can any one recommend a decent bridge camera

youllneverknow

i'm looking for a bridge camera and i dont know where to begin.my budget would be around the 300e mark also could you tell me where i could pick the camera up.

thank you

hbr

Start with #1 in the FAQ
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055243345

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38 is highly recommended. There are lots
of others. Look at the reviews and sample images. The flickr camera
comparison page is very useful.
http://www.flickr.com/cameras

No doubt, someone will be along soon to tell you that you
would be better off with a used DSLR.

jpb1974

I think you'd be better off with a used DSLR.

dinneenp

Read Camera labs best buy section

I had the Panasonic FZ28- was very happy with it, great all rounder. Great zoom, minimun shake, stunning macro etc.
I upgraded to dslr after a while as I wanted more control over bohek/blurred background and ability to get low light shots.

I wouldn't say get a used dslr instead without knowing the OPs needs.

CabanSail

Have you looked in the FAQ thread?

What do you want the camera to do for you?

What specifications do you require?

Unless you can give some details then it's really just names you will be getting.

danbohan

youllneverknow wrote: »

i'm looking for a bridge camera and i dont know where to begin.my budget would be around the 300e mark also could you tell me where i could pick the camera up.

thank you

try a sony R1 , bit dated now but the quality of the lens remains unsurpassed , they sell for around £200 /£250

youllneverknow

sorry for got to say what its for.
its just for every day kind of stuff like one day i could take pictures of friends at a party the next i could take pictures of scenery or architecture.
im not into the full control of the camera. so i dont not want a dslr

cheers for the replys

youllneverknow

iv got 4cameras in mind

FUJI FinePix S2500HD
PANASONIC DMC-FZ38 or a fz 28
sony r1

sheesh

I would say one of the canon G series
but its over budget
that Fujifilm FinePix S1600 is supposed to be good though and comes in under budget on 176 on expansis.ie

the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38 319 on that site go with that

Mountainsandh

I would second the Fujifilm Finepix, I had that before I got my DSLR recently. I had the old model, S5600, and it's excellent. It's still going actually, and still a pleasure to use. You chose what you want to do with it. I had mine for several years before I got the urge to learn how to use manual controls. And when I did decide to learn, it was really easy to pick up and experiment, and actually offered a great range of controls. It's a very sturdy and light camera, easy to take anywhere. It survived falls and bumps and moisture well.
Got mine for a lot cheaper than your budget, and that was probably around 5 (or more!) years ago.

The Snipe

Personally I've a Samsung WB5000 and I think its a great little thing, Really good camera, and options, I got it in march for about 350 I think it was.

hbr

youllneverknow wrote: »

iv got 4cameras in mind

FUJI FinePix S2500HD
PANASONIC DMC-FZ38 or a fz 28
sony r1

Fujifilm have made some good bridge cameras in the past. The current
low to mid range bridge cameras from Fujifilm are not as good. They
seem to have lost ground to their competitors at this end of the market.
Independent reviews of the S2500HD and similar Fujifilm models have
been less than favourable.

If money was no object, the new Fujifilm HS10 looks like a serious
candidate for best bridge camera, but it costs quite a bit more than
your €300 budget.

Canon also have a few very good models like the G11 and
SX20, but they are also very expensive.

The Lumix DMC-FZ35 is just about on your budget if you
shop around. I agree with Pa's recommendation of the FZ-28
above. They have been replaced by the 38, but they are still
an excellent camera. They often crop up on adverts.ie for well
under €200. You might even find one which is less than a
year old and still under warranty.

Barname

this would be my 'bridge' camera..

http://www.pentax.jp/english/imaging/digital/medium/645d/view.html

dribbling....

youllneverknow

thanks for all the help. im going to get a panasonic dmc fz38

Barname

youllneverknow wrote: »

thanks for all the help. im going to get a panasonic dmc fz38

well done, enjoy!

post some of your images here!

dinneenp

Have a look at this blog

a lot of stuff on the FZ 28/35 there.

Also this-
I read this taken from (http://nielo-tm.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-to-improve-panasonics-dmc-tz6-tz65.html)
could be helpful:
1.Set dial to custom (2nd option next to iA)
2.Go to menu and disable intelligent ISO
3.Set your preferred ISO under sensitivity, but do not exceed 400
4.Disable pre-AF
5.Disable i.Exposure
6.Set stabilizer to Auto
6.Set Min.Shtr Speed to 1 (or the lowest possible) and press menu to exit.
If you're still experiencing poor performance, press up and increase the value of the exposure (0 - +2). If you wish to improve the quality further, set ISO to 400 or 800 (medium prints).

