Digital SLR discussion thread...

[bsodmike]

I have mixed feelings about the 17-85, wished I just went straight to the 24-70... let me know what you think of it tho

Of course IS is a plus (when it works) but I find the 50mm f/1.4 much better in low-light conditions...and is a prime lens.

Just got back from the airport and unpacked the 24-70, fitted on the Hoya super HMC UV filter and tested it out real quick, 4:41am here and a bit tired so will test it alot more in a couple hours

Also picked up a Slik Pro 400DX tripod while I grabbed the toploader. I can see my self using the toploader quite a lot while lugging the dryzone around from location to location, or just keeping it in the car and taking what I need with me. Something else that'll come in handy are the tripod carrying attachments the dryzone has but need to check it out later in the day.

[noah]

bit OT but hey.

Hello again guys, been away for a while. i've no internet at home in bristol you see

well......i worked hard and went camera shopping and i cam back with a nikon d70 kit with the 18-70 ed lens for £600 from london camera exchange.

thanks for all the advice previously, i didnt go for the canon in the end as i decided i didnt like the feel of it or the kit lens and i couldnt afford a nicer lens all at once, but ive taken a 100 or so shots on the d70 and i'm really pleased with it. its lovely to shoot as many frames as you like and not worry about processing them.

now to save for a sigma 70-300 apo and a 10-22mm if i can.

noah

[Tifosi]

*bump*

I've picked up my 70-300 DO IS and so far I'm pretty impressed with its IS is pretty good. Not had a great chance to play with it yet but will hopefully have sometime to give it a full test when im home.

Some pictures from me

[shiato storm]

tifosi, nice pano's...any chance of slightly larger versions so we can see what they are of?

[shiato storm]

[rumour]

apparently canon are shortly to bring out new dSLRs but theres currently a lot of confusion out on the intarweb over it. it appears as though someone has made up a pdf as though it were from canon - but the specs of such a camera are, well, not much to get excited about really.
called teh 5D its got a full frame sensor and is close to the size of the 20D. 12mpix and a few more AF points.
I am not saying this 'leaked' document is in anyway true but it seems like an update on the 20D bridging the gap to the 1 series digitals out there...

So, canon have said they will be making an anouncement towards the middle/end of august, at elast thats the strongest lead given by canon reps.
here's to waiting!

[/rumour]

[5lab]

hey guys..

i've not been in here before.. thinking of getting myself a new camera. at the moment high-ish on my list is this http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/fz5.html

which is about £350 once you've figured in a spare battery and a gig of memory..

how much would i be looking for a low-ish end slr camera? i remember the kits going for about £350, but i think that was a good deal? would i gain any benefits in getting an SLR, other than lense interchangability (which i'm not *incredably* likely to use..)

Cheers

Hugh

[shiato storm]

yup, i'd recommend that one, decent zoom range and good quality lens. bonus is that its got IS (image stabilisation) which for long zoom you NEED!
for a half decent slr (film) as a kit you're looking at roughly 300-350. I think thats the price of a canon eos30 at the mo, could be a bit close to 300...
digital slrs - canon's 350d, is good but teeny tiny, you have to hold it to believe it! but its around 550 body only I believe. next one up, the 20d, is dropping off the 1k mark most places...usually a tell-tale sign the next installment is about to arrive.

I'd go check that lumix one out - go check out dpreview too, and do a direct comparison of a few makes of your choice, for example heres a small selection I threw
together to show this:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/comp...dsch1&show=all

(go to the 'buying guide>side-by-side' dropdown link on the left hand menu

[da_ging]

i got 1 of the fz5's rivals the canon S2 is ,i suppose it all boils down to what you will use the camera for. In my case although i chose a good camera it is not the right 1 for me and im wishing i'd gone for the panny fz20 (around £330 same as s2 is) or a 300d dslr for the canon outlet on ebay as i find i need manual focus a fair bit

you have to ask your self what you will use the camera for ie, do you want movie capabilty? will you print your snaps and if so upto what size? etc etc, only then can you make a good choice on the camera to get

what ever you do dont get the konica minolta z3/4/5 althought the A200 is a good 1 to consider

[5lab]

thanks for the help

i'm after something that, in particular, has a good zoom, and can take good action shots - i do a lot of mountain biking, and my *oold* camera (from 95 or something) had a mode to take 4 photos over 2 seconds - my current camera doesnt have that, and i really miss it. i'd also really like a self-adjustable shutter speed - again my current camera (cheapy kodak job) doesnt have that, and i miss it.. it doesnt need to be silly quick - just able to capture something moving at about 20mph, about 10 foot from the camera.. i'm not too bothered by image size (i rarely print anything), so from that point of view, i'd actually be happy with a 3mp camera, but research suggests that i cant get a camera that is full of features without having a ~5mp ccd.

i'd like a docking station if possible, but i know that still most cameras dont have em (not sure why, they're dead handy) so not overly fussed by that. if anyone knows the difference between the fz5 and the fz20 is (all i can see is that the -20 is last years high end, rather than this years mid-range, and it weighs a load more), i'd appreciate the input

looks like i'll have to stay clear of the digi slr stuff for a while, and i'm not interested in film cameras. do any non-slr-cameras have manual focus?

[da_ging]

i'd also really like a self-adjustable shutter speed

all current super zooms have this and full manual control

had a mode to take 4 photos over 2 seconds

the canon s2 is and both the panny fz5 and fz20 can all take pictures at 2.3fps untill you fill the memory card up

if anyone knows the difference between the fz5 and the fz20 is

the fz20 has a focus ring on it and a constant 2.8 aperature lens,which basically means if you use manual focus and do lowlight photography then it is advantagous (incidently no other camera in the superzoom class has a constant 2.8 lens or focus ring but then the fz20 is bigger and heavier in comparison)

do any non-slr-cameras have manual focus

some do some dont , surprisingly the fz5 doesnt which i dont understand, but most of the other superzoom 5/4mp ones do (all bar the fz5 listed below do tho only the fz20 does it half decently)

if battery life is important the Canon S2 IS beats every1 by a big margin and uses aa batts

your choices i suppose are between
panasonic fz5 and fz20 - proprietary battery packs
canon S2 IS and S1 IS -only 3mp
Fuji s5500 - 4mp and no image stabilization but then it is dirt cheap
sony DSC-H1

[Fod]

you missed "forced to use memory sticks, no carl zeiss optics" on the dsc h1.

and the S2 IS is 5mp, not 3.

so you know what i'm gonna recommend regarding this one

(oh, you want me to spell it out? canon S2 IS!)

might wanna check this cam out too: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0507/05...000zs9500z.asp - the nnumbers are purdy but no IS (not toooo big a deal, IMO)

[5lab]

thanks for all the help guys

first off, that fuji looks nice, but i'm a bit worried about lack of image stabalisation stuff - i get a lot of blurry shots at the mo (although manual exposure would help this..). the shutter response is excellant on it (0.01 sec ) and i like the option to twiddle for a zoom, but its is quite expensive (£500, compared to ~£300 for the others) and there are no reviews yet..

the info on here, plus other places leaves me with a shortlist of decent super-zoom cameras :

Canon PowerShot S2 IS
Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z5
Sony DSC-H1
Panasonic DMC-FZ20
Kodak Z740
Fujifilm FinePix S5100/s5500
Zoom Olympus C-765 UZ

the bottom 3 can go straight away because of no image stabalization (it wasnt in my origional list of requirements, but thinking about it, it sounds like a good idea).

the other 4 can all do manual focus, and have adjustable shutter speeds, but the dimage seems to loose out a bit, by only having 1/1000->4 sec shutter (not that this would probably be a problem for me.. they all also have a shutter priority shooting mode, which is something i think would be quite nice.

unfortunately the sony doesnt do a very good burst mode, (0.7 fps compared to 2-3 fps on the other cameras) so it can be crossed off my list, leaving the canon and the panny.

the panny doesnt have as good a movie mode as the others canon, but i'm not sure how much i'd use one.. only the canon out of those left has an orientation sensor (which i guess works out when you're doing a portrait pic and saves it as that?? handy on my current (kodak cx4230) - but hardly essential)..

the only other difference is the batteries. the canon lasts less long (200 shots vs 300ish), but is a standard battery which seems better, but then you have to buy the batteries and the charger yourself - i'm also more likely to loose lots of batteries rather than one.. price-wise they are pretty similar, the panny maybe a couple of pounds more, but its literally a couple (so not really a difference). i do like the twiddly focus (rather than using buttons), but i'm not sure if thats enough to make me buy one over t'other. the panny *does* do a nice panoramic mode, but is bigger all round than the canon..

gah!

[da_ging]

doh managed to wipe out what i'd just wrote but i basically said,

Canon PowerShot S2 IS - 550 shots on a single set of batts (for batts i used him)

Panasonic DMC-FZ20 - 250 shots on a single charge

although that is quite a difference you have to remember that even 250 shots is still a lot of photos for 1 day

if you havent already read these reviews

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons2is/

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz20/

[shiato storm]

if you use AA's get high power rechargeables...normal ones will end up running out in about 20mins and cost more than its worth. proprietry batteries can be a good thing - my sony's got one and its apparently one of the best out there, but yes - worht checking out fully.

as for docking station you mentioned earlier - over rated. far faster with card reader on USB2...

panoramic mode isn't really a great thing in-camera I have found. far better to stand there taking shots side-ways then stitch together back home on the computer. canon's photostitch software I have found to be pretty acceptable but if you're serious then I really suggest checing out dedicated software as its much better

[5lab]

the panoramic mode i was on about on the camera basically just clips the top and bottom of hte photo -its a gimmik, but it might help me compose slightly better shots..

i've had a look on those reviews, and i still cant decide the batteries on the canon are a bonus i guess (once you've bought a charger and 8 aa nimhs, you're on the same price as the panny + 1 spare battery). i'm planning on getting a nomad photo thingerymagig -> http://www.creative.com/products/pmp/ - so battery life will be important for long trips. that said, i've only ever once replaced the batterys in my kodak with another (and they are double as.)

are there any reviews which directly compare the 2?

[Flibb]

I am currently looking at a similar range of cameras to you, have also added

Canon pro 1, have used this and it handles very well
Minolta A2, lower pixel count than the A200, but better features, if you can find one.
Sony F828, very nice lens, very nice features, high price But some do pop up cheap on ebay.

I had a bash on several prosumer digicams in jessops, really liked the Pro 1 and F828.

Good website for reviews is
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/
yhey tend to do more fiels testing than sites that just look at the manufacturers numbers.