Doug, what kinda camera

[MadNess]

Im looking at getting a new digi camera... what kinda are you using for FFW? that takes nice pictures :) Do you recommend it, or do you have a better idea?

[Silver_2000]

Mine is Olympus 2100 ultra zoom

My priorities were :
Big Zoom Lense
Takes pictures FAST
Takes decent pictures
Image stabilization
All other issues

The 2100 is about $400-500 bucks and is still the best combination of long ( 10x or longer ) optical zoom and the ability to take 3-4 frames per second. ( but I havent looked in a few months ) Logan is buying the new Sony DSC-F717 which looks like a good camera but the zoom is shorter and the picture to picture speed is slower

The next camera I buy will likely be pro style with SLR lenses and manual zoom. The motor zoom is too slow. I miss shots waiting for it to zoom out and then auto focus.

It is only 2.1 Megapixel but for the web that is MORE than enough and the bigger the megapixle the slower the time between shots since the data bus in the camera can only move data so fast.

Doug

[MadNess]

Doug, thanks for the info, ive got around 5 to 8 hundred to spend.

What would you do?

[OneRedTXBolt]

If I were you, the first thing I'd do is define what is important to you in taking digital pics. After you do that, it'll be a lot easier to figure out which cam will work best for you.

I have a Canon Powershot G1 (which Canon has since been replaced by the G2). I like my cam a lot. It does pretty much everything I want at this level of camera. I paid almost $800 when I bought it, and it was my 2nd digicam. I think I am in the same boat as Doug.. my next digicam will be close to pro level.
Since my first digicam in 99, I have taken more than 5000 pictures. Way more than I ever took with a 35mm.

Things to consider:

What are you going to do with the pics you take:
put on the web?
print out on photo paper?
and if printing, up to what size?
how close do you want to zoom?
speed between shots?
ability to take mpeg files?
tons more personalized to what you want!

If you have further questions, I'd be happy to help guide....

I will say that with 500-800 bucks, you'll get something that should last you a while.

James

[Silver_2000]

Just like James said... Make your list of priorities and we'll try to help you decide...

That is why I listed my priorities... So you know why I bought mine...

If you are doing web stuff 2.1 mp makes a 1900x1200 or so picture which you have to reduce to 800x600 or 600x400 to post.

My first camera was Sony fd-xxx floppy based camera with 14x optical zoom. I loved the zoom but the floppy didn’t store enough pictures, the pictures were 1 megapixel and it took forever to write a picture. Which means if you miss the shot you have to wait 4 seconds to try again.

For action shots zoom and quick picture to picture time is KEY. I can stand right next to the staging lights and zoom out to get a burnout picture, then zoom in and get a pic of the truck staged. The zoom lets you frame the truck so it fills the frame in both cases .. I can also zoom in to try to get a shot of the guy in the other lane...

My ideal camera would have
4-5 fps abilty up to about 20 frames.
mpeg or quicktime movie mode,
14-20 x optical zoom 2-4 x digital zoom.
Carl Zeiss f1.8 lense with image stabilzation and manual zoom. bayonet mount SLR type lense so I can have both wide angle and telephoto,
3 megapixel just in case I wan to print big prints.
512 mb compact flash,
usb2.0 connection,
Built in auto flash and hot shoe for external flash
Nite shot mode

It doesn’t exist NOT even close

But I can dream ....

[OneRedTXBolt]

I will agree that it doesn't hurt to dream Doug!

That is a nice list!!!!!
J

[OneRedTXBolt]

I will also say that if this is your first digicam, you will quickly understand some of the 'wants' listed here.

There is such a huge difference between a 35mm and a digicam (at least right now anyways) that it's incredible. You can get a $200 35mm that has all the features of a $5000 digicam. (Well, IMHO anyways). But once you get into digital photography, it's awesome.

OK, I'm done rambling. Off to watch CSI. :D

[OneRedTXBolt]

Haha!!

Just looking at your list a little more...

the G1 has:

hot shoe for external flash
3.3 megapixel
mpeg movie mode for 30 seconds
ability to use 1GB microdrive


:d

[MadNess]

Ive had several of the lower end digi cameras... I mean lower end by todays standard... the last I had was a Nikkon with an 8 meg flash card, this was before they started the "coolpix" series. Im familiar with most technology, however Im NOT familiar with cameras... never been that important to me...

