actually found that sony deal in stock ANYWHERE ?

Jim

[Tonks01]

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I could happily live with my Fuji but I always like to push myself, learn new things so I think going up a step camera wise will be good fun

now comes the truly hard part - the picking the camera bit! lots of suggestions already so will dive into the research

[Tonks01]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the opinions guys, Just become the owner of a new Nikon D40X with a 18-200mm Sigma lens

Very much looking forward to being confused all over again, I miss it Am I right in thinking that owning a 18-200mm means I won't really need a 18-55mm lens - not right now anyway?

Here's what I picked up for £350, all in great knick - how do you think I did?

1 X Nikon D40x Body (10MP) comes with box, cables and software

1 X Sigma 18-200mm Lens w/ Optical Stabilisation comes with box, petal hood and all lens caps

1 X Hoya UV(0) filter (already attached to the lens).

1 X Nikon IR Remote Control to trigger the shutter release in little pouch.

1 X Crumpler ‘That’ Nikon branded Carry bag

1 X Jessops Lens Cleaning Cloth still in packaging

1 X Jessops Rocket Blower For Cleaning The Camera Sensor & Mirror still in packaging

1 X Jessops Compact Tripod unboxed

1 X 1GB Memory Card

1 X 512MB Memory Card

Will pick up some more memory and then box up the S7000 and hopefully pass it on to someone who'll get as much fun out of it as I did