View Full Version : nikon or canon?
Bridge or SLR? If SLR which lenses to get ,as I want to be able to photograph wildlife.
which is the best, works well in bright sunshine... ( you can see the screen , it hasnt gone dark or has lines on it )
Is idiot proof.. ie has lots of preset scene modes as well as manual settings..and has a good optical zoom lens with image stabiliser. ( equiv. to 28-380mm on a 35mm model or better. )
what about olympus or fuji ?
Help!
Ive been going around in circles reading up on them all and reading reviews. theres always someone who says its great and someone who says its not so great. Im saving up so will not be splashing out straight away..
Hi, Jean
In a recent issue of Digital Camera they tested all of the big players - Canon got the nod, but Olympus were well rated. I recently bought the Olympus E500 8 mpixel and have been really pleased. The kit deal I got had two lenses, 2Gb card, shoulder bag, battery and charger and came in at £200 less than a similar Nikon or Canon.
Tugmistress
24-Apr-07, 20:05
The best advice I can give is go into a camera shop and handle them all. See what fits your hand, feels comfortable and doesn't make your arm ache. Photographing wildlife think about a sturdy tripod too or other means of not hand holding the camera ie bean bag type things, there are plenty about.
lenses, i have 3 now, 28-80mm, 80-200mm and 100-400mm which covers the whole variety of pictures i take. i've learnt photography by trial and error, and seeing what each lens could do and not do as and when i got it (all ebay jobs and none over £70).
Good luck with your choices :D
I use a Nikon D70 with 24-85 and 70-300 lenses (and 2x convertor).
I just got hold of a Manfrotto 685B Neotec monopod and MN-486RC2 Compact Ball Head after seeing the monopod in a store in Singapore.
The advice by Tugmistress is worth heeding - I tried the comparative Canon to the D70 and found it not as ergonomic to hold, so it is worth taking your shortlist to a decent camera store and try them out.
thanks I will do .. reading about them and looking on the web isnt the same as holding one. a friend has a canon eos 400 d and she thinks its just the job. I think its very expensive but I was also looking at the bridge cameras . some of these are fantastic.. I also like the olympus SP-550 UZ
and the fuji finepix S9600.
there are too many choices really....:confused
Cannon,every time!
Simple as that!
The only thing with bridge cameras is their fixed lens - if you find you want to get a wider lens selection as you become more competent in taking pictures, you can't.
I'd say go for a DSLR so at least then you can buy additional lenses as you need.
George Brims
24-Apr-07, 21:20
You don't have to have a fixed lens if you don't go for an SLR. The DSLRs can run to a lot of money. A compromise is the cameras with a large range zoom. Mine is an HP945. It has 8X optical zoom range and 7X digital zoom (though I generally stay away from digital zoom - it's just a fancy name for "throw awau pixels"!). I've been very pleased with it so far. I've only taken about 1300 pictures since I bought it, and I find I still haven't explored all its capabilities. I shudder to think what all those pictures would have cost in film + developing costs for my old camera.
Anyway you can pick these up used on eBay for about US$150, though I saw a whole kit with tripod, charging stand etc go fo under $100 last week. I must keep a better eye on there as a spare would be a handy thing.
buggyracer
24-Apr-07, 22:24
spend the extra cash and get a slr otherwise in 6 months time you will be sick you didnt, and if you dont like it you can sell it on and you will loose next to nothing, i have a canon 400d which i love with the standard lens and 70-300mm lens which is great for action and wildlife shots, also worth noting at the moment canon are doing a money back offer on all EOS products to celebrate 20 years of EOS so you will get £50 back on your camera and about £20-30 on a decent lens back.
Anyway you can pick these up used on eBay for about US$150...
Maybe due to the fact folk realise they are less of a camera than a DSLR?....;)
I have an Olympus C-700 which I thought was a good buy at the time of purchase but I soon became very frustrated at its poor performance - shutter lag, slow auto focus and other negative points. It was then I decided the only way was with a DSLR.
With DSLRs costing today almost the same as I paid for my 2MP C-700 four or five years ago if Iwas in the market for a decent digital camera today I would certainly look at a DSLR and nothing else (unless it was just a simple point and shoot type camera I was after)
Ive got a fuji finepix E900.. its got 9Mp and 4x optical zoom its a manual as well as having preset scenes and stuff . If you want you can shoot in raw format as well. you can buy lenses to add to it ,to up the zoom and also give a better wideangle. ( i havent bothered buying them)..its pocket sized and fine for shoving in a jacket..BUT I want a grown up one.Its just that by the time ive hiked to the top of a hill ( with my 3 dogs and all my usual suff .. dog leads, whistle, poo bags.. ) do I really want to be carting a bag of lenses as well as a camera AND a tripod?
Thats my dilema. all my best pics of scenery and stuff have been when out with the mutts.. I want the impossible I expect..
see ..taken with the E900
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i141/jeanmurray/DSCF1581.jpg
North Rhins
25-Apr-07, 00:10
Bonny dogs, Jean. It looks like you’ve got my problem, I’ve hundreds of photo’s and for some unknown reason they all have a Border Terrier on them! :D
yep and absolutely none of the kids!!
well they run off every time they see me taking it out they are 20 somethings now and just think Im a pest with the camera.
