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Posted
  • Location: Belfast. 97m asl (Divis Mountain)
  • Location: Belfast. 97m asl (Divis Mountain)

Helppp lol. I plan to get a new dslr very soon, But trying to decide is a nightmare. can anyone sugest anything.... all I really want is good images and long zoom.

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Posted
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)

Morning jello, what is your budget?

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Posted
  • Location: Belfast. 97m asl (Divis Mountain)
  • Location: Belfast. 97m asl (Divis Mountain)

hi hi, Probs be around £600 maybe little more, but really if there is any cheaper ones that would do just as good then that would be a bonus.

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Posted
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)

Well, lots of choice for you out there. I prefer Canon and would probably go for a 500D and another lens as a kit. You could squeeze to a 550D for that but would be stuck with just the standard 18-55mm lens that comes with it.

Of course, Nikon, Panasonic and Sony have some great alternatives, but I have no experience of them

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Posted
  • Location: Huddersfield, 145m ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Lots of snow, lots of hot sun
  • Location: Huddersfield, 145m ASL

All I can suggest is you'll have to invest a significant amount of time on reading on line reviews, because when it comes to photography it really is the case that one man's nectar is another man's poison. Here's a few links to get started:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/best-cameras.html

http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/

http://www.cameras.co.uk/html/digital-camera-reviews.cfm

http://www.dpreview.com/

Just as an aside, here's two pics I took recently using a 'bridge' camera, a Fuji S1850 18x zoom, of Ferrybridge and other power stations 35 miles to my east:

post-2239-094587900 1289826106_thumb.jpg

post-2239-052615100 1289826107_thumb.jpg

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Posted
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)

What sort of stuff are you going to be photographing? Have you already got some experience with a smaller compact digital camera?

These guys have some ideas: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090902072903AAyeJ0h

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Posted
  • Location: North York Moors
  • Location: North York Moors

With SLRs it's good to be familiar with using full manual mode to get the best from them.

As in the examples above you don't need SLR nowadays to get good results on a long zoom.

A good compact will do that and go right through to macro subjects which with the SLR would need (another) expensive lens.

Not intending to put you off(!) I love my ageing 300D and hope to upgrade to a 5D in the New Year.

- but you can get very good results with cameras well under £500

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  • 5 months later...
Posted
  • Location: South East UK
  • Weather Preferences: Thunderstorms/squalls/hoar-frost/mist
  • Location: South East UK

Hi there, im thinking of buying a used Pentax K100D for weather pics, i have read on photo forums that some DSLR's are tricky to set to infinity on manual focus, has any one had any problems with finding infinity focus?

thanks for any info.

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Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

Hi there, im thinking of buying a used Pentax K100D for weather pics, i have read on photo forums that some DSLR's are tricky to set to infinity on manual focus, has any one had any problems with finding infinity focus?

thanks for any info.

In what way tricky? Not had any problems with the Nikon D80. I'm not familiar with the Pentax K100D but do you need to use manual focus much for weather photos?

Edited by weather ship
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Posted
  • Location: North York Moors
  • Location: North York Moors

You are typically taking shots at infinity since you're trying to focus on sky.

Some auto focus systems might struggle with this as they can't lock on to a distant object.

It's also likely to be a bit dark if you're trying to capture some sort of storm event.

Using manual you don't always turn it to the end but need to trun back a bit to be spot on.

The infinity symbol is a guide but you do need do some test shots to be sure.

Using a higher F number will mean the depth of field tolerance will be wider.

In practice I usually try to use auto to lock on to a distant object even the horizon, then part hold the shutter to lock it while composing the shot I want which is causing problems.

You could lock on to an object then turn auto off so it stays at the infinity point.

If you're using a tripod say for long exposure this could be impractical.

Edited by 4wd
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Posted
  • Location: South East UK
  • Weather Preferences: Thunderstorms/squalls/hoar-frost/mist
  • Location: South East UK

Thanks for the info, when i say infinity im really thinking of cloud photos, but also lightning photos, and i would be using a tripod for that, i like the old manual lenses as they are easy to use for lightning shots, am still using fujichrome slide film lol.

Edited by Sprites
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Posted
  • Location: Chichester, West Sussex
  • Location: Chichester, West Sussex

If you are going to buy a DSLR I would suggest ether a Canon or Nikon they are far better equipped than other companies. And offer far more lenses and other accessors. They also have the better image processing and there for better image quality.

If you are wanting to mainly take landscape/skyscape images and don't want huge zoom ranges then i would suggest the Canon G12 or the Nikon P7000. All the manual interface and usability of the bigger brothers. Then the money you are left with Get a tripod, remote trigger, polarizing and ND filter, memory cards and spare batteries.

If you want a camera with a super zoom then I can highly recommend the Olympus bridge cameras.

Edited by Adi F
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