A new camera

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Pogen

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This is probably an impossible question but...
I currently use a Panasonic DMC-FZ18 Bridge. It's OK but I think I've outgrown it so... advice required.
I'm looking into getting a DLSR with the following features:
10 Mp+
Live view
Swivel LCD
Flash Hotshoe
Not bothered about HD video
Totally uninterested in 'scene modes' ie. pre-set settings for food/party/baby/sunset/fireworks etc. I prefer Manual.

Any pointers?
 
budget?

have you gone to your local camera store to handle some of the brands?

what subjects will your be shooting e.g. wildlife, portraits, landscapes etc?

these are the few factors of upmost importance when choosing a DSLR.
 
mastertrinity said:
budget?

have you gone to your local camera store to handle some of the brands?

what subjects will your be shooting e.g. wildlife, portraits, landscapes etc?

these are the few factors of upmost importance when choosing a DSLR.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've had a look around the shops but I've yet to find one that ticks all boxes. I do quite a bit of macro stuff hence the requirement for a swivel LCD.
Other interests are wildlife and some landscapes. I rarely do portraits as I find people far too vain.
 
Opting for having a moving LCD and Liveview might be a difficult one to achieve. Some of the newer DSLR's have these, but some of the LiveView modes offer Manual Focussing only. So just make sure you go try some out at a camera shop first such as Jessops
 
Thanks for your suggestions.
The reason I need a swivel screen is because I tend to do a lot of macro and worms-eye view shots. As such a standard view finder is not practical. For macro I use manual focus anyway.
 
Hook up the camera to an external monitor/ screen?
Means you'll be able to see what you are doing on a larger screen?
 
there maybe a protable tv with a video in , on it that is also powered by battery you can get hold of

then you should be able to use the video out on the camera (if your camera has live view)


Cheers Steve
 
Have to say that insisting on a swivel LCD is severely cutting down on your options, as relatively few cameras offer that function.

There are several people on here who shoot macro without using a swivel LCD, so can't see why it is such a must have, especially if you are bypassing a possibly superior camera just because it doesn't have that particular facility.
 
I think there are a few options for remote viewing...

Photoplus (canon edition) tested a few..

I can dig out the article if it helps
 
The swivel screen cuts you down to sony DSLR's or Panasonic G1/GH1.

I would look and try out the sony DSLR's, yes I know I own a G1 and yes its good but the macro lens for it is mega bucks, ie £600!! whereas you could get a Tamron SP90 di for the sony or sigma 105 for approx half that.
 
Doesn't at least one Nikon have a swivel screen?

PS. Don't forget that you can get an adapter and fit just about anything to a MFT so it should be possible to do macro for a lot less than £600.
 
nikon do software that enable control of you camera from a pc or laptop
this may be a posiblity , im sure other manufacturers do the same.
some support live view if the camera has got it as a feature


for canon - http://www.akond.net/?issue_id=157
for nikon - nikon camera control

i have used the nikon program with my d300 but have never seen the software for other cameras in action , i can imagine it will do much the same.

you will just have to research what is available

Cheers Steve
 
woof woof said:
Doesn't at least one Nikon have a swivel screen?

PS. Don't forget that you can get an adapter and fit just about anything to a MFT so it should be possible to do macro for a lot less than £600.
Click to expand...


the D5000 has a swivelling screen (well, "vari angle monitor") and is decent enough to do wildlife etc.

That said.. on my D90 I can take photos with the camera aiming down and still see the screen, most now have good viewing angles.

To be honest I find most macro I need to be at a lower angle anyway and use the viewfinder though :shrug:
 
Mmm... well after reading your comments and looking into right angle viewfinder attachments and other possible solutions I'm coming round to Scarecrow's view that requiring a swivel view screen is gonna severly cut down my options at present.
I don't really want to lug around the gear for a tethered option either
so perhaps I'll just continue to lie on the ground with my head in the dirt.
As for live-view I can't really do without it for the kinda shots I take. I have difficulty enough framing a shot on the LCD but with just a viewfinder!!! I can't usually get my eye down that low and if I can then I'm viewing at a 90 degree angle.
There are, at least, many DSLR's offering live-view these days so it's gonna be one of those I guess.
Now the nightmare begins - which one?
Mostly I hate this overwhelming choice we have today.
Sometimes I think: "Oh what the heck, I'll just go down to the store with all the money I can afford and grab the first one I see in that price baracket".
Can I really go that wrong?
 
