What camara???

[sm428]

Hi,

I have been trying to get the most out of my Kompact, but have grown out of it a while back, backpacking in South America. Now its died on me and has encouraged me to spend some money on a new camara. I am a student so want to try and keep the price to a affordable level. I have researched and have a classic problem: BRIDGE OR DSLR???

I plan to learn more about Photography and make the best pictures I can. However I am moving to India for 6 months and plan to travel around as well as possibly pop over to South East Asia for 2 months after my internship finishes. Therefore the simplicity of the Bridge camara would be lovely. I am considering the Panasonic Lumix FZ 150 or the Fujifilm HS20. Any expirience with these camaras?

On the otherhand, allthough i shouldnt really spend so much, I am thinking of going for a DSLR with 2 lenses. Either going for the Canon Eos 1100D wth 18-55mm lense and the 75-300mm lense or the Nikon D3100 with the 18-55mm and the 55-200mm, as you can buy twin lense sets for just over my budget.

I am worried that if I buy a DSLR I will have less options - Wideangel?, high Zoom? Macro? etc. would I need different lenses for this? Will the quality of pictures be significantly better twith DSLRs of this price range over the Bridge camaras?

Thanks.

[sm428]

It is also possible that I have got the wrong lenses. While traveling I mostly take pictures of local people and landscapes. Although I do sometimes do Macros. Maybe it would be better/cheaper to exchange one (or both) of the lenses for different ones.

Thanks again for the help.

[3bayjunkie]

i would suggest the Nikon D3100 with 18-200mm but im not sure what your budget is since you didn't say. Depending on what kind of photography you are doing you might want a nicer wide angle lens or a 50mm prime.

[sm428]

Yeah the D3100 is a camara I have had a look at. I dont really want to go above 600 pounds. However I am considering a camara (not lenses) which is second hand.

[inkista]

This is just me, but I think we need to know how you've "grown out of your Kompact". And what your final budget is.

Personally, I think a dSLR is probably going to be too expensive, particularly if you're dragging it along into areas where you'd prefer to have cheap and cheerful gear that you could have break, get stolen, etc., without breaking your heart.

I think you may also have two other categories of cameras to look at, aside from the dSLR and the superzoom bridge.

There are also the "enthusiast compacts". These typically can shoot RAW, have limited zoom ranges (say, in the 24-100mm range), but an inkling of low-light capability from larger max. aperture lenses (something superzooms cannot do), and slightly larger sensors than your average compact. They also have full manual controls, and are pocketable--something bridge cameras really aren't. Cameras like the Canon G12 and S95 (both rumored to have replacements soon), the Olympus XZ-1, and the Panasonic LX series. Some will also have flash hotshoes which becomes important if you plan to go Strobist.

The superzoom bridges have larger zoom ranges, but are typically weak in low-light, and are bulky. Some of them do not shoot RAW.

The second class of cameras you may also want to consider are the mirrorless compacts. They use sensors the same size as those in dSLRs (either four-thirds or APS-C), but are closer in design and use to compact digicams. You have the same high-iso/noise performance as a dSLR, and the ability to change lenses, but the gear is smaller and lighter. The gear, however, is about as expensive and because the systems are so new, they are more limited in terms of lenses. But as travel gear goes, small and light is an advantage. Theses are analogous to the old film rangefinders in some ways. Here, you'd want to look at the Panasonic and Olympus micro four-thirds bodies, Sony NEX, or Samsung NX cameras.

µ4/3 is the eldest of the systems, now on its third generation of camera bodies, and is way out in front in terms of lens offerings and cheaper used bodies. But the 4/3" sensor in them is smaller than that in APS-C cameras, like most entry-level dSLRs and the NEX and NX cameras.

Which system is going to work better for you is going to depend on a) what you want to shoot (are you going to be doing landscape shooting? street shooting? wildlife? low light? portraits?) b) how much of an importance you place on having small/light gear, and c) how much you've got to spend. If £600 is your entire budget, including lenses, you may have to give up telephoto and macro with a dSLR or mirrorless compact.

[sm428]

Hi. I appreciate your help but Ive kind of turned away from Bridge camaras. I dont find weight too much of a problem traveling. I pack very light a bit extra kit wouldnt hurt.

When traveling through Peru I was trying to take pictures that did not match that of my friend with a DSLR. I was trying to shoot landscapes, buidlings, locals and at low light (a bit of wildlife too) and was surprised at the difference. I feel that I get the framing and the angles kind of right but the quality of the pictures and the flexibility of the manual settings is missing.

I have found a very good deal on the Nikon D3100 with the kit lense 15-55mm. I am thinking of buying a second lense the Nikon 55-300 / 55-200 or the Tamron/Sigma 70-300, which are all nicely priced and all together wouldnt be too much over my budget.

[inkista]

Ah. If that kind of image quality is your concern, then, yeah, going with a larger sensored camera and a dSLR is probably a great choice for you. The only issue I see is that if you do get a D3100, be careful about which lenses you select for what purpose. The D3100 has no focus motor in it, so only AF-S lenses will autofocus on it. Autofocus is typically only really critical for fast-moving action (when you may not be able to manually focus quickly enough), so whatever lens you choose for wildlife shooting should be an AF-S Nikon lens (or HSM in Sigma parlance).

Other than that, I think you'd be good to go.

I would however urge you to consider saving up for a third lens. Neither the 18-55 kit nor any of those telephoto zooms you're considering are going to be particularly "fast" lenses (i.e., they have smaller max. apertures, which means that to get shutter speeds to "freeze" action, they probably need to be used in good light, outside). A 35mm f/1.8 or 50mm f/1.8 might be worth saving for, for across-the-table portraits and night shooting or street shooting.

[sm428]

Cheers man.

Think I will get the 18-55 and the 55-300 and then practice with that for the next 3 months before going over to Asia. Over there I may find a cheap 35mm or 50 mm - suspect electronics could be cheaper over there.

Thanks alot