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Camera?

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Update:

I just picked up the Canon SD550 yesterday and so far so good. I saw that Circuit City had an online special marking it down to $399 (from $499) so I went ahead and got it. I have seen the camera cheaper on cnet.com ($374) but I opted for the in store pick up to satisfy the instant gratification need instead of waiting for delivery.

The fit and finish is very nice and it has that heavier than it looks feel that adds to the quality feeling of the camera. I am going to have to get accustomed to using such a small camera instead of my monster Olympus E-10 (feels kind of foreign in my big hands).
 
I have three digitals, a Nikon Coolpix 900 the first Nikon with the swivel body. The swivel connection gave a lot of trouble when it got out of warranty. Doesn't work at all now due to that darned swivel.

Fujifilm 2800, a 3 megapixel camera that is about half size of a 35 mm with a 6x optical zoom. Good camera, but its size is a little too large to carry without a bag. On a motorcycle I find it aggravating to have to dig around in a bag when a photo opportunity arises. This camera is my family portrait/reunion camera when toting it around is no big deal.

I was in Japan twice recently and there is a large store in Tokyo named BIC, like the ball point pen. I have never seen as many digital camera in one place, every manufacturer. At BIC I found a Pentax Optiz 5z with a 2.5 in LCD display, 0.8 inch wide and the size of a credit card, 3x zoom, 5.0 mega pixels and a battery that will take 180 pictures with the flash. This camera will fit easily in your shirt pocket. I bought it with a case that will go on your belt. On your belt its is about the size of a folding knife. It was $400 in Japan, $300 in USA on line. Its the handiest camera I have ever had.

One note about small cameras, without a viewfinder its hard to take pictures in bright daylight. The LCD display washes out. Camera with a view finder tend to be larger, particularly in thickness and the LCD screen is smaller. I wanted small and really wanted the large LCD screen, so I bought the Pentax Optio 5z. I recommend this camera.
 
The hottest it got this summer was 138, and I had guard duty that week - spectacular. I'm actually in the "breadbasket" of Iraq - near the Diyala River, so there's palm groves, grass, irrigation canals, etc all over the place. Not such a dry heat. I grew up in Midland - THAT was a dry heat.
 
Mark G said:
That's the one, Mike. I've got a full-pimp digital SLR, have been taking photos for more than 40 years, give seminars occasionally, yadda yadda.
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What kind of seminars Mark? Maybe we could have a TWT convergence on Austin for a Digital 101 class sometime.

I am a long time film photographer that decided to jump into digital. The learning curve is much steeper than I had imagined. I bought a Nikon D70 several months ago for off-the-bike use and a Sony Cybershot to carry on the bike.
 
Texason said:
I will never buy another Kodak again. Granted, they've probably come a long way since I bought my old DX3600. My main issue with it was that I paid big $$$ for more memory, but the rechargeable battery wouldn't even last long enough to fill the basic on-board memory. I sent it back to Kodak for repair and it came back worse than when I sent it in. As far as I can tell, Kodak is an amature in the digital camera business.
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I've gone to cameras with AA batteries only, my last proprietary camera the batteries were $40, lasted a year and didn't hold charge as well as a AA. Current one is a little Panasonic that does 20x zoom, video with sound, and can take a 1GB SD memory card.

I use a couple of sets of Radio shack 15 minutes rechargeable AA batteries and carry a little charger with me to charge them up every other night or whenever I need to.

Couple of pics I took with it from North Carolina... http://killer.playnet.com/pics/NC2005/P1010180.JPG

And Colorado...
http://killer.playnet.com/TWTColorado/P1010060.JPG
 
:tab My Sony CD-500 uses the Info-Lithium batteries, $60 a pop!! However, when I first bought the camera, I got an extra battery thinking I would need one to get through all the pics I take on trips. I have been extremely happy with these batteries. Since my camera burns on CDR's and CDRW's, it uses a lot of juice to keep the disc spinning. Even using the flash extensively, zooming in and out, turning the camera on/off a lot, and using the backlight display, the battery will generally last a couple of days on one charge. I keep the second battery charged and swap them out occasionally. They recharge pretty fast. The "Info" part of the name refers to the fact that the batteries actually communicate with the camera. It looks at the current level of power draw and calculates the time left. So if I use the flash a lot, the time left may be low. If I stop using the flash, the time left increases. It seems to be quite accurate and I can take the battery down to almost no charge reliably and predictably. Still... $60 for a freaking battery the size of a 9 volt!? Ouch!
 
