After all my grovelling, my parents have finally agreed that they will buy or contribute to the cost of a new camera for my birthday in July, however, I am trying to convince them that I want a decent enough camera to be able to take pictures of aircraft.
They have quite clearly stated that they are not willing to spend money on a digital SLR, which is fine by me as they are more for professional photographers and a tad too expensive for my needs.
So I am now beginning the process of researching what type of camera would be suitable, and I need some advice from other photographers if possible.
I am aware that I need one with lots of optical zoom, but what other features would I need…?
Does anyone have a camera that is not a digital SLR that they use for photographing aircraft? If so what make and model do you use?
Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated.
By: gulfstream - 19th April 2006 at 22:20
ive just ordered new Canon powershot s3is it has 12x optical zoom and an image
stabiliser!! all for under 400 quid deliverys starting next month looks a good camera
cheers
j.
By: EN830 - 19th April 2006 at 21:34
Ok. Thanks for the advice you have all given…
Well I am not 100% certain, but I recall my parents saying that they would be on a budget of around £150-£200…however, they have said that if I wanted something more expensive, I will have to pay the rest, but until I get a job to get some money, I will have to work to £200 as a maximum.
It’s not a huge budget and I think you are going to struggle to pick up anything suitable for taking flying shots to a reasonable standard as the zoom will be too small. However you should be able to get reasonable static or museum shots and this maybe where you will have to concentrate until you are able to upgrade to an SLR with suitable lenses.
By: cloud_9 - 19th April 2006 at 09:49
Ok. Thanks for the advice you have all given…
Cloud 9, can you give an idea of budget ???? It would make the process of elimination a lot easier.
Well I am not 100% certain, but I recall my parents saying that they would be on a budget of around £150-£200…however, they have said that if I wanted something more expensive, I will have to pay the rest, but until I get a job to get some money, I will have to work to £200 as a maximum.
By: EN830 - 18th April 2006 at 23:39
Cloud 9, can you give an idea of budget ???? It would make the process of elimination a lot easier.
As Septic says you can pick up a second hand SLR fairly cheaply these days and this would be a much better route than forking out on a basic digital camera with all the problems of sutter lag etc.
SLR’s are not that hard to use, and the beauty of digital is that practicing costs nothing.
By: CWBalmer - 18th April 2006 at 23:38
What about a Canon 350d? You can get one brand new for £450 odd…I would say you cant beat something like that and a decent lens as Sceptic suggested too.
By: ollieholmes - 18th April 2006 at 23:12
Thanks Brian,
Can anyone tell me if 12 x optical is the maximum amount of optical zoom a digital camera can have? If not, what is the max?
Any other suggestions for other cameras, I am wondering if Olympus or Fujifilm do any cameras in this type of range…?
There are 2 cameras on the market that i am aware of that have greater than a 12X optical zoom. They are:
Kowa Td1, 3.14 megapixel, 10-30x optical zoom. Basicaly its a digital camera built into a spotting scope. Pricey though i can find ity in the uk at £1499.99.
Samsung digimax pro 815. 15x optical zoom, 8 megapixel,£549.99 from Jessops.
By: Septic - 18th April 2006 at 21:59
Cloud Nine,
You say that your family has ruled out spending on a DSLR, have you considered buying secondhand. There are a lot of first generation DSLR bodies coming on to the market now, 6 Mega pixel Canon 10D, Nikon D100 and alike. For airshows a decent lens on a DSLR is IMHO the only way to go, static aircraft within museums is a different matter.
Septic.
By: cloud_9 - 18th April 2006 at 18:23
For the past year I have been using a Konica Minolta Dimage Z3, 4.2MP with a 12x zoom, which is the equivalent of a 35-420mm lens on a 35mm camera, and with anti-shake.
…For a non DSLR I think this is probably the largest zoom yuou can get. Hope this helps.
Brian
Thanks Brian,
Can anyone tell me if 12 x optical is the maximum amount of optical zoom a digital camera can have? If not, what is the max?
Any other suggestions for other cameras, I am wondering if Olympus or Fujifilm do any cameras in this type of range…?
By: Pen Pusher - 18th April 2006 at 13:01
For the past year I have been using a Konica Minolta Dimage Z3, 4.2MP with a 12x zoom, which is the equivalent of a 35-420mm lens on a 35mm camera, and with anti-shake.
So far I have not had any problems using it and if you want to see the type of photos I have been taking with it, have a look HERE. For a non DSLR I think this is probably the largest zoom yuou can get. Hope this helps.
Brian
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April 18, 2006 at 12:34 pm