Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (
More info?)
On Sat, 02 Jul 2005 22:39:10 +0100, Paul D wrote:
> I want a camera with increased optical zoom, more manual controls
> including improved shutter control for astrophotography, and general I
> want to upgrade from my current camera.
I have a Fuji S5100, and while it is a very nice camera, it
wouldn't be suitable for astrophotography. It doesn't allow for
long shutter speeds. Only 15 seconds in Manual mode, 3 seconds
otherwise. I don't know for sure, but I think that the S7000 has
the same limit. The reviews at dpreview.com are useful here because
one of the tests they do checks for low light performance. The
cameras that do better here usually have a "de-noise" option that
allows the black areas to remain relatively dark, eliminating the
"fog" effect that you generally get.
For a general upgrade, the Fuji S5100 would be a nice little
camera that's very flexible. But if you want to take lots of
non-celestial pictures with the lens zoomed to the long tele
position, you might prefer one of the other cameras (Canon,
Panasonic, Sony, etc.) that has image stabilization. For
astrophotography, you might be better off with one of the more
inexpensive DSLRs, as they're the direction you need to go for low
noise, higher sensitivity. and they'd certainly be a big upgrade and
would provide all of the manual controls you'd want.