Lost on camera choice

Hi all,

I'm feeling a little bit lost trying to choose a new camera, hopefully some of you might be able to give me some guidance.

After doing some research I'd decided I definitely want a Canon 550D/T2i (that thing is amazing, you could make tv shows with it!).

Trouble is, it's an lot of money to spend. (Not a lot if I win a photography award, and then quit my day job to go take photo's of models on beaches etc. But quite a lot if it end's up sitting un-used in a drawer at home.)

I now don't know whether I should go for a 'bridge' camera like the Panasonic Lumix FZ38 which I've seen for about GBP£175, or push the budget back up a little for a Canon 1000D. Or go really budget and pick up something older - my friend used to have a Sony DSC-F717 which took some beautiful shots.

Or, keep my P&S and spend the money on a photography class instead? Anyone recommend one in London?

My current camera is a little Olympus FE220 which I think takes nice shots but only has scene modes and a small under/over-exposure control.

Thanks for any advice!

A

Basically you don't know what you want from a camera, so it's going to be impossible for people to advise you.

So first order of business is for you to decide what you want from a new camera that your existing one does not do.

--
StephenG

I do.

I want something that's more capable and offers me more control so that I can learn and develop, without blowing a whole load of cash on something which will be out of date by the time I get to be any good with it.

Oh, and is good in low light.

i had a similar dilemma and after quite a bit of trial and error and research i decide don the fuji s200 exr.. the size and the controls are like an entry level dslr of a coupleo of years ago and full manual control is awesome+barrel zoom.

of course the quality is not of dlsr due t rather small sensor but compared to current Lot of point and shoot cameras it is far superior

most of the people I know who own DSLrs told me that the lens on this camera is excellent and since it is not interchangeable there is no question of buying different lenses however at 30 MM in the wide angle may not be your cup of tea but I find anything below 35 is sufficient for daily use

the investment is pretty less and serves as a great camera offering a lot more than advanced point and shoot cameras and impressive lowlights performance

Right now it is about $400 so you can use this for a couple of years and if you find that photography is something you enjoy and you don't leave it inside a locked drawer or box you can always buy a better one after a couple of years and by then you'll know enough to know what you want to buy and have saved enough to buy the best of what you want
hope this helps

life is like a camera,
face it with a smile.

You've mentioned a few. There are some others which take good shots that you haven't mentioned. There's too much choice. You won't make headway in your decision this way. You have to settle down on criteria.

blacknosugar said:

After doing some research I'd decided I definitely want a Canon 550D/T2i (that thing is amazing, you could make tv shows with it!).

Click to expand...

Ok, that is your dream machine.

blacknosugar said:

Trouble is, it's an lot of money to spend. (Not a lot if I win a photography award, and then quit my day job to go take photo's of models on beaches etc. But quite a lot if it end's up sitting un-used in a drawer at home.)

Click to expand...

If you were gonna go pro, it would be better than 550D otherwise some Judge would remark unfavourably on you (in-joke)

blacknosugar said:

I now don't know whether I should go for a 'bridge' camera like the Panasonic Lumix FZ38 which I've seen for about GBP£175, or push the budget back up a little for a Canon 1000D.

Click to expand...

Notice you said "like". Let's not say "like". The FZ38 would be one time cost. No need to buy more lenses and you can't. It's a good cam.

The 1000D or similar will not be a one time cost. If you go anywhere with this kick, you will be buying more lenses, external flash and so on.

blacknosugar said:

Or go really budget and pick up something older - my friend used to have a Sony DSC-F717 which took some beautiful shots.

Click to expand...

There are collectors amongst us who might buy stuff like the F717. Well, not the 717 but the Sony R1, the Kodak P880, the Oly 8080, the Minolta A2 but really tech moves on. Although these cameras are sweet spot for a certain niche market, they are now way old and there are warts enough on them for general people.

blacknosugar said:

Or, keep my P&S and spend the money on a photography class instead? Anyone recommend one in London?

My current camera is a little Olympus FE220 which I think takes nice shots but only has scene modes and a small under/over-exposure control.

Click to expand...

The Oly FE220 has limited control. In terms of useage, can do happy snaps ok, maybe better than camera phones because it should snap more predictably and carry out its duties more promptly (I love my Android cam-phone but it sometimes gets distracted).

But if you want to carry your craft to the next level and actually put some learning into it (like a class), you would minimum go for that FZ class of cam.

--



Ananda
http://anandasim.blogspot.com
https://sites.google.com/site/asphotokb

'There are a whole range of greys and colours - from
the photographer who shoots everything in iA / green
AUTO to the one who shoots Manual Everything. There
is no right or wrong - there are just instances of
individuality and individual choice.'

blacknosugar said:

Hi all,

After doing some research I'd decided I definitely want a Canon 550D/T2i (that thing is amazing, you could make tv shows with it!).

