Couple of questions

[Jyaku]

If someone has both a FZ28/35 and a Canon T1i/T2i (50D,550D) how does the picture quality compare to a Canon T1i in outdoor and indoor low light situations?

And the picture and exposure adjustments in the FZ35 camera, do they only work in JPG mode? I tried finding it in the manual but couldn't find any conclusive evidence of this.

[Clint501]

One way to find out on the FZ35 - take both RAW and JPEG - and "drastically" change the settings (all at -2 then another set at +2). Then compare the RAW files and see if they are different.

[Jyaku]

Thank you, did that. No camera adjustments at all in RAW, settings can be anything but its consistent with RAW in the middle.

[imut]

I had FZ 38 and now i have t2i, one of them is high end bridge camera (fz38) and the other is DSLR. t2i is definetely better in indoors, low light conditions without flash and with higher ISO settings. You can get nearly same noise with ISO 800 at FZ 38 and with ISO 3200 with t2i. t2i has higher and better ISO capacity with less noise.

Outdoor photos i am not sure but i would go with t2i for outdoors and daylight photos.

[Jyaku]

Thank you imut. I want a dslr but I don't think I'm ready for it and definitely don't want to be lugging one around. Maybe in a year or 2 when the fz35 doesn't do it for me anymore.. but honestly what made you upgrade? And since the fz35 has a beautiful zoom capability and image quality, which lens did you end up getting?

[mtclimber]

jake-

I have owned the FZ-18/FZ-28/FZ-35 and the Canon T-1i and the Sony A-500.

Any DSLR particularly those two can wipe the floor when compared to a FZ-35. I have shot for years with the FZ series cameras. An ISO setting is top of the shop (as far as they wil go without having to resort to noise canceling software.

Look at the attached shot taken today indoors, without flash, with my Sony A-500 at an ISO setting of 1600. No FZ series cameras can do that. Why. you might ask? it is all a function of imager size. The DSLR imagers are 15X to 20X larger than the FZ-series cameras.

http://anchorse.smugmug.com/Other/So...9_Hr9r6-X3.jpg

Sarah Joyce

[Jyaku]

Thank you Sarah, it has me thinking if I should upgrade now or later.. I'm still thinking later because I don't want it to become a paper weight. I'd rather see if I stick with photography long term if it makes any sense but you've just demonstrated where the fz-35 just won't measure up so I can definitely upgrade to another level.

Which lens do you prefer that gives you very good image quality, low light capability and zoom? As you can probably tell from my posts.. I like shooting landscapes, abstract things, occasionally people outdoors or indoors in say a low lit restaurant. Is there 1 lens that will do it all?

And do you prefer the Canon over the Sony or vice versa? That picture came out beautiful at iso 1600. Almost all iso 1600 I've seen from non dslr's are packed with noise. I likely don't have the money to splurge right now but would like some information for later on.

Jake

[imut]

I want a dslr but I don't think I'm ready for it

If you don't think you wouldn't be ready for it never. Please change your mindset Jyaku.

definitely don't want to be lugging one around.

If you pay that money to a camera you would push yourself to learn more this will motivate you and you wouldn't lug, you would start to learn. Noone was born as a photographer. But believe me this learning curve is little bit hard, time consuming and long. As you know there are photographers for 10-20-30 years among us and i believe they are still learning something.

but honestly what made you upgrade?

I sold my FZ 38 for 2/3 of the original price, i think it is a good deal for 8 months old camera. At the end i would go with DSLR so why should i wait to sell FZ38 for 1/3 or less after warranty finished, nobody would buy it right? So i sold it and i added moeny to buy my T2i. if you have DSLR you shouldn't think about main camera but lenses. So selling my t2i is not an option for several years till i reach that pro level, this is another advantage of having DSLR. You buy it for once or twice in your life.

since the fz35 has a beautiful zoom capability and image quality

Because DSLR has better zoom capacity and better IQ of course also low light shots are excellent. Before i buy it i ask same question and there are valuable members answered this please read it.

which lens did you end up getting?

I have two KIT lenses right now, because they are enough for amateur or begginer level. They are 18-55mm and 55-250 mm. Thinking to buy more but not now.

Honestly you should know that if you would go with DSLR you would spend money for equipment. This is inevitable. Please see my beginner level equipment

[imut]

Which lens do you prefer that gives you very good image quality, low light capability and zoom?

For low light conditions, faster lenses with smaller f-stops like f1.4 would be a wise choice, at this point camera's low light capacity is also important. Shoturtle has t1i and you should see his night shoots at 1600 ISO, please search forum for manhattan you would see those shots.

For zoom you should consider telephoto lenses if focal lenght goes up zoom would go up, for instance 18-300mm has higher zoom capacity over 18-200 mm.

Is there 1 lens that will do it all?

Yes and No, because having one lens has some disadvanteges and advantages. For instance 80 mm f1.4 lens is good for very low light but you can't get the 18mm's wideangle with that lense . If you dive in DSLR, you would definetely have more than one lens, this is also inevitable for me. or you can buy 18-135 mm one lens for all.

I likely don't have the money to splurge right now but would like some information for later on.

There are some advices in forum about buying DSLR. For instance (from tcav's posts) you can buy refurbished DSLR from reliable vendor like BH P&V or Adorama because they also give warranty and they are cheaper than original product but don't buy used one because you can't be sure how used.

There are also some cameras like k-x which is the cheaper entry level and has very good low light capacity.