# Bridge Cameras?



## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

In the words of Manuel - 'I know nothing!' :lol:

I enjoy taking photos and like to think I can take a relatively good picture but have only used point and click, compact cameras but would like something a bit more involved. 

Now I'm not really prepared to spend SLR kind of money as I don't think I'd really make great use of it's abilities. Well certainly not yet but I'd like something that offers a little more such as adjusting exposure times etc. 

Does anyone have a recommendation for a camera that might suit me? 

I was looking at something like the Fuji Finepix S2950. My main photography will be motoring, so car meets, track events etc. 

Any advice would be really good. :thumb::thumb:


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## bretti_kivi (Apr 22, 2008)

Something that suits your budget and your hand. I'd strongly suggest getting out and trying a couple; then I'd also think about just how much zoom you want / need and adding that in as a criteria. 
The Fujis are not bad cameras in any sense of the word; oly, Panasonic and Pentax all have something decent at the top end of the market and you get a lot of camera for under three hundred quid. 
Something to think about is if it has the option to save RAW and another is the option to add a flash, as both expand your future opportunities significantly.

Bret


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

Thanks Bret, appreciate the advice.

I'd be inclined to buy online but think I'll take a window shopping trip to test a few out physically.


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## stuart5760 (Jan 22, 2008)

Hi Alex,
I've just bought the Fujifilm finepix S2750 from Argos @ £149. It seems a nice bridge camera with plenty of options and without breaking the bank. Seems to have received plenty of good reviews and ideal for someone like me who's just getting into photography and wanted something with a few more features than a compact camera.


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

Funnily enough I was looking at the Fujifilm cameras around this price range as they seem to get really good reviews and have more functionality than a compact. 

Sounds like you were after a similar kind of camera to me. 

Does if have control of exposure times etc? Also is it capable of close up shots? I find if I'm trying to capture the detail in a cars dashboard etc it blurs if up close.


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

I might seem a little biased Alex as i've recently bought one but i'm sure even pro photgraphers will tell you the Lumix range are the pick of the bunch when it comes to affordable bridge cameras.

MY FZ38 cost just over £150 on Ebay and it's incredible. You only have to look at bridge camera reviews to see Lumix come out on top in nearly every test. Also look on the FZ38 Flickr group to see some shots taken from the camera.

For that price you'd struggle to beat the 38. I researched cameras for 4 months before buying and none came close. Full manual settings aswell for practicing before stepping up to dslr territory.


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

That one does certainly look good as well.

Only thing is the prices I'm seeing tend to be £200+.


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

I think of all the praising i've done they seem to be going up in price!!!!!!!!!!!


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## McClane (Dec 9, 2010)

Agree with Brett there. Some more info in here too Alex! :thumb:

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=210528

Had my FZ38 for 18 months now. Great Camera. The recent fuji offerings look good too. I'd be tempted to head into a camera shop/JL and have a play with them both... especially the 12x extra zoom on the fuji (HS10 has x30, 12 more than the FZ38'd x18, not sure if this is one you'd be looking at however) seems interesting and would be pretty awesome, provided the image stabilising still works.

If not, I can guarantee you won't be disappointed with the Panasonic Lumix's, especially if you can get a good deal on one.


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## stuart5760 (Jan 22, 2008)

The fuji s2750 does have a setting for full control over aperture and shutter speeds if that answers your question Alex. Sorry I'm very much a newbie regarding cameras lol. The 18x optical zoom seems really good and having a play around with it, seems really sharp. I bought the package (camera, case and a memory card for about £170 and will be using it primarily for taking pictures of vehicles in my business.


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

Thanks for all the info guys. 

Stuart, sounds as though you're doing similar photography to what I'm intending so I'll definitely be checking the Fuji cameras out.  

I'm heading to the shops at the weekend so will take a trip to a camera shop and get feel for some of them.


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## McClane (Dec 9, 2010)

Alex_225 said:


> Thanks for all the info guys.
> 
> Stuart, sounds as though you're doing similar photography to what I'm intending so I'll definitely be checking the Fuji cameras out.
> 
> I'm heading to the shops at the weekend so will take a trip to a camera shop and get feel for some of them.


Either of the Panasonic's or Fuji's should have a full manual mode; or aperture priority, shutter priority, or ISO prioirty (with the other settings adjusted to suit), and be able to handle close ups (macro) - although the macro works best without using the zoom, so you have to hold the camera literally v. close to the object (on ultra close zooming [sort of false macro] they don't hold focus as well) - took me a while to work that out .

As said in the other thread to Gally, despite all these functionalities, certainly for the Panasonics, Intelligent Auto pretty much bests me everytime! Sorts it all out for you.... focus, macro mode, ISO, shutter, aperture, other modes... to get the best looking pic... certainly 9 times out of 10 I'd say!

The manual modes are best for when you're after a particular effect. Anyway, good luck looking... hope you get something you like :thumb:


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

Thanks mate, really appreciate the advice. 

I only really came up with the idea of a better camera after taking some pics Sunday which were ok but I want something a little better. 

My mum has kindly offered to buy me a camera for my birthday in May as well so I have a while to do my homework haha.


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

I recently bought a Fuji S1600 (which is from the same 'family' as the S2750 already mentioned but with only 15x zoom rather than 18x, otherwise apart from the odd difference in spec, most of the 'S' series are the same).

So far I like it and has enough manual controls for my purposes :thumb:


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

Viper said:


> I recently bought a Fuji S1600 (which is from the same 'family' as the S2750 already mentioned but with only 15x zoom rather than 18x, otherwise apart from the odd difference in spec, most of the 'S' series are the same).
> 
> So far I like it and has enough manual controls for my purposes :thumb:


Ive been looking at that lately, can pick it up online for about £95 :thumb:


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

gr33n said:


> Ive been looking at that lately, can pick it up online for about £95 :thumb:


If you can, it's a lot of camera for that money :thumb:. I paid about £130 I think for mine but that was nearly 6 months ago.


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