>> I'm looking to buy a mid-range SLR digital camera, are there any pitfalls
>> I should be aware of?

> Many, I'm afraid.  It's not easy to know where to start.

>> Also, I'm looking at zoom lenses to go with it, how do I work out what
>> magnification they are, eg 5x, 10x etc? For instance, this lens:
>> http://shop.panasonic.co.uk/invt/hfs045200e

>> says "90 to 400 mm (35 mm equivalent)" and "Maximum magnification:
>> Approx. 0.19x / 0.38x (35mm film camera equivalent)".

> SLR users don't tend to talk about 5x, etc, especially those of us who
> have been taking photos since the 1950s.  What's interesting are the two
> numbers of the zoom, e.g. 35 to 135, 90 to 400, etc.

> 50/55mm  is 1:1 real-life size.  So your lens above is a zoom, from medium
> long to very long, a little more than 4x zoom range.  To confuse matters,
> many mid-range digital SLR cameras have sensors smaller than an original
> 35mm film frame, so the magnification of any lens is different from when
> you use it on a "full frame sensor" camera.  If you need to know why, you
> should read up on focal length, e.g.:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal_length.

> Why did you choose this lens?  Would you never want to use a wide-angle
> lens, as if you only have one like this, you wouldn't be able to.

>> Can anyone tell me what this equates to? I'd preferably prefer to buy a
>> camera package with a separate zoom lens, any recommendations for decent
>> UK-based sites or shops? I'm currently looking at the Pixmania site.

> Pixmania will deliver at a good price, but I have heard that they are not
> as friendly as some if anything happens to go wrong.  I tend to use Amazon
> if they have what I want.  Here's your lens: