Camera Advice wanted

It’s more a matter of value for money – I simply can’t afford £1500, much as I would love to – and of course, spending that kind of money is going to reap rewards. But I can, and do, argue that sub £800 dSLR is little better.

It’s more a matter of horses for purses, than horses for courses.

Absolutely…

… I still love my 30D though! 😀

Paul

It’s more a matter of value for money – I simply can’t afford £1500, much as I would love to – and of course, spending that kind of money is going to reap rewards. But I can, and do, argue that sub £800 dSLR is little better.

It’s more a matter of horses for purses, than horses for courses.

Must have been faulty, or an earlier model. Mine starts in less than .5 of a second, and I think that it would be about the same amount of time as your dSLR.

I suggest you take a look at my website – link below. All but about six in the Holidays section were taken with an S5000 or S5600.

Continuous shooting and low noise ISO settings can easily be achieved and I don’t have much trouble focussing at all.

I’ve toyed with dSLRs but not been able to find anything under £800 to match it, or provide a worth while upgrqade.

Your picture is taken at a range where there is no need for the teleconverter so I fail to see what you’re trying to say – that’s not distorted at all, it’s just the inside of the lens – which makes sense if you try to use it as you would the standard lens for that distance. Of course a zoom is going to reduce the width angle, that’s how all telescopes work (reduce the area to be displayed and magnify it). So you need to remove it – no problem.

However, like I said, you need to be very steady handed to use an extreme teleconverter lens – and even a tripod has to be quite solid for those ranges – but that’s true of almost any camera.

Mmmm £150 v £800 – well, I don’t have £800 so I’ll have to make do. When I have got £1500 to spend on something reasonable, I don’t think I’ll be ditching the S5600, or it’s replacement, I’ll use both.

Where ALL dSLRs show a big advantage is in the viewfinder. The tiny LCD is just to small and too low in resolution to be able to judge whether an image is properly in focus, so autofocus is the only real solution. Glass is the only real solution to that.

Yes, the shot was taken at a range where no teleconverter was necessary, but I was at LBA at the time experimenting shooting planes with it. The simple point I was trying to illustrate was the fact that the effect you see in that photo exists with a 3x teleconverter at ALL focal lengths, therefore the point is perfectly valid!

I appreciate your point of view, but I took over 20,000 frames with my S5500 across 10 or 11 different countries in an unimaginable range of conditions, so I’m not exactly inexperienced with it, nor do I need to see any examples of what the Fuji is capable of. I’ve shot over 30,000 frames with my 350D again, in a huge range of conditions and there is simply no comparison between the two.

Your S5600 actually starts up in 1.1 second (according to Fuji’s website), but my 30D is ready to record an image in .18 second. Whether that makes a huge difference in the end result depends on your usage, but it can make a huge difference for me. As far as continuous shooting is concerned, the S5600 fires them off at 2 fps with a maximum burst of 3 frames, compared to 5 fps with a maximum burst of 30 frames (or 11 RAW). Two completely different leagues of performance.

My 30D and Sigma 50-500 DG cost far more than £800 (more like double that), but there’s a reason I spent that… Because it blows cheaper non-SLR cameras like the Fuji’s out of the water, and that is a simple unequivocal fact. Whether that suits you as a photographer or not is a personal thing, and as you quite rightly imply not everyone actually needs DSLR performance, but you can not argue the performance of the S5600 equals the 350D’s, 30D’s or D70’s of this world. It simply doesn’t, and trying to say it does makes no more sense than arguing a middle of the range Vauxhall Vectra will keep up to an Aston Martin DB7. The Vectra may be a nice car, but it just isn’t physically capable of doing what the DB7 can.

At the end of the day if you’re happy with your S5600 and it serves your puropses well, then it’s doing its job. I felt the need to upgrade from the S5500 when I started wanting to do more challenging things the Fuji simply wasn’t quick enough to do. My DSLR’s are wonderful tools, and in much the same way having a classy musical instrument can be inspirational in its own little way, having a nice camera can be as well.

Paul

P.S. I’ve visited your website semi-regularly and enjoyed your shots!

Rob do you know if the Pentax TCON-17 needs a adapter to fit the S5600?, I am considering one by the time the Airshow season comes. The wife and i went to London on sunday and took some “wildlife” photo’s in Green park which was fun and have got some nice photo’s which once i have cleaned up the P.C i will download and post some, I am already finding the camera fun to use and have already got a few photo’s i am proud of.

