Please could I seek some advice.

[Pebs]

Hi

I have never brought a camera before and to be honest i have no technical knowledge either.

I would like to buy a camera that would allow me to take pictures both during the day as well as at night and provide a good quality night time pictures which i think could be hard to do.

I would like to buy a camera that would allow me to take pictures of butterflys and landscapes.

Is possible to buy a camera at an affordable price that could do all of this.

I don't have alot of money, would this be a problem when looking to buy a good camera?

thanks
Pebs

[Nigel G]

Hi Pebs

Have a look at the reviews for an Olympus C-7070. It is a compact which almost thinks it is a DSLR with enough easy point an shoot options to get you going but enough features to allow you to grow with experience. It has a wide angle lens (27mm equivlent) which is good for landscapes and macro focusing to 20cm or super macro to 3 cms which should sort the butterflies. For night work there is a simple night mode or again as you get more experienced you can go to full manual control which allows you to set a shutter speed to Bulb which leaves the shutter open for as long as it is pressed to a max of up to 120 secs. Price online is around £360 and there are loads of optional extras when you want to expand.

There are probably lots of other cameras that can do all this so read the reviews before you buy.

[nigelblake]

Panasonic FZ 20.....Personally I would recoment this little gem of a camera to anyone starting out and not wanting to spend a fortune. It has a 5 megapixel sensor which will give you good quality prints to A3, and a 12X optical zoom equivalent to a 35-420mm zoom on a 35mm camera, it is also image stabilized.
At 389 quid it is good value too.....

I have tested one and was very impressed by the image quality.

the link below will take you to a full spec list and review plus sample images of the updated version which is 8 megapixels.

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/panasonicfz30/

[Pebs]

I have a friend who has a Minolta Dimage Z1 i was just wondering if that would ok to buy as a first time camera i have seen one priced for just under £100 and thought the price was good as i have a very low budget of around £150.

[Keith Reeder]

Hi Pebs,

if you have a quick search around the gallery you'll notice quite a few pictures taken with the Z1.

Have a look here:
http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showgallery.php?mcats=all&what=allfields&si=minolta+z1

Some are just OK, some of them are very good - but you find that kind of spread of quality with any camera.

For £100 or thereabouts you're definitely getting a worthwhile camera, I'd say.

I'd also point out that many of the pictures in the above link have the potential to be significantly improved by some noise reduction and other software tweaking.

[IanF]

Budget must be a consideration here - the Panasonic is dearer but you get an awful lot for the money. The Z5 is a new version of the same camera a bit more cut down as regards control.

I have owned the Panasonic FZ20 since it was launched having upgraded from the FZ10 - another very good 12x IS camera.

I think the FZ20 still the market leader as regards long zoom compacts with only the DSLRs being better - but also much more expensive. As well as being fully automatic there is the option of manual control for focus and exposure plus it can be used with converter lenses for a bit more reach - see photo attached. Only thing to bear in mind is that it is prone to CA when taking photos into the sun - most times though you can ensure the sun is behind you.

Barn Swallow (http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php/photo/53508/sort/1/cat/all/page/1) - 21'
Barn Owl (http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php/photo/53288/sort/1/cat/all/page/1) - 40 yards
Red Grouse (http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php/photo/49749/sort/1/cat/all/page/1) - 20'
Red Kite (http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php/photo/47700/sort/1/cat/all/page/1) - 30 yards
Blue Tit (http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php/photo/39551/sort/1/cat/all/page/1) - 15'

I haven't tried it - but the Canon S2 is worth considering from the specification - I'm not sure about the Z1 as I have looked at haven't tried it - I wasn't too impressed by it's small plastic feel.

[Pebs]

Thanks for all your advice!!!

in the end i got a Z1 for about a hundreds however I am struggling to get use it! I can't seem to manage the zoom, and my pics are blurry and grainy, i am not sure if that is a camera or me?

I went out last night a played with the Z1 and took over hundred pics but found that must were blurry grainy etc.

maybe i am asking alot of the camera seeing as the i was trying to focus over the hills of darwen and i was a couple of miles away! but find i have the same prob when using macro zooming as well!

keep ya posted!

[Pebs]

I have been thinking about trying to get more into landscape shots and have been reading up on a accessories for the Z1 is there any use of having them and if so what would be best?

Is there an adapter for the the Z1 so that i could then use other lenses etc?

any ideas??

pebs
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