Trouble choosing a camera.... (1 Viewer)

[Cruidín]

Hi guys,

I'd appreciate if you could help me here. I've been photographing a small bit for many years but, to be honest, I'm still at a very basic level. I would greatly appreciate your advice here.

I have been using a Fujifilm Finepix S100fs for the past three or so years up until now. I have been quite happy with the results. It gives me enough (at present) for my needs, a nice memory of the birds and places I have seen. However, recently it got wet and is now not working. I have been told the cost to get it fixed would be about €150 so I was thinking of investing in a new camera instead.

My main photographic interest is birds. However, I also travel a lot and would like something that would suffice for that as well (Landscapes, Cities, nature, etc.).

The cameras I was particularly interested in are:


Canon EOS 650D (comes with 18-55mm lens and 55-250mm lens)
Nikon Coolpix P510
Fujifilm Finepix HS30
Canon Powershot SX50


I do not want to spend more than €1000 and, at present, there is no way I will fork out another €1000 for a better lens, as my experience is not worth it. However, I do want to improve my level of photography.

I would greatly appreciate any advice in helping me choose which one is best for my needs. Or should I just stick to my Fujifilm S100? Try stick to simplier language please as my head is still spinning from the mass of photography language out there.

Thank you very much.

B

 

[etudiant]

Hi Cruidin,

You have a bit of a dilemma. A repair would probably have only a limited warranty and digital cameras are especially vulnerable to water damage, so a switch is probably advisable.
The issue is that your Fuji was a pretty capable camera, more closely comparable to the Canon 650 than the 3 bridge cameras you are considering. The bridge cameras have more zoom, much more in the case of the SX 50, but all have smaller sensors and rely on more in camera electronic processing to give decent pictures. If your aim is to take super sharp photos, they are not ideal, but if you need a very flexible travel companion always ready to document your experiences, they are hard to beat. Others on this forum have lots of shots and comments on each of the 3. I'd lean to the SX 50, but they are all good choices and any is a more convenient than an SLR and its lenses.
What it leaves out is your expressed wish to 'improve your level of photography'. Judging from what gets published, that almost seems to mandate the Canon 650, with its bigger sensor, more flexible controls and interchangeable lenses.
But photography is an art, seeing beyond the blur of everyday. That is surely primarily a function of the photographer's eye rather than the camera. Maybe an academic refresher would be an option prior to selecting gear?

 

[Cruidín]

That's great advice etudiant. Much appreciate your help here. I think you've sold me on the issue of buying a new camera instead of fixing the old one. Also, it has helped me a good bit on my choice. (I assume 'bridge camera' is the same as 'hybrid camera'?)

Origiinally, I was leaning more towards the Nikon Coolpix P510 or the Canon EOS 650D, but your advice may convince me, if I decide to go for a bridge/hybrid camera, to go for the SX50 instead of the P510. I did like the compactness of the P510. Is there much difference between the two (P510 or SX50)?

Obviously, because I like to take pictures of birds, I would like to zoom in close. However, I don't particularly want to get a super close image, at least for now, of distant birds. I want to be within the vicinity of the bird too to enjoy it's beauty. I was happy enough with how close my Fujifilm S100fs got but I don't particular want to go 'backwards' and get something of less power.

Overall, I was leaning towards the 650D, but the issue I had with that was that the two lenses supplied are not as powerful as my S100fs. My S100fs is 400mm zoom but the 650D only goes to 250mm. Will this make much of a difference?

I guess my overall concern is that I want to be capable of getting a better close-up of the birds. I would also like to feel that I am trading up, I suppose.

 

[etudiant]

That's great advice etudiant. Much appreciate your help here. I think you've sold me on the issue of buying a new camera instead of fixing the old one. Also, it has helped me a good bit on my choice. (I assume 'bridge camera' is the same as 'hybrid camera'?)

Origiinally, I was leaning more towards the Nikon Coolpix P510 or the Canon EOS 650D, but your advice may convince me, if I decide to go for a bridge/hybrid camera, to go for the SX50 instead of the P510. I did like the compactness of the P510. Is there much difference between the two (P510 or SX50)?

Obviously, because I like to take pictures of birds, I would like to zoom in close. However, I don't particularly want to get a super close image, at least for now, of distant birds. I want to be within the vicinity of the bird too to enjoy it's beauty. I was happy enough with how close my Fujifilm S100fs got but I don't particular want to go 'backwards' and get something of less power.

Overall, I was leaning towards the 650D, but the issue I had with that was that the two lenses supplied are not as powerful as my S100fs. My S100fs is 400mm zoom but the 650D only goes to 250mm. Will this make much of a difference?

I guess my overall concern is that I want to be capable of getting a better close-up of the birds. I would also like to feel that I am trading up, I suppose.

Hi Cruidin,

Bridge camera is just a term for cameras with a built in wide range lens such as the Nikon 510. That format has become deservedly popular, because it offers all round utility without the complexity of a big system camera. Your old S100sf was an early entry into this market.

The Nikon 510 is very similar to the Canon SX 50, both are superzooms, with 1000mm and 1200mm max lens equivalents, so at least 4x the 250mm max of the longer lens you were considering for the 650 and more than twice what your S100fs could offer. Either will get you more detailed shots of perching or standing birds, but recognize that big zoom is very hard to aim accurately at a moving target so forget about closeups on birds in flight.
The Nikon is a smidge smaller than the Canon and has a much better view screen, but that screen is not fully articulated, as is the Canon's. Plus the Canon has some useful features that help you track objects at far zoom and, important for some, offers RAW output for your fine tuning if you so desire.
Both cameras have an excellent 24mm equivalent landscape mode. There are detailed descriptions and user reviews of both here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-coolpix-p510 and here: http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/compacts/canon_sx50hs/overview or here:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/canon-sx50hs/canon-sx50hsA.HTM
Either would serve you well as a very capable travel camera, less bulky and more convenient that the big 650 with its dual lenses. That said, you could simply put a more capable lens on the 650, such as the 15x Tamron here: http://www.dpreview.com/products/tamron/lenses/tamron_18-270_3p5-6p3_vc_pzd
as an integrated solution, which would eliminate the lens switching and still give you a very flexible outfit, albeit at higher cost.
Do also note that there are now very compact travel zooms, such as the Canon sx260, which offer about 500mm equivalent zoom in a pocket size. They do not give up much in terms of image quality for well lit scenes and score on convenience and much lower cost, about $200 currently in the US.

 

[Cruidín]

Hi Etudiant,

That's brilliant. Thanks again for your advice and help with this. To be honest, forever the indecisive one, I still can't make up my mind. I would have loved the Canon sx260 a few years ago, but nowadays I think I want to 'investigate' a bit more. I think I'm leaning towards the Canon 650D. Thanks.:t: