One for the digital photography people out there - Which camera would best suit my needs?
Basically I enjoy drawing and so I go to places like the zoo and wildlife parks etc, I have a compact digital camera and my phone but they aren't very good at taking pictures of animals that are at the back of their cages or in the distance and still have a level of detail I can draw.
So Id basically like my camera to be able to take good distance shots but also be good at general day to day photography as well.
As I've said above drawing is my thing photography isn't but I'm prepared to learn so Id like a camera that is easy to use (pref with an "auto" mode) however Id also like it to have some manual controls so I can learn as I go. Having a viewfinder isn't too important to me, Id like to not spend more than say £250 if possible and I don't mind buying a camera second hand, also it would be nice if it had a good lens built in so I'm not having to carry a load of photography equipment around (I have a 20 month old and she already has more than enough for me to carry).
I've looked and narrowed it down to these 3 models
Nikon L840 4/5
Canon Powershot SX520
Fuji FinePix S9200
Or is there one I'm missing?
The Nikon is probably better than the Canon.
http://snapsort.com/...olpix-L840
And while the Nikon is rated better than the Fuji, I would prefer the Fuji because it has a viewfinder. When you go to shoot an animal at the zoo in broad daylight, you will struggle to see what you're shooting on the monitor of the Nikon. With the Fuji, you turn on the viewfinder and can see perfectly what you are shooting. Also, the Nikon does NOT have the manual controls you mentioned, the other two do.
http://snapsort.com/...olpix-L840
And you have chosen wisely to get a camera with lots of zoom so you can get the details at a distance.
You may want to consider getting an APS-C format mirrorless camera or a DSLR. The mirrorless will be much smaller and produce just as good results just as long as you're not using it for fast action or moving objects. Reason being is the mirrorless cameras don't have the same AF speed and tracking capabilities as a DSLR.
For these types of zoo shots, you're going to be needing a pretty strong lens around 250mm to 300mm. Going with anything stronger becomes very bulky and heavy. I'd also recommend getting a camera with at least 18MP which gives you the ability to zoom in maintain sharpness. Remember, the sharpness of the image is due to the lens. The resolution (18MP, 24MP, etc…) just means how big you can print or much you can zoom into an image and still maintain the sharpness.
Sony's A7 series is fantastic as is their less expensive a6000. The down side to Sony's mirrorless system is the lack of native lenses (lenses made by or for Sony mirrorless). However, you can get adapters for any lens by just about any brand (nikon, canon, leica, pentax, olympus, etc…) and use those lenses on the Sony mirrorless cameras. Down side is that the AF system suffers greatly and the adapters can be upwards of $350.
Getting a small DSLR like a Canon T series (T5i, T6S) or a Pentax K50 is a good start in a DSLR. Since your main goal is to capture enough detail for your artwork, you don't necessarily need a mid to upper level body. An entry-level body from Canon, Pentax or Nikon will do just fine. Pentax's K50 has an advantage over it's rivals in the entry-level market. The K50 is a mid-level body at an entry-level price point. It's the only one with a weather and dust-proof body so you'll never have to worry about your gear getting wet (bad weather = great pictures). The K50 is also the only one with in-body image stabilization which allows you to get shots without having to use a tripod as much. You'll get about 2-3 stops of additional shutter speeds than with any camera without image stabilization. Since the IS is in the body, any lens you use will be stabilized allowing for great video too.