2 Newbie questions

[Aelfwyn]

Thanks Tiberius! Sorry, should have said, it has 3x OPTICAL xoom, then 6x digital. :blushing: I agree, I try to avoid the digital zoom when possible. (unless I'm shooting a REALLY distant subject and there's no way I can actually get closer...)

I think it also depends what you're going to be using it for. Photography for me is just a hobby - I'm not going to be making a living from it, so for all my uses, the sort of camera I have is ideal.

 

[Ronin]

Okay, thanks again for all the thoughts.

Now that I think about it I'd mostly take pictures in a studio setting or even if I take photos outside they would most likely be portraits.

For that kind of photography are there any certain qualities I should look for in a camera? A friend of mine said I should definitely get a camera with a manual focus.

The reason I'd like digital more is the fact that I can take hundreds of pictures, just erase the bad ones, take some more and then just plug the camera into the computer and the photos are there, zero cost no matter how many pictures I take.

 

[Ronin]

Oh yeah, as I could have these with...er, what do you call it in English when you make a small downpayment on an item and then pay a little amount every month? Well, anyway, I could get one of these two like that:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz20/

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0601/06012302panasonicfz7.asp

 

[Aelfwyn]

I'd try to avoid buying things like that - you end up paying more with downpayment than if you you bought it straight away. They add intrest on each month.

For example, the FZ20, at a street price of £370 - if you used downpayment for that, you'd end up spending well over £400. It's best to save up and then buy it straight off the shelf when you can afford it.

 

[Ronin]

I know but atleast I'd have a camera, now I don't have anything to shoot with. Anyway, are those two cameras good for anything?

 

[rmh159]

I've learned almost everything I know about photography from library books. It's not the most comprehensive place to find info but it'll definitely give you a good kick start and allow you to know recognize what people are talking about on here. Then just shoot away and read everything you can.

The one positive about buying a cheaper digital (have to give one Pro) is that you can take pics of anything, see instant results and then delete and try again. While I'll definitely agree that for a purchase film would fit your price range and be a better value... if you could borrow a digital for a weekend to just do some experimenting that might be a good idea as well.