Questions about purchasing a Canon

[boBQuincy]

The castle at night, I agree it's a nice clear contrast. But I can image having trouble focusing at night, if you are zoomed in with a 300mm+ focal length (on a slow lens and small sensor and handheld ). Maybe I'm wrong, but I could imagine even tiny bits of motion blur could really make focus difficult.

I agree, especially since most superzooms are f/5.6 or slower at the long end. That may be changing, Panasonic's new FZ200 goes to 600mm equivalent and is f/2.8 all the way, amazing! That may be a good camera for the OP, lots of zoom and a fast lens although it still has slow focus at the long end (up to 1 second) and only average shot-to-shot times.

Back to our age old problem, no one camera does it all.

 

[havoc315]

I agree, especially since most superzooms are f/5.6 or slower at the long end. That may be changing, Panasonic's new FZ200 goes to 600mm equivalent and is f/2.8 all the way, amazing! That may be a good camera for the OP, lots of zoom and a fast lens although it still has slow focus at the long end (up to 1 second) and only average shot-to-shot times.

Back to our age old problem, no one camera does it all.

Different cameras definitely have different strengths. So often we see the request for, "a camera with a great zoom, great image quality, and great in low light, for under $300" -- may e some day, such a camera will exist and knock all the other cameras out of the market.

But I had the same thought for a camera for OP -- the FZ200. You're getting 2 big elements there, huge zoom in a fast lens. Not going to get that in a dSLR lens without spending $$$$$$$.

If the weather is nice this weekend, I might try my new extreme telephoto option. Recently got the Tamron 70-300.... Haven't tried it with my 2x converter yet. (I mostly stopped using the converter when I switched to digital, when crop factor gave me reach). If I can still get sharp images with the doubler (I know light will have to be good), that will give me effectively 900mm. May force me to try some birding.

 

[boBQuincy]

To totally hijack the thread, I tried a Canon 70-200 with 1.4x converter on a micro 4/3, 560mm equivalent but that's a long way from 900!

But back to helping the OP, Panasonic has a 100-300mm zoom lens for these cameras and that is 200-600mm equivalent! With the 14-42 kit lens that's about 43x total zoom.

 

[havoc315]

Fantastic moon shot. I got a decent one with 2x converter on 210mm, for effectively 630mm. I still had to crop a ton.


Moonshot by Havoc315, on Flickr

 

[photo_chick]

If they could get me close to the picture on the first page, then I would be happy. I just don't see the Fuji doing it.

I need to dig out the panoramas my husband shot with my DD's Fuji S1000 on our last trip. They're not quite what is on the first page of this post, but they're pretty close. DH was shooting hand held and did the panoramas in camera. Honestly I was shocked at how well they came out (as far as stitching and such) and it really got me to take another look at the camera. I'm not trying to sell you on keeping the Fuji here. I'm just saying with a little knowledge many cameras can get you great results.


Did anyone address the noise (graininess) on the long zoom shots? I didn't read all the responses yet so if I'm being repetitive, sorry.

When the camera is zoomed out the maximum aperture is smaller so it lets in less light. This means the camera either needs a slower shutter speed or higher ISO setting. If it goes to a higher ISO setting you will see more noise. This will happen to a degree with any zoom lens that does not have a constant aperture through the focal range.

The one thing I have noticed on DD's little Fuji is that it is a tad slow to focus. You really need to pre-focus the thing. And of course that can easily lead to missed focus. It's one of those frustrating issues that plagues some lower end point and shoots.

 

[letthewookiewin]

I took one of those classes, my first response to the teacher was "I work for a Fortune 100 company, what use do I have for ethics?" He didn't get the joke.

My sister got her J.D. from Tulane Law school. I told her that if she was bored I would be more than willing to let her do the work for me. Oh well, at least I have a good brain to pick for help.

To totally hijack the thread, I tried a Canon 70-200 with 1.4x converter on a micro 4/3, 560mm equivalent but that's a long way from 900!

But back to helping the OP, Panasonic has a 100-300mm zoom lens for these cameras and that is 200-600mm equivalent! With the 14-42 kit lens that's about 43x total zoom.

That shot is amazing!! Was that with a Canon or your Panasonic?

 

[boBQuincy]

That shot is amazing!! Was that with a Canon or your Panasonic?

Thanks! This was with the Panasonic G3 using the Canon lens. One of the interesting things about micro 4/3 (Panasonic and Olympus) is that they can use almost any other manufacturers lenses with an inexpensive adapter (manual focus only).

 

[letthewookiewin]

Well I can't seem to find a brick and mortar store that has the Panasonic G3. They don't show up on Best Buys website that I could find. Frys has them listed but has them as unavailable at all stores within 50 miles. I don't want to buy online, b/c I want to see how a camera feels in my hands before I purchase it.

I know several have said that a DSLR is too much camera for my needs. What would you suggest I get if the biggest problem with my Fuji is missing shots?