I now don't know whether I should go for a 'bridge' camera like the Panasonic Lumix FZ38 which I've seen for about GBP£175, or push the budget back up a little for a Canon 1000D. Or go really budget and pick up something older - my friend used to have a Sony DSC-F717 which took some beautiful shots.
Thanks for any advice!

A

Click to expand...

My take on questions like these is that you are better off buying what you actually want to buy, rather than buying something that's not as good in order to save money.

The thing is you'll end up finding things about your bridge camera, or your 1000D, or whatever camera that isn't a 550D that annoy you or make you feel you're limited in some or other way, and make you wish you did buy the 550D. You'll eventually convince yourself that the 550D is indeed worth it's money and you'll buy it. You'd be surprised how many people go down this road. In the end you wasted money on an intermediate step you could have skipped, and you did not get to enjoy the better camera while using the inferior one.

I'd say go for the 550D. As long as you like how it feels in your hand and you like the things it can do, I'm sure you won't regret it.
--
http://www.kevinschoenmakers.nl

I'd second Kevin.

When all said and done the 550D isn't that much more than say the 1000D and is somewhat more capable.

Of course there has to be a ceiling as you could then go on and say 'well the 60D isn't that much more than a 550D' but if you can afford a 550D then buy it.

I bought a 50D as I really wanted one and after much selling of prized vintage hifi and records I went and bought one. I've used it only a few times in the last 6 months but every time I do I get real pleasure from it, pleasure that I wouldn't have got had I gone for something like the 1000D

If you really find you rarely use it and its just gathering dust, sell it on ebay. The depreciation isn't that high and you'd get a very good price for it and then you could go out and buy a bridge.

The other comments are valid too though. I wanted a 50D for the creative control it gives me. I certainly wouldn't have bought it if I thought I'd just leave it in full auto and let it do the work.

On that note, if you're after a camera to learn about aperture and shutter priority, exposure levels etc then remember that whislt cameras like the TZ8 give you the functions to control such things, due to the small sensor size these are of limited effect.

If you want to gove creative then a 4/3's style camera should be considered as a minimum but then we're back to you wanting the 550D.

Cheers

Danny B

You could look into the Pentax K-X. Similar quality and much less expensive.

And I am neither a Canon nor Pentax user.

I just think the K-x offers a lot of value for the money.
--
Marty
http://www.fluidr.com/photos/marty4650/sets/72157606210120132
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marty4650/sets/72157606210120132/show/
my blog: http://marty4650.blogspot.com/
Olympus E-30
Olympus E-P1

I'd say depends on how serious you think you will be about photography. If you are going to greatly increase, get the 550D, otherwise get the FZ38 and plan for a DSLR later. The FZ series makes an excellent second camera for a DSLR user.
--
EOS 50D, 20D, 10D, 630, A-1, FZ28, SD1000
-- Please remove the Quote option!
-- Why can't you edit more than once???
-- How about switching to real forum software?

blacknosugar said:

Hi all,

Click to expand...

blacknosugar said:

After doing some research I'd decided I definitely want a Canon 550D/T2i (that thing is amazing, you could make tv shows with it!).

Click to expand...

Canon 550D is an entry level camera that will give you enough control to have beautiful photos.

blacknosugar said:

Trouble is, it's an lot of money to spend. (Not a lot if I win a photography award, and then quit my day job to go take photo's of models on beaches etc. But quite a lot if it end's up sitting un-used in a drawer at home.)

Click to expand...

You don't need to quit your job to enjoy photography. Remember one advertisement: "Enjoy responsibly!". I.e. don't buy anything at once. The starting kit and a photography course would be enough for starting.

blacknosugar said:

I now don't know whether I should go for a 'bridge' camera like the Panasonic Lumix FZ38 which I've seen for about GBP£175, or push the budget back up a little for a Canon 1000D. Or go really budget and pick up something older - my friend used to have a Sony DSC-F717 which took some beautiful shots.

Click to expand...

Although is some limited conditions a superzoom camera (called sometimes bridge camera) will give you decent results they are no match for their bigger brothers.

I don't know why you are looking only at Canon offerings. There are very good producers for dSLRs. Nikon and Pentax are two of them. Pentax has very limited not-online presence but it has good lenses. Pentax K-x come in mind as a budget offering. Nikon has very good entry level cameras like Nikon D3100 or D5000. Also Nikon offers a 18-105 mm VR lens that stands out of the competition (Canon has 18-135 mm IS that is not at par and it's more expensive, Pentax has 17-70 mm f/4 but it's quite expensive for your budget).

