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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Which camera to buy (1 Viewer)

It should arrive in the next couple of days, so will post first impressions not long after that along with some images and then maybe a fuller report after a week or two. :)

Well I have had my HS30EXR less than 24 hours and tomorrow it is going back because after less than 25 shots it has developed a "Lens Control Error" as it tries to focus.
Having read a Fuji forum in which this error comes up a number of times on many different models over a considerable period of time I am beginning to wonder whether to try something else!

First impressions based on less than 25 shots are good, it feels well balanced, most things are at your fingertips, menu system reasonably obvious, the manual though is IMHO terrible.
 
I'm in a similar position to you Reg, though I have been running slrs for many decades, I only use them rarely now ( if it is pouring with rain, likely to have to crop or I need to look like a 'proper' photographer for any reason).

Like you I don't like powered zooms, and have Fuji HS20 in the 'stable'. I do not know who it or its handbook were designed for, other than to discourage you, however it is capable of good photographs, the EXR dynamic range feature for instance is brilliant. Up to the announcement HS30 with its much better viewfinder I came to the conclusion it was the best 'fit' superzoom for me, but it will never be my favourite camera.

I am unhappy using long lenses on m4/3 as I find that my hands are less good at holding small cameras steadily any more. If it wasn't for that they would be my first choice, especially as their evfs (other than the Olympus VF-3) are getting better all the time. The new OM-D plus battery grip might be a perfect solution other than the price.

I will be taking delivery of another superzoom, hopefully today, which I may hate so no comments on what it is. If it works for me I may be a bit more forthcoming.

N.B. My favourite camera is the Ricoh GRD IV but photographing birds with a fixed 28mm equiv lens is a challenge.
 
|:(|
I'm in a similar position to you Reg, though I have been running slrs for many decades, I only use them rarely now ( if it is pouring with rain, likely to have to crop or I need to look like a 'proper' photographer for any reason).

Like you I don't like powered zooms, and have Fuji HS20 in the 'stable'. I do not know who it or its handbook were designed for, other than to discourage you, however it is capable of good photographs, the EXR dynamic range feature for instance is brilliant. Up to the announcement HS30 with its much better viewfinder I came to the conclusion it was the best 'fit' superzoom for me, but it will never be my favourite camera.

I am unhappy using long lenses on m4/3 as I find that my hands are less good at holding small cameras steadily any more. If it wasn't for that they would be my first choice, especially as their evfs (other than the Olympus VF-3) are getting better all the time. The new OM-D plus battery grip might be a perfect solution other than the price.

I will be taking delivery of another superzoom, hopefully today, which I may hate so no comments on what it is. If it works for me I may be a bit more forthcoming.

N.B. My favourite camera is the Ricoh GRD IV but photographing birds with a fixed 28mm equiv lens is a challenge.

Like you I have taken delivery of another superzoom today having decided that if I bought another HS30exr I would be forever wondering when it would go wrong.
I am going to say nothing about this one till I am happy with how it works and then will comment. The only thing I will say it that it has a power zoom |:(|
 
I am also in this quandry.
I have been a very happy owner of a Panasonic FZ45 and more recently a Fuji HS30. However, I have recently found myself "hitting the buffers" in terms of picture quality, I don't know what it is but something about them just give the quality of image I was expecting, especially the Fuji after extensive use.
Now I am aware of the small sensors, I wrote a review on the HS30 slamming Fuji for cramming 16 million pixels onto a tiny sensor. This does lead to a "muddy" image on occasion, it just seems to lose the crispness I hope for, not an issue for record shots but definitely one when trying to take shots of a higher quality.
So here is my latest question to myself:
Do I go for the Fuji X-S1? The bigger sensor and lower megapixels should give a sharper image with more fine detailing but will I again hit the buffers in hoping for something that isn't possible?
Or for the same money (About £550) do I look for a good quality Canon 30D and Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM lens second hand?
Obviously aware that a 300mm lens will not give me the reach of the X-S1, even with the 1.6x crop factor on a 30d giving 480mm (Fuji X-S1 is about 620mm equivalent).
But on the flip side I get a full blown DSLR which image quality wise should be superior to that of the Fuji, even with only 8.0 megapixels available (Obviously megapixels isn't everything but for cropping it can help I believe).
The ultimate aim would be to go for Canon's excellent 400mm f5.6 prime lens but even second hand it is still around the £700 mark.
These are just my own observations and questions based around my understanding of cameras (Very basic!).
If anyone has anything further to add that would be great.
 
How about a used Canon 550D,a great little cam ,and say a 70-200F4 lens(non IS),keeps the price and weight down ,also a set of ext tubes turns this set up into a sharp macro lens or a 1x4 for a larger reach.
 
Decision made!

After my problems with the HS30EXR within 24 hours of purchase, I have been and had a look again at the FZ150 and the SX40 from Canon.
Finally bought the Canon as it just felt right in my hand and the menu system seems relatively intuitive maybe because I already have a Canon compact.
Very pleased with it so far but a lot to learn about some of the functions. The image stabilisation is incredible compared to the Fuji.

Finally a quick word of thanks to all of you who contributed thoughts and comments, all were useful in one way or another. Thanks
 
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