Do i need a SRL

[hargi]

Hi bout a week ago i posted on here asking about what type of DSRL camera was good for a beginner. After looking around on th net at the nickon d50 and the cannon 350? The price is putting me off a little it will mean saving up or waiting till xmas. So i got thinking do i really need a SRL? and the answer is i dont know. At the moment i have got a fuji fine pix F401 its ok, got 3x optical zoom f=5.7-17.1mm what ever that means, but thats it everything else is automatic.
Does anyone know a website that show you/compairs the used of point and click to SRL.
I take a lot of wildlife shots at zoo's and that but sometimes my current cam cant zoom far enough.
the photos i want to take will be
1 animals
2 landscapes
and 3 maybe some sport pics.
so do i need a srl or will something else cheeper be better.
sorry for been a newb

 

[starscream]

Before going into the differences between SLR's and compacts, if price is putting you off the 350D, I think you would have to look for a non-SLR.

You'll probably soon become limited by the kit lens, especially if you are looking at going wildlife/sports, you are going to want a decent telephoto lens. Your talking at cheapest another £175 quid, and more like £700+ for a decent one. Then for landscape, you probably will need something like a 10-20mm lens, again another £300+

Something like a Fujifilm Finepix S9500 would be good for you. It has most of the functions of the 350D and a good range lens. That said, if you are able to afford it, SLR's really are great fun, and very addictive. I just think for what you are after, you will end up spending £1000+ before you are satisfied.

 

[robertgilbert86]

You can get a Nikon D50 Kit for £380, I've just bought one and it's great, don't let the megapixels put you off.

The downer is that you'll need a bag to carry it about, no more keeping a camera in your pocket!

Regarding lenses, I've heard you can get a decent enough 70-300mm for £200. And the kit lens is quite good.

I was going to go for one of those creative compacts with big zooms but in the end there wasn't much price difference between it and an SLR, so that's what I went for.

 

[SDK^]

It sounds to me like you just need a long zoom point & shoot camera.
It won't produce as a good quality photo as a D-SLR but it will be much cheaper (in the long run), it'll be a lot smaller, lighter, much easier to use and will still produce great photos

Here are a few of the class leading ultra zoom compact cameras. All of them have lenses that cover the equivalent 36-430mm focal length (12x zoom)

Canon Powershot S3 - £330

Panasonic DMC-FZ7 - £240

Sony Cyber-shot H5 - £300

 

[DRZ]

You can get a Nikon D50 Kit for £380, I've just bought one and it's great, don't let the megapixels put you off.

The downer is that you'll need a bag to carry it about, no more keeping a camera in your pocket!

Regarding lenses, I've heard you can get a decent enough 70-300mm for £200. And the kit lens is quite good.

I was going to go for one of those creative compacts with big zooms but in the end there wasn't much price difference between it and an SLR, so that's what I went for.

Initally, that is correct, there isnt much of a difference between buying a D50 / 350D and something like an S3IS but then you have the costs...

You have the memory costs (if you shoot in RAW, 1Gb is the absolute rock-bottom minimum you want to have, Ideally you want 2+), case, acessories you might need (filters etc) and then the lens costs.

An acceptable 70-300mm lens can be had for around £200 thats true, but you need to spend closer to £400 for one that could be called "good" really. Then you have a wide-angle replacement if you shoot landscapes, another £300ish cost and everything soon mounts up.

D-SLRs are fantastic, dont get me wrong but pound for pound, unless you have done some serious consideration over the long-running cost implications of owning one, a creative compact offers almost everything an SLR does for a lot less overall cost.

 

[robertgilbert86]

Initally, that is correct, there isnt much of a difference between buying a D50 / 350D and something like an S3IS but then you have the costs...

You have the memory costs (if you shoot in RAW, 1Gb is the absolute rock-bottom minimum you want to have, Ideally you want 2+), case, acessories you might need (filters etc) and then the lens costs.

An acceptable 70-300mm lens can be had for around £200 thats true, but you need to spend closer to £400 for one that could be called "good" really. Then you have a wide-angle replacement if you shoot landscapes, another £300ish cost and everything soon mounts up.

D-SLRs are fantastic, dont get me wrong but pound for pound, unless you have done some serious consideration over the long-running cost implications of owning one, a creative compact offers almost everything an SLR does for a lot less overall cost.

I'm pretty new to the SLR thing really, I had a chat with hargi on MSN, I ended up saying to go into a shop and try out various cameras, and only buy a DSLR if he was taking photography as a hobby.
Also he would definately need a 200 or 300mm zoom for zoo/aminal photography.

Good point about the additioinal costs too, I forgot to mention that

 

[unknowndomain]

Hi bout a week ago i posted on here asking about what type of DSRL camera was good for a beginner. After looking around on th net at the nickon d50 and the cannon 350? The price is putting me off a little it will mean saving up or waiting till xmas. So i got thinking do i really need a SRL? and the answer is i dont know. At the moment i have got a fuji fine pix F401 its ok, got 3x optical zoom f=5.7-17.1mm what ever that means, but thats it everything else is automatic.
Does anyone know a website that show you/compairs the used of point and click to SRL.
I take a lot of wildlife shots at zoo's and that but sometimes my current cam cant zoom far enough.
the photos i want to take will be
1 animals
2 landscapes
and 3 maybe some sport pics.
so do i need a srl or will something else cheeper be better.
sorry for been a newb

You added me to yahoo two days ago, asking to speak to me, I was watching some thing at the time and missed your message, havent seen you online since, what was it you wanted? message me again tom281004 or ctsttom (YIM)