New camera maybe

eyetrip

eyetrip

eyetrip

Soldato
Joined
8 Nov 2006
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Sooooo...

Holiday in Costa Rica in April.

In 2011 I got an FZ100, and outside of a trip to Mexico, it has not seen huge amounts of use. My, where has the time gone?

Anyway, I do quite like the camera, but I have to admit, it does struggle with anything but the brightest light to get nice clean photos and video.

So I reckon I am almost certainly going to be upgrading it, as in Costa Rica, there's likely going to be plenty times I don't have bright light, what with visiting cloud forest and rain forest areas.

I like a jack of all trades and the FZ100 offered, at the time, better video than the other brands offered. I take a good mix of photo and video.

At first I noticed the FZ150, which it seems has addressed the low light issue a bit.

Then I noticed the FZ200, Which has some nice additions to the FZ150...

But then then there is the Canon SX50....

The only things I think really pushing me to the Canon are that HUGE zoom (as I am often trying to get a pic of something just that bit too far away), and have read that low light is fantastic on it. Currently, there is another BIG plus of £50 cash-back. That would bring it down to £320 - over £100 cheaper than the FZ200!

And then between the FZ150 and FZ200? Well that FZ200 price tag is tear inducing... But I love the video and lens improvements over the FZ150.

Anyone know if low light of SX50 leagues better than FZ150/FZ200?

I do a lot of video, and have read a few times that the lens on SX50 is not very smooth, plus autofocus can struggle bit - so would that likely ruin my videos?

Are there any other options?

I guess I would also be happy with a camcorder that did good stills, but I have been under the impression for a bit now that while cameras are now getting pretty good at video, camcorders are still not great for stills.
 
The FZ200 does look good, better than the Canon SX50 thanks to its constant f/2.8, excellent video mode and EVF. If you're intersted in video the FZ200 is a nobrainer, I really like the idea of 1080/60p, the Canon will only do 24p. The Panasonic also has the high speed 240 and 120fps modes at decent resolution, 120fps at 720p. It's only £339 at digitalrev.
 
Fuji X-S1? I'm not terribly clued up on bridge cameras, but I've come to trust the Fuji X label and the X-S1 was incredibly well reviewed from what I remember.
 
pingu666 said:
Nex 5 is real good in low light, I guess the 3 might be too.

Super zooms tend to have a small sensor, that's why they suck in low light
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I am hesitant on the MFT systems, purely down to having to carry and change lenses.

But how much better is picture quality really?

About the only one I think I would consider right now is the Panasonic G5 - and that is darn expensive!

clv101 said:
The FZ200 does look good, better than the Canon SX50 thanks to its constant f/2.8, excellent video mode and EVF. If you're intersted in video the FZ200 is a nobrainer, I really like the idea of 1080/60p, the Canon will only do 24p. The Panasonic also has the high speed 240 and 120fps modes at decent resolution, 120fps at 720p. It's only £339 at digitalrev.
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Yeah, it is those awesome video features which is really driving me towards the camera.

Are DigitalRev good and reliable with good customer service?

Ksanti said:
Fuji X-S1? I'm not terribly clued up on bridge cameras, but I've come to trust the Fuji X label and the X-S1 was incredibly well reviewed from what I remember.
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Thanks, will have a read up, though I have my doubts it will be up to scratch in the video department....
 
There is another website that tends to be significantly cheaper than digitalrev, but can't be mentioned on these forums.

I would certainly avoid any system cameras like MFT or NEX series for what you're after, there's no superzoom capability and with a telephoto lens they are far more expensive than a compact or even an SLR.
 
I had a bridge camera for a good while ( panasonic fz38) and have just got a dmc-g3 for under 300 quid

size wise they are very close, but the g3 seems so much more flexible, though you lose the convenience of the super zoom, the increased sensor size and pixel count more than makes up for this...depends what you need it for, the super zoom s great for wildlife but you dont need it for landscapes or people

size comparison
with a prime/pancake or even the new 14-42 power zoom I think it would be a bit more compact than the bridge as the g3 doesnt have such a large grip

8390487694_c299573e4f_c.jpg



if you need the zoom though you will have to stick with the fz-series or similar
 
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Decided to pick up a Smasung NX1000.

Seems like a lot of camera for £325, and the fact that it comes with free 7 inch tab, which was likely getting for other half for holidays anyway, and it's a darn steal.

