Ok guys I've been thinking about upgrading my little Sony P200 camera. I'm asking on here as I see some great macros, and decent beam shots on manual settings. Plus I'm scared to ask on a dedicated forum where my photography inadequacy will shine through even more!
I think I want a 'bridge' style camera, I think DLSR is too complicated for me and more importantly out of my budget. I have been checking out EBay as I assume used will get me more bang per buck. So far I have added a Panasonic Lumix FZ28, FZ45 and a FZ100 along with a power shot sx130 from Canon to my watch list. Any others I should consider? Ease of use, good macro are top priorities , battery not too important and nice to have full manual, £100 is ideal but will stretch if it's worth it....
Nothing replaces a DSLR and with the prices of new ones so inexpensive (compared to several years ago), you might want to go the distance for a new or used one. You will probably find that you are happy you did after growing into it.
If you want to keep the costs down, then get any of the basic cameras that offer manual control. I know people will differ in opinion (cameras are like cars, everyone has a fav), but Canon is the best, then there's the rest. (there's always lemons in anything). Also try KEH camera or B&H photo instead of ebay. On ebay you get what you got and thru KEH or B&H you got a warranty and they stand behind stuff. They all carry used. In fact KEH has mostly used.
I have the Canon SX40 HS and I'm very happy with it. It's one of best point-and-shoot-with-huge-lens type cameras.
35x optical zoom, high image quality (my subjective opinion though) 12.1MP sensor, great video quality (compared to other point-and-shoots, not to $5000 DSLR's, of course).
One of few drawbacks that are quite important to me are use of proprietary Li-Ion battery pack - in terms of power, I prefer cameras that run on 4x AA's (due to my extensive love to Eneloop's), but that's just my personal preference..
if shipping from major us retailers isn't too much of a barrier (I imagine its case by case) then I suggest creating alerts on slickdeals.net. I got a panasonic lumix zs8 alert a couple months ago and jumped on that - $85 from amazon warehouse.
Apparently the warehouse stuff is used, open box or refurbed? but you'd never know from what I received (looks and was packaged perfect).
Not sure how well that model would suit your needs, and I'd mostly been looking at waterproof p&s models so I don't have much advice in that department.
For me, that high power zoom, the size (not too big but big enough to not drop) and the manual modes (which I have no idea how to use yet) made it an easy decision.
Thanks for the suggestions, you guys get much better deals over that side of the pond. Bit wary of buying abroad on higher value stuff, tho i guess its similar to the risks of Ebay. Been reading those review sites and dispite the fact i think it looks ugly as sin this one looks ideal
the Panasonics look so much better but Canon seem to get great reviews. I have ruled out the cheaper Nikons as they offer, seemingly, no manual controls.
i have the canon PS sx130is. I love that camera. 2xAA, great macro's (like better than my own eyes), ease of use for normal folks as well as tweakability for the more hardcore folk.
this was a quick macro that i took in my bathroom with no setup at all. just held the led there, aimed and snapped.
of course with some prep i could do better but i could barely see this dome imperfection with my own eyes and i have good eyes.
either way, i love this camera. im not a pro so i really dont need an SLR.
That has the features (shutter priority, aperture priority, manual, macro, etc.), to let you learn to how take good photos and you shouldn’t be unhappy with it.
My Canon SX20 IS is just an okay camera in most respects but for my job and this hobby, there are a couple of specific requirements that it does superbly:
fully articulating LCD
Super Macro
This shot is about a half finger-width from getting grease on the lens . . .
. . . in this one, the camera is resting against (touching) the drop-in.
Another where the camera actually touches the subject . . .
There are lots of more expensive/better choices but I've never had a camera that can take a clear picture of a penny with the penny almost touching the lens. It even shows tiny hairs and bits of skin.
I'm not even an intermediate level amature photographer but technology like this makes me look better than I am.
In my experience, every new generation of camera is measurably better than the prior, and usually costs less. I would suggest getting a camera that was introduced within the last year or two.
I'm a Pentax guy myself, but Old Lumens has it right when he suggests that you buy from a retailer. Typically, any digital camera that is really worth getting is going to be more expensive on eBay that it is to buy it new with a warranty from B&H, Adorama, Amazon, etc.
Check out last year's Canon Powershot S95. You may be able to find a good deal since the S100 was recently released. Has the same size image sensor as entry level DSLR. It's small enough to fit in your pocket. Full manual controls.
I'm in the same boat. I want a new camera for better macro shots. My 3-year old Panasonic Lumix ZS1 isn't cutting it. It's probably time for a DSLR. I'm looking forward to all the suggestions in this thread
These are not the best cameras but they do well what I need. My Canon's weakness (as I understand it) is that it will properly expose a car, for example but over expose everything around it. Up close (what I need) it is fantastic. Also, there's only so much that be expected from the lens on these point and shoots.
Amazing macro shots Foy! Nice camera you have there.
With regards to exposing the car behind bright background, you really cannot properly expose everything in one shot (limitation of camera dynamic range). You can go manual and underexpose the shot a bit to compromise. Or you can go for HDR imaging. =)
In addition to Old-Lumens' fine suggestions, may I recommend Calumet Photo for decent deals on warrantied used equipment. They also ship internationally.
Beach Photo is also a good resource for used equipment, as they are located near a big photo school.
As far as the bridge cameras go, Olympus and Panasonic make mirror-less DSLRs called "Micro four thirds". These cameras mean business but are very easy to carry and in small form factors that are targeted towards the average point and shoot photographers who want a bigger sensor and a decent glass but don't want a super advanced bulky camera and lenses. Basically with these everyone in the family can use it as a simple point and shoot camera and get quality results but you also have the option of slowly learning the more advanced features that other DSLRs offer and eventually get into the full manual shooting. The E-PL2/E-PL3 and Panasonic GF2/GF3 are the ones you might be first interested in. I personally have the E-P2 in silver and beside the slowish auto focus I have no other complain about it. The newer E-P3 now has extremely fast auto focus and a gorgeous OLED screen but it will cost twice compare to the E-P2, so the older models at lower prices are still worth checking out. Here is a picture of an E-P2 in black.
I have to say that the Lumix FZ150 is what I would recommend, if budget allows, otherwise look at the FZ48 as well as the FZ100.
I have an FZ30 which gave me thousands of great shots over many countries.
I regard the Lumix FZ series as deceptively easy to get great results, light, good looking, amazing optical zoom, almost the equal of low end DSLRs, and great value for money.
If I was a single man I'd buy one tomorrow as a companion for my current Nikon D5100 and recently retired but still functional FZ30.
(might be a bit hard to explain domestically as I also have a small Nikon Coolpix S3100 (DON'T get one), a Lumix TZ7 and a TZ10, and a bunch of old digitals and SLRs, (voigtlander, minolta etc), several phones with cameras, a flip video camera, tripods, flashes, bags and so on)
I bought a Nikon D5100 instead of an FZ150 because I missed SLRs. In hindsight an FZ150 would have been a better choice.
Now I want both.
Foy's shots look good and the Canon PS sx130is mentioned above looks like a good choice as well.
Edit: I saved about $400 buying camera and lens new on Ebay. I did not get a national warranty, so if necessary I'll take the camera to HK myself, that's the price of an airfare from here.