It's actually for the TZ6/7 but applies for 28/35 too.

Enjoy the camera- it's great.
Pa

youllneverknow

i wnet into the camera centre on grafton street and asked for one of these they only wanted 360 euro for it so i said no. im going to try pixels on liffey street tomorrow and camera exchange on dame street i think it is. is there any other shops in dublin city i could go to?

TinyExplosions

youllneverknow wrote: »

i wnet into the camera centre on grafton street and asked for one of these they only wanted 360 euro for it so i said no. im going to try pixels on liffey street tomorrow and camera exchange on dame street i think it is. is there any other shops in dublin city i could go to?

AFAIK Pixels are gone now, the places to try would be Berminghams on the Quays or Gunns on Wexford St.... though both will be closed tomorrow.

Also worth checking out PC World in the Jervis Centre

Freddie59

youllneverknow wrote: »

i wnet into the camera centre on grafton street and asked for one of these they only wanted 360 euro for it so i said no. im going to try pixels on liffey street tomorrow and camera exchange on dame street i think it is. is there any other shops in dublin city i could go to?

Bit late, but have you considered a Fuji?

Stunning quality at great prices.:)

hbr

youllneverknow wrote: »

i wnet into the camera centre on grafton street and asked for one of these they only wanted 360 euro for it so i said no. im going to try pixels on liffey street tomorrow and camera exchange on dame street i think it is. is there any other shops in dublin city i could go to?

The only place I have seen Lumix bridge cameras for sale is
Currys. The .ie web site is a pile of crap, but the UK site lists
the FZ38 at £249.99. Might be a good excuse for a trip up north?
I will check the local Currys in the next couple of days to
see if they have them in stock.

There is an FZ38 and at least one FZ28 on adverts.ie at the moment.

On-line prices for the FZ38:
Pixmania €289.00
Dabs.ie €320.67
Amazon £237.80ST

youllneverknow

pc world in the jervis didnt have it but they had a nice sony alpha a230 DSLR for about 400 euro bargain i think.

Freddie59 wrote: »

Bit late, but have you considered a Fuji?

Stunning quality at great prices.:)

iv had my eye on a s2500hd but one of my mates said they are a pain in the A*** to work with and dont take good pictures. iv never tried one out tbh with so im going by word of mouth.They are great value i must say

The only place I have seen Lumix bridge cameras for sale is
Currys. The .ie web site is a pile of crap, but the UK site lists
the FZ38 at £249.99. Might be a good excuse for a trip up north?
I will check the local Currys in the next couple of days to
see if they have them in stock.

There is an FZ38 and at least one FZ28 on adverts.ie at the moment.

On-line prices for the FZ38:
Pixmania €289.00
Dabs.ie €320.67
Amazon £237.80ST

ill try currys and Harvey normans in blancherstown tomorrow and pc world up there to they might have a different selection of cameras
ill try hit bermingham cameras and gunns on tuesday if they dont have it ill go internet hunting

hbr

youllneverknow wrote: »

pc world in the jervis didnt have it but they had a nice sony alpha a230 DSLR for about 400 euro bargain i think.

€323.99 for the A230 in Argos.

iv had my eye on a s2500hd but one of my mates said they are a pain in the A*** to work with and dont take good pictures. iv never tried one out tbh with so im going by word of mouth.They are great value i must say

The only current Fujifilm bridge which can match the Lumix image
quality is the new HS10 which costs quite a bit more.

ill try currys and Harvey normans in blancherstown tomorrow and pc world up there to they might have a different selection of cameras

Good luck with Harvey Norman. I was in their Cork store today.
Their camera prices are insanely high.

youllneverknow

could buy the a230 for what they asked me for a fz38.

are harvey normans not having a sale on at the monent till monday 6pm

hbr

youllneverknow wrote: »

could buy the a230 for what they asked me for a fz38.

Which brings us back to the first three messages in this thread

magnumlady

dinneenp wrote: »

Read Camera labs best buy section

I had the Panasonic FZ28- was very happy with it, great all rounder. Great zoom, minimun shake, stunning macro etc.
I upgraded to dslr after a while as I wanted more control over bohek/blurred background and ability to get low light shots.

I wouldn't say get a used dslr instead without knowing the OPs needs.

