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Advice for a beginner….
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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, as no information seems to ever stay in my head. 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, nice memories of what I’ve 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 nature, particularly 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 SX50Maybe there are other cameras more suitable for my needs. 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 just yet. However, I do want to improve my level of photography.
I had been leaning towards the P510 or the 650D. The P510 due to it’s compactness and zoom. However, I don’t know if it would be suitable for my bird photography. That is why I am more inclined towards the 650D. However, some people had suggested going for the 650D or the SX50. While no-one yet has suggested the HS30. 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 main issue is to ensure that I have one good enough for bird photography. I would like to be able to zoom in close to them. However I do not need a super zoom. I was happy enough with the zoom and quality on the S100fs. However, I don’t want to go ‘backwards’.
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 and have it fixed? Or should I just go for another one altogether? Try stick to simplier language please as my head is still spinning from the mass of photography language out there.
Thank you very much for any help. :oops:
I’m not speaking as an advanced photographer but I’ve been on the same road more or less & if you have the funds I would purchase the canon & the additional lens. For me what I learned in photography was not learned overnight but in a gradual process & to me, having two lens & a decent camera will bring you greater rewards in the learning process.
Thanks for the help and advice. I am more inclined to go that way myself too. However, as the S100fs has a zoom of 400mm and the 650D only has a zoom of 250mm on the lens supplied, I am just more or less concerned whether it will give me as good as, but preferably better, results as the Fujifilm S100fs that I have. The S100fs gave me good results, for what I need at present. I would like to keep at that level or advance on it. My main interest is in photographing birds and wildlife.
Hi Abubilla, you have given some useful information is the post. But I’m more interested in learning some techniques about wedding photography. Can you tell me which camera should I use for it and anything else you tell me about wedding photography.
Abubilla wrote:
However, as the S100fs has a zoom of 400mm and the 650D only has a zoom of 250mm on the lens supplied, I am just more or less concerned whether it will give me as good as, but preferably better, results as the Fujifilm S100fs that I have.
Not quite, you need to compare like with like. The fuji is quoted as having a zoom range of 28- 400mm (35mm equivalent). To get the 35mm equivalent of the 55- 250mm, you need to factor in the crop factor, and multiply the focal range by 1.6. This means the 35mm equivalent of the 55-250mm lens you mention is 88- 400mm, giving you the same reach as your fuji.
paddyotoole12 wrote:
Hi Abubilla, you have given some useful information is the post. But I’m more interested in learning some techniques about wedding photography. Can you tell me which camera should I use for it and anything else you tell me about wedding photography.
You should ask this question in another post as Abubilla is asking questions in his post himself.
Noel.
Hi Murchu,
That’s exactly the kind of information I am looking for……and that I am confused about. I can’t seem to get my head around that part of the camera. The part I am finding it hard to understand is: ‘To get the 35mm equivalent of the 55mm-250mm, you need to factor in the crop factor, and multiply the focal length range by 1.6’. Can you maybe simplify that for me please? Surely if you have to multiply by 1.6, this applies to all camera zooms and basically means, the bigger the zoom, the closer you get? Very confused on this matter. Any help much appreciated. Which would you choose? And why? Thanks again.
http://digital-photography-school.com/full-frame-sensor-vs-crop-sensor-which-is-right-for-you” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
Abubilla wrote:
Hi Murchu,
That’s exactly the kind of information I am looking for……and that I am confused about. I can’t seem to get my head around that part of the camera. The part I am finding it hard to understand is: ‘To get the 35mm equivalent of the 55mm-250mm, you need to factor in the crop factor, and multiply the focal length range by 1.6’. Can you maybe simplify that for me please? Surely if you have to multiply by 1.6, this applies to all camera zooms and basically means, the bigger the zoom, the closer you get? Very confused on this matter. Any help much appreciated. Which would you choose? And why? Thanks again.
No worries, know it can probably be a bit much to take in when starting out sometimes. Basically, when comparing lenses, you need to have a common ground. Basically that is what would the lens look like if used on a 35mm camera, thus you want to get the 35mm equivalent of the fuji, and the canon, then you can compare them.
The fuji was posted in 35mm equivalent terms, but the canon was not, thus the 1.6 multiplication factor (the crop factor of the canon sensor).
Basically the reason you need to multiply anything, is that all non-full frame cameras are less than the size of a 35mm frame of film, so when you mount a 50mm lens on a crop sensor camera you are seeing less than you would if you mounted that same lens on a full frame digital camera.
The link John provided should explain it in more detail, but for now, all you need to worry about, is that in order to compare like with like, when comparing lenses, you need to ensure you are looking at the 35mm equivalent of each lens.
Re: what I would choose, cameras are a very personal choice. If you can put up with the size of the dslr, I would say you will not be disappointed with it, although obviously it is the more expensive option. Only you can decide which camera is worth it for you, as there are cameras to suit all needs and budgets, and we all need to draw a line somewhere, and decide at which point our needs are being met in a camera.
Good luck with whatever you choose, and would recommend you give each of the cameras you are considering, a whirl in a camera store. The best camera is the one you will use, and my opinion is that things like feel, ergonomics, size and handling are very important. I have some very capable cameras, but often they remain at home in favour of smaller/ more portable cameras, and only you can decide what you can/ want to tote when you want to shoot.
In any case and once again, all the best with your choice, and welcome to PI :)
Thanks John for the link. Some good advice on that. Some parts a bit difficult for beginners to understand. Often think they’d be better getting beginners to write these things so they can ‘simplify’ the language. But has helped me a good bit. Thanks.
Thanks Murchu for your ‘simplified’ explanation. Has given me much better understanding of the whole thing. Thanks for taking the time out to help me with this. Hopefully I’ll be speaking like an experienced photographer in no time. I think I am going to head for the Canon 650 D as I really want to advance on this, take courses, and get to know my camera. I know already, I think, that I have the ‘artistic eye’, or so I am told. I just need to learn how to express that through my camera.
Thanks again lads for your help on this issue. Much appreciate your time and effort.
Abubilla wrote:
Hopefully I’ll be speaking like an experienced photographer in no time.
Ah, don’t worry about the talking, let the pictures do that. Good luck with your new camera, have fun and take lots of pictures :)
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