Last week I almost broke out of the 35mm age and purchased a Kodak D740. I've read several reviews and even 'test drove' one my uncle has and really liked it. I currently have a Kodak Advantix and it takes decent photos but after reading some of the Kodak comments I'm a bit leary to get it now.

I'm looking to spend around $300 (at the high end) and could really use some help. I want one that will have a fast enough shutter speed to take the occasional trackday pic.

Anyone have any suggestions?
 
Steve, for action shots, you may want a camera with a good frames-per-second rating as well as a fast shutter speed. The Canon SD200 and SD300 might be a couple of candidates to look at that fall in your price range.
 
Arrrrggh, camera shopping. Doing the same thing here to replace aging and infirm Nikon Coolpix 950. A bit leary of the battery thing, but the subcompact form factor is a must have for me.

In the < 300$ (internet shopping) category through Consumer Reports, Steves Digicam site reviews http://www.steves-digicams.com/default.htm eOpinions and some "test drives" at Frys (I actually found some working models on display - go figure) Ive narrowed the field to these two;

Canon SD450 and Casio EX-Z55. The Canon is a bit more $$ but the Casio seems easier to use (it has Pentax glass), and, the Canon has, and the Casio has, and, and, and.... well, here I am again, cant make up my mind and pull the trigger ..............:shrug:

- ebill
 
I went with the Canon SD400 over the Casio models because I did NOT want to deal with a cradle (don't have the storage on the moto for extra's like a cradle) . Casio models require a cradle for charging and reviewing pictures on a TV.

The Canon SD400 & 450 allow you to plug the audio/video cable directly into the camera. Canon's battery is charged in a very small charger. You can also get spare batteries for the Canon on ebay (approx. $15 for 2 batteries).

In Sept. I went on a 2 week 6000 mile ride. Took 700 pictures. Only used 3 batteries. Could have used one and just charged it every couple of days.

Get a high speed San Disk 1 gig Ultra SD card. It's worth the $. High speed helps camera take great pictures. Holds approx 400 pictures at highest res.

Also, I did not read Canon manual. Just set on auto. Highly satisfied.

Good luck
 
ki-speed said:
Also, I did not read Canon manual. Just set on auto. Highly satisfied.

Good luck
Click to expand...

OK > good call Kai-speed > Yeah, a bit leary on the cradle thing too but it wasnt a deal breaker in shopping. Probably more inclined to Canon glasss (AF1 35mm user) than Casio.

Canon SD450 it is then <push here to shop>

- ebill
 
I went with the Panasonic (4 y.o. 2MP) for the same battery reasons, it can use off the shelf AA's if you use up all of your rechargeables, they don't last very long but it still gives you the ability. It is a small compact camera, but I do want to get a professional level camera for when I decide to go out and shoot "skip quality" pics, or at least attempt to.

One thing that I have looked at is a Canon Optura 600 MiniDV camcorder/4MP camera as a replacement for my Panasonic 2MP camera, it uses MiniDV for video and SD cards for still memory (which is what my Panasonic uses). That way I could shoot video of the ride and then shoot a few still pics in one unit. I found a Samsung that had different lenses, and used MiniDV for video and Memory Sticks for stills, but it does not have a remote camera input.
 
Steve O Chap said:
Well, I think I've finally narrowed it down to the the Canon Powershot A610...
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Excellent choice. That's twice the camera of my A70 for the same price as what I paid less than two years ago.

This thread has got me thinking about upgrading now. :roll:
The A610 and Sony's Cybershot DSCW5 look really nice for the price - anybody interested in a lightly used Canon A70 for $120.00?
 
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