Artist upgrading and need advice please. (1 Viewer)

Hi guys,

I've tried using the search function to find answers, but I think it hates me :C

I then tried reading through many of the thread on here, but have found it all rather confusing and over my head. Instead I have decided to ask for your help please!

I am a freelance artist who paints mostly pets and people. My old camera is a Fuji Finepix S 5000 that I've had for about 8 years now, and was my first digital because I loved my old trusty. It has been fine for portrait shots, family dos and all that, but the time lag from click to actual shot taken is lllooooonnngggggg! I can sometimes get much better pics with my phone.

Anyway, I have a love of birds and this old thing is next to useless unless said birdy is asleep and going nowhere. So it's time for an upgrade.

I want something that takes the picture as I press the button (near as damn it) can do film, can take continuous shots (the above only does 5 in a row I think), and is good at getting really good detail study for painting (and I am aware that my ability plays a part in that too), and that I can get BIF pics with.

My budget isn't huge, and I have been reading about the Canon 7d with various lens attachments which seem rather pricey. Any ideas guys? All would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Suzanne

Hi Suzanne welcome to the forum, the CANON SX40 BRIDGE CAMERA could really help you for sure.Has 35 optical zoom 12pixels with a 2.7 vari/angle lcd.this system gives you a 24mm-840mm range.Have recently just sold one and it was really handy to carry about,but with having two DGSLR set ups decided to move it on.LONDON CAMERA EXCHANGE sometimes have this for sale on there used section,it has been replaced by the SX50.Hope this helps.
GEORGE.

Thanks George. Although from what I was reading I was under the impression that I'd be better off with a DSLR. Can you tell me the difference between the two, and is pixel count for the amount of detail I need (which is pretty huge) of any great importance after 12mp?

I have also seen mention of cropping. Now my idea of this is something I do afterwards in photoshop if needs be, or ignore due to only needing the subject. However, this also seems to be something that the camera seems able to do, but I'm not sure of the benefit of that actually within the camera.

Again any help greatly appreciated.

Suzanne

Suzanne the main difference canon sx40 being a bridge camera has a fixed lens,the dslr you are able to change lens.The dslr usually brings with it a heavy load especially with the telephoto lens,this is where the bridge camera scores easily transportable.As far as pixels go 12 is pretty good, if you are wanting to use for your paintings thought a record type shot would be all that was required.By that meaning composing your shot within camera as best you can.Anything else give me a shout.
REGARDS GEORGE.

I use an SX40 for pet portraits and 12m mp is more than you'd ever need for reference shots....unless the subjects are a long way off!!

I think the potential uses of a camera you mention have quite different `minimal specs'. So-called `bridge cameras' in the `ultra zoom' part of the spectrum have come a long way since you bought yours. The delay you have mentioned has certainly also shrunk. I'm sure that an up-to-date one will indeed be ample for reference photos.

But you also mention potentially wanting to have a go at birds in flight, and that's a very different demand. There I think you would really notice the difference between a bridge camera and a dslr, but then you are talking about multiples of the cost. Other issues are birds surrounded by branches, when it can be difficult to ensure the camera focusses on the correct subject. A better viewfinder (which you'd get with a dslr) would help there too.

Could you borrow a good bridge camera for a week and have a go with that, just to see what that does for you? Ultimately it's a very personal choice: Is the photographic quality important enough to you to pay rather a lot more money, and are you willing to lug it all around (it's also going to be several times heavier).

When asking about specific models I think you're better off going to the sub-forum for that brand, but first it's worth reading about bridge cameras. There have been a lot of discussions here regarding those. There's a lengthy thread on `superzooms' and also ones about the cameras most often mentioned, the Fujifilm HS50 EXR, the Canon SX50 and the Panasonic FZ-200. There should be people discussing their experiences in those threads, plus (links to) images taken with them.

I don't think anybody can answer the dslr vs bridge camera question for you, but maybe reading about the above will help you decide whether or not one of these might be right for you.

Andrea

Thanks very much guys for the info.

George, for the type of portraits I usually do my work is very detail dense, therefore trying to move in to doing this with birds I'd be trying to get the same. I have a few friends with birds of prey, who in turn have a lot of friends. If bird people are anything like my other customers then their bird has to be 'their bird'.

The bridge camera does sound idea for relatively close up photo work as birdboybowley states. Even my old Fuji was good enough for that. The birds in flight though is my main concern as far as detail goes.

Andrea I did read the superzoom thread, and a couple of others. Hence why just when I thought I knew what I needed I got myself all confused. It's easy done to be fair lol You mention an issue that I have actually had, and find ever frustrating, and that's the camera not actually focusing on what I want. As you say it focus' on the background and not the bird in the fore branches. So the dslr would be better again.

I'm still not 100%, but I'm leaning still more towards the dslr, and with what I've read that would probably lead to a Canon or Nikon due to there being companies that make lens that fit at a lower cost. This is actually worse than being a child in a candy store!

Thank you very much for the help so far guys!

Suzanne