 

[havoc315]

Well I can't seem to find a brick and mortar store that has the Panasonic G3. They don't show up on Best Buys website that I could find. Frys has them listed but has them as unavailable at all stores within 50 miles. I don't want to buy online, b/c I want to see how a camera feels in my hands before I purchase it.

I know several have said that a DSLR is too much camera for my needs. What would you suggest I get if the biggest problem with my Fuji is missing shots?

Unless you live in a major city with a store like B&H, you're going to have trouble finding the better cameras in brick and mortar stores. Stores like Best Buy carry a rather limited selection, and don't often have many of the higher end cameras.

When you say "missing shots," not totally sure what you mean.

You may like the Nikon J1/2. It's designed to be very easy to use, with very fast focus, and some features to help a novice truly get the shot.

 

[letthewookiewin]

Unless you live in a major city with a store like B&H, you're going to have trouble finding the better cameras in brick and mortar stores. Stores like Best Buy carry a rather limited selection, and don't often have many of the higher end cameras.

When you say "missing shots," not totally sure what you mean.

You may like the Nikon J1/2. It's designed to be very easy to use, with very fast focus, and some features to help a novice truly get the shot.

I live in Justin, Texas, which is on the out-skirts of the Dallas/ Fort Worth metroplex.

By missing shots I mean, now I think it means something other than what I did when I started this thread. When I try and take pictures of action, like with the DSs football games, or at shows like the Indy show at DHS, by the time the camera focuses after I've pressed the shutter button, I have missed what I was trying to take a picture of. I want something that won't have that issue and have the ability to buy longer lenses, so when we do take an Alaskan cruise, I can get good shots from the balcony.

 

[havoc315]

I live in Justin, Texas, which is on the out-skirts of the Dallas/ Fort Worth metroplex.

By missing shots I mean, now I think it means something other than what I did when I started this thread. When I try and take pictures of action, like with the DSs football games, or at shows like the Indy show at DHS, by the time the camera focuses after I've pressed the shutter button, I have missed what I was trying to take a picture of. I want something that won't have that issue and have the ability to buy longer lenses, so when we do take an Alaskan cruise, I can get good shots from the balcony.

Then you're back to dSLR, which is the fastest for capturing action. Particularly, something with a good burst speed. (It's a reason I like my Sony A55-- 10 frames per second, but panning with the action is challenging due to the EVF).
But you grab something like the Sony A55... Then in a very affordable range, find a good used copy of the Minolta 70-210/f4, and you have a fairly fast long lens for capturing sports.

For something like an Alaska cruise, a long lens is good for shooting wildlife. But for more general scenery pictures, nice to have a good wide angle lens.

 

[boBQuincy]

Well I can't seem to find a brick and mortar store that has the Panasonic G3. They don't show up on Best Buys website that I could find. Frys has them listed but has them as unavailable at all stores within 50 miles. I don't want to buy online, b/c I want to see how a camera feels in my hands before I purchase it.

I know several have said that a DSLR is too much camera for my needs. What would you suggest I get if the biggest problem with my Fuji is missing shots?

Panasonic's G series (and GH series) are probably not available at many stores. Their GF series is more common but apart from using the same lenses these don't have much in common with the G. I agree about holding the camera to see how it feels, we just had to go on faith (& trust & pixie dust) and bought one sight unseen. It is really small compared to a dSLR.

Which brings us to another point: Panasonic's G series is for all intents and purposes a dSLR. It is not technically a dSLR because it does not have an optical viewfinder nor the mirror that supports that feature. Instead it has an electronic viewfinder, but a good one. As for "too much" for your needs, all of the cameras you are likely to buy have an "Auto" mode which is as easy to use as your Fuji. Then when you are ready to go further (and if you want to) they all have semi-auto and manual settings to play with.

Also all dSLRs and micro 4/3 (and NEX) have interchangeable lenses so you can go as wide or as long as your credit card is good for. Which reminds me, Panasonic's GX1 is almost the same as the G3 except it does not have a viewfinder (only the rear LCD screen) and is a bit smaller, same image quality though. Yet another camera to consider!

 

[photo_chick]

I live in Justin, Texas, which is on the out-skirts of the Dallas/ Fort Worth metroplex.

By missing shots I mean, now I think it means something other than what I did when I started this thread. When I try and take pictures of action, like with the DSs football games, or at shows like the Indy show at DHS, by the time the camera focuses after I've pressed the shutter button, I have missed what I was trying to take a picture of. I want something that won't have that issue and have the ability to buy longer lenses, so when we do take an Alaskan cruise, I can get good shots from the balcony.

Howdy! I'm from Azle and now live in Grand Prairie. If you want to go shopping and play with lots of models go to Arlington Camera. They're at the corner of Randol Mill and Cooper, a couple blocks south of 30 near Arlington Memorial. I know it's a drive from Justin, but they're one of the few full service camera shops left in the metroplex with employees that generally know what they're talking about.