I have one of these and I'm very happy with it.

johnmcdnl

an fz38 from pc world is £250 - seems to be a pretty reasonable price if you compare it to the E350 prices that you'll be expected to pay at least according to berminghams or conns websites...

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/r/fz38/0_0_0/

youllneverknow

i was in pc world in jervis and they didnt have it.

Thecageyone

If you could stretch a bit further, and were insistant on a bridge -

http://www.amazon.com/Fujifilm-FinePix-HS10-Digital-Optical/dp/B0035WTVZA

That must be the best one around by far at the moment. I had a fuji bridge, done the job for me for a year. I learned all the basics of manual controls on it before moving to a dslr. I was already comfortable with the controls on that because of what I'd learned on the fuji.

The zoom on that new fuji is pretty amazing. And it's the closest to dslr you'll get, with the kind of zoom you'd pay a hell of a lot for. The zoom is barrel controlled just like a dslr, unlike a lot of bridges that require you to flick a fiddly button near the shutter to zoom in and out.

Only thing is, in any review I've read, they say not to expect dslr Image quality as it still has the smaller sensor. But high praise all around on all else.

youllneverknow

looks like a good camera bit to expensive for me tho

mckildare

Sorry for the thread hijack! In a similar situation myself, too many choices! I know a bridge camera is my best option for what I want (travelling/holidays so something light and cheap and multi purpose shots edging more towards landscapes and action type shots so a choice of modes)

What I'm looking at..
Panasonic FZ38 - Cheap,has HD vids,nice size,didnt read anything bad about it (yet)

Canon SX1 - Have found mixed reviews on this from very poor image quality to superior to the FZ38 in most ways, uses batteries though (I hate lugging around packs off AA's) and is heavy

Nikon P100 - Have some photos from this camera and the P90, some impressive shots. Video is very good quality apart from sound. My first pick but reviews tend to say go for one of the other ones :rolleyes:

Sony HX1 - My main interest in this is the sweep panorama function and 10fps burst mode, memory stick pro is quite a downside imo.

Now also the Fuji HS10 (thanks Thecageyone ), looks like the one stop shop for all the cool functions and quality (not comparing to SLR of course) but it looks chunky and is pricey. Though i probably wont buy for a while so this will come down in time i hope...

So my question, at last, is does anyone have any bad things to say about any of these? I find negative comments usually surface quite fast from people who know what theyre talking about and if they come in numbers then it means something

Any comments or views are appreciated, and it might help others decide too! Cheers!
Martin

hbr

mckildare wrote: »

So my question, at last, is does anyone have any bad things to say about any of these? I find negative comments usually surface quite fast from people who know what theyre talking about and if they come in numbers then it means something

Any comments or views are appreciated, and it might help others decide too! Cheers!
Martin

The Lumix FZx8 series have generally been hailed as best-in-class,
at least for the last few models (FZ18, 28, 38). I'm sure you have read
some of the independent reviews already so you will know that they
usually get five stars or whatever the top award is.

The only negative negative comment that comes to mind is that
the FZ38 is soon to be replaced by a newer model. You might
be a bit annoyed if they announce it the day after you buy.

The other thing to consider is the price and size. At €300 ish,
the FZ38 is getting close to the price of some entry level DSLRs.
This is probably not a fair comparison because the DSLR would
need at least two lenses to achieve the same zoom range. It
is also not much smaller than some of the smaller DSLRs.

If you want a good bridge camera, you won't get much better.
The Fujifilm HS10 looks interesting, but it is a bit more expensive.

mckildare

hbr wrote: »

The Lumix FZx8 series have generally been hailed as best-in-class,
at least for the last few models (FZ18, 28, 38). I'm sure you have read
some of the independent reviews already so you will know that they
usually get five stars or whatever the top award is.

The only negative negative comment that comes to mind is that
the FZ38 is soon to be replaced by a newer model. You might
be a bit annoyed if they announce it the day after you buy.

The other thing to consider is the price and size. At €300 ish,
the FZ38 is getting close to the price of some entry level DSLRs.
This is probably not a fair comparison because the DSLR would
need at least two lenses to achieve the same zoom range. It
is also not much smaller than some of the smaller DSLRs.

If you want a good bridge camera, you won't get much better.
The Fujifilm HS10 looks interesting, but it is a bit more expensive.

Thanks hbr! I didnt think about the newer model issue, I probably won't be buying for a few months anyway so I can hold my breath and see what arrives then compare it to the HS10 again. Nice one