Camera Rookie seeks help!!!!

[reddeviluk]

Hi Guys, I am a regular on these forums, but have never posted in the photography threads for one simple reason, I'm clueless. Photography is something I always fancied trying but never seemed to get round to. Anyway, to cut a long story short, my camera is a Fujifilm F410 (DETAILS HERE)....It's a basic point and shoot type camera and has always done a good enough job. I returned from a trip to Paris earlier this week, many of my pictures were taken at night showing the lights and sights in all their glory. Sadly, my camera has a few options and I wouldn't know what to do with them if it did....Taking pictures in the dark was only really possible if I turned the "iso" to 400 and turned the flash off, this resulted in the pictures being blurred and unrecognisable.

So I am looking fora replacement camera to learn the basics and more likely last me a few years. It's going to be my Xmas gift from the wife so ideally looking to spend no more than £140-ish, but that's going to be my limit really.

I have just seen a post on a deal forum I use that shows a deal on a Fuji Finepix S1000fd DSLR (£107), looks great, but any thoughts?, will it be OTT? also would I be better looking for a slightly older, second hand model to learn with..........

Any help, advice appreciated.....

Cheers Guys,

Rich.

[Dave]

Hi Rich, I'm afraid that the camera you are looking at is not a DSLR it's what is known as a bridge camera which is half way between a point and shoot and a DSLR.

It's probably pretty good but the fact that you can't change the lenses will limit what you can do with it.

If it's a true DSLR you're after then I'm afraid your budget will have to stretch to around 200 quid unless you're really lucky on evilbay.

As for the blurry night shots, a DSLR will help but not much to be honest. If it's dark you either get a mahoosive flash or a tripod.

Take a look through some of the many first DSLR threads and decide exactly what sort of camera you want and your budget if it's at all flexible then come back to your thread here and let us know.

[promark]

Shooting dark scenes hand held is an impossible task, turning the iso up on a P&S creates lots of digital noise and the camera is trying to hold the shutter open to allow all the light in it needs to expose the shot you get shake and blurred photos.

You can also use any convenient surface to put the camera on (a small bean bag is useful) set it of it has it to a night mode and again if it has it delay the the shutter by a few seconds after pressing the release, so no shake is caused by the actual pressing of the button.

Again I am assuming your camera may have these features

HTH

[reddeviluk]

Ah, many thanks Guys, that's cleared a few things up for me. I never thought night time shots would be so tricky, but I guess the logic is there, just I never thought about it. I am still not 100% on weather I should go for s "bridge" camera (thanks for that Dave W) or hold out for a "real" SLR and all the complications that would be involved. Guess I should start looking on the classifieds and see what's available in the second hand market, if I can get a SLR then look for something suitable and see if the price is right for me.

Thanks again Guys, if you have any suggestions on models or good second hand buys, or even any additional reading I should try out then feel free, I appreciate an help I can get.

Cheers

Rich

[subbu68]

Apart from changable lenses, IMHO DLSRs have a much bigger sensors as comapred to bridge or point & shoot cameras. That would give better pictures.

After a couple of weeks of trawling the net and this forum settled for SONY A200K. Good VFM. For general purpose and for a beginner in DSLR this is a good camera. Quite happy with it. Cost me about $530 with a carry case and a 2GB CF card in Abu Dhabi. Also could use my old PL, ND and other filters from my Minolta Film SLR.

[senu]

Get the Nikon D40, Sony A200 or Canon 1000D..They are sufficiently closer to £150 ( Ok 200) if you shop cannily

they will afford you enough scope to do things you couls only imagine with a P and S , and perhaps do but struggle with a Bridge type camera

I have used and )older) Fuji 602z on a weekend in Paris ( 7 years ago now_)

Knowing now what I do I would suggest that £200 odd is incredible VFM for the entry level DSLRs
The Fuji cost £550 at the time