I really wanted the NX20, but this was not supposed to be costing me a lot and that was £300 more. Even though I really wanted the extra control it provided.

Would have waited for the NX300, but the promotion would have been over and it was is only scheduled for release in March. As on holiday beginning April, if it got delayed, I would be screwed.

It should provide far better low light performance than the FZ100 I currently have, and the FZ200 I was considering.

The only unknown for me is the video, which will be what I play with the most in the next couple of days.

If I like it I will likely only pick up the 50-200mm lens.

Maybe the 18-55mm with OIS, but that will start eating into the savings from the NX1000.
 
Not sure how I am feeling about this NX1000.

On one hand, photos are indeed very good. One the other hand, videos aren't seeming to fair so well in testing so far.

Got the camera with me and hoping to get out at lunch to try some more.

Also, the 50-200mm lens I picked up isn't great all round. Clarity seems good, but focus isn't all that and the zoom is very stiff indeed.
 
Well, after sticking it in with the NX1000, I am liking it more and more.

I did up up sending the 50-200mm back, as the OIS was not great at all, and have now picked up the 18-200mm.

Ok, it was damned expensive at £540, and maybe negated some savings going NX1000 route, but it is a pretty decent lens. Yes, heavy, but wil be a great all-rounder for me on holidays.

Video seemed to improve a little with the addition of a faster card. Not sure why or how, but am sure it's not placebo...

Anyway, I was just putting a review of it up on Amazon when I noticed that Samsung have a Cashback on for their lenses currently - so will be getting £100 back on the lens. Woohoo!

But now I am in a dilemna choice-wise... Do I simply take advantage of this as a savings on this lens, or take the opportunity to add one more lens?

There's £50 on offer for the 16mm (£150) or 30mm (£220) pancakes (not sure the 20mm worth it for me)

There's £100 for the 60mm macro lens (£450)

Or £200 for the 85mm lens (£700)

So, minus the £100 back from the 18-200mm and £X for each lens:
£0 for 16mm
£70 for 30mm
£250 for 60mm
£400 for 85mm

Having used bridges and compacts for so long, I am having difficulty deciding what would be best for me.
 
Decided on the 60mm Macro.

Just seemed like the best choice given my current selection of lenses and that I like to get up close and personal with little things when I can

Am real chuffed with this cashback as I would not have even considered spending more money til much further down the line :)

Still want either 16mm or 30mm pancake though.
 
Well, think I got all my kit now - camera + kit lens, 18-200mm zoom, 60mm macro :D

There is still the temptation for a pancake, especially as I can pick up the 20mm for £80 after cash back (but is there really any point when I have the 20-50mm kit lens?)

Anyway, looking forward to a day at Kew - though would have been nice to have a sunny day :(

P1020002.jpg
 
Oh dear....

Found an issue, but not sure how much it's going to affect me, or what to do about it.

Problem seems to present itself in low-light situations, and I think only in manual video mode, but it could just be that it's harder to notice in well-lit scenes. Have not done as much video testing up til now as I should have.

What seems to be happening is that auto-exposure compensation seems to be enabled in manual modes. Or at least partly.

In a dark scene, there can be a flicker, where the brightness shoots up for a fraction of a second, and it can keep doing this, creating a bit of a strobing effect in the video.

In the hopes this was a camera fault, I got Amazon to send me a replacement, but the new camera, on different firmware exhibits the same behaviour.

Have tried different lenses, sd cards, pal/ntsc, manually setting anything that has an auto setting from iso to white balance, you name it.

Sometimes it's worse than others, and I think I can reduce it considerably/completely using shutter priority in video mode or auto, but still need to do more testing on this.

I suppose, if I am sure it doesn't have during reasonably to well lit scenes, I can live with it as long as auto or aperture priority doesn't exhibit this behaviour at all, as I guess I won't be shooting huge amounts of low-light stuff - though am sure there will be a fair few times on my Costa Rica holiday next month I will.

But what if I can not eliminate this with methods mentioned above?

I guess I can send the camera back as faulty, but what about the lenses? Spent a grand on lenses, and some (or all) are outside return window now... Maybe Amazon will be understanding, but it puts me in the awful position of having to pick something all over again.

I was going to get the NX300 if it came out in time, but what if it has similar issue? Do I wait for it and hope for the best?

