Off topic (digital camera question?)

[supercub]

I'm looking to buy a new digital camera (under $500.00) and looking for suggestions. I'd like a good telephoto lense for Reno......I'm a very amateur photographer. Cameras I've looked at so far are:

Canon S5...........8 pixels.....12x zoom. $299.00

Olympus SP-570 10 Pixels..........20x zoom $449.00

Olympus SP-560 8 pixels............18x zoom $349.00

Sony H50 9.1 pixels.............15x Zoom $359.00

Nikon Coolpix P80 10.1 pixels.................18x zoom.........$369.00

I'll be shooting from the bleachers, and handheld.......no tripod. I won't be enlarging to anymore then 8x10" and mostly just 3x5 +/-
Any suggestions?? Any recommendations on other cameras........I want to stay digital and not SLR mainly for the lightness and smaller size.
Thanks for your info.
Brian

[Stevo]

Re: Off topic (digital camera question?)

I have the Canon S5 and while I like it I wish I would have gotten something else. When I got it I was looking for something relatively small (compared to my DLSR), took video, had more advanced features than your standard point and shoot and had a decent zoom (longer than 3X). While the S5 has all that, I have been really disappointed in it's image quality with the ISO set at anything higher than 100. It really makes shooting in low light situations very frustrating.
maybe I'm doing something wrong though.

[kiwiracefan]

Re: Off topic (digital camera question?)

Hi Brian,

Just a quick reply from me, having seen and used most of those cameras in my job (im a retail photographic sales consultant) my pic would be the Canon S5 or the sony H50 with the canon edging out the sony... the main reason for the canon winning my choice is canon's use of SD memory vs Sony Memory Stick... the SD you can take to any brand except Olympus or Sony if you choose to upgrade at a later date.
The olympus cameras and the Nikon, the big zoom lenses are pretty soft all round and tend to AF hunt at long focal lengths the lens is just to big to be excellent.
Even though the Canon and Sony have the lowest pixel counts, thats a blessing because the lens isnt going to struggle with resolving enough to get the best out of the sensor ( and less pixels = bigger actual pixel size on sensor and better low light performance)
Just my 2c from NZ

[Sky Critter]

Re: Off topic (digital camera question?)

I have a Canon 870IS that I really like a lot. It doesn't "reach out" as far (3.8x optical) but the pic quality is really good. You can do a lot in manual mode and it has image stabilization. Plus, it uses the high-capacity SD cards. I'm using a 4 gig card which will hold 1100+ shots at max res. Also, it's about the size of a pack of smokes... real easy to carry in a shirt pocket or belt pouch. I plan on using it extensively in the pits this year but I use a Canon 30D with a Sigma 50-500 from the stands.

[ignomini]

Re: Off topic (digital camera question?)

Supercub,

I don't know the individual cameras you are looking at, but I have some suggestions on camera features which will help give you the best chance of obtaining good results.

1. Digital viewfinders are hard to use on fast subjects in bright daylight. An optical finder will make tracking planes in the air easier.

2. Novice or pro, you will want the ability to set shutter speed manually, and preferably a lens which will stop down below F8. "Auto" modes tend to use high shutter speeds, which freeze the the aircraft props in a non-pleasing fashion. With a little experience, you may find yourself wanting to slow down the shutter by using a shutter priority shooting mode. This then leads to the aperture problem. If the lens will not stop down below f8, the camera will be forced to shoot at a higher shutter speed regardless of how you set it.

3. Optical image stabilization is very desirable camera feature when shooting at extreme zoom.

4. Ignore claims like "digital zoom" or anything else which is claimed to be digitally enhanced. The two things which matter are the optical quality of the lens and the quality of the pixels on the imaging chip (not necessarily the shear number of pixels). The bottom line is no digital enhancement can fix bad optical quality.

5. As you gain experience, you may want to be able to set focus manually. These all-in-one cameras focus pretty slowly, so advanced users will often "pre focus" to a known distance, and then nail the shot as the subject passes by. Point and shoots can have a considerable delay after you press the button, because the lens is trying to lock in the auto focus.

I've attached a photo taken with a Canon S2IS. With its electronic viewfinder, the scene freezes in the viewfinder right when the photo is taken. An immediate half press of the shutter button brings you back to a live view, but its hard to keep tracking a fast moving aircraft in this scenario. I've rarely gotten off more than two snaps per pass with this camera. Generally I try to get one golden photo. Also, because the lens is limited to f8, it is not technically possible in bright light to get any more prop blur. The relatively large aperture means the shutter has to fire at high speed to keep the total amount of light gathered within limits.

Hope this helps.

Robert Goldman

[Race 22 Crew]

Re: Off topic (digital camera question?)

With the prices you have listed, you are getting close to a more complex camera like the Canon Rebel series. I believe Victor's son Jeffery shots, or at one time was shooting with a Rebel with great results. Would allow expansion to different lenses in the future if you would care to. Look around a bit and find a package deal with a decent lens and you would be good.

I'm sure that Nikon has something along those lines as well.

Just a thought, however you decide to go, we will of course want to see what the new camera was able to do....we like pictures

Warren

[ebutner]

Re: Off topic (digital camera question?)

Supercub,

I don't know the individual cameras you are looking at, but I have some suggestions on camera features which will help give you the best chance of obtaining good results.

1. Digital viewfinders are hard to use on fast subjects in bright daylight. An optical finder will make tracking planes in the air easier.

2. Novice or pro, you will want the ability to set shutter speed manually, and preferably a lens which will stop down below F8. "Auto" modes tend to use high shutter speeds, which freeze the the aircraft props in a non-pleasing fashion. With a little experience, you may find yourself wanting to slow down the shutter by using a shutter priority shooting mode. This then leads to the aperture problem. If the lens will not stop down below f8, the camera will be forced to shoot at a higher shutter speed regardless of how you set it.

3. Optical image stabilization is very desirable camera feature when shooting at extreme zoom.

4. Ignore claims like "digital zoom" or anything else which is claimed to be digitally enhanced. The two things which matter are the optical quality of the lens and the quality of the pixels on the imaging chip (not necessarily the shear number of pixels). The bottom line is no digital enhancement can fix bad optical quality.

5. As you gain experience, you may want to be able to set focus manually. These all-in-one cameras focus pretty slowly, so advanced users will often "pre focus" to a known distance, and then nail the shot as the subject passes by. Point and shoots can have a considerable delay after you press the button, because the lens is trying to lock in the auto focus.

I've attached a photo taken with a Canon S2IS. With its electronic viewfinder, the scene freezes in the viewfinder right when the photo is taken. An immediate half press of the shutter button brings you back to a live view, but its hard to keep tracking a fast moving aircraft in this scenario. I've rarely gotten off more than two snaps per pass with this camera. Generally I try to get one golden photo. Also, because the lens is limited to f8, it is not technically possible in bright light to get any more prop blur. The relatively large aperture means the shutter has to fire at high speed to keep the total amount of light gathered within limits.

Hope this helps.

Robert Goldman

I've been reading this as well... Great info, thanks. We have been talking at home about upgrading, and all the info and input here is appreciated!

Eric

[supercub]

Re: Off topic (digital camera question?)

Thanks for the input......I went with the Cannon S 5

[Bill@Interstell]

Re: Off topic (digital camera question?)

I've attached a photo taken with a Canon S2IS.
Robert Goldman

Somethings wrong here. No matter what I do with my eyes, I can't see this in stereo...