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Fujifilm Finepix S5800 - buying an SLR camera

Hi Aaron,

The S5800 isn't a DSLR, its known as a bridge camera as it has some of the features of a DSLR but without the ability to interchange lenses. This camera has solid reviews and comes at a cracking price (comfortably the lowest in the 8 mega-pixel, x10 optical zoom class). You could certainly do a lot worse than buy this camera. Alternatives to this camera would be:

Panasonic Lumix TZ4 (£249)
Canon PowerShot SX100 IS (£230)
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H3 (£160).

However, the S5800 (and other bridge cameras) does have limitations when it comes to aquarium macro photography. The biggest problem is the use of flash with the macro. Yes, you can focus down to 1cm but, in some cases (certainly with the Cyber-shot) the lense obscures flash at this close a range, leading to a dark shadow over your subject. Using flash in front of aquariums is also problematic because of the reflection off the glass. Most of the really good aquarium photos are taken using an off-the-camera flash held above the tank (only really possible with DSLR's).

A couple of more general issues with the S5800 are its tendancy towards purple fringing around edges of object in its images and the fact that it has no image stabilisation, which is pretty essential when using the camera at the long end of the zoom. All the other cameras listed above have this feature.

If you are at all unsure, it would be a good idea to go to a camera shop and have a play with the camera. Its the best way to find out whether it'll do the job you want. You may also be able to get a good deal from the shop, which may even better prices you see on-line.

You could also look at a DSLR!! :twisted: A Nikon D40 with 18-55mm lense is only £200! ...and a Sigma 50mm f2.8 EX DG Macro Lens is only another £190 :twisted:

Hope some of this has helped

AJ
 
Hi Aj, thanks for taking the time to type it out but i have already bought the S5700!

Here is a shot i have just done:

P1011670r.jpg

Tank-2.jpg


The first picture was taken on my old camera, the second is on my new one, which you can see is loads better, i have also learned why photoraphers bang a load of lighting over their tank, it took me ages to find the correct setting lol.

Depth of filed is also much better, not as 2D as before :p
 
No problem Aaron. Guess I was a bit slow off the mark. The results look good to me.

AJ
 
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