What Im looking for:

GREAT Zoom

Very Clear, not sure which megapixal to go with or not... looking to build photos anywhere from 800x600 to 1024x768 while remaining very sharp and clear

Something that will work well in low light situations, IE built in flash or atleast a hotshoe.

I like the flash card standard, however its not important, I would like something that can easily have memory added... I want to stay away from the sony "stick" based memory, and the super small flash cards... I prefer either the burn direct to CD option, or the standard compact flash card...(if I get compact flash, I can use my 1 gig IBM microdrive)

Power, Power, Power, Power, I want something that is somewhat power efficient...

The types of pics I plan to take: I travel, so Hawaii will be the next place for pics. I race, so race pics are important as well, so being able to transition between shots fairly quickly is nice. I work downtown, 30th floor, I want to take good clear shots from my office (zoom comes in handy)

Sorry for the long post, however I think that about covers what Im looking for.

Thanks for all the info :)

[MadMax]

I will cut and paste this info...I have been looking to buy a digi cam and your critique of subject matter is greatly appreciated :D

[OneRedTXBolt]

One thing you didn't mention was size.

If you are looking for a compact camera, I'd consider the Canon Powershot G3. (Just released!) It is a 4.0 gigapixel camera with a hotshoe and comes with a 4x optical zoom. There is an adapter you can get that allows for a 10x optical zoom. I was reading about it here:

Canon Powershot G3 (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0209/02091605canong3.asp)

Although once you add the accessories, it's not really compact anymore :D You'll see the in the pics.

Wow - the Minolta DiImage 7Hi is capable of taking UHS (Ultra High Speed) - 7 fps @ 1280 x 960! It has a built in 7x optical zoom and looks much like a 35mm SLR cam. Course, the MSRP is $1299. It is close to what I am considering for my next cam. It's about one step down from the true pro-level camera, from what I've read.

Back to what you're looking for:

Future:
Olympus CAMEDIA C-730 Ultra Zoom is a compact with a 10x optical. Due for release in mid-October, price wasn't mentioned, but I'm guessing it'll be near your $800 limit, because of the features. You can read about it here:
Olympus CAMEDIA C-730 Ultra Zoom (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0209/02091201olyc730uz.asp)

All of the following accept Compact Flash:
Current:

Minolta DiMAGE 5
Street price: $700
Optical zoom: 7.1x
Gigapixels: 3.34

Canon PowerShot G3
Street price: $800
Optical zoom: 4x
Gigapixels: 4.1

Discontinued, but can still purchase:
Casio QV-2800UX
Street price: $800
Optical zoom: 8x
Gigapixels: 2.11

Casio QV-2900UX
Street price: $800
Optical zoom: 8x
Gigapixels: 2.11

Also, as far as power goes, I am partial to the Lithium-Ion battery my Canon takes. My old Kodak used NiMH rechargable AA batteries, but I carry 2 of the Li-ION batteries and I can shoot all day long without worries, even using the LCD panel to shoot with. I used to carry 4 sets of the NiMH batteries (which was probably overkill). The Li-ION are just a little bit less to carry. Really, at this point, I'd say it's personal choice. If you use the optical viewfinder, and aren't constantly looking at the pics you already took using the LCD (Course, that's one of the coolest things about these cams, IMHO!) the batteries last much, much longer. One thing happened to me the first year I had my Kodak - I was on vacation and got to where I was running out of digital film! I had to be selective about what shots to take near the end of the trip! So, because I wanted to make sure that never happened again, now I have over 600MB of digital film space. That 1GB Microdrive would serve you well!!

Some sites I suggest you visit:

DPReview (http://www.dpreview.com/)
Steve's Digicams (http://www.steves-digicams.com/)
DC Resource (http://www.dcresource.com/)
Megapixel.net (http://www.megapixel.net/)

Have fun! Let me know if there's any other info I can help with. Also, I'd be curious to hear what you end up getting!

James

[OneRedTXBolt]

I just saw this.

