Camera help

arctic cat 4 life · Aug 18, 2010

hi im looking to buy a nice camera for next season. ive never even looked at anything in the camera scene so i have know idea what to look for whatsoever. id like to have one that can produce h.d. pics if there not to expensive. if you guys could post up a sample pic and maybe the model and price of the camera that would be great. All help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

mikew5945 · Aug 18, 2010

Can't use the camera to take a pic of it. Sorry. It is nice and small. Fits into a shirt pocket. Takes Pics and/or vidio in HD. It is too small for a good zoom though. Not what you want for long distance. Buy it now $56 on E-Bay. There is also a Zi8.

Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera With 2.4" LCD Screen
Product Description
Become an instant celebrity or paparazzo! This sleek pocketable design is built for easy video - there is no lens cap, no dials to turn, or settings to set. Just turn it on and hit record to capture the action, adventure, and all the juicy details in stunning HD! Make your cinematic debut on any HDTV. Or just pop the USB in the nearest PC and you're ready to share the fun on YouTube. Edit, add music, and personalize your flick and easily share with your adoring fans. There's no such thing as ''you should've been there'' with the Zi6.

Details
Dimensions (WxDxH): 6.4 cm X2.4 cm X11.4 cm
Weight: 0.107 Kg
Additional Features: USB 2.0 compatibility, YouTube capture mode, built-in speaker

Camera Features
Optical Sensor Type: CMOS
Optical Sensor Size: 1/4.5"
Maximum Focal Length: 4 mm
Display: LCD display - TFT active matrix - 2.4" - color

backcountryislife · Aug 18, 2010

arctic cat 4 life said:
hi im looking to buy a nice camera for next season. ive never even looked at anything in the camera scene so i have know idea what to look for whatsoever. id like to have one that can produce h.d. pics if there not to expensive. if you guys could post up a sample pic and maybe the model and price of the camera that would be great. All help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

What is your price range? $20, $200, $2000???

What is your max size? Do you just want a little pocket point & shoot or do you want a full size SLR?

Do you want to learn how to actually get great pictures, or just snap?

A P&S camera can get you a quick shot, but you won't learn anything from using one & most people won't get any better with time. An SLR will be more difficult, but will give you tons of potential to grow with it over the years & is more of an investment.

In the TV definition of HD, I don't think there is a single camera that you can buy today that wouldn't shoot "hd", so you'd need to narrow it down a bit to what you actually want out of it.

Obviously I'm a photag & will lean toward a true camera, but depending on your price range there are also middle ground solutions that give some ability to actually get better pics, and still fit in a pocket.

jacmmaxwell · Aug 18, 2010

Are you looking for a video or still camera?

I would look for waterproof, what ever you get.

arctic cat 4 life · Aug 18, 2010

i was hoping to get a full size camera. id like it to take full hd video and take great pictures. i wana learn how to take really really nice pics like in the magazines and maybe do some of those sequence shots like when someone does a cornice drop or something. i dont wana spend over $400 i found one for 350 that looks really nice. this is the type of camera i would want to buy. something like this. would that eb a price for a beginner? id love to learn the settings and how to take good pics so im open to anything. Thanks

ruffryder · Aug 18, 2010

arctic cat 4 life said:
this is the type of camera i would want to buy. something like this. would that eb a price for a beginner?

That isn't gonna happen. The camera body only can be more then that, then getting a good set of lenses is where the real money gets spent.

IMO, just starting out, get a Canon S90. I have the S80 and it takes great pictures. The 90 has image stabilization and is smaller, and has all the manual functions of the Canon G11, but less size. I think it is around 300-350? All the reviews I have seen say that if you aren't going to get a dslr, you should get this camera.

I disagree with the notion that you need a good camera to take good pictures. A lot of it is done with framing, and knowing what the camera can do and what it can't do. That is my thought.

FYI, I have been looking at getting a DSLR soon, as the big drawback about point and shoot cameras is there cycle time. It can be up to 2 seconds. Way too long for action shots. The cameras I am looking at are the Nikon D5000 and a couple of good lenses. That looks to be around 1200 bucks and the video quality isn't that good compared to an actual video camera.

Ken Rockwell does pretty good reviews. I like the fact that he actually states to stay away from certain cameras because they suck and are a lot of money for not much...

arctic cat 4 life · Aug 18, 2010

this one right? it looks like a good camera. does it take hd pics and video? i dont want really good video just something better than my iphone! does this camera do the mode where you can take alot of pics very very quickly in like a sequence? and also is this a camera where i can snap pics one after the other quickly? Thanks

ruffryder · Aug 18, 2010

arctic cat 4 life said:
this one right? it looks like a good camera.

yes that is the one, have you read the reviews on it?

arctic cat 4 life said:
does it take hd pics and video?

hd normally refers to video only. Pictures are much much higher quality then video. The camera only takes video of resolution 640 x480, no HD video.

arctic cat 4 life said:
i dont want really good video just something better than my iphone! does this camera do the mode where you can take alot of pics very very quickly in like a sequence?

I don't think it would be fast enough. It has a continuous mode that is 1.2 shots per second, but the fancy DSLR's shoot at 4-7 shots per second.

arctic cat 4 life said:
and also is this a camera where i can snap pics one after the other quickly? Thanks

No, I believe it is about 2 seconds between pictures.