Guess it was all too good to be true that I had found something without an issue I could live with...
 
Well, have at least found a work-around, which I'll detail in case anybody should ever find they have the same problem and a search turns this up.

Below a certain light threshold on this camera, there seems to be some odd relationship between iso and shutter speed.

While I would normally try and stick to 180 degree shutter, so 1/60th for 30 fps, when the light of scene drops really low, to prevent the flicker, if I use 400 iso and set shutter to 1/125 it seems to stop the storing. For 800 iso it seems to be 1/125 and iso 1600 1/250 and iso 3200 i think was 1/400.

For some reason, as I move down from 1/60th, the scene darkens as I would expect, but when I hit these "optimal" shutter speeds, it brightens again...

It's not ideal, but it seems to cure the problem of strobing.

It's not that I am likely to be in such low light situations often where I will need to do this, but there will be some night-time creatures I will want to video on holidays.

There does not seem to be a problem with "medium" and good light situations.

I believe the NX300 is out next Friday, and I am definitely buying, but I do hope it does not exhibit the same issue.

At least I know how to work around it if it does...
 
I don't shoot video, but isn't this to do with the lighting frequency being picked up by the sensor? I think it's an issue with all CMOS sensors, you have to use the correct shutter speed to get around it?
 
Well, Samsung really just narked me off big time.

I read the terms (i though carefully) on the lens cash back offer, and it turns out it's one per household/person period, and not per invoice per hosuehold/person.

Then, to top it off, they are giving me hassle on the other claim as my delivery and invoice details are the same (I need these things delivered to work).

If they are going to stuff me around on £200, it's suddenly sucked a fair bit of value from the system purchase.

Am seriously considering getting in touch with Amazon, and returning all Samsung items purchased. Will use video issue as reason - didn't mind putting up with it before, but now less inclined to do so.
 
Well, it's the day after, and I am still really $%$^& with Samsung.

Was browsing a bit last night, and while I wanted to try and avoid DSLR for sheer bulkiness, came across the Sony A57...

Can get that camera with kit lens, additional 75-300mm F4.5-5.6 Lens, and 50mm AF f/1.8 for a scratch over £700.

The new NX300 was going to cost me £600.

Suddenly wondering if shouldn't bite the bullet and go SLR, as the A57 has a lot of the features that I was looking forward to on the NX300 - focus peaking, 50/60 fps video, articulating screen, phase detect AF, etc

Plus in addition I get viewfinder, more zoom capabilities, broader lens choice...

Only downside here is the bulk and weight of an SLR system. And while that is a fairly big down-side to me, it just feels right now like a much better value option.

I just feel cheated by Samsung right now, and don't feel much like supporting them any further. Though I have already spent a fair bit on their lenses (Which to be fair are pretty good). Maybe need to give myself another day to decide.

Worst case scenario, return the cameras as faulty due to low-light video problem (Which I have no qualms about doing), and sell the lenses at a loss (though there is always hope that Amazon will be really understanding and allow me to return), and get charged for the tablet.
 
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eyetrip said:
Worst case scenario, return the cameras as faulty due to low-light video problem (Which I have no qualms about doing), and sell the lenses at a loss (though there is always hope that Amazon will be really understanding and allow me to return), and get charged for the tablet.
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I would hope that Amazon would realise that you bought the lenses for use with a defective camera and refund you for the related stuff. They are after all useless if you buy a Canon DSLR ;) Particularly if you buy said Canon ;) from Amazon?
 
Well, I got to handle the a57 in (some place I can't name), and despite being a fair bit bulkier than the NX series cameras, the weight was not as bad as I thought it would be.

Plus, the 60mm macro and 18-200mm NX lenses are actually quite heavy in comparison to the lenses I felt when there, and no smaller really.

So the ONLY down side to getting the a57 would be bulk of camera body.

Still no word from Samsung.

Feeling more and more like I will be getting in touch with Amazon, but it is a pain in that I have gotten quite used to using the Samsung, and would need to get familiar with a whole new system in 3 weeks...

munge said:
I would hope that Amazon would realise that you bought the lenses for use with a defective camera and refund you for the related stuff. They are after all useless if you buy a Canon DSLR ;) Particularly if you buy said Canon ;) from Amazon?
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I see you leaning towards Canon, but I really like the a57 for it's video, and the translucent mirror seems to offer some advantages in speed.
 
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