New camera

[collier15]

Hello all,
I am looking to buy a new camera i have around £300 to spend been looking on the internet and found a few bridge cameras as i don't think i am good enough for a dslr yet and don't think i have enough money thats more to the point. At the moment i have a panasonic fz8 with 7.2 m pixels and 12x zoom and wanting a bigger zoom and a few more pixels and not to bothered about raw pictures but a bonus if it does.

i will be it needing for the auto mode for a quick pic but also for the manual mode to get ready for a dslr. These are what i have been looking at

Panasonic Lumix FZ150
Sony Cyber-shot HX200V
Nikon Coolpix P510
Fuji FinePix HS30 EXR
Fujifilm FinePix SL1000

Any information on any of these camera's good or bad will be appreciated if you have one or know someone who has or even suggest another camera that you might have missed or that you think would suit

Thanks in advance

Michael

[John]

Best thing is to look at the reviews on www.ephotozine.com and see what they think.

If you can stretch to it, you would make quicker progress I think by moving to a DSLR. The Pentax K-30 is an ideal candidate and even has weather resistant construction.

[John Harwood]

Michael
Please don't underestimate your self with regard to being able to use a dslr. Many of the entry level ones are just as easy to use as compact cameras. As for affordability, I recently sold a Nikon D70 which is a decent, but outdated dslr, complete with a zoom lens for £140. The girl that I sold it to is really enjoying using it and has taught herself enough to move on from using the auto settings.

Whatever you choose at the end of the day the important thing is that you go out and enjoy using your camera and never stop learning.
John

[PhilipHowe]

as i don't think i am good enough for a dslr yet and don't think i have enough money thats more to the point

Sorry Michael, I really have to take exception to this comment. As you are aspiring to a dslr, then I'd say get one. If you are going for a bridge because you don't have the money for a dslr, then you'll be *in my opinion* wasting your money, it's not what you want and won't be the same. Buy a cheap second hand dslr with a kit and a zoom lens. You should easily get this for your price range.

Get the cheapest body and put the best lens on it you can.

I have a backup camera, Canon 350d with a kit 18-55mm lens and a Tamron 70-300 (with macro feature). I will happily lend you this setup for a short while. I'm sure that second hand (Gumtree, cash converters etc) you will find a similar setup within that budget. Long term, you would then keep the body and upgrade the lenses (which are the quality degraders in this setup) until you have the best lenses you could posibly get. I wouldn't upgrade the camera body until you have the suitable lenses for it as there is not point putting a cheap lens on a pro spec body, however, there is plenty to gain on putting a pro spec lens onto a budget body.

I don't know what genre of photography you are in to, however, I feel this is a good start. (Just for reference, I'm not trying to sell you my backup camera, just the idea that I feel you can afford to start what you do want).

[PhilipHowe]

Wow, three posts made at exactly the same time, saying exactly the same thing, one Pentax, one Nikon and one Canon. We really are a multicultural club....

[yachtsman1]

I ditched my DSLR over 12 months ago in favour of a Panasonic FZ150. I was fed up with lugging all the gear around & wanted something unobtrusive as a lot of my shots are candid & involve members of the public. My previous Nikon invoked negative reactions sometimes, now I look like any other snapper and usually get at least 8 out of 10 shots using the intelligent auto setting. I don't use Raw any more as the IA setting can't be used, so my workflow has gone up as has my success rate. the only thing I really miss is the DSLR viewfinder.
Eric.

[Paul Jones]

... i don't think i am good enough for a dslr yet and don't think i have enough money thats more to the point.

i will be it needing for the ... manual mode to get ready for a dslr.

My advice... Save your money and wait for the camera that you really want. A DSLR.

Or buy a DSLR now from a retailer who offers interest free payments (eg pay it off in 12 months time).

One lesson I've learned is that if you buy cheap, you'll regret it and end up spending more.

[Paul Jones]

Best thing is to look at the reviews on http://www.ephotozine.com and see what they think.

And also - http://www.dpreview.com/products/cameras

[Janice Freeman]

I have to agree with the comments re waiting for a DSLR. I moved from a point and shoot to a Nikon entry level DSLR and was so pleased that I did. I have now moved from entry level to a slightly better model Nikon D7000 all within roughly 16 months. You will find that you progress very qickly with ADAPS and would probably outgrow a bridge camera within a matter of a couple of months. Go for the DSLR. Happy shooting.

Janice.

[collier15]

Hello all,
firstly wow thanks for your messages and advice on if i should get a bridge camera but there seems to be an overwhelming response to get a dslr. Before reading your comments i thought i had done all the homework i needed to do on a bridge camera's but it looks like the headmaster and the teachers have given me lots more homework to do.
As for phillip howe's suggestion of second hand body i'd not even thought of that i will be trawling the internet later e.g ebay and gumtree and try to get to cash convertors over the weekend which sounds better than getting finance which i would prefer to hand over the pound notes over either shop or ebay.

again thankyou for your comments

Michael

[mikeaspinall]

HI Michael

Just putting in my tuppence worth if thats O.K.
The advice given here is well worth listening to and I would wholeheatedly agree with what has been said.
If you are going to search for second hand you might have to take care if buying on E-Bay. It's certainly true that
you can pick up a bargain (my son did very well recently with a Pentax purchase) but sometimes you might get stuck with a
'pig in a poke'. Also even if you have a particular brand in mind you don't get to see the camera until it arrives at your door.
You can still buy second hand cameras from some camera shops and one that I have always recommended is the Camera Centre in
Market Street Chorley and the manager Gary is very good (although a salesman of course). I gave him a call today and the only camera
in your budget range at the moment is a Sony Alpha 200 with 18-70 lens at £200 and he could find a 70-300 for the extra £100. A new
Canon 1100d with 18-55mm kit lens would cost about £350 although he admits that you might get one cheaper if you shop around.
Two other places for decent second hand that come to mind are in Manchester. London Camera Exchange who have taken over the old Jacobs store
and the Real Camera Co. You should be able to find them on line and of course the Camera shops do give a warranty with their equipment.
Happy hunting young man.
Cheers
Michael

[yachtsman1]

If you did go second hand, either buy from someone local, a friend or somewhere you can return it easily. Besides condition, check the shutter count which is always a good indication of how long the camera will last before major renovation. Finally, beware of e dealers who are not registered with the manufacturer as an agent. I did that a few years ago with a new Canon from a firm called Camera Box which I believe is operating under another name which turned out to be a grey import & UK manufactures will not honour warranty in most cases. One other factor to watch out for, is some software suppliers won't support camera's beyond a certain age.
Eric.

[Paul Jones]

Check out the prices from this company, based in Standish, Wigan - https://www.buyacamera.co.uk/dslr1.asp

A work colleague has just bought from them and recommended them.

[collier15]

Hello all,
thank you once again for all you suggestions on dslr's i think i will be going on the second hand route just so that i will get far more for my money. I had a quick look in cash converters in wigan this afternoon they had a Sony A200 for £179 but looked well used and didn't bother so i had a look on London Camera Exchange website and there is a very good selection on their website might have to travel to see them and going to go and have a look at the Camera Centre in Market Street Chorley thanks to the advice from mike aspinall and will prob stay away from ebay unless its close to home.
As for comments eric's (yachtsman1) i know the lower the better for a shutter count is better but eric mentioned major renovation about what the shutter number be around before that would be needed just so i have an idea when i'm looking
thanks again
michael

[John]

You could also check out the used section on www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk - Chris and his team are very helpful and efficient.