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A longer zoom - the Nikon Coolpix 5700
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Our 30th Wedding Anniversary cruise in 2003
on the Norwegian coastal voyage suggested that a longer zoom than the
Nikon Coolpix 990 was required. OK, so you can get a telephoto
add-on for the 990 but it unbalances the camera and would have to be taken
on and off. We bought a "shared" 5700,
although it seemed to stay with David most of the time!
35 - 280mm f/2.8 - f/4.2 zoom, 5MP
Nikon
Coolpix 5700 review (now sold on) |
Image Stabilisation - the Panasonic FZ20 & FZ5
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Cecilia's forthcoming retirement treat trip to
Antarctica suggested an even longer zoom than the 5700 for snapping those
penguins, and she was lucky
to have image stabilisation as a new option to help reduce camera shake in
that cold and windy environment.
36 - 432mm f/2.8 zoom, 5MP
Panasonic
Lumix FZ20 review |
Hand-held moon shot [well, braced against a window ledge]
from the FZ20. Spot metering and exposure compensation applied.
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Once I saw the capabilities of Cecilia's
camera, I knew I had to have one to improve on the long zoom performance
of the Nikon 5700. Having image stabilisation at its maximum 432mm
focal length does make a real difference. I ended up getting the
slightly lower specification FZ5 which had just been released, as the only
limits were the slightly slower lens (f/3.3 at longest zoom rather than
f/2.8) and no flash hot-shoe or manual focus, but it is quite a bit smaller and lighter.
36 - 432mm f/2.8-3.3 zoom, 5MP
Panasonic
Lumix FZ5 review |
Hand-held moon shot [well, braced against a window ledge]
from the FZ5. Spot metering and exposure compensation applied.
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Wide-angle - the Nikon Coolpix 8400
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David decided that, after looking at his
Prague pictures taken the 5700, that a wider angle than the 35mm would
have been welcome, although not with the bulky and cumbersome wide-angle
adapter offered for that camera! Unfortunately the Nikon 8400 does
not offer image stabilisation, so he can already see the next upgrade!
24 - 85mm, f/2.6 - f/4.9 zoom, 8MP Nikon
Coolpix 8400 review |
A compact shared camera - the Panasonic TZ3
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Compact as the Lumix cameras are, there is
still the need for a camera you can take anywhere, and with the move to
DSLRs, I felt the need to retain some ability to capture short movies -
particularly with our interest in motor racing! The camera which
fills this need for us is the Panasonic TZ3. Very compact, and yet
it still has a 10:1 image-stabilised zoom covering 28mm wide-angle to
280mm telephoto. With such a compact design there is,
understandably, a slight compromise in image quality.
28 - 200mm, f/3.3 - f/4.9 zoom, 7MP
Panasonic
TZ3 review |
Moving up in quality - a DSLR each
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When DSLRs first came out, they were very
expensive devices costing thousands of pounds, but now as the development
costs have been recovered and sensor quality improved, they are readily
affordable. As I had sold up all my 35mm SLR equipment some time
back, I was able to choose which of the SLRs suited me best, and I ended
up with Nikon as it felt more natural to control. Initially I bought
the D40, with the "kit" 18 - 55mm lens and 55 - 200mm VR zoom,
but I later upgraded to a D60, then a D5000, with 16-85mm and 70-300mm VR
(image-stabilised) zooms. The extra speed of operation of the DSLR
and its ability to work well at higher speeds (e.g. ISO 3200 compared to
ISO 200 on the compact cameras - this is because the larger sensor
captures more photons), increase our chances of getting a good photo, and
the quality is superb! I recently bought a compact 35mm f/1.8 lens
especially for low-light operation - it allowed me to capture real-time
video of the Northern
Lights.
Cecilia has also upgraded to a Nikon D60 DSLR, with the
single walk-round 18-200mm VR lens, so she is less bothered by dust
getting onto the sensor, as there is no lens changing required.
Cecilia: 18 - 200mm VR zoom
David: 16 - 85mm VR zoom, 70 - 300mm zoom
Nikon
D60 review
Nikon
D5000 review |
(Photos from the manufacturer's Web sites - yes, I could take
my own but most likely they would not represent the cameras as favourably as the
manufacturer can...) |
