D SLR bodies/brands...

From what I can glean, the Canon full frame CMOS seems at face value the obviously better idea, but if you read around it isnt necessarily ideal. Apparently the way Canon have implemented it places tiny mirrors in front of the silicon to bend the light straight before it strikes. I'm told vignetting with wideangle lenses is an issue with full frame sensors, and chromatic aberration can be observed too.

On the other hand I respect Nikon's commitment to their CCD size, which as far as I can determine, is considered the equal in terms of quality, then when used with DX lenses removes the issue of cropping.

Now yes the 16MP 1DsII is impressive and I imagine for larger format prints it is amazing, but mega pixels arent everything. Afterall we dont all need to blow our pics up into posters. Frankly Isaac's 10D produces some brilliant results from what I've seen. The D200 is 10.2 MP so I expect is sufficient for what I need up to around 12" * 8" and it is a sh1t less ££. I've no doubt I would be the weak link in whatever system I used

 

Get a real camera mate - Nikon FM2, great camera.

 

Great camera and still fetching some serious coin. I am also sorely tempted to pick up an F4. Fancied one for ages. Some of my best pix were taken with a second hand Nikkormat.

 

Greg - you'll find that microlensing is used on the nikon sensors as well. It increases sensitivity. It does not introduce any vignetting of its own, but rather the full-frame sensor goes further out from the lens axis, so it suffers the vignetting of the lens more than a smaller sensor used with the same lens. In other words, the full-frame sensor suffers vignetting just as film does.

For printing up to 12x8, even the D30 produced great results. It's low noise that is the key, rather than megapixels. What you have headroom to do, however, is to crop and still print at 12x8 when you have more pixels.

 

Guys,

Just looking at slightly cheaper cameras on eBay... why are there so many Coolpix 5700's for sale? Is there anything I should know, because otherwise it looks like a good camera for me. Also what is a good price to pay for one, as there seem to be a lot selling at the moment I hope to get a good price.

 

Simon - I had a coolpix for a while, but, even though I own a Nikon SLR and will probably buy a Nikon D SLR, I wouldnt recommend the Nikon coolpix. There are a number of negative "features" which caused me issues. The images were decent enough though. When mine was nicked I got a Canon A95 which is really rather good. I dont know what the current equivalent model would be though.

 

There are also various good reports regards the Panasonic Lumix range which typically include Leica optics.

This one apparently doesnt have the Leica brand on the lense, but is thought to be Leica nevertheless...

 

What are the negative features?

The A95 and Lumix look like much more 'toy' cameras. Is it just appearance?

 

Ah looking at the details of the 5700 it's a few models up from the one I had, a bit more like a full on SLR, so is not really comparable to the Lumix or Powershot A95.

You might be better off considering the D50 which would give you the ability to change lenses etc.

 

When I decided on the D50 I played with the Lumix and I agree it felt like a toy. So did the Olympus E300, that one felt really cheap.

I am not saying the D50 is built well but overall it was the best at that price point.

The stock lens is OK. Thing is it is 18mm and lenses like this are very expensive so thats a plus point.

 

gary - it seems to me (Simon may have seen better deals) that the new D50 can be had for similar money to the four year old coolpix "slr style" 5700. I wouldnt want to knock the coopix, but I imagine the D50 is at least as good and of course has the benefit of changing lenses. Though the coolpix seems to include ED glass.

 

Well my issue with the SLR style cameras is typically the view finder is just a small LCD showing you whats on the main viewer. This makes no sense to me. The D50 may not have the best view finder but at least its real.

I think we are in agreement here. I am just saying the stock lens although not great does have a useful range and as you say there are at least 700 lenses on ebay now.

 

Gosh, the D50 and the 5700 are very different in price! I can’t afford the D50 @ £500 or so (I can only see new ones). The 5700 @ £170 however...

 

You can get the D50 new for £355. The lowest price I found for the coolpix was £379.

 

Wow a D2X! Thanks for the offer Tony. I think I'm unlikely to go with a D50, but I havent ruled it out. If not I might know someone else who could be interested... Cheers

 

Where was the D50 a that price? Not that I could afford it still. So do I take it £170 for a s/h Coolpix 5700 is a good deal? What were the bad features?

 

I am hoping to have an SLR in the next 6 months, I have managed to spend £100 on booze/clubbing and a a digital camera for mothers day so I am sure a little budgeting will help. If I get that part time job I will have one before the end of the month.

I really want an SLR for cornwall/devon camping trip.

The problem is it is still £360 without the lens

http://www.jessops.com/search/viewp...9&SHOWCASEID=&STARTROW=1&SUBS=&WORD_SEARCH=N&

How would somthing like this compare to an SLR?

http://www.jessops.com/search/viewp...&SHOWCASEID=&STARTROW=41&SUBS=&WORD_SEARCH=N&

 

D50 at A J Purdy's

The Nikon Coolpix I had was like this one so you can see the ergonomics, etc, are quite different. One of the main issues was it turning on when in my pocket and busting the lense mechanism.