The Rapid 1

My son is after a decent (ish) camera, he is only 12 and ok (ish) at taking pics with my digital point and shoot,
Minolta Dimage Z3
http://ca.konicaminolta.com/products...-z3/index.html

but that is pretty good at doing everything for you , it has a pretty good 12x optical zoom and also takes pretty good video with sound and zooming opticaly while recording video .
He has got into his head he wants a Olympus E-450
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...7C14419500.htm

Now thats a dslr

what im after knowing is how its lens magnification would compare to the optical zoom rating of the camera I think would be better for him, the
Panasonic Lumix FZ45
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-14-1MP-Digital-Camera/dp/B003WOKU4W/ref=sr_1_19?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1291366680&s r=1-19

or even my current camera.
I realise the lens that comes with the E-450 is pretty wide angle and not tele, but thats what I really want to know is ther lenses that go from wide to as tele as my Minolta, without carrying 30 different lenses etc.

Have done a bit of reading up on it this morning after finishing a night shift and havent been able to find the bit of info I want, probably have read it but havent understood it as am knackered

Basicaly I get there is no direct comparison between a P&S optical zoom figure ie x12 or x24 etc but can someone explain in plain English how to compare between the 14-42mm lens of the E-450 at full zoom would compare to the FZ45 at x24 optical zoom or my Minolta at x12 optical zoom.
I understand to get the "zoom" figure of the mm lens I divide the big number by the small number making the 14-42mm lens a x3 zoom lens, but what I need help understanding is 3 times what ? I have read its do with the focal length and size if the image capture thingy's and to make comparison you need to know the equivalent 35mm sizes. I have supplied links so maybe someone could have a look and work some of that out for me but also explain.

Have asked for plain English but could someone also provide some math so i can work it out for myself and see what sort of mm lens I would need to equal the other two cameras, stating what data to use and where to get it, like ie the focal length and image capture device thingy size in relation to it all .

THEN bearing in mind what my boy will use it for make some suggestions of a good camera for him and rate the two options I am thinking about (FZ45 and E-450).
Oh and am I reading it right the dslr E-450 doesnt do video, and is this the same on all dslr's ?

So what would my boy use it for (obviously bear in mind I would have use of it as well if better than mine), well alot of Santa Pod some nice stills of the cars but also including videoing races, but also crap like the tractors sweeping dust and the drier drying the track , other track days and shows, days out to the zoo etc, things at home like Lego models he has built, bugs in the garden his rc cars and maybe planes if we ever learn to fly them , fishing. Lots of general stuff really no specific field as yet.

In reality think he saw something on the gadget show and likes the idea of a big lens and also being able to put an external flash on a shoe.

Bit long winded I know but hopefully theres a few photographers on here that will be able to give some good input as have seen a few photography related posts and also the quality of some of the pics in the old competition that used to run

Right off to bed now so you have a few hours before I get up to impart all your knowledge on me

Thanks

Steve

The Rapid 1

Just got up
Was hoping to come on and find a wealth of information, cant believe no one can give me any info on this
Was hoping for the opposite, with some technical essays lol.
Oh well its up for the late crew

Steve

Chopshop85

iTrader: (4)

Sorry, I've just read through that twice and i'm still not sure what information you are after? :s

StephenC

Basic lens info here
http://www.digitalslrphoto.com/dslrb...es_lenses.html

dont be confused by the x12 or x24, thats the range only and not really a reflection of its zoom. For example a lense that went from 10-240mm has 24x zoom where one that goes 100-300 only has 3x zoom but in reality can 'reach' further. Thats why they try and get the lens as wide as possible (i.e. a smaller number at the wide angle tange eg. 12mm) so there x zoom looks better on paper.
In the dslr world the length in mm is what people go by. For example, im going to a trackday so Im taking my 120-300 for long range track photos then my 24-70 for walking about paddock etc. The x zoom is irrelevant, its how useful that focal length is and the field of view it gives.
Have a play on here
http://imaging.nikon.com/products/im...ens/simulator/

this will give you a feel for the different focal lengths.(keep it on DX format not FX as the cameras you will be looking at will use a cropped sensor). Now slide it between 14-42 and you will see the difference that lens will give you.
The Lumix you are looking at starts at 25mm and goes to 600mm which is a massive range but I wouldnt count on anything past 300mm been very clever.
HTH
Steve

foreigneRS

tell us what you want to spend and we'll give you some ideas.

what i would say is that if he wants to get into photography, a camera with all the manual settings for aperture priority, shutter priority etc is more important than thinking about the lens as it will teach him the basics about creative photography.

having said that, there is a lot of difference between compact and bridge cameras like you have posted with their small sensor and hybrid and dslrs that have larger sensors, especially in terms of depth of field.

like i say, give me a budget and i'll give you some ideas. it would also be good to know if you are thinking that it's better to have a compact that can go in your pocket, a bridge so you have a wide range of 'zoom' without needing to carry different lenses, or are prepared to lug around a body and different lenses.

me personally, i have a panasonic lumix tz10 compact and a fuji hs10 bridge as they are easy to carry around. i am now into so much though that i will buy a dslr soon, but there will be times when i won't want to carry it around and will stick with the other 2.

having seen the results from my brother's olympus PEN, i would say go for something similar if you can as it's a good compromise between small size but good quality sensors and interchangeable lenses.