Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more

Outdoor Activities => Photography => Topic started by: LandyLiam on January 05, 2014

Title: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 05, 2014
Wrecking my brains trying to decide which camera to buy. Budget is £300, but there are so many options and different formats to choose from. Do I go for a basic DSLR (Nikon3100/Canon1100d/PanasonicG5), or maybe a top range bridge camera (PanasonicFZ72). I've been around the shops holding them to see what fits best and read loads on online reviews. My priorities would be landscape and night photograhy, for sport stuff & wildlife i'll probably use my compact camera for handiness. I am tending towards Panasonic as I have a few of their compacts, any advice greatfully recived  :)
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: phil_b on January 05, 2014
For what you are doing, i would probably say bridge. I dont know that much about them to be able to recommend one in particular though. You dont need particularly fast focus as your subject isnt moving, the higher end bridge models can handle a decent dynamic range and of course it is that much lighter to carry.
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 06, 2014
Always admired your photos Phil, what do you use yourself?
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: phil_b on January 06, 2014
I have a Nikon D7000. It and the 2 lenses I always carry in the mountains are 2kg alone though.
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: RedLeader on January 06, 2014
A DSLR will get you a significantly superior photo to all but the more expensive compacts but it will be bulky and heavy (800g or so for the camera + kit lens and 500g-1kg for additional lenses). I have a cheapy Nikon D3000 that I got a few years back for around £300 and I really like it, I wouldn't trade it for a compact, although I do have a cheap compact for the hills.
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: phil_b on January 06, 2014
A DSLR will get you a significantly superior photo to all but the more expensive compacts but it will be bulky and heavy (800g or so for the camera + kit lens and 500g-1kg for additional lenses). I have a cheapy Nikon D3000 that I got a few years back for around £300 and I really like it, I wouldn't trade it for a compact, although I do have a cheap compact for the hills.

There is a big difference between the quality of compacts and the bridge cameras that Liam is talking about though. And for handiness in the mountains etc, with no messing about changing lenses and the light weight, a bridge is more than sufficient for most people. Pro photographers would tell you that the most important part of the camera is the 12 inches behind the viewfinder. I.e. your head!
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: RedLeader on January 06, 2014
I've never used a bridge camera but considering the similar weight I'd still stick with a DSLR. I have a zoom lens that I love using and I like the flexibility (although I'd never bring it into the hills on account of the size and weight).

A DSLR will get you a significantly superior photo to all but the more expensive compacts but it will be bulky and heavy (800g or so for the camera + kit lens and 500g-1kg for additional lenses). I have a cheapy Nikon D3000 that I got a few years back for around £300 and I really like it, I wouldn't trade it for a compact, although I do have a cheap compact for the hills.

There is a big difference between the quality of compacts and the bridge cameras that Liam is talking about though. And for handiness in the mountains etc, with no messing about changing lenses and the light weight, a bridge is more than sufficient for most people. Pro photographers would tell you that the most important part of the camera is the 12 inches behind the viewfinder. I.e. your head!
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: phil_b on January 06, 2014
I usually carry a 10-20 wide angle zoom and a 17-70 walkabout zoom in the hills. The panasonic Liam has mentioned has a 20-1200 zoom, that is a lot of versatility in 1 small camera. If a peregrine falcon was to circle over my head I wouldnt even lift my camera as I wouldnt have the focal length to get anywhere near it. Liam could zoom in until it fills the screen with his bridge ;D. It depends a lot on why you are taking photos and what you intend doing with them. If you are taking record shots of a day out and just viewing them online a bridge camera will do most people.
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 06, 2014
Quote
It depends a lot on why you are taking photos and what you intend doing with them.

