Digital Camera Recommendations (10x zoom)

[Neil Adams]

Hi guys

im looking to replace my camera (Olympus C740 Ultra Zoom) its been well used in the 2 and half years i've had it (estimate 20,000+ pics) but its beginning to get a bit worn out and its being repaired (for the second time, same fault) and i think its likely to break again so i'll be getting a replacement through the warranty or buying a new one.

My primary usage for the my camera is motorsport photography, my budget is limited to 'normal' high end digital cameras (10x zoom or better, £500) as i cant afford the 'professional' slrs and the lenses that go with them.

Can anyone recommend a camera similar to the spec outlined above? or perhaps advise me on brands to avoid

cheers

[James North]

Are you looking at a high end point n shoot, or low end DSLR?

Because I think it could be worth it looking on ebay for a Nikon D50, or Canon 350D, You don't have to get yourself uber expensive lenses, you could get a Sigma 28-300mm f3.5-5.6 for about £130, okay it's not a pro lens, and it's probably one that most seriousl shooters would stay away from. But if it's just hobby shooting, then for the budget you state it's quite appropriate.

[Neil Adams]

high end point and shoot really, (allthough my current camera has manual and semi-manual modes which i use) i'd prefer to buy new so i have some sort of comeback should the camera break.

just looking on jessops dslr option :
i could get nikon D50 with sigma 300mm lense for £570,
that lense equates to about 9x zoom

high end point and shoot option :
LUMIX DMC-FZ30, £500 12x zoom

it is just a hobby for me, i dont make any money from my pics, what are the advantages of dslrs? also the sigma 300mm lense, i guess this is a basic make, what problems would i be likely to find with that lense?

[thebear]

Originally Posted by Neil Adams

just looking on jessops dslr option :
i could get nikon D50 with sigma 300mm lense for £570,
that lense equates to about 9x zoom

That is EXACTLY what I have now (in addition to my Oly C-740). The 10x Oly lens is equal to a 420mm.

The Sigma lens' only detractions can be ignored on the D50 as the image sensor is smaller that a 35mm film frame. All `edge deterioration' of the image becomes a non-issue. Furthermore the sensor then renders the 300mm to be equal to a 420mm lens and the 28mm is equal to 40mm. The `Kit' Nikkor lens (18-55mm) is equal to 25-77mm on a 35mm film frame.

I also have a Nikon N75 (F75 in UK) that has been faithful but I fear it is time to join the "21st Photographic Century". I am retaining my Tokina 17mm ƒ1:3.5 as it is still an excellent lens and will work on the D50 (24mm) as well as the N75.

I have sold off my other Nikon N75 as well as an N65 + many lenses on eBay.

The Oly will go to my daughter who is getting tired of her N65.

Anyone want to buy some Nikon 35mm equipment? I have a 100% feedback rating on eBay. PM for details and screen name.

[Neil Adams]

Originally Posted by Neil Adams

im looking to replace my camera (Olympus C740 Ultra Zoom) its beginning to get a bit worn out and its being repaired (for the second time, same fault) and i think its likely to break again

well i got my camera back after another month wait and it broke again within a hours usage, so i've got them to swap it for a new camera under the warranty.

i decided not to get a dslr because i didnt want to buy a budget lense, after all it is an important part of the camera.

i went for a FujiFilm Finepix S5600 (10x zoom, 5.1 megapixels). It came with a carry case and 256mb card for £280, plus i got an extended warranty and £35 in vouchers because i the olympus was £350 when i bought not a bad deal at all.

cheers for your help

[James North]

Hope you get good results from it.

Personally with your budget, I would have gone with the DSLR and budget lens option. As I belive this would enable you take photos with significantly better image quality than the Fuji is capable of.

I started out with the Fuji s620, and s5000 before progressing to DSLR. And belive me, there is a big difference.

[MikeHoyer]

There is, but at the same time, budget lenses don't always cut it. If it's just for a hobby or fun, you probably don't want to be carrying around a load of kit either.

[Dex]

I would be more than happy with the Fuji - all my shots last year were taken with an S5500 and i found that with the right technique i could get some excelent motorsport and modelling shots. It travelled half the world with me - a lot of the shots on my website ( www.focalcapture.co.uk) were taken with the Fuji - all the aerial, all the landscape and some of the motorsport and modelling ones.

[MikeHoyer]

I had an S5000 back in 2004, and it did me pretty well. DSLRs are great, look impressive aswell, but they also need a variety of lenses, stuff like sensor cleaning, etc. But at the same time, you can get a basic system, and build on it.

I wouldn't buy a D50 though. I want a D2h!

