As I've said before, the main factor that decides quality on a digital SLR is the lens, and I haven't yet chosen to invest £400+ in a decent long lens. Still, with a Tamron 70-300 which cost me £80 I can get some half-way decent results.The main advantage is the speed of focus and the viewfinder (compared with the FZ20's electronic viewfinder) - meaning I can get shots I might well have missed before (the Long-tailed Tit, left, is a classic example - a fast, constantly moving bird I've never managed to shoot except on a feeder before now).
The disadvantage is the shorter reach (450mm to 720mm), the extra weight and some notable purple fringing on high-contrast areas. I'll get a teleconverter which will address the former issue (taking me to 675mm), but the latter two issues remain.As for image quality... well, the jury is still out. I'll probably do some resolution test shots in the next few weeks, but in the meantime, see what you think of these shots from Napton and Draycote.