You don't have to get rid of your current camera - keep for your trips up the hills. But the 'lenses' you get for it are just Tele Conversion lenses? Which are OK but will not really perform like a 'proper' lens.
I have a Panasonic DMC-FX8 compact as well for trips where I don't want to take the D70 et al - 3x optical zoom - it does the job.
So having two or more cameras is not unreasonable (they are worth nothing as trade ins, so may as well keep them)...
Jeemag_USA
25-Apr-07, 01:04
I own a Nikon CP5000, it cost me about $600, I decided the last time i bought a camera that I was going all out and not buying another one again for some time. I can't compare it to Canon as the only other 35mm camera I had was a Minolta, which I really loved but sadly I broke it. My camera is digital and it also takes movies, but I still am planning to get an analogue 35mm because I still love the thrill of getting your hard work that you did with manual camera and light meter and so on back from the developers, its a great thrill. But I am big into digital art so I also love to have a good digital camera. I am sure a Canon would be a great camera too, their reputation proceeds them. But I love my Nikon, it took me ages to learn all its features, the manual is really fat, and I am still learning, I probably don't even know 10% of what it can really do. I can buy all sorts of lenses, I will probably go for a wide angle and zoom when I get time, but the thing I like is I don't need to buy filters or anything for it because I can create those effects afterwards using Photoshop CS.
I think you woudol not be disappointed whichever of those two you choose, just make sure it does what you want it to do before you buy it.
http://www.megapixel.net/reviews/nikon-cp5000/gfx/cp5000-frontleft.jpg
http://www.megapixel.net/reviews/nikon-cp5000/gfx/cp5000-backopen.jpg
Shame you're not in the UK - I have a working Canon AE1 with various lenses I don't use anymore - sure we could have cut a deal ;)
George Brims
25-Apr-07, 21:22
Maybe due to the fact folk realise they are less of a camera than a DSLR?....;)
Well of course they are, but the HP cost me $199 and the Canon SLR I really wanted was $1200, so no contest there! I was just pointing out you aren't stuck with no zoom or a small zoom range if your funds are limited. One reason I looked at eBay for a spare camera is that I don't think the thing could take a whole lot of abuse. I am finicky with cameras and electronic equipment but accidents can still happen. These electronic cameras are not as durable as the old 35mm machines used to be. (I once dropped a Praktica Super TL on Princes St in Edinburgh. It *bounced* off the pavement. Not only did it still work, but I couldn't even find a mark on it!)
Hehe - well the Prakticas were built like T54 tanks. I had an LTL 3 which made way for the Canon AE1. I gave it to my brother and as far as I know it still works.
I didn't mean to demean your choice of camera George - I actually read somewhere that bridge cameras are being discontinued as the DSLRs have dropped in price so much that consumers are preferring the option of a 'proper' SLR type camera.
If you're happy with your choice and it produces good pics then why change if you don't want to. I moved from the Olympus C-700 due to its poor performance knowing that a DSLR would solve most of the issues I was having. I'm still a crap photographer but at least I look like I know what I'm doing now ;)
North Rhins
25-Apr-07, 22:50
Hey don’t knock Practica’s. NASA were going to take one to the moon instead of a Hasselblad but apparently there was a bit of a problem with weight during takeoff. :D
George Brims
26-Apr-07, 01:54
Actually according to my wife's uncle, who collects cameras, the Super TL was designed for the East German military as an officer's field camera. So the T54 comparison is pretty apt! I still have that camera, and a bunch of lenses for it. I stopped using it much when I got an Olympus in 1985. That camera is also still going strong, or it would be if not for the digital thingy!
BTW Jeemag, you can buy a fairly inexpensive gizmo to use with your digital camera to turn 35mm slides or negatives into digital files. I got one last Christmas but have been too busy to use it much.
Jeemag_USA
26-Apr-07, 02:42
Hey don’t knock Practica’s. NASA were going to take one to the moon instead of a Hasselblad but apparently there was a bit of a problem with weight during takeoff. :D
Praktica are very good and very robust ameras that took excellent pictures, I think that was the first camera I ever used, my dad gave it to me when I was a kid.
futurelegends
26-Apr-07, 21:57
Canon are doing deals at the moment where you can qualify for Cashback on certain Cameras and Lenses.
My wife bought me a Canon EOS 400D in Jessops and with their 'We'll match any Price in this Photomag' she got a £30 discount in store.
I then visited Canon's Web Site and found that they were offering £50 cashback on the EOS 400D, even more on some other models, all you have to do is supply a photocopy of the Receipt, bar codes from the box and fill in an on line form and send them all to Canon.
Total £80 discount - Result or What??
http://www.canon.co.uk/promotions/Index.asp?ComponentID=346149&SourcePageID=25102#2
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