now this is more like it!!

[HarjTT]

Squirrl

Fantastic shots - tac sharp and lots of detial. Its just fab that the brids were more than happy to let you take their pics!

Cheers

HarjTT

[Tazzie]

Rocky, their superb. You make it look easy. Don't ever get rid of that FZ20. Can't wait to see what'll be next. And, you've overcome the deprivations of not being Nordic, female, or gay. Amazing you have so much talent.:-) Keep doin what your doin.

[squirl033]

geez, guys, yer makin' me blush! but thanks to all for the encouraging comments! i have to admit, although i will definitely not getrid of my trusty FZ20 - it's much too good a camera to let it collect dust -i am looking forward to seeing what i can do with the 30D...

[rduve]

Rocky, you are getting the Canon 30D? Congratulations! I also added a DSLR to my FZ30, the Minolta 5D. Now I got the dilemma of always wanting to have both sets with me and I am lugging around two camera bags. But there is a definite difference in spatialperspective and dynamic range in a DSLR. Let us know when you get it and send some comparisons.

[squirl033]

rduve wrote:

Rocky, you are getting the Canon 30D? Congratulations! I also added a DSLR to my FZ30, the Minolta 5D. Now I got the dilemma of always wanting to have both sets with me and I am lugging around two camera bags. But there is a definite difference in spatialperspective and dynamic range in a DSLR. Let us know when you get it and send some comparisons.

yeah, i decided to bite the bullet and take a real step up. the FZ30 wasn't a serious option, as it didn't address my most pressing complaints with the FZ series, and i figured if i was gonna get a DSLR, i might as well get a good one. the reviews i've read place the Canon 20D as about the best thing under $3000 for image quality, and the 30D uses the same sensor and image processor but has some little tweaks i think i will find useful. i've already bought the lenses for it - a Sigma EX 80-400 with IS, and a Tamron SP 24-135 without. i'd like to have IS on the short lens too, but i figure i can either hold it steady and use ISO tokeep up the shutter speed (the 30D is actually less noisy than eventhe 20D at ISO 800 or higher, if you can believe it!), or hang it on my monopod. and that 24-135 will give me a 38-215 equivalent, which will be a very useful range! .

i tell ya, though, i won't be all that eager to take the Canon/Sigma combo on a long walk.,.. the lens alone weighs more than my FZ20 with the TCON-14B and a Contax metal hood! by the time i get the camera hung off the back, that rig'll be close to 6 pounds! there will definitely be a place in my bag for the FZ20 for a long time to come! :G

i will definitely post some comparison shots... i expect the FZ will hold its own in some cases - these heron shots are a case in point - but i think the Canon will produce better results in most instances, simply because it's got a much bigger sensor and ridiculously low noise.

[rduve]

For me the Canon DSLR'sare out of my price range (at least of what I want to spend). I gota refurbished (like new)KM5D with 2 Sigma lenses (28-70, and 75-300) 512 MB CF card and a large camera case fo $649 on ebay. It has built in Anti Shake in the CCD, so no need for IS lenses. I also added the 18-70mm Minolta kit which I basically got for free by "flipping" a camera that was on sale locally with the kit lens and I resold the body only for the same price on ebay. Then I added a 50mm 1.7 fixed lens for under $50. With that wide of an aperture, usable ISO of up to 3200 and built in anti-shake you can take sharp handheld shots in almost complete darkness. I am very happy with what I got and frankly I almost no longer need the FZ30. I always carrieda lot of add-ons with me anyway, so having to make a swift switch to the long zoom lens does not really add that much invonenience to me. The Image quality, per all reviews I read, isvery comparable to the Canon EOS 20D,which is in turn identical to the Rebel XT.The KM5D has all I am looking for, and I will probably keep it until there is a new generation of affordable DSLR's with the new chip patented by Fuji, building on the 3-layer Fovean technology. For you, Rocky, you deserve to get your dream camera. I think you are one of the best photographers I have met here in these forums. Which, by the way, is the one feature that you find in the 30D that the FZ's don't have? For me there were several, other than the larger, less noisy sensor, it was also the greater depth perception due to the smaller DoF, and another big factor was predictive focusing. I also prefer to be able to really use TTL manual focus, which I thought was close to unusable in the EVF of the FZ's.

In any case, here is a shot I took with the KM5D. I like the the detail and texture in the feathers. No blown highlights. And while I thought that the FZ's could not quite deliver this dynamic range, your shots are pretty comparable.

Here is a link to the full-sized image, by the way: http://euromaninla.zoto.com/img/orig...b98fc5aae7.jpg

Rainer

http://euromaninla.zoto.com/galleries

[rduve]

By the way, herearecomparison shots of the FZ30 and the KM5D. Definitely no night and day difference. Guess which is which.

[rduve]

..and the other one:

[squirl033]

rduve wrote:

Which, by the way, is the one feature that you find in the 30D that the FZ's don't have?

like you mentioned, there's more than one.first off, it's fast!virtually instant (.15 sec) power-up. shutter lag of .065 sec. shutter black-out during burst mode of .11 sec. typical AF focus lock in .33 sec. second, its predictive AF will lock on and track moving targets, and in predictive AI mode, you can focus on a stationarytarget, and if it starts to move, the camera automatically switches to AI mode and tracks it. third, it has very low noise, and extended ISO range up to 3200. at ISO 1600, it's as "clean" as the 20D at 400! and unlike its predecessor, you canchange the ISO - and see what you're changing it to - without taking your eye from the viewfinder. it also will revert to shooting mode from any other mode by simply half-pressing the shutter. and of course, there are the other bennies of DSLR's - better DOF control, much better dynamic range, as you alluded to; much better manual focus; faster (and in the 30D's case, adjustable) frame rate; extended shutter speed range, including "bulb" for long-exposure night photos; and better in-camera image handling and processing. the 30D also offers true spot metering, letting you meter off a small (3.5% of total) spot in the image.

you'll notice i didn't mention anything about the lenses being better. that's because i believe the glass in the FZ's is as good as anything out there, except for maybe the top pro-grade lenses by Canon and Nikon. if the lenses i have for the 30D produce the same clarity as the FZ is capable of, i'll be happy; if they surpass it, i'll be thrilled! by all accounts, they should; the Sigma EX 80-400 4.5-5.6 OSlens is just about on a par optically with Canon's "L" lenses, it's just not quite as fast. i've seen images shot with it, and they are spectacular. the Tamron SP 24-135 f4-5.6 isn't quite as sharp as the comparable "L" lens from Canon, but it's close, and a heckuva lot cheaper, and Canon has some spotty quality issues with some of their lenses, including the EF-S 17-85 and even the vaunted 24-105 f4L.

frankly, as good as the FZ's are, i find that to get shots like the ones at the top of this post, everything has to be just right. the camera is capable of some absolutelykiller photos, but if the subject is moving, or the light is starting to go, or there's too much contrast or dynamic range in the scene you're photographing, your chances of getting a really good shot go way down. as Tazzie mentioned, there's abig differencein the percentage of "keepers" with a DSLR, and with the 30D, i expect those keepers to be cleaner, sharper, and smoother thanmost of what i've gotten with the FZ20.

[squirl033]

rduve wrote:

By the way, herearecomparison shots of the FZ30 and the KM5D. Definitely no night and day difference. Guess which is which.

i'm guessing the first one is the KM, because the background is smoother. and in the second, the white fur is blown... though you can't see any white in the first. the first one also seems to have a bit shallower DOF, and the FZ is notorious for a fairly deep DOF even at mid-range f-stops...