The S5600 has a 56mm thread – so I don’t think an adapter is required, and unlike earlier Fuji S5xxx models, the zoom lens doesn’t travel externally – so you don’t need the length extender either. It just screws on.

(I missed so many shots because of the almost 4 second start up time on the Fuji as opposed to waiting a mere fifth of a second with the Canon), continuous shooting, less noise at higher ISO’s, quick and accurate focussing, and of course, the quality of the image itself.

Must have been faulty, or an earlier model. Mine starts in less than .5 of a second, and I think that it would be about the same amount of time as your dSLR.

I suggest you take a look at my website – link below. All but about six in the Holidays section were taken with an S5000 or S5600.

Continuous shooting and low noise ISO settings can easily be achieved and I don’t have much trouble focussing at all.

I’ve toyed with dSLRs but not been able to find anything under £800 to match it, or provide a worth while upgrqade.

Your picture is taken at a range where there is no need for the teleconverter so I fail to see what you’re trying to say – that’s not distorted at all, it’s just the inside of the lens – which makes sense if you try to use it as you would the standard lens for that distance. Of course a zoom is going to reduce the width angle, that’s how all telescopes work (reduce the area to be displayed and magnify it). So you need to remove it – no problem.

However, like I said, you need to be very steady handed to use an extreme teleconverter lens – and even a tripod has to be quite solid for those ranges – but that’s true of almost any camera.

Mmmm £150 v £800 – well, I don’t have £800 so I’ll have to make do. When I have got £1500 to spend on something reasonable, I don’t think I’ll be ditching the S5600, or it’s replacement, I’ll use both.

Where ALL dSLRs show a big advantage is in the viewfinder. The tiny LCD is just to small and too low in resolution to be able to judge whether an image is properly in focus, so autofocus is the only real solution. Glass is the only real solution to that.

The Fuji S5600 is a great camera – of course you’ll get better performance with a dSLR (although perhaps not as much as you’d think at the budget (<£800) end.

In all honesty I couldn’t disagree more. The Fuji’s ARE great cameras, but earlier this year I upgraded from a Fuji S5500 to a Canon 350D, and it was like stepping into a completely different world. My photos didn’t get any more creative or interesting, but the 350D absolutely blew the Fuji off the face of the planet in every respect. Start up time (I missed so many shots because of the almost 4 second start up time on the Fuji as opposed to waiting a mere fifth of a second with the Canon), continuous shooting, less noise at higher ISO’s, quick and accurate focussing, and of course, the quality of the image itself. A recent European tour allowed me to treat myself to a Canon 30D a few weeks ago, and there’s much less difference between that and my 350D than there is between the 350D and the Fuji S5500. The 30D is just bigger and much more robust, which suits my needs as a regular air and road traveller much better.

Edit: By the way, I’d also invest in a good teleconverter, the Pentax TCON-17 (1.7x) is generally reckoned to be the best – although you can get them up to 3x. A 1.5x teleconverter would increase your OPTICAL zoom to 15x – which is plenty for this camera – a 3x would give you 30x Optical – phenomenal – you’d need a solid granite tripod to keep it steady, though.

I had a 3x teleconverter for my Fuji, and I found it pretty much useless for anything, especially aviation. The lens on the S5500 and S5600 is 38-380mm, so with a 3x that makes it a 114mm-1140mm. Bearing in mind the 1/focal length guide for avoiding camera shake in your images, when you’re using the upper extent of your zoom you’ll be needing to keep your shutter speed at a minimum of 1/1000 or a 1/1250. You might get away with that in extremely bright weather but you don’t stand a chance when the Sun decides to take a break!

Also you get the ‘tunnel effect’ when using long teleconverters on cameras like the S5500/5600. Imagine the effect you see when looking through a drain pipe. Your field of vision is reduced to a small circle in the middle through which you see things normally. That’s exactly the same effect long teleconverters have on non-SLR cameras like the Fuji.

The only example I can find on my hard drive is this. This is at minimum zoom (114mm with the 3x) where the effect is at its worse, but you still loose a lot of your frame at all focal lengths.

If you feel you need a teleconverter personally I’d just get a 1.5x or 1.7. You’ll loose les of your frame and you’ll be able to use slower shutter speeds. I think you’d probably be disappointed with the poor performance of the 3x, but that’s purely from my own personal experience!

Paul

I’m still learning about it, even though I’ve had a Fuji S5xxx series for a few years now – so hopefully I’ll get a bit better. I’ve just discovered, for instance, the Chrome option, which enhances colour.

A steady hand is a useful tool, I will admit. Wish mine was steadier sometimes.

Edit: By the way, I’d also invest in a good teleconverter, the Pentax TCON-17 (1.7x) is generally reckoned to be the best – although you can get them up to 3x. A 1.5x teleconverter would increase your OPTICAL zoom to 15x – which is plenty for this camera – a 3x would give you 30x Optical – phenomenal – you’d need a solid granite tripod to keep it steady, though.

Rob do you know if the Pentax TCON-17 needs a adapter to fit the S5600?, I am considering one by the time the Airshow season comes. The wife and i went to London on sunday and took some “wildlife” photo’s in Green park which was fun and have got some nice photo’s which once i have cleaned up the P.C i will download and post some, I am already finding the camera fun to use and have already got a few photo’s i am proud of.

Some superb photo’s there Rob i am very impressed, I have had a quick play with the camera yesterday but because only have the disc it came with i have done very little, I am off to buy a 1G card today and if the weather stays fine i will go out and about for a bit with it. Its a lot of camera for the money i have to say and plenty of different functions to play with.
Ironically i had a 1.5 Conversion lense for my S602 but i sold it this summer as was’nt planning to buy a similar camera, Maybe next year i will buy a 1.7x,
Did you use a Conversion lense at many shows?.

For ground to air and distance, I almost always use Fuji’s own 1.5x teleconverter – unless it’s a really big plane 😀

Unfortunately Fuji no longer include it in their catalogue.

Fuji has a great community on their website too, with a free to enter themed monthly competition: http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/myfuji/

I bought a 1G XD card yesterday for £40 which was cheapest i saw, May get a second one by next year but as yet one is enough for me to practice with.
I am thinking of a trip to Heathrow or something so i can practice, Or maybe a hour or so outside Biggin Hll, I feel it would be nice to put in a bit of practice before next year.

Jessops are doing a 110% price match on anything online atm, so if you print off this 1gb xd for £17.99 they should sell it you for around £16 🙂

LINK

Some superb photo’s there Rob i am very impressed, I have had a quick play with the camera yesterday but because only have the disc it came with i have done very little, I am off to buy a 1G card today and if the weather stays fine i will go out and about for a bit with it. Its a lot of camera for the money i have to say and plenty of different functions to play with.
Ironically i had a 1.5 Conversion lense for my S602 but i sold it this summer as was’nt planning to buy a similar camera, Maybe next year i will buy a 1.7x,
Did you use a Conversion lense at many shows?.

The Fuji S5600 is a great camera – of course you’ll get better performance with a dSLR (although perhaps not as much as you’d think at the budget (<£800) end.

Get yourself a 1Gig xD card, and you’ll be set for a great day at an airshow.

I have had mine for the last year and everything on MY Website – click here in 2006 was taken with it – there are 3 airshow galleries. Plus for some less exciting stuff, try the Holidays/Scotland stuff.

I’m still learning about it, even though I’ve had a Fuji S5xxx series for a few years now – so hopefully I’ll get a bit better. I’ve just discovered, for instance, the Chrome option, which enhances colour.

A steady hand is a useful tool, I will admit. Wish mine was steadier sometimes.

Edit: By the way, I’d also invest in a good teleconverter, the Pentax TCON-17 (1.7x) is generally reckoned to be the best – although you can get them up to 3x. A 1.5x teleconverter would increase your OPTICAL zoom to 15x – which is plenty for this camera – a 3x would give you 30x Optical – phenomenal – you’d need a solid granite tripod to keep it steady, though.

Hopefully they’ll honour it, if not if you go to BUYACAMERA it’s £139 🙂

Btw I didn’t take those photos 😉 Hopefully I’ll be able to soon though!

I collected the Camera today and have to say i like the feel of it, I just need to buy a 1g memory card now and then have some practice with it, It feels very like the S602 so i hope not have too much problem gettin used to it.

Aye I’ve got this camera for christmas, however if you’ve reserved you might want to check if you can still get it at £112, as the price has gone back up on the argos site 🙁

If you scroll down on HERE, there are 4 air show photos taken with the s5600.

Impressive photo’s, As to the price they promised me they reserved it at that price and i must collect by the 11th, If they do try and put the price up i won’t be buy it out of principle.
I should know later today anyway. Thanks for showing me examples of your photo’s.

Aye I’ve got this camera for christmas, however if you’ve reserved you might want to check if you can still get it at £112, as the price has gone back up on the argos site 🙁

If you scroll down on HERE, there are 4 air show photos taken with the s5600.