Camera geeks?

[Tarmacsurfer]

I realise I'm insulting the sensibilities of serious photographers here, but I'm currently looking to replace my aged (and recently lost) Finepix S602 zoom. Managed to lose it last weekend and I've been told that sometime this week I'll be issued with a credit note for Jessops and to obtain my replacement there. Been browsing around their site and I have narrowed it to three contenders.

My main usage is landscape and architectural stuff, some wildlife but not much sports or fast motion pictures other than the occasional running squirrel or bird in flight.

The contenders:

Panasonic Lumix FZ18

Sony DSC-H50

Finepix S8100FD

At the moment the Lumix is edging the other two to me despite being the oldest camera of the three. Bear in mind I'm currently no expert, but I want something more than a point and shoot to learn more about the black arts with, all three will probably be beyond my current capabilities but I want something to grow into. General utitlity and lens quality are the primary concerns.

Any advice or recommendations for other camera to look at?
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[panrider_uk]

I had a Lumix before I got my Pentax SLR and thought that it was a great little camera. Well built and good quality pics.

Mark
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[Stevie GooGs]

Why do you want to be stuck with fixed length cameras?
IMHO i get a DSLR camera body and then get a lens that suits your needs. I know a lot of it comes down to money but you can get a 400D/450D and then get a lens that you want, tbh thats how i started and my list of equipment is just increasing. If you can afford to get a body and a lens then i would recommend that route as you can always pickup 2nd hand lenses and cameras on ebay. I think you will get much more life out of your camera if you get a body and then buy different lenses.

I have a list of equipment i use, am not a pro im pretty new to photography but i like taking photos as a hobby/work related

https://www.ultimatenaturegear.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=278
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[panrider_uk]

[Stevie GooGs]

No i understand that but these cameras are not exactly small compacts either. Im guessing they would fit in your handbag Mark .

https://www.letsgodigital.org/images/artikelen/14/fujifilm-finepix-s8100fd.jpg
https://www.letsgodigital.org/images/artikelen/55/h50-sony.jpg
https://www.photokina-show.com/news_images/0489_panasonic-lumix-fz18.jpg
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[Neorion]

I have a sony A200 and I love it, not the smallest but cracking pics.
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[Tarmacsurfer]

You're right, they're not small cameras. The main reason I like the format of the "super zoom" or "bridge" cameras, whatever you want to call them, is that they seem to be very versatile without requiring much in the way of lens swapping and faffing.

I walk with crutches, sadly this makes juggling hardware a bit difficult unless sat down somewhere convenient, not always easy in the field. I was in the habit of carrying my S602 around in a slingshot bag, if I saw something I wanted to snap then it was easy to stop, unsling the camera and shoot inside of a few seconds. That was only a 35mm - 210mm lens and worked OK for me, so I'm presuming the the advances in CCD and lenses will mean a big improvement on what I'm used to and how easy it will be to set shots up. A full DSLR rig would be way, way, way over the top for my relatively simple needs as well as offering the aforementioned physical challenges.
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[Stevie GooGs]

Yeah i can understand your situation if you don't want to carry much equipment and swap lenses. Feel free to post any of your pics on the forum would be good to see some of them. Don't get me wrong you could get a cheap DSLR and a wide angel lens for your landscapes and a zoom for your wildlife, but if you feel these cameras cover your needs then enjoy. I spoke to a member of my forum he says
"The camera I use is a Fujifilm s5800 It has most features a DSLR has but has a fixed lens 10x (385mm)focal length. It's the cheapest one on market, but Sony, Canon, Nikon all do similar models, better quality but about £100 more"
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[Lizzy]

I own a EOS 400D and absolutely love it

[Stevie GooGs]

Yeah its a good camera it was my first DSLR.
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Current: 2019 Yamaha T7 -> 2015 KTM Superduke R | 2000 Yamaha R1 Past -> 2009 KTM 990 SM -> 2005 kawasaki ZX10r -> 2000 Honda CBR 600 FY -> 2002 Honda XLV 125 Varadero
Bike Pics! -> My Photography Website

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

You could probably get some awesome deals on the 400D now, since the 450 is out. Although the 450 is probably worth the extra wedge to be honest, just for all the little improvements on it. Does it show that's what I have?
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[Stevie GooGs]

I advised my neighbour to get a 450D as i let him play with the 400D, the 450D feels very light and the screen is much better on the 450D. I think i would really only use live view for macro/close up photography. I personaly want the Canon 5D Mark II but cant stretch to the 2k mark and its a hobby so i don't sell photos to make the money back.
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Bike Pics! -> My Photography Website

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Never used the live view on mine. It takes ages to auto focus on live view too apparently.
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[Stevie GooGs]

Yeah i thought it would be more of a gimmick.
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Current: 2019 Yamaha T7 -> 2015 KTM Superduke R | 2000 Yamaha R1 Past -> 2009 KTM 990 SM -> 2005 kawasaki ZX10r -> 2000 Honda CBR 600 FY -> 2002 Honda XLV 125 Varadero
Bike Pics! -> My Photography Website

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[Stevie GooGs]

I read a lot of reviews that are saying the Canon 5D Mark II is right up with the 1Ds. The price tag is a bit concerning at nearly 2k.
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Bike Pics! -> My Photography Website

[G]

I've got an FZ18 and have recently got my self a Samsung NV24HD.

The FZ18 is a decent camera if you need the zoom-length, but I find myself using the NV24 a lot more.
It's decently pocket sized with a spaceship-door lens cap, so no knocking them off in your pocket. It's a bit bigger all around than my non-auto focus, non-zoom old Casio Exilim, but not actually by much!
Image detail isn't quite as good as I'd like, but haven't played with all the settings and is fine for the majority until you zoom right in (and you need an SLR sensor to get really decent image quality pretty much, in my experience).
I really like the (35mm equivalent) 24mm lens, which was one of my main reasons for choosing it; for landscape as well as pictures inside and social situations it's really useful.
It's not nearly as good if you need to be zoomed in, of course; as it's 3.7x (or something) zoom goes very wide to just slight telephoto.

Pics from the FZ18:
https://gees.zenfolio.com/p643108071/hdfbb6a2#hdfbb6a2

Pics from the NV24:
https://gees.zenfolio.com/p669117776/h3459a9ad#h3459a9ad

On both cameras, I'm not quite satisfied with their auto-modes and often end up playing with the settings for general 'point and shoot' pics.