My intentions may change to suit the camera I get. I've never really bothered with zoom photography, but with a 1200m lens I suspect I may suddenly find an interest in it  :)  If I get the DSLR I don't intend to get additional lenses and i'm not worried about weight, certainley the bridge would be the best all rounder, but would i always regret not going for the higher quality DSLR, would an amateur like myself even notice the difference  ???  I would say i'm 75% happy with my compact camera (Panasonic FS10), I can get some pics that i'm 90% happy with but there is a fair amount of trial and error with settings, although i sort of enjoy that part of photography, wouldn't it be boring if auto mode was perfect every time  :)
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: phil_b on January 06, 2014
If you are interested in photography and would like to get away from auto mode try here http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/ . Loads of info, tutorials, help and advice.
You say you will stick with the 1 lens but it is a slippery slope though. I started with a nikon D5100 2 years ago with the 18-55 kit lens. Then fancied more length so added a 55-300. Then wanted something wider for landscapes so got a 10-20. Then a 50mm 1.4 for portraits. Then upgraded the kit lens to a 17-70. Then got a 150-500 for wildlife. Then upgraded the d5100 to the d7000. Then bought a 105 macro. And thats just the big stuff!
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 06, 2014
I have been known to take my hobbies a bit too seriously  ::)  maybe I should avoid changable lenses  ;) (or maybe I should buy both!)
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: phil_b on January 06, 2014
Yea, that happened me too!
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: RedLeader on January 06, 2014
You're welcome to take my D3000 (http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/nikon_d3000_review/) for a spin to help you decide.

Quote
It depends a lot on why you are taking photos and what you intend doing with them.

My intentions may change to suit the camera I get. I've never really bothered with zoom photography, but with a 1200m lens I suspect I may suddenly find an interest in it  :)  If I get the DSLR I don't intend to get additional lenses and i'm not worried about weight, certainley the bridge would be the best all rounder, but would i always regret not going for the higher quality DSLR, would an amateur like myself even notice the difference  ???  I would say i'm 75% happy with my compact camera (Panasonic FS10), I can get some pics that i'm 90% happy with but there is a fair amount of trial and error with settings, although i sort of enjoy that part of photography, wouldn't it be boring if auto mode was perfect every time  :)
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 06, 2014
Quote
You're welcome to take my D3000 for a spin to help you decide.
I'll probably have made the decision before i see you again, but if i'm passing soon i'd love a wee go with it.
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: phil_b on January 06, 2014
I'm going to be in the Mournes this next 2 weekends, probably the 2 Sundays, if you want to try mine too.
Keep an eye on the shout box.
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 06, 2014
will do

(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/Mobile%20Uploads/cushing_eye1_zps9f6ccca5.jpg)
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 08, 2014
Starting to wobble now, looking at compacts again  :o  the Lumix TZ35 at £130 is amazing value, has a CMOS sensor and 20x zoom, tempting and less than half my budget (although I have vouchers to use up so gonna blow the whole budget  ;D )

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/cameras/digital-cameras/compact-digital-cameras/panasonic-lumix-dmc-tz35-advanced-compact-digital-camera-black-21312106-pdt.html
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: Dowser on January 08, 2014
Go Bridge!!!!!!

My Lumix LX5 is the most verstile camera I have ever used and the image, and video, quality is really really excellent.  I have used it now for 3 years and can honestly say I have had no need for either of my Nikon DSLR cameras.  I wouldn't dream of taking them up the mountains, or even on holiday, now.

Without doing any research I'm pretty sure the LX5 will have been updated since I got it so you can either get a cheap one or go for the upgrade with the new technology.

One of my biggest issues with compacts was the delay from triggering the shutter and when it actually took the photo.  This is not an issue with the LX5 as it fires immediately, like a DSLR.  It's also got a great lens.  In layman's terms... Its a proper glass lens and fully adjustable real life aperture.  It's also extremely easy to use and I have never had it on full auto.

If you want a play just give me a shout and I'll talk you through the features.
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 08, 2014
LX7 is the new model at approx £300, it has the better MOS sensor than the CCD of the LX5 so quite an improvement, although i just can't quite get away from the idea that I actually want a bulky camera to encourage me to take my time and get the really good shots and have days out just for photography, always feel a bit stupid with my wee compact on top of a big tripod  ;D
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: RedLeader on January 08, 2014
That's a good price. I thought the LX5/7 was in the >£500 range?

