Panasonic FZ28 vs Canon DSLR

[Dave Simmonite]

Greetings everyone ..

Here I go with my first post here ..

So .. I am currently using a Panasonic FZ28 with an Olympus 1.7x teleconverter which is a great camera/lens for general mucking around .. I am taking an increasing interest in taking wildlife shots which will be mostly birds.. I regularly met up with a few guys who take some 'cracking' bird in flight shots with DSLR cameras and 'long lenses' .. having attempted this myself I suddenly realised that I had next to no chance with my current setup due to the slow AF speed which I have ..

This had lead me to wanting to progress into the world of the DSLR and take my photography to the next level ..

Having done a bit of fishing around I have had some advice regarding this but am still left scratching my head to some extents .. I would really like to buy the right gear the first time as opposed to having to do it all again in a years time ..

Body:

So .. I am advised that I need to get a camera with a fast AF (obviously) and was told to look for a Canon 50D as this is a good start. I am reluctant to buy used as I wont know how good the body is and would prefer new if possible. It appears that a 50D is now no longer although still available in some places .. Any other suggestions here would be welcome but as I want to photograph birds in flight I would appreciate advice based on this please ..

Lenses:

Open to suggestions here really .. My current setup gives me a very generous 826mm focal length and so I would obviously like to try to get a reasonable focal length if possible be it with a standalone lens or one with a teleconverter attached ..

One issue would be weight .. i walk a long way and having felt at the weight of some setups I was quite alarmed at just how much they weighed !! I did have my hands on a Canon 550D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens which was quite manageable but was then informed that the AF on a 550D isn't as good as a 50D.

Basically I am looking fo a good DSLR setup whereby I am happy to spend say, £650 on a body (ish) and then a grand or so on a long lens to suit .. I have chosen Canon as they seem to be the 'weapon of choice' for all of the photographers I know .. Usage would be medium to long distance shots of wildlife and of birds in flight ..

My initial quandry was whether or not the amount of improvement I would get by moving form a FZ28 to a DSLR was worth the amount it was going to cost me !!

Any help here would be very much appreciated.

Thanks for reading..

Dave

 

[gsgary]

Canon 40D on here Canon Auto Focus - Aperture Photographic Tel. 020 7242 8681 you can buy secondhand from these with confidence

Canon 30,40 and 50D here Mifsuds Photographic Ltd Digital Cameras & Accessories aslo buy from these with confidence
I have bought lots from these 2 never had any problems

 

[Hardrock]

The 50d is decent and focuses fairly quick with a f2.8 or f4 lens but slows down at f5.6. You may want to look at the 7d which has the best autofocus in a Canon body except for the 1series bodies. The lens you use are also very important. A prime lens like a 300 f4 or the f2.8 variety is a good start but is a little short for birding. A 300 with a 1.4tc works well but with the f4 it turns into a f5.6 and the focus slows down. The 500 f4 and 600 f4 are the birding lens but at 10k are pricey. The 100-400l is a nice lens and actually focuses pretty quick at f5.6 on the 50d but forces dirt on your sensor with the push pull design. I've heard good things about the 400f5.6 but it does not have IS and you can get the 300 f4 IS and use a 1.4tc to get very similar results with IS and the macro ability. Hope this helps!

 

[jaomul]

I have the panasonic and the 50D. The panasonic takes great shots for genaral use, I think that for your bird shots the 50D will be a great choice, but as mentioned above the 40D is available also and has similar spec with few mp less sensor (dont think that really matters). Sigma do a 120-400 optical stabilised lens which ive used with the 40D and was impressed, they also do a 150-500 lens. Both come in under 1000 euro here so you could probably pick either up for 1000 dollars. They have smaller aperture than the lenses mentioned previously but are a fraction of the cost, and also they both work with a sigma teleconverter, which in good light will give you some serious distance. The 150-500 on the 50D will give you an effective range of 240-800 (multiplied by 1.4 or 2 if you go with the teleconverter)