Discussion
Hello all, I have only just realised there is a photography forum!!
I am nowhere near as advanced as any of you lot at photography but I do like to take 'nice' photos! I mean snapshots but better than average snapshots if you know what I mean!
Anyway, my reason for being here is i am after a new digital camera and wanted some advice and this seems to be the perfect place to get it
Bearing in mind I am not a professional and it is not my hobby and i am on a budget, the camera I have been looking at is the Fujifilm Finepix S5600 because the large zoom would come in handy (i come off a farm and i like to photo the wildlife) and it is within my (low) budget!
the camera is a 5 megapixal, and i don't really know what this means in terms of how big in 'for dummies' terms i can blow a photo up to, ie. would a 5 megapixal photo blow up to say A3 paper size?
Any advice would be hugely appreciated, and who knows one day i might post pictures in your competition!!
one day a long way away judging by the quality of your photos
Cheers.
I am nowhere near as advanced as any of you lot at photography but I do like to take 'nice' photos! I mean snapshots but better than average snapshots if you know what I mean!
Anyway, my reason for being here is i am after a new digital camera and wanted some advice and this seems to be the perfect place to get it
Bearing in mind I am not a professional and it is not my hobby and i am on a budget, the camera I have been looking at is the Fujifilm Finepix S5600 because the large zoom would come in handy (i come off a farm and i like to photo the wildlife) and it is within my (low) budget!
the camera is a 5 megapixal, and i don't really know what this means in terms of how big in 'for dummies' terms i can blow a photo up to, ie. would a 5 megapixal photo blow up to say A3 paper size?
Any advice would be hugely appreciated, and who knows one day i might post pictures in your competition!!
one day a long way away judging by the quality of your photos
Cheers.
Hi and welcome 
The amount of pixels is a bit of a red herring. A camera with half the amount of pixels COULD take photos of better quality.
The things to consider (IMO) are 'upgradability' (is that a word?). Nikon and Canon have shed loads of experience and lenses, so are the weapon of choice for many on here. But then Sigma (et al) are producing great kit. Then there is build quality and waterproofness (another made up word).
www.dpreview.com have some good in depth reviews... I'd spend an hour there if I were you.
Good luck
Steve
The amount of pixels is a bit of a red herring. A camera with half the amount of pixels COULD take photos of better quality.
The things to consider (IMO) are 'upgradability' (is that a word?). Nikon and Canon have shed loads of experience and lenses, so are the weapon of choice for many on here. But then Sigma (et al) are producing great kit. Then there is build quality and waterproofness (another made up word).
www.dpreview.com have some good in depth reviews... I'd spend an hour there if I were you.
Good luck
Steve
Hi right back at you 
I do not know specifically about the camera you mention, but thought I would address your megapixel question for you. As Steve above says, pixels can be mis-leading, especially when manufacturers are going for higher and higher at the expense of some other aspects of quality (although that is a long discussion topic, but you get the point I'm making?)
To offer a simple answer, 5mp would be fine for a high-resolution print at A3 size. It would also offer you the opportunity to perform quite a crude crop (i.e. only keep a bit of a bigger picture) and it still be of adequate resolution.
Hope that helps
Tony
I do not know specifically about the camera you mention, but thought I would address your megapixel question for you. As Steve above says, pixels can be mis-leading, especially when manufacturers are going for higher and higher at the expense of some other aspects of quality (although that is a long discussion topic, but you get the point I'm making?)
To offer a simple answer, 5mp would be fine for a high-resolution print at A3 size. It would also offer you the opportunity to perform quite a crude crop (i.e. only keep a bit of a bigger picture) and it still be of adequate resolution.
Hope that helps
Tony
Edited by TonyHetherington on Tuesday 3rd April 09:16
Edited by TonyHetherington on Tuesday 3rd April 09:16
I've got a Fuji S5500 (the older 4mp version of the 5600) and its a good all-rounder, straightforward and logical to use with enough manual controls to have a bit of fun experimenting etc. Big zoom is very useful too and one of my main reasons for choosing it over some other cameras. Next upgrade for me will be a dSLR but they're further up the camera food chain and cost a lot more too.
I've found its not that good in low light though, so if you plan on taking photos in rooms that aren't well-lit its not the best. But fine for outside night shots with a tripod.
I've found its not that good in low light though, so if you plan on taking photos in rooms that aren't well-lit its not the best. But fine for outside night shots with a tripod.
Hi,
I had an S5000, same optics but a 3.1 MP sensor. Blew a few images upto A3 from it quite happily. I found the optics better than most compacts, though the zoom is a bit misleading - overlong on the top end, but didn't go anywhere near wide enough at t'other (38mm equiv if I remember). Also agree that it wasn't good in low light. Couple of my fav images taken with it are here:
www.pbase.com/duncan_c/mines
(the rest on pbase are with newer cameras)
It's a great camera, and like many people that owned one, built up the interest rather than put them off. That said we are all using DSLR's now, so you might save money long term by getting a cheap DSLR....
Have you looked at the cost of a cheap/recon/SH Nikon D50 on ebay?
I had an S5000, same optics but a 3.1 MP sensor. Blew a few images upto A3 from it quite happily. I found the optics better than most compacts, though the zoom is a bit misleading - overlong on the top end, but didn't go anywhere near wide enough at t'other (38mm equiv if I remember). Also agree that it wasn't good in low light. Couple of my fav images taken with it are here:
www.pbase.com/duncan_c/mines
(the rest on pbase are with newer cameras)
It's a great camera, and like many people that owned one, built up the interest rather than put them off. That said we are all using DSLR's now, so you might save money long term by getting a cheap DSLR....
Have you looked at the cost of a cheap/recon/SH Nikon D50 on ebay?
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