[Neil Adams]

you're right about not wanting to carrying a lot of kit mike, this weekend for the btcc at brands for example im planning to get most of my pics on saturday and for sunday im going to be in the paddock grandstand for a change (i can get a few more shots from there but a big dslr would certainly be out of place and in the way!)

[Pigit]

Mike,im in the same position dont know whether to get the d2x or the d2hs,why would you go for a d2h instead of the d2x...Paul.GT

[MikeHoyer]

Price mainly. You can get a used D2H for around 800 quid or so these days, compared to the around 3 grand for a D2X. It's still a great camera aswell apparently.

[Pigit]

The only thing that im worried about is cropping photo's with only 4 megapix.But what if you had the money would you buy the D2X...

[Hubble]

Originally Posted by Pigit

The only thing that im worried about is cropping photo's with only 4 megapix.But what if you had the money would you buy the D2X...

Just convert to Canon Paul, you know you want to....

[Pigit]

Phill if i had'nt spent my money on all this ~Glass for Nikon i probably would have changed over,but as i have to much sigma glass which does'nt hold it's resell value it would cost me a fortune which you and i know is not possible at the present time,and i also like the Nikon design and ease of use(because you know i'm a simpleton realy),and i would be on the phone every weekend asking you if i could borrow the 400mm lol

[Hubble]

Originally Posted by Pigit

......and i would be on the phone every weekend asking you if i could borrow the 400mm lol

And I would be happy to let you borrow the big fella.....just so I could get a pic of you overbalancing with it

[Les]

I had to laugh last weekend when I went photographing big cats. My camera lens being titchy was excellent for getting between the chain fencing whereas everyone with the big slrs were having an awful time.

I know it's not motorsport but I am dead chuffed with this piccie
http://www.btccandmore.co.uk/Bigcats/PICT5897.JPG

[Neil Adams]

after my first weekend using my new camera im very pleased with it,
link to gallery of pictures

http://www.btcc-racing.com/photos/btcc/090406photos.asp

the pre-focus is miles quicker than the olympus, id hadnt realised how bad it was, the new fuji one is really quick

i can also crop into the pictures a bit more as well because of the increased megapixels

i need to do a bit more testing to learn how to use the shutter priority mode, at surtees i got better results on auto

the colours are a bit better than the olympus plus theres a chroma flare colour mode which gives better colours although the pics could have too much contrast rather than brightness

[Hubble]

Originally Posted by Neil Adams

after my first weekend using my new camera im very pleased with it,
link to gallery of pictures

http://www.btcc-racing.com/photos/btcc/090406photos.asp

I'm in your picture of Matt Neal approaching Druids - I'm the fat one with the big lens to the left of the 3 marshalls

I have a few of mine displayed at my temporary site - www.pb-photographic.co.uk

[James North]

Nice one Phil, you like getting in peoples pictures don't you?! hehe.

@ Neil, good effort with the fuji point n shoot there. Good variety of vantage points and angles as well.

I used to think my s5000 was quick too, that was until I got my first DSLR, ran out of memory on my DSLR, back in the days when I had no way to free it up by tranfering to laptop, so pull out the ol fuji, and it was comical on how slow it felt!

[Neil Adams]

cheers james, you're right; dslrs are in a whole other league when it comes to speed

ps is there any tricks for capturing fluroscent colours accuratley?

[Dex]

The greatest things that the Fuji taught me were because of it's limitations.


I learned to plan the shot properly - i couldn't just point and squirt like you can with a D-SLR, relying on fast AF and 3fps.

I also learned about filling the screen - my S5500 is 4mp so i couldn't afford to be cropping it lots.

I used it for some portrait/glamour photography and it taught me a lot about using natural light.

Above all else it re-lit my interest in photography - i was last this keen about it when i owned a Zenit-E (my first slr)

[FIL]

Dex: most of what you said, i could have said too about my Olympus C-730... great camera to learn digital on... i'd almost given up photograhy for a few years because i wasn't financially able to keep on shooting and developing 5 or 6 rolls of 1600 ISO Fuji each race meeting... I cut back to a little bit of nature photography here and there.. but the Olympus got me back into the cars, and taught me a lot about working with what you've got with regards to the slower AF (pre-focussing became the name of the game), low MP's (3.2) and it's issues with getting the exposure right with white cars (it would always overexpose a white car... to the point where you'd get into a habit of darkening the shot when you knew a white car was coming...)

moving on to the 20d and 30d was another huge step up because while you gain on most things, you lose out on zoom range.. just another step on the learning curve, and certainly not something that cannot be worked around...