I'd recommend a D5000. Does everything you're after, with the option for HD vid (I know you're not bothered but hey, why not). Nikon may well prove to be a better long-term option than Sony in terms of the lenses available to you.
 
You say you have outgrown your FZ18 - I am asking you why you think you have outgrown it? I have just bought my partner an FZ38 and to be honest it's a right piece of kit, especially for the macros you mention. I can only see you being disappointed if you spend a fortune on a DSLR to gain on a small performance advantage.
 
DaydreamJay said:
You say you have outgrown your FZ18 - I am asking you why you think you have outgrown it? I have just bought my partner an FZ38 and to be honest it's a right piece of kit, especially for the macros you mention. I can only see you being disappointed if you spend a fortune on a DSLR to gain on a small performance advantage.
Click to expand...

That's a very good question.
Well, it's limited to the lens fitted. Although the lens is pretty good (18 times optical zoom, 35mm equiv. 28 - 504) I feel it's a 'one size fits all' compromise and as far as macro is concerned it's fairly limited for my purposes. I need to screw on close up filters to get anywhere near what I'd call macro.
I'm also a disapointed with noise on anything above 200 ISO and dynamic range seems a little limited.
Another thing I dislike is the software (scene modes etc.) which is aimed, I feel, at the 'point 'n shoot' fraternity.
OK, I've yet to use a DSLR but from the reviews I've read and the results I've seen, image quality is far superior.
In photography magazines the published photos are predominently shot from DSLRs (usually the more expensive models). I'm very familiar with the argument: 'It's not the camera as much as the photographer' but published evidence doesn't support this view in my opinion.
So, I don't know, maybe I'm getting a little stale and feel that a new camera might enthuse me somewhat. More likely that I simply haven't got 'the eye' and am using my camera as an excuse for that.
-------------------------
My Flickr
 
if you like macro go for a canon body - then if you get into it you will have the correct body for a MP-e65.
 
Dogfish_magnet said:
if you like macro go for a canon body - then if you get into it you will have the correct body for a MP-e65.
Click to expand...

Wow! The MP-e65 looks amazing. That's the kind of lens I want. On the strength of that I'm now seriously looking at Canon bodies. Thanks for the pointer.
 
Pogen said:
Wow! The MP-e65 looks amazing. That's the kind of lens I want. On the strength of that I'm now seriously looking at Canon bodies. Thanks for the pointer.
Click to expand...

Strewth! An MP-e65 is close on a grand! Maybe not. :)
 
Pogen . . . Little has been said for the D5000 . . . an extremely underrated camera . . . I chopped a D90 in, in favour because of the swivel screen and its nearly 100gms lighter. That was around April time, the best decision I have made.

The D5000 is based on the D90, a few tweaks, up and down, but where it matters its a D90 with LV and a swivel screen. There are issues with fitting it on a tripod and the screen fouling, I overcame this with a KOOD BH-02BQ ball head turned back to front, release catch forward:

CamerasideBHrwIMG_4495.jpg


The spec., you want is all in the D5000

Here is a close up I took at work the other week, its not a macro lens, just my general purpose Nikon 18-70:

2nd800Tobacoplant_DSC0125_edited-1.jpg


If you want macro Nikon style:thumbs: a 'Nikon macro 105' is the one to get, but it ain't cheap!

So I use a Nikon f1.8 50mm (used £100) with Kenko tubes (£90 on fleBay):

SpiderrwreducedDSC_1685_edited-1.jpg


Food for thought . . . CJS
 
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