What do you think of this camera?

[M4T VW]

Looking at upgrading my crappy Point in shoot camera to somthing a bit better.
My main problem is A, The camera is pretty bad & B, Im crap at photography.
So by up grading my camera im half way there to good pictures!

Ive got a few trips planned this year, F1 and a week in snowdon so want to use it for that.

What do you think about this?

http://www.photographyblog.com/revie...x_hs10_review/

Its a "Bridge" camera so not a point & shoot and not a DSLR which i think is right up my street.

Ive no idea on specs so could you guys have a quick flick through the review and tell me if its ok?

Looks great to me.

Cheers
Mat

[mac124]

Fuji bridge cameras are ok my old man has one and i used it quite a bit before i got my DSLR. You should be able to get some decent pictures from it.

Best thing about them is their zoom range, its ok getting a DSLR but its the lenses that cost.

I see it retails for over £300? You know you can get a 2nd hand DSLR and a smallish zoom lense (200-250mm) for around the same price, ok it wont shoot HD video but then if i want to shoot hd video i would get a HD video camera .

[M4T VW]

Trouble is i do want to shoot HD video, I want it to do everything
HD video will be good for track days!

[michaelkenward]

Ive got a few trips planned this year, F1 and a week in snowdon so want to use it for that.

Do you know anyone who has done either of these. Their advice would be more useful than general input.

You'll find that professionals would say they are completely different. One needs a wide angle with little need for speed. The other needs telephoto and very fast.

Mostly, you will probably do other stuff. So general is fine.

Someone recently posted some very nice pix here with all sorts of different subjects taken with less than cutting edge Canon DSLR. Don't be suckered into the pixel race. Go for a decent lens and a fast sensor – the imaging chip.

Spend a bit less on the camera and buy a decent book or two to show you how to use it. Or attend a class.

You may get hooked.

[GentleGiant]

Check out the time it takes to take a picture, if there is any noticeable delay it ruins your chance of getting good action shots.
Click-done is great, click- - - - - - - done is Kodak, err, sorry, I meant cr@p!!

The Nikon D40 is a great starter DSLR, been replaced so they are dirt cheap (if you can find them), and the lenses are pretty good and also not too expensive.

No video though.

The best thing about the D40 compared to the other models in the range is, it is a (very, VERY tough) plastic body, making it a lot nicer to lug around than a D60, 70 or 90 which are HEAVY metal bodied cameras.

[M4T VW]

I should hope it doesnt have a delay for that money. I want "Click, Click, Click"

[coiler]

I'm selling my SLR, as i'm getting sick of carting it around on walks, days out etc.

Going for the Panasonic Travel Zoom 7, TZ7 (also known as ZS3 in USA)

£200, massive 12x optical zoom, great pics and HD video, 10.1 mp so not going silly but it has a fantastic lens. For £200 its a no brainer.

Comes top in the ultra zoom compact review too

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/q209grouplongzoom/


The pics speak for themselves.



































ISO 1600 (which is usually very grainy in low light!!!)






Check out the reviews

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-revi...owViewpoints=0

heres a sample of one >>>

"To get the best photos, you obviously need an SLR and some great lenses. Hmm. Well, I have an SLR and some great lenses, but I tend to leave them at home when I go on a trip.
So I bought this TZ7 to take with me when I can't be bothered to take my SLR, which is nearly all the time. The TZ7 is small enough to go in a jacket pocket, or to hang unobtrusively from your belt. But is it good enough for anyone used to the quality of an SLR?

For me it is good enough, as long as you adjust your expectations. Which you have to do when you have such a small camera with a 25 to 300 zoom. Try getting a 25 to 300 zoom for an SLR! Even more amazing is that it's a very decently sharp lens. It's a little bit less than razor sharp at the extremes of the zoom range, but almost all my shots came out nice and sharp (but not too sharp, meaning the camera isn't over-processing things).

So the lens is good, and since the lens is the TZ7's party piece, that's a good thing.
Next on the list of killer features is HD video. This is 720p video, not `full' HD, but what do you expect? The great thing is that you can use the optical zoom while taking video, which is rare in these cameras. It zooms slowly so the noise of the zoom isn't picked up by the microphone but works very well. You get stereo sound too, and the quality of the sound is way ahead of any camera like this I've tried before."

[coiler]

oh it also zooms when in HD video mode!! perfect for track days.

[Hayling Laser Sailor]

I like the photos some of them are really nice, especially the closeups and the snow at night, however the camera seems to let itself down slightly on the lower light shots where the images become slightly blurred and in the quick action shots like to dogs chasing each other where the image quality becomes slightly blurred. But overall seems like a great little camera with all of the features and the massive optical zoom and HD video makes it a great buy at £200. Keep up the good work

[coiler]

I like the photos some of them are really nice, especially the closeups and the snow at night, however the camera seems to let itself down slightly on the lower light shots where the images become slightly blurred and in the quick action shots like to dogs chasing each other where the image quality becomes slightly blurred. But overall seems like a great little camera with all of the features and the massive optical zoom and HD video makes it a great buy at £200. Keep up the good work

the dog moving shots were taken on intelligent auto mode which is pretty impressive for auto!

I thought the low light shots of eiffel tower, big wheel etc were really sharp too

[Lorem-Ipsum]

My Dad just got a Panasonic Lumix similar to this one:

and I have to say the quality of pictures it takes are superb.

[Gibbo]

The new Panasonic Lumix cameras are awsome I have to admit, incredible zoom ability for a compact but even more impressive is how small they are.

Remember Aria stocks them too at a good price.

[DoubleTop]

proud owner of the FZ38 here, incredible quality for the price. I did some direct comparisons of the panasonic on auto and a Nikon DSLR for stock shots at a furniture company. The MD was miffed at how my £250 camera got better shots than his rather more than than DSLR.

I'm a big fan, the price bracket for me was spot on, the comparable although slightly higher rated Sony is £400 and the Fuji was £379.

DT.

[Aaron]

I was about to recommend the Panasonic Lumix range too.. I've had the FZ18 since it came out - so probably 3 years now.. It takes some amazing shots if you know how to use it, like any camera.

If I get a chance tomorrow, I'll post some photos that I've taken with it.

One of the major selling points for me was the ability to get addon lenses/filters etc for it, which makes massively more versatile than other bridge cameras

[coiler]

Now i'd understand if you said this shot was grainy -






but it was taken at ISO 1600 which usually gives grain. Compared to some ISO 1600's its pretty respectable.