Digital Cameras

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 6:51 pm

Since I am now looking to buy my first digital camera I would like to hear what you guys think about what I should go for. Most people seem to like Cannon and Sony, but I am open to suggestions. I would like to get at least a 4 megapixel or possibly higher. Price is not a big concern, but I would like to stay under $400.

Steve

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 7:30 pm

Canon S2 rules!

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 8:14 pm

Well, I have read and have been told by a part-time professional photographer that anything much over 3 megapixels is a waste of money unless you want to make prints over 8 X 10s and have a very deluxe printer. He used to work at the local newspaper and is now with US Probation and Parole as their computer man for the Eastern Judicial District of Ky. He uses a Nikon for weddings and stuff but, highly recommends canons. His budget pretty much allows him to buy the staff the state of the art cameras, PCs and they are happy with the little cannons.

Post by **HenryJ** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 8:29 pm

My Canon is nice, but my wife's new Kodak is really good too. Things change so fast, do your research.

While 4 meg pix is decent, 35mm is closer to 7 mp. The closer you can get to 35mm, the better IMO.

Buy the best you can afford and save enough for 1 gig of memory cards. Get good optics and zoom. Digital zoom is useless. Movies and sound are cool.

Good luck!

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 3:54 am

f9k9 wrote:Well, I have read and have been told by a part-time professional photographer that anything much over 3 megapixels is a waste of money unless you want to make prints over 8 X 10s and have a very deluxe printer.

That's assuming of course that you've taken a perfect picture and it needs no cropping or resizing. IMO you can never have too many megapixels. Go as high as you can afford. You can always make a picture smaller but making it bigger... well that's not always so easy.

to answer the original question: it really depends on what you plan to use it for. I'm guessing you're not a professional photographer (or you wouldn't be asking for camera advice on a truck message board

) Do you plan to make a lot of prints? or will this be primarily for posting and emailing pics? will the camera be stored in a firproof safe and only brought out on special occasions? or will it be hanging out of your pocket aor bounced around your glove box or under the seat of your cc?

battery type is often an issue: AA's are nice because you can always find a convienience store to pick up a few if they die unexpectedly but make the camera significantly heavier. Rechargable lithium ion battery packs typically hold a charge longer and can be recharged more times over the life of the battery.

memory type is also a concern: Have you got any other digital products that use removable memory cards? an mp3 player? other camera? card reader in your desktop? interchangability can be VERY convenient.

taking all that into consideration, I'd strongly recommend that you go to a store that sells the camera you like and try it out. see how it feels. does it fit your hand? your eye? before buying. You can just as easily buy online after likely at a discounted price but make sure you touch it before you buy it. I would have never bought my first kodak digital if I had felt how flimsy and cheap it was. turned out to be an okay camera but I was never really happy with it.

I've since replaced that kodak with a canon A95 and I LOVE IT.

AZS10Crew · Post by **AZS10Crew** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 6:46 am

I've got a Canon S420 and it's pretty nice. Takes video with sound and I got the large upgraded CF card with it so it holds something like 30 minutes of video or 300+ images at max resolution. Includes rechargeable battery and charger also.

Pauleo · Post by **Pauleo** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 7:01 am

I've got a Sony 4 Mega Pixel camera. I like it pretty well. I'm pretty much with F9K9 on this one. 3-5 mega pixels is plenty. I can enlarge my pics to 8x10 with no problems what so ever. No noticable difference in picture quality. A question you need to ask yourself is, are you going to print your pics at home or have them developed elsewhere? Home printer technology has not kept up with camera technology!!! You can get the best digital camera money can buy but it's only as good as your printer! Again, 3-5 mega pixels is plenty. I have had some pics with my digital camera professionally developed and they looked great. My buddy has a 7 mega pixel camera and his pics don't come out any better than mine when printed at home. Out sourced developing? There is a slight difference. But not enough to justify the extra moola for it IMHO.

HJ had it right when he said digital zoom is worthless. It is, with out a doubt, worthless!!! Go for the highest OPTICAL zoom you can. Digital zoom deteriorates the image no matter WHAT size mega pixel camera you have.

Enough ranting. Hope this helps.

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 10:12 am

Thanks everyone for the advice!

I do plan on using this camera for everything including family photos, so I think I am going to get a 5 megapixel Cannon. All my friends are using Cannon digitals and they all very happy.

Steve

Post by **Walt** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 10:40 am

I just got my wife a Vivtar 8300s, it's an 8 megapixel. Excellent camera. I shopped around and decided on it. It's tiny, but has a 2.5" LCD. Also, you have to be careful when buying a camera with a res higher than 7MP, because some have noise in the pics. It seems to be a technological limitation that some manufacturers haven't been able to get around. My wifes camera takes georgious pics. It runs about $300, and an SD card will set you back $60 from newegg.com.

On another note, the higher the res of the camera, the more options you have concerning cropping a picture. With my wife's camera, I can single one person out of a photo, or cut the photo almost in half and still get a great picture.

snowsurfer · Post by **snowsurfer** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 12:00 pm

Got a Fuji 3 MP with printer in excellent condition 275.00, I paid well over 600.00 for both.
Email me for pic' and more info if interested

seayahawaii@hawaii.rr.com

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 12:31 pm

wamason wrote:I just got my wife a Vivtar 8300s, it's an 8 megapixel. It runs about $300.

$300 is very cheap for an 8 megapixel camera.

What do you guys think about this one? Sony Cyber Shot DSC-H1

I can get one for $400 through Crutchfield. It is a 5.1 megapixel with a 2.5" LCD monitor and has an awsome 12x optical zoom.

The zoom would be nice for distant objects.

Steve

top_sgt · Post by **top_sgt** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 12:45 pm

i have a sony cybershot 4.1 meapixel, model DSC-S60. i love it. i looked at kodak, olympus, nikon, and the sony... for the money the sony was best. it also will do limited movies!!!!(haven't tried that yet!!)

Post by **Walt** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 1:31 pm

If you're more into photography as a hobby, a camera with good optical zoom is a must. Just make sure the camera has some type of stabilizing technology built in. Otherwise you'll have to use a tripod to get non-blurry shots at a very high zoom level.

Buckshot · Post by **Buckshot** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 2:38 pm

killian96ss wrote:
wamason wrote:I just got my wife a Vivtar 8300s, it's an 8 megapixel. It runs about $300.
$300 is very cheap for an 8 megapixel camera. What do you guys think about this one? Sony Cyber Shot DSC-H1

I can get one for $400 through Crutchfield. It is a 5.1 megapixel with a 2.5" LCD monitor and has an awsome 12x optical zoom. The zoom would be nice for distant objects.

Steve

My bro-in-law got that one for Christmas. NICE! I have an older Sony Cybershot 3.2mp and it does a great job.

24digger · Post by **24digger** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 5:24 pm

I got this kodak Z760 for christmas and I real happy with it. 6 megapixal more setting than I know how to use so far and even takes video.

Wife got it at walmart for $200

kodak specs

Steve2003 · Post by **Steve2003** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 7:13 pm

I have the canon PowerShot A20

7.5x zoom 2.1 mega pixels

I have had this camera for some time and it's been a really good camera, no complaints other than doesn't take really good close ups. I think it's time to upgrade.

Steve

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 7:34 pm

I have been packing the Canon Powershot A40 for quite some time. It is a pretty good pack-n-shoot.

My wife has a Kodak Easyshare Z700. She likes to print out the photos herself, and does not enjoy computers.

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 4:10 am

Well I guess I should put in my two cents worth on this subject. I have been working in the photographic industry for over 16 years both as a profesionall photographer as well as a retail store manager and minilab operator.

Megapixels- 3.2 minimum 4x6 with no cropping
4.0 best for 4x6
5.0 best for up to ok 8x10
* 7.0 film quality up to 11x14 also best for cropping my personal best choice out of todays crop of cameras.

Zoom- 3x zoom best all around zoom for the size of the camera can easily be hand held anything above that and blurry photos will result unless you have a stabilizer in the camera or you use a tripod

Printing- Home printing minimum of .80/4x6 print using a Canon printer most will run around 1.30. use only the manufactures ink and paper for longest lasting and best quality photos good for quick photos where absolute quality is less a factor then convenience.
Kiosks most big box stores have this option apx cost around .30/4x6 print fast reasonable quality prints allows customer to make adjustments to there photos before printing not always as long lasting as other methods.
On Line typically the lowest price option around .18/4x6 must have a high speed internet connection to take full advantage of the type of printing quality varies from abysmal to very good you will just have to experiment with different services.
Minilab/photo store here you will typically get you best quality prints usually printed to photographic paper for the best color and longevity of you prints most newer systems have user stations that allow you to crop and manipulate your image before printing and a printer will be tweaking each of your phots as they are being printed. Expect a price of around .35/.50/4x6 Best overall value for highest quality prints.
Drugstore/grocery stores JUST DON'T quality is usually abysmal and leave customers wondering why there fancy camera takes such poor photos.

Brands-
Sony - video camera technology not up to par with best photographic companies poor customer service. availability of cameras/accessories limited to mass merchandisers and big box stores.
Kodak - outsourced cameras with high incidence of repairs newest gimmick is to sell a stripped camera that requires you to get an accessory kit just to get the images off the internal memory chip. Most Camera store won't touch the brand with a 10ft pole.
Nikon - Good quality but slipping behind in technology
Pentax - Also ran good cameras but not real popular best feature is there wp models which are much more weather proof than any other brand out there.
Olympus - Excellent quality
Minolta - Also ran ok but not much to brag about
Canon - By far the best line up of cameras at this time and My personal recommend brand from the A520 4mp entry model $200 to the S2IS image stabilized 12x zoom 5mp camera $500 they have a camera for everyone. MY personal recommendation would be the A620 4x zoom 7mp $399. For the money I think this is the best camera in their lineup right now it has the advantage of running on AA batteries has the swivel away lcd screen and is big enough to hold steady. If you don't feel you need the high MP of this camera the A610 5mp can be had for about $100 less. same camera just lower mp chip.

Where to buy- Your local camera shop will provide you with the best after sale service for your camera. They will take the time to make sure you get the best photos possible from your investment.
big box stores will usually have the best selection but you better be prepared to do all your own research the employess usually will not be knowledgeable on the merchandise they sell.
on line BE VERY CAREFUL many online sellers are using bait and switch tactics to make it look like you are getting a good deal and then forcing you to buy extras that should come with the camera in the first place also many of the so called deals are grey market cameras these cameras do not have a US warranty and will NOT be fixed by the manufatures if they have a problem. Your only recourse will to try and get them repaired/ replaced by the company you purchased them from
You will find that all legitimate camera stores will be selling the camera you chose at almost the exact same price. The markup on cameras is pathetic and everyone has to adhere to a minimum advertised price if they want to get cameras from the manufacturer. Choose your purchase place based on after the sale service and you will have a much better experience than just buying on price alone.

Sorry if a bit long but hope it helps

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 10:42 am

04crewvt wrote:Sorry if a bit long but hope it helps

Thanks, and yes the info does help.

I almost bought that Sony last night, but one of my friends talked me out of it, and told me to get a Cannon instead. I own a lot of Sony products, including my new VAIO computer with a Petium D processor, and I have always been happy with their quality, but I know Cannon has been making cameras for a long time, so it only makes sense that they are ahead of the game. Once again I want to thank everyone for their advice.

Steve

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 5:52 pm

I think I found my next camera - Pentax Optio W20

7 mp , small, waterproof

I am not crazy about the special battery pack. I prefer something that I can use AA. For the durability and water proof, I think I can make the adjustment

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 6:36 pm

Looks like a good choice

Similar to my CANON SD600 but, my canon is not waterproof. It, does fit inside a plastic cigarette case similar to the ones in the photo. I found a case of those after looking many years for them. It looks like a good camera and I understand about the non standard battery pack. Maybe RedOrbit has them for as good of a deal as I found my Canon rechargeable batteries. I now carry three fully charged ones with the camera.

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 6:41 pm

04crewvt wrote:MY personal recommendation would be the A620 4x zoom 7mp $399. For the money I think this is the best camera in their lineup right now it has the advantage of running on AA batteries has the swivel away lcd screen and is big enough to hold steady.

I ended up with the Canon A620 and so far I'm really happy with the performance.

Thanks for the recommendation 04crewvt.

Brule, that Pentax camera looks like a good one and I really like how it's waterproof.

I get real nervous having my camera out in bad weather.

Steve

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 6:48 pm

Unfortunately the Canon A620 has been dropped and all of our cameras are probably outdated. My thoughts are if, it does the job and pleases me then that is all that matters. Four years ago I paid $500 for a Sony 2.0 mega pixel and now you can find double the camera for under $200.

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 6:53 pm

f9k9 wrote:Four years ago I paid $500 for a Sony 2.0 mega pixel and now you can find double the camera for under $200.

So true!

I still remember when I bought my first CD player a Sony 5 disc for $600.

It was one of the very first multi disc CD players out at the time, but only a few years later the same CD player was only $150.

Steve

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 6:59 pm

f9k9 wrote:Unfortunately the Canon A620 has been dropped.

It looks like they replaced it with the A630 8 Megapixel

Crutchfield is selling it for only $290.

Steve

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 7:04 pm

That is a good price

I'm stuck with my SD600 for a while though.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 7:19 pm

My old A40 is still doing great. I have been wanting to upgrade for a while now. That Pentax is under $250 and will bump me up a long way in resolution.

That one will be on my Christmas wish list for sure

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 3:42 am

Small hijack.

Any opinions on camcorders? I need to get a decent one ... and I'd like it to be under $400.00 or less. Probably DVD for quality. Don't know much else.

WVHogRider · Post by **WVHogRider** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 4:20 am

Less than a year ago, I bought a Panasonic PV-GS? camcorder with built in digital camera. It has the 24x zoom, image stabilization, zoom microphone, mini dv, digital camera (?mp but very good pictures), small/ compact, and built in photo/video editing. And it's so light, I just fab'd up a bracket to mount on my bow to try and video some of my hunting. My sister-in-law loved it too as she borrowed it for three months.

I'd check out Circuit City's website. At least on their website you can see all the various options, prices, reviews, etc, and search according to your price/wants/needs. That's what I did when I was looking, and found the camera I liked for the price.

bwenny247 · Post by **bwenny247** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 10:07 am

you can always try ABC warehouse (if they have them around you) you can really hassle those guys down on their prices because they're paid on commition. I got my Sony Cyber shot 7.2 Mexapixel with a 1GB memory card for $290 which was listed at $299 without a memory card to start.

border man · Post by **border man** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 7:28 pm

Reed, where did you find those cases? I need to buy a new camera, and I want one small enough to fit in one of those. Now that I'm patrolling on motorcycle, the only available storage space is the small top pocket on my camelback and one of those would fit just right. My current camera is bulky and I don't like to carry it in my cargo pockets due to possible damage. Photo opportunities like this one happen all the time and I don't want to miss them..........

That's me way on the right

Three horses + riders + about 600Lbs of MJ.

Faces cut for privacy

rlrnr53 · Post by **rlrnr53** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 6:27 am

Canon A85, Had it for about 2 years, no trouble excellent photos.

Post by **Walt** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 7:39 am

Wow Borderman, that's a nice grey sweatshirt you've got on there.

WVHogRider · Post by **WVHogRider** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 8:00 am

Walt wrote:Wow Borderman, that's a nice grey sweatshirt you've got on there.

border man · Post by **border man** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 5:40 pm

It was cold that day.....

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 6:20 pm

border man wrote:Reed, where did you find those cases? .............

Email me and I'll take care of ya'. I spent over a decade trying to find them again.

Snoman002 · Post by **Snoman002** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 6:33 pm

f9k9 wrote:
border man wrote:Reed, where did you find those cases? .............
Email me and I'll take care of ya'. I spent over a decade trying to find them again.

Heck, I want one of those cases for my cigarettes

.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 7:01 pm

Snoman002 wrote:
f9k9 wrote:
border man wrote:Reed, where did you find those cases? .............
Email me and I'll take care of ya'. I spent over a decade trying to find them again.
Heck, I want one of those cases for my cigarettes .

Email me and get some form of payment to me for $.99 for the case and $4.05 for the shipping (that is what it just cost me to print off a "Click n Ship" label from USPS label for Border Man) and I'll help ya' out.

For Border Man it's free but, we have had a couple years of buying and selling to one another so, it's free to him. Another minor factor is that I spent 6 weeks walking in his shoes and cannot imagine what it takes to do it year after year.

Border Man, you should have it Sat or early next week.

border man · Post by **border man** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 7:21 pm

Thank you very much, sir.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 7:42 pm

border man wrote:Thank you very much, sir.

The very least that I could do

Snoman002 · Post by **Snoman002** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 6:01 am

f9k9 wrote:
Snoman002 wrote:
f9k9 wrote: Email me and I'll take care of ya'. I spent over a decade trying to find them again.
Heck, I want one of those cases for my cigarettes .
Email me and get some form of payment to me for $.99 for the case and $4.05 for the shipping (that is what it just cost me to print off a "Click n Ship" label from USPS label for Border Man) and I'll help ya' out.

For Border Man it's free but, we have had a couple years of buying and selling to one another so, it's free to him. Another minor factor is that I spent 6 weeks walking in his shoes and cannot imagine what it takes to do it year after year.

Border Man, you should have it Sat or early next week.

Thanks for the offer!!

I was just kidding though, I didn't expect you t osend me one for free, and although one of those would be nice for the cigs, it's not really needed.

Thanks again though, I appreciate the offer.

Post by **HenryJ** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 7:44 pm

HenryJ wrote:I think I found my next camera - Pentax Optio W20

I finally found one of these to "get my hands on" locally. I have big hands and the shutter button is nice sized. Usable with gloved hands. The screen is pretty good, and the macro capabilities are amazing.
I was able to take a picture of print on a page at less than half an inch and it was clear and readable. That will be really nice for close-up photography. This truly is a shirt pocket camera.
Start-up is fast! less than a second. With an ISO 1600 , moving objects should be no problem. The movies can be taken a 650x480 30fps.
In fast shoot mode you can take up to 3 frames per second.
Resolution high enough for nice pictures up to 12"x16". $262 through a retailer I trust.

My Xmas present is on the way

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 2:47 am

I shoot pentax as my 35mm professional rig and always pushed there equipment when I was running the camera store. Their lenses are fantastic and the waterproofing is the best in the consumer market. I have a film point and shoot in there old WR line that I keep on my bicycle so I do not have to worry about the weather. Pentax digital camera electronics are made by Casio and are quite good. Sounds like a good present too me.

rlrnr53 · Post by **rlrnr53** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 2:53 am

04crewvt, I agree with you about Pentax optics. I have two 35mm Pentax cameras, that still take excellent pictures. My wife's Canon A85 takes very good pictures.

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 3:03 am

If I was replacing my camera rig Canon would be the way I would go. There digital line is by far the most advanced of any brand. That being said Pentax just released a new 10MP digital body that I would love to have to update my 35mm rig only problem is no full frame sensor so I would loose a lot of my wide angle capability. My favorite lens is a 18-28 fish eye zoom which would drop to about a 28-35 on the digital bodies.

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 3:59 am

04crewvt wrote:I shoot pentax ... Their lenses are fantastic and the waterproofing is the best in the consumer market. ...Pentax digital camera electronics are made by Casio and are quite good...

Both good to hear. A camera is worthless without good optics. I had worried about that since I did read one review that had reservations about the quality of the optics. Also , I have owned a Casio camera in the past, and really liked it, as well as wearing the G-shock and Pathfinder watches. Sounds good so far.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 3:59 am

I brought back a Pentax Spotmatic one from overseas that saw me through school and then my son. I had a Nikon S2 that was stolen but, still use my Canon AE1

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 6:15 pm

My wonderful wife and child decided to let me have the Pentax camera early, so that I might figure out enough to take some pictures for the christmas festivities

I have not yet finished reading the manual. I am nearly half way through. This thing is way smarter than I am. The movie mode is cool

Nice video at 30fps and 640x480. In high res 7mp and low light it is pretty easy to blur the image when taking stills. There are 25 different shooting modes. Selecting the right one optimizes settings for a type of situation. Navigating the camera is straight forward. I like the play button. A quick one touch review. Touch the shutter and back to shooting. The delete button above the play is handy as well for quickly deleting the blurred shot

I have a whole bunch to learn. The auto picture mode seems to be pretty fool proof. Having the option to do a manual focus is nice too. Sometime the object auto focus chooses is not the one I want to choose.
It has a face recognition. I am not sure how that works , but most of the time in proper lighting it does a very good job.
The camera has not been "out" yet. I think it will work just fine though.
It will take some getting used to. I have had lots of practice with the old Cannon and could shoot with it in my sleep.

Olympus has a waterproof camera too. The Olympus Stylus 720 SW. I examined it at the same time I checked out the Pentax. The Olympus is smaller. I had a hard time with the small shutter button. The macro focus was not even close. The Pentax had a clear picture withing half an inch. The Olympus would not focus that close.
At the camera shop I examined them, the Olympus Stylus 720 SW it was almost $100 more than the Pentax.
I did not know of the Olympus shock resistance, and I will admit that I have not done much research on the camera. The body was square. The screen equal to the Pentax.
For my large hands it was not user friendly. Aesthetically it is a little "sharp". Pretty much a cigarette box both in size and shape. I like the rounded shape and additional length of the Pentax.
I am biased, as I did decide on the Pentax.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun Dec 17, 2006 8:31 am

I have not yet finished reading the Pentax manual. It has not been a priority , I guess.
So far it is very clear that this camera has way more function than I will ever fully comprehend or use. Shutter speeds, white balance, ISO settings, manual focusing, facial recognition, coat color recognition

The choice of shooting modes is more important for good pictures than I thought. The "auto" mode may not be the best choice for a quick picture. This does not have the simplicity of my old camera where I choose quality , size and then shoot pictures.

Someone who enjoys setting up a camera for a good shot will enjoy all the adjustability. I know just enough to be dangerous There are plenty of shooting modes. These are preset for situations. I just need to get comfortable with which is the best for my given situations.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that it is not just a simple point and shoot. Some forethought or preparation is required.

kermit · Post by **kermit** » Tue Dec 26, 2006 1:27 pm

Santa Claus just brought me a Canon PowerShot A540 6.0 mp with a 1G memory card.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat May 05, 2007 8:13 am

Played with the Pentax W20 a little this week while at a Hazmat Conference.
Outdoors in daylight this thing rocks! Nice pictures with little work. I took some nice stills of a Level B volleyball game.

Later that night indoors with low lighting, the performance was less than adequate. No way to get steady enough freehand for low light conditions. Out of range for the flash, I tried a couple different modes with no acceptable results.

Next day I took some shots of the Blackhawk site assessment team drop and evacuation. The video works great! I have a 2GB card and even with three days worth of photo taking, I had room for nearly an hour of video.
I took nearly 20 minutes worth. Nice stuff at 640x480 30fps.

I did not charge both batteries prior to leaving. One battery went down after the second day, so I swapped it out for the charged spare in my case. Plenty of batteries for a weeks worth with plenty of power to spare.

The silicone cover was a blessing. The prop wash from the helicopter was brutal. The camera was covered with a fine black volcanic sand. No worries about the camera. The cover did retain some sand. Rather sticky I would say. A quick rinse in the sink afterward washed it all off easily. I towel dried the camera, but did not get the silicone cover or camera completely dry. Five hours later there was still moisture trapped, even though I had removed the cover temporarily to shake dry. I removed the cover and air dried them prior to opening the camera cover once I returned home.

Overall I am pleased. I do need to figure out what I need to do for low light conditions beyond the range of the flash. The flash range seems to be rather short? Perhaps reducing image quality? I might need to experiment with the night mode some more. I know I had taken at least one night shot that turned out decent on another trip.

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Sat May 05, 2007 2:41 pm

Low light situations are hard for digital cameras, a pocket tripod is a good thing to have so you can set it down or brace it against your shoulder and get as little camera shake as possible, also they make little slave flashes that you can put closer to the subject if feasible or as an added punch if you can't ,they have a built in trigger that fires as soon as the main flash goes off. All point and shoot flashes are pretty much worthless beyond 15 feet or so,you can compensate with film by getting a higher film speed (more sensitive to light) but a digital camera has to have enough light to activate the sensor .When there is not enough information it shows up as noise (like a grainy photo)

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat May 05, 2007 4:20 pm

This one has the speed for low light. Up to 1600 ISO. The images retrieve enough light with a slow shutter speed.
Blurring is the problem.
I do have a small tripod that I carry on my case-

Using it at the spur of the moment is difficult.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat May 05, 2007 5:21 pm

Brule, You just need to fiddle with the settings and "re" study the camera's manual. I am constantly fighting the same issue and then accidently "fix" the problem. Then I don't remember the next time when I need to correct the problem.

Flash distance will always be an issue on these cameras but, the low light approach is the way to go. BTW.....photography was another of my "modified" majors in my stormy college days

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Sat May 05, 2007 5:32 pm

Been a while, but now for a point and shoot camera, the Cannon S3 rules. My S2 still works perfect, so can't justify it yet.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat May 05, 2007 7:04 pm

f9k9 wrote:You just need to fiddle with the settings and "re" study the camera's manual...photography was another of my "modified" majors in my stormy college days

I am sure you are right. My father taught photography and graphics design to college students since the mid sixties. He is retired and still dabbles , Black Cat Photo Products
He invented a few products and is enjoying life now.

You would think I would have absorbed a little more

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Sun May 06, 2007 2:10 am

Here is another tip: replace the wrist strap with a neck strap and use it like a ready sling. adjust so your body and camera are in tension with each other to help stabilize the camera, also if you are holding the camera out to see the LCD when you take the photo hold the camera up to your face and use the optical viewfinder instead, it will be much more stable if you brace against your nose or cheek. As for ISO1600 that will give you good still low light photos but keep track of the shutter speed it is setting, anything below 1/30-1/60sec and there will be blurring even with flash
Most of the little cameras sacrifice a large aperture for size and weight constraints and use the ISO setting to try to overcome this.

As for Black Cat Products I used to sell some of those in the camera shop I ran, good stuff.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat May 12, 2007 2:50 pm

I had a couple times where I lost the image on the screen due to glare from the sun. Protection for the screen is another thing I would like too. I ordered the 2.5" Delkin Pop-up shade on ebay for $14.95 (free shipping) The shade arrived today. Fit and finish are good.
Some trimming of the silicone skin was required to line up the button recesses correctly.
The shade is easily removable with a little pressure to the left. It moves .125" and lifts off, leaving the protective shield / retainer in place.

This is attached with a thin self adhesive tape. The tape surrounds the retainers edge. I wonder if it will be waterproof?
Having moisture between the lens and the display could be a problem.
The retainer fits nicely with the silicone skin. It sits up just slightly higher than the skin. The shade can be removed with it in place and looks as if it was made to fit this way. Just looks right.

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 7:42 am

Update: The Pentax Optio W20 has been a great camera. It is still doing all I need it to do. Since its purchase I have had the opportunity to buy and use a couple other cameras for the fire department. First was the Pentax Optio W30. It was a mirror of the W20 and I liked it too.
Next was the Olympus Stylus Tough. It had a nice fit and feel, but the xd memory cards are expensive when compared to the SD cards. Both cameras disappeared

Now the wife's camera needs an upgrade before our Moab trip. My W20 is set up with the silicone skin, three extra batteries and the shade. I am going to let her use my Optio W20 and a new Pentax Optio W80 is on the way.
Reviews are mixed. Most complaints are that the image quality is not as good as the competition. If it is as good as the W20, I will be ok with that.
We have been moving more toward movie capture lately and this one offers image stabilization as well as HD movie mode. It looks to be a bit more compact. Wider angle lens and more zoom. Anti glare screen. We will see how it turns out.

For movies I recently received a "Flip minoHD" . This is a handy little camcorder that will record two hours of HD video. It does work very well. The flip USB connection really needs an extension cable. Hanging off the computer by that connection is worrisome. Probably not a good choice for a vacation camera as it does not have a removable memory card, so you are limited to the built in 8mb. Still not bad for a sporting event or short trip.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 5:55 pm

HenryJ wrote:............For movies I recently received a "Flip minoHD" . This is a handy little camcorder that will record two hours of HD video. It does work very well. The flip USB connection really needs an extension cable. Hanging off the computer by that connection is worrisome. Probably not a good choice for a vacation camera as it does not have a removable memory card, so you are limited to the built in 8mb. Still not bad for a sporting event or short trip.

I picked up a FLIP (1 hr edition) at KMart a few months back for $37.00. I realized that the connection sucked so, I found some FLIP USB extension cables and will try to remember to pack one (they come in 3 packs) for ya'.

S-10CREWCAB.NET

Digital Cameras

Digital Cameras

Re: Digital Cameras

Re: Digital Cameras