LX7 is the new model at approx £300, it has the better MOS sensor than the CCD of the LX5 so quite an improvement, although i just can't quite get away from the idea that I actually want a bulky camera to encourage me to take my time and get the really good shots and have days out just for photography, always feel a bit stupid with my wee compact on top of a big tripod  ;D
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: phil_b on January 08, 2014
As I said previously, a bridge is very handy and versatile when out and about for most people. There is a thread on here somewhere of mine from Rathlin Island, I had with me that day my D7000, a 10-20 wide angle lens, a 17-70 lens and a 150-500 for the wildlife. Total value new about £2200 and weighing almost 7kg. My brother had a Panasonic bridge,  not sure of the model, and got most of the same shots as me. If I had the money spare I would probably buy a decent bridge myself. I carried my 2kg camera and lens the day I walked the mourne wall, imagine how much quicker I would have been with a nice wee bridge ;D
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: phil_b on January 08, 2014
Panasonic LX7 thread here http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/panasonic-lumix-lx7-thread.433248/
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: Dowser on January 08, 2014
I really think you should have a play with a proper bridge camera before you buy anything.  I have a Nikon D700 (with 35-80mm lens & 80-200mm  lens) and and the LX5, both a bit dated now, but if you want to take both away to experiment for a couple of days your more than welcome.

I'd be suggesting that you will get better pictures from the LX5 than you will from the Nikon DSLR and you wont look like a tourist everywhere you go.  I was even able to sneaky a few pictures in Krakow last week in a museum where you weren't allowed to take photos  ::)

PS... There's absolutely nothing wrong with sticking your bridge camera onto a tripod  ;)
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 08, 2014
Cheers Andy, might have a play, although already having seen your LX5 in action beside my FS10 at Ben Crom i was very impressed with the difference.

Now heres another cunning plan, spotted the Panasonic G3 (compact system camera) in Argos at £200, so that and the TZ35 would cost £330 in total  ;D  coindentally I met a guy last night in Belfast using a G3 and it came highly recommended and he seemed to know his stuff. But no, I must not buy 2 cameras, tried a g5 in my hands today and it feklt very very snug.
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: phil_b on January 08, 2014
remember the CSC cameras are another multi lens system, a lot of the G3's seem to come with the 14-42 lens which is a wide and short focal length, you could soon fall into the downward spiral of buying more lenses for wildlife etc.
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 08, 2014
Thats the idea of the TZ35 with its 20x zoom  ;)  I'm going to try and hold off another week, Argos have  new catalogue coming out so may see some price drops, Panasonic have launced a few new cameras, that may also force some price dropping, but there are no newer model of the ones i'm interested in so maybe those prices will stay level  ???
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: Dowser on January 08, 2014
Couple of things to think about with the G3 is the Battery Life, which is meant to be quite poor, and there is no external mic for video. 

A spare battery will solve one of the issues but I'm not sure I could live without a mic  :-\
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 10, 2014
So here's the first spanner in the works: walked into Tesco to grab a sandwich for lunch just as they were filling the sale basket and came out £100 lighter  :o  included in my hoard was 3 digital cameras, a 16gb card, webcam, optical mouse and loads of other pruck. But the best bargain was the Panasonic TZ18 for only £30  :)  (there were a few better cameras for around same money but i missed them) the TZ18 only has a CCD sensor so i'm not expecting miracles from it, but it now means I have a half decent wee camera for the hills and can maybe now go for the bulky dslr  ;)
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 10, 2014
so out i popped out to test the night mode this evening


(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/Mobile%20Uploads/P1000077Small_zps8511aca2.jpg)
View of mournes from my house with 60 second exposure, not bad, could probably get this with my old camera.


(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/Mobile%20Uploads/P1000098Small_zps1493bb01.jpg)
Orion, again using 60 sec exposure


(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/Mobile%20Uploads/P1000091Small_zps077afb6f.jpg)
Now this is what I could never do before. The TZ18 has shutter priority so I did a lot of trial and error, this is on full zoom and about 1/500th sec shutter speed, quite pleased with the result  :)

Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: ARB1000 on January 10, 2014
I have to Panasonic DMC FZ150 which is very good if only id take the time to learn how to use it.  Thought phil_b would have gave me a photography masterclass but it hasn't happened as yet. 
The above camera is very good for all but the professional users with 3in articulated screen which is very good for video and protecting the screen.  12mp sensor, 24x zoom (Nikon does one at 36x optical zoom) and 1080p recording.  External microphone or flash can be attached and RAW mode at 0.9 seconds between shots.  Focal Range between 25mm and 600mm in 35mm terms.
12fps and 5.5fps while updating autofocus.  Have owned this since its release and am more than happy with it but there is a TZ in Panasonic I think which I looked at at the time which is a compact camera but nearly all of the above features but half the size and will fit in a pocket however as someone above said, it would look a bit silly on top of a tripod.

