REQ : Camera options.........

[ianbevins]

Hi all,

I'm looking to upgrade my current bridge camera to a proper DSLR and would like to solicit your views / observations / recommendations on body and lens.  My current bridge camera (Nikon L820) has 16MP and a 30x optical zoom and I would like to be able to achieve something similar in a "mm" lens.  I appreciate that the 30x is not actually the same thing as a 30x telescope, and is something to do with the magnification multiples from the widest angle of the lens .  But if I can get decent shots of the Globals and Gulfstreams on Tower 4-6 then I'd be happy.  I don't have a big budget for this (perhaps £500 all in) and I'd like to know whether this is wishful thinking or a possibility.

I will hopefully get to talk to some of you guys at Eelmore Bridge sometime (if we ever get any decent weather).

Thanks in advance
Ian

[controller]

Hi Ian. I know nothing about bridge cameras but I'd have thought "30x" means just that. If you go for a DSLR, to achieve anything approaching 30x you would need a hefty and very expensive lens. I have a Canon DSLR, mainly because I have some old Canon lenses and it was cheaper to stay with the brand rather than change to Nikon. Good luck Bren

[slideman]

Hi Ian

I would think you have a straight choice between Canon & Nikon, I use Canon but I dont think that there is much to choose between them. To shoot Tower 4-6 from Eelmoor would require a minimum zoom of 400mm and even then that would be stretching it, also for most of the year heat haze would be a major obstacle. A decent 400 zoom would cost well over your budget so it might be worth looking for a clean used example but from what I understand they still fetch a high price.

Trev

[ianbevins]

Thanks for your replies....... I have bought a Nikon P900 with an 83x optical zoom !!!!! Tried it out at the shop and even in the crap weather (and light) we had here on the weekend it gave a really clear picture (which filled the screen) of the flashing light signs at Camberley railway station from the other end of the High Street. And just in case you are not aware of the length of Camberley High Street, its about 400m !!! So hopefully, air clarity permitting, I should be able to get some really good shots of aircraft parked at Blackbushe whilst I'm sat at Eelmore !!! The write ups for the camera are pretty good and although they say that the quality starts to drop off towards the high end of the zoom (which is to be expected I suppose)it's still pretty respectable. Although, to be realistic, how often am I really going to use the full 83x anyway so I'm not worried about the slight drop off in quality. It has 2 vibration reduction motors(?), 1 in the camera and the other in the lens, so camera shake is significantly reduced even at the high end.

The only frustration is that its a Christmas present from "The Boss" and I'm not actually allowed to have it until the day !!! (I would really like to have got it sooner as I'm off to Hong Kong and New Zealand next week and would have loved to have taken it with me....... I suppose I'll have to use my current camera for a little while longer.)