One of the greatest things about digital photography is the instant ability to see the picture you just took. Another cool factor is that most cameras today come with an A/V cord so that you can hook up your cam to your TV, and look at your pics on your TV.

Well, Lexar introduced their new Digital Photo Player, which lets you view your photos on any television. It's basically a card reader with video out and a remote control. The player reads CompactFlash (Type I and II) and SmartMedia cards only. It connects via composite (RCA) and S-Video cables, and is compatible with the NTSC and PAL video systems. It will cost under $80.

Delkin Devices has also announced a new hardware tool for viewing pictures on your television. Their PictureVision device is more capable than the Lexar product just described, but it also costs a lot more ($159). It has slots for every memory card format, except for xD (a brand new memory style), and it can also play MP3s, VCDs, and MPEG movies. It also includes a remote control.

IMO, that's really cool, cuz you don't have to use your battery camera to watch all the pics(and possibly, mpgs) you took that day. Especially cool if you are on vacation at a relatives :tu: Like, when I visit Philly, we all like to sit around and :bs and check out the pics.

One other really cool thing you can do with your pictures is burn them to Video CD (or a DVD, if you have a DVD burner) so that they are playable on most DVD players. I used this for a cool CD I made for my Mom for Mother's day. I scanned in a ton of pictures of myself and my brother from when we were kids, plus added all of the digital pics I'd taken since, and created a kickass CD she can play in her DVD player anytime she wants to. You can add menus, text and even music. The software I used to do that is by Ulead, call DVD Pictureshow. I'm sure there are other packages out there as well. You can check it out here. (http://www.ulead.com/dps/runme.htm)

Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't metion that there's tons of different software packages to allow you to manipulate the pictures once you get them to your PC. Also, there's software that will let you catalog your pictures. I use a product called ACDSee (http://www.acdsystems.com) , which I like alot. Doug uses a different package. Ulead has one that comes with the DVDPictureshow and there's another popular one called ThumbsPlus.

I'm really just tipping the iceberg here, but there is so much you can do with your pictures, it's incredible, and people have written books on the subject :) Again, I really enjoy this stuff, so if you have ??'s please feel free to ask. I am just an amateur, so that's the opinion level you'll get :D

[Logan]

Originally posted by Silver_2000_;)!
Logan is buying the new Sony DSC-F717 which looks like a good camera but the zoom is shorter and the picture to picture speed is slower
[/B]

Slower? I think not. The Sony shoots at 2.8fps to the Oly's 1.8fps, it'll do 3 burst shots at 2.8fps for 3 shots at full 5 mp res, Go down to 1280x960 and it'll shoot that speed continously until you run out of space.

I do love the zoom on the oly, but since the Sony is through the barrel, screwing on a telephoto give it the zoom for a lot less bucks than the Nikon 5700 which would be the next best camera on my list...

Mind you, I was only really considering 5mp camera's...

[Silver_2000]

Originally posted by Logan
Slower? I think not. The Sony shoots at 2.8fps to the Oly's 1.8fps, it'll do 3 burst shots at 2.8fps for 3 shots at full 5 mp res, Go down to 1280x960 and it'll shoot that speed continuously until you run out of space.

I shoot at 1600x1200 which equals 400-500k per jpg at the 2nd highest compression. It will take like 15 -20 frames at that speed before it needs to write to the media.

I use fotoalbum software from Fototime.. Its free and works great for managing and previewing lots of pics.

The Olympus CAMEDIA C-730 Ultra Zoom seems to have the same features as mine with another megapixel of resolution. Not enough difference to get me to upgrade but if the price is decent it would be a good choice.

James is right if you want small you have to sacrifice optical zoom.
Don't forget we haven't mentioned digital zoom because all digital zoom is is blowing up the picture in the camera.. THe same thing you can do in photoshop. trouble is that it makes the pictures grainy and unsuitable for printing...

Doug

[OneRedTXBolt]

Doug,

I was thinking the other big plus for the C-730 was manual focus?

[MadNess]

good information... lets forget my ceiling price of 800 for now...


I dont care about size, and really dont want one of the little tiny micro cameras... Ill take the size and zoom of a larger camera.

The DIMAGE 7HI sounds nice, anyone have personal experiance with it?

[Silver_2000]

Originally posted by OneRedTXBolt
Doug,

I was thinking the other big plus for the C-730 was manual focus?

Last thing I want to do is manually focus using a tiny LCD.. Not near enough clarity especially in the sun to see if it is focused. Most cameras have a mode where it will show you the focus spot and you can set the focus based on that distance then hold it and recompose the picture with the same focus.

For example you can set the aperture really narrow for minimum depth of field then focus on the front bumper then recompose to center the whole truck and you should get a cool effect where the truck fades out of focus as you look back....

Doug

[Logan]

I've read the reviews on the 7hi and went with the sony. There've been complaints about the picture quality on the 7hi. Not that it's bad or anything, just that the Sony's is better.

As with everything, it's a game of give and take. I was very close to popping the extra bucks for the Nikon Coolpix 5700, but the extra money for the extra features and the few bugs it has, I opted for the sony... Apparently, the nikon has problems with pixelated blue skies...

[MadNess]

if the sony stuff was not stick memory setup, I would possibly be interested... I have an IBM 1 gig micro drive (flash card size) I would prefer to use it if at all possible...

any more ideas?

[Moonshine]

Well, believe it or not, I'm finally moving into the digicam world. I ordered one last night. Getting the same model that Garett has (Sony Mavica MVC-CD200). After I learn to take pics with it, does someone want to volunteer to teach me how to post pics? :hammer:

Mark, I think you better get moving on your overdue anniversary gift. I think you're about the last one on the board without a digicam. :eek2:

[Logan]

Madness,

If you need conventional flash/microdrive compatibility, the either the Nikon coolpix 5700 or the Minolta 7i or 7Hi

[Silver_2000]

Originally posted by Moonshine
Well, believe it or not, I'm finally moving into the digicam world. I ordered one last night. Getting the same model that Garett has (Sony Mavica MVC-CD200). After I learn to take pics with it, does someone want to volunteer to teach me how to post pics? :hammer:

Mark, I think you better get moving on your overdue anniversary gift. I think you're about the last one on the board without a digicam. :eek2:
There are a couple good step by steps on F150online on how to do it but heres the quick and dirty

1) Get the .jpg file ( 800x600 or smaller ) on the web some how. Either post them to Logans Galleries (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/gallery/) or .F150Online galleries (http://www.f150online.com/galleries/new.cfm) .

2) right click the picture on he web and choose properties. Selct and copty the entire URL line

3) Use the IMG button in the post to post the url. The IMG button will ask you for the URL and just use Control V to paste the URL into the wirndo that comes up and the forum software will display the url as a picture

Doug

[Moonshine]

Originally posted by Silver_2000_;)!
There are a couple good step by steps on F150online on how to do it but heres the quick and dirty

1) Get the .jpg file ( 800x600 or smaller ) on the web some how. Either post them to Logans Galleries (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/gallery/) or .F150Online galleries (http://www.f150online.com/galleries/new.cfm) .

2) right click the picture on he web and choose properties. Select and copy the entire URL line

3) Use the IMG button in the post to post the url. The IMG button will ask you for the URL and just use Control V to paste the URL into the wirndo that comes up and the forum software will display the url a a picture

Doug

OK, either you need to write the directions in English, or I need the "Posting Pics for Dummies" class

[Silver_2000]

How about this ?

http://www.ffcobra.com/FAQ/pictureposting.html

It is not specific to our forum but the info is correct ... There is another specific stop by step that is around somewhere - Ill find it

Doug

[Moonshine]

OK, now that did make sense, except for the part about uploading the pic to the unrestricted host. I assume the unrestricted host has some directions for uploading???? Is it anything like the process for posting pics on E. bay? If so, I can manage that.

Feel like you're doing :hammer: yet?

[Moonshine]

Yeehaw!!!!!!

http://talon.svtlightnings.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=7471#post7471

:banana:

[Silver_2000]

Uh oh.... Now were in trouble :p :p

[Silver_2000]

Originally posted by Moonshine
except for the part about uploading the pic to the unrestricted host.

Feel like you're doing :hammer: yet?

Just get the pictures on the web some how so you can see them on the internet in a browser. ( Seeing them in a browser on your home PC deosnt count )

Looks like you got it figured out now

Doug