My advice would be to go to a store and try these cameras. Spend a little time playing with them. See what camera is more intuitive to you, which one handles well for you. The camera ergonomics is a very subjective thing.

blacknosugar said:

Or, keep my P&S and spend the money on a photography class instead? Anyone recommend one in London?

My current camera is a little Olympus FE220 which I think takes nice shots but only has scene modes and a small under/over-exposure control.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately your current camera is just a small step over cameraphones. It is very difficult to learn anything than composition with it.

--
Victor
Bucuresti, Romania
http://s106.photobucket.com/albums/m268/victor_petcu/
http://picasaweb.google.com/teodor.nitica/
http://picasaweb.google.com/vpreallize/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/v_petcu/

TV shows are made with video cameras, even cheap ones.

blacknosugar said:

Hi all,

I'm feeling a little bit lost trying to choose a new camera, hopefully some of you might be able to give me some guidance.

After doing some research I'd decided I definitely want a Canon 550D/T2i (that thing is amazing, you could make tv shows with it!).

Trouble is, it's an lot of money to spend. (Not a lot if I win a photography award, and then quit my day job to go take photo's of models on beaches etc. But quite a lot if it end's up sitting un-used in a drawer at home.)

I now don't know whether I should go for a 'bridge' camera like the Panasonic Lumix FZ38 which I've seen for about GBP£175, or push the budget back up a little for a Canon 1000D. Or go really budget and pick up something older - my friend used to have a Sony DSC-F717 which took some beautiful shots.

Or, keep my P&S and spend the money on a photography class instead? Anyone recommend one in London?

My current camera is a little Olympus FE220 which I think takes nice shots but only has scene modes and a small under/over-exposure control.

Thanks for any advice!

Click to expand...

I would get the newer Canon T2i (550D) and the 18-55IS and 55-250IS lens combination

http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/test/1650985/canon-eos-550d-tested

If you get it, just do not let it sit there. Give yourself a reason to get up and out there. Make it your hobby. If you decide to lower your budget, do not go after the 1000D. Though it is still on the market, canon did something funny. 450D was a higher end model than the 1000D and was very advanced for its time and still has great features that measure up today with incredible image quality. Canon extinct it over the 1000D and kept that model as its lower end. If you lower your target budget, get a used 450D. New one if you can find it for $550 or less with the lens.
--

Darkness is the monster and your shutter is your sword, aperture your shield and iso your armor. Strike fast with your sword and defend well with your shield and hope your armor holds up.

harshaguduru said:

i had a similar dilemma and after quite a bit of trial and error and research i decide don the fuji s200 exr.. the size and the controls are like an entry level dslr of a coupleo of years ago and full manual control is awesome+barrel zoom.

of course the quality is not of dlsr due t rather small sensor but compared to current Lot of point and shoot cameras it is far superior

most of the people I know who own DSLrs told me that the lens on this camera is excellent and since it is not interchangeable there is no question of buying different lenses however at 30 MM in the wide angle may not be your cup of tea but I find anything below 35 is sufficient for daily use

the investment is pretty less and serves as a great camera offering a lot more than advanced point and shoot cameras and impressive lowlights performance

Right now it is about $400 so you can use this for a couple of years and if you find that photography is something you enjoy and you don't leave it inside a locked drawer or box you can always buy a better one after a couple of years and by then you'll know enough to know what you want to buy and have saved enough to buy the best of what you want
hope this helps

life is like a camera,
face it with a smile.

Click to expand...

Yeah, but you can pick up a Nikon D40 with a 17-55mm kit lens off of ebay for $400 too, and the D40 is a DSLR, and that little kit lens rocks.

DennisButler said:

Yeah, but you can pick up a Nikon D40 with a 17-55mm kit lens off of ebay for $400 too, and the D40 is a DSLR, and that little kit lens rocks.

Click to expand...

cost is not an issue with the OP. his interest in photography is. 17-55 wouldnt help him decide what sort of photography he likes IMHO.too limited.
--
life is like a camera,
face it with a smile.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, it's really helped me decide.

I want the adaptablity of a DSLR and am going to go for the Pentax k-x - things that swung it for me were the reviews of it's low-light ability along with the practicality of on-board IS and AA battery power. I like it a lot.

In the meantime I've bricked my little Olympus trying to upgrade the firmware! Thanks a bunch for your great software Olympus!

Oh well, new camera tomorrow, just trying to decide between the single lens kit and the twin with 200mm lens. (I'm told the 300mm is better, but that kit is a lot more expensive.)