While I was typing this I see a camera was bought so I guess all the above is irrelevant!!!!  However if anyone wants a review of a 2014 15in Macbook Pro Retina, 2.3Ghz quad-core i7,  I'm yer man!! 
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 11, 2014
I had considered the upgraded FZ200 model but its a bit out of my price range (unless a sale occurs soon), its has f2.8 along its full zoom range, i'm not entirely sure what that means but they say its good, more light i assume.

Quote
While I was typing this I see a camera was bought so I guess all the above is irrelevant!!!!

oh no, all info is useful, the way things are going I may end up with more cameras than tents  :o last count was 13 tents, currently have 7 cameras  8)
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 12, 2014
Was visiting a friend last night and they dug out an old Nikon D50 dslr they don't use much these days so borrowed it to try for a few days. Its certainley heavy and bulky, but there's something nice about that. Played about with some indoor shots and very impressed with the quality, and this is a 6mp model about 8 years old. Then I hunted around the attic and found my old slr, wow that brought back memories of changing the film and running off to the chemist to get it processed.

(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/Mobile%20Uploads/DSC_0166Small_zpsbc4f9144.jpg)

(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/Mobile%20Uploads/DSC_0163Small_zpsefd0ce7d.jpg)

(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/Mobile%20Uploads/DSC_0175Small_zps9e5aee59.jpg)
My old Konica TCX shot with a Nikon D90

Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 13, 2014
the rain finally went this evening and i was rewarded with a beautiful starry sky so it was time to test out the dlsr on a long exposure, and boy was i impressed!

(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/Mobile%20Uploads/DSC_0146Small_zpsa8842cfb.jpg)
this is the dslr on an 8 sec exposure (so much brighter than my compact on 60 sec), couldn't believe how bright it was! just have some work to do on the settings though, for some reason it wouldn't take a picture on autofocus so had to switch that off, flash also insisted on coming on too, can't seem to switch it off on shutter priority.


this is the compact  TZ18 on 60 second exposure
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/Mobile%20Uploads/P1000077Small_zps8511aca2.jpg)


so a bigger sensor makes a massive difference in night photography, i think its going to have to be a dlsr for me!
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: phil_b on January 13, 2014
The camera will struggle to autofocus in the dark, as you say use manual focus or shine a torch on an object like that tree in the foreground so it can " see " it and focus on that.
The flash should not pop upon its own, check through the settings.
What iso settings were you using? A higher iso will gather more light even with a shorter shutter time and that could be the difference in your 2 cameras. Always use the lowest iso possible to cut down on noise.
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on January 15, 2014
I was on the lowest ISO, (6400 I think). I can't seen to turn the flast off in shutter priority, the off option changes to "rear" I ended up just putting my hand over the flash.

I was in an airport yesterday with an hour to spare brfore my flight so had a good play with the cameras in Dixons, all had charged batteries so tested quite a few out, the Nikon 3100 bears little resemblance to the old D50 i've been playing with. I didn't find the menu simple to use, however the Panasonic G5 csc was lovely, easy menu to use as i'm familiar with Panasonics, and it can do a lot in in camera processing after the shot is taken.
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: phil_b on January 15, 2014
6400 is the highest ISO, 100 is the lowest on mine. If I'm using a tripod for landscape stuff it is f11, ISO 100 and then whatever shutter speed is necessary for proper exposure. Hand held I might have to push the ISO up to 500 or more to get at least 1\60th shutter speed to stop camera shake.
Is it a pop up flash on the d50? Mind won't pop up unless I press the button for it, yours might be different.
Title: Re: DSLR or Bridge camera?
Post by: LandyLiam on March 19, 2014
Yes Phil its a pop up one.

Well i've had the D50 for over 2 months now and despite producing better photos I find I rarely ever take it out due to its bulk! so with that in mind I'm pretty confident I'll be getting the LX7 which is currently £245 so leaves me a few pounds to get a nice case and big memory card for it  :)