What you do get though, is dang good pictures for the price, and the ability to get creative with the camera. For shooting action and moving objects, a DSLR seems to be the only option (I don't like it, and my wallet hates it), but that is their function. Your price is dictating a lot of this. If you want to give up on video, you could look at the used market for a DSLR that would get you your ability to take shots very quickly.

Lots of compromises aren't there.

backcountryislife · Aug 18, 2010

If you want to learn & are willing to invest a BIT more than bottom dollar P&S, a small step up from what ruffy is suggesting would be a big difference.

Look at the canon G series, with a minimum of the G9. HD video, good quality pictures, GOOD optics esp. when compared to 99% of small cameras (something that fits in a pocket) it's the P&S that most real photags keep in their pockets.

here's a quick example, this one is the newest version (I think) & still under $400

http://denver.craigslist.org/pho/1906127276.html

You can buy a cheap seal-able plastic container at wallyworld, put some padding in it, and toss it in your seat. I've put one of these cheap boxes in the back of my kayak as I go down class V (I'm a river photographer in the fall, & I keep a little backup just in case) & never had a problem.

btw, don't worry about the megapixel game, it's ALL about the glass. I could give you a pic from an old 2mp pro body that would blow away a 15mp shot from a current P&S.

here's about as glowing a report of a g series that I could ever imagine, a comparison to a VERY serious pro camera. it's an interesting read anyhow.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/kidding.shtml

ruffryder · Aug 18, 2010

backcountryislife said:
If you want to learn & are willing to invest a BIT more than bottom dollar P&S, a small step up from what ruffy is suggesting would be a big difference.
Look at the canon G series, with a minimum of the G9. HD video, good quality pictures, GOOD optics esp. when compared to 99% of small cameras (something that fits in a pocket) it's the P&S that most real photags keep in their pockets.

The G9 is not a P&S, it is pretty big. The S90 that I was talking about has better optics then the G11 fyi. Same sensors and same amount of control. It is an interesting little titan of a camera. Yes, I am a fan.. ha ha

Neither of them take good video or take shots very quickly though.

arctic cat 4 life · Aug 18, 2010

Thanks for all the help guys. I mean im not afraid to step out of that region of price. I will pay more if i need to. Like i said before im just starting to learn. I dont think i will go with the s90 just because of the slow timing it has when taking pictures. I really like that g-series. I think ill need something like that becsuse id like to take action shots and those seem like the one to go with even if i have to pay more. I will give up taking video for a camera that takes very nice pictures. Let me know what you guys think i should do. Maybe buy the s90 to learn? Or should i go with a g-series and take a little more time to learn settings and things and in the long run i wont have to upgrade?Wait? Ruffy, u said neither take quick pics? Well is the g series better for taking action shots cuz i dont have to have the fastest camera in the world i mean 2 seconds is quick!

backcountryislife · Aug 18, 2010

Just did more looking & comparing, gotta say I'd look for a clean G9.

If you care about video, that unit does it well. It also does timelapse video which can be a blast to work with. The s90 looks like a great unit, but you can't get into flash photography with it, and the video is lacking. the G9 had a fixed lcd, so was a bit smaller, and less to go wrong.

I feel that you'd learn more quicker with a G, but the S isn't a poor choice either. At least it would give you the ability to work with aperture & shutter speed unlike most P&S type cams.

btw, as an owner of about 30 lbs of photo gear for my 7D... the G is most DEFINITELY a P&S, it's just a good one! Btw, you should be able to find a used g9 for about 250 or so I would guess.

I've been thinking of getting another G just for timelapse work, and to have a light body I could use as a helmet/ moving cam of sorts. The 7D would just look silly attached to my helmet...:face-icon-small-hap

ruffryder · Aug 18, 2010

arctic cat 4 life said:
Ruffy, u said neither take quick pics? Well is the g series better for taking action shots cuz i dont have to have the fastest camera in the world i mean 2 seconds is quick!

No, neither of them do. The shot to shot time of both cameras looks to be about 2 seconds. This is a big pain in the but. Like when you friends are coming up the mountain to you and you go to take a picture quick, and then they do something cooler and you want to take another picture, but, you still have .5 seconds to go, too late, so sad.

For the lens range (amount of zoom) for the cameras, 2 seconds can be the difference between a seeing a little sled on the mountain, and having the sled go beside you. At least that is how it feels with my s80. Though, setting up to take just a single shot when someone is going off of a jump, well that is much easier as you can focus the shot before hand, and the lag is minimized and you are only getting one shot anyways.

I think both cameras have a continuous mode of around 1 - 1.5 shots per second. I think my S80 has something similar, maybe a little slow, and it was completely inadequate.

Anyone know what rate the people are shooting at for sequence shots? Maybe I just need to get bigger air.. ha ha

ruffryder · Aug 18, 2010

backcountryislife said:
Just did more looking & comparing, gotta say I'd look for a clean G9. If you care about video, that unit does it well.

15 fps? no optical zoom?

arctic cat 4 life · Aug 18, 2010

Thanks again for all the help. I think im going to be looking for a used g now. But...what about lenses? I know there expensive but is there like a basic way to lool at one and know what itll shoot best. Like long lenses are for long range and short arw for short? Correct me if im wrong because im just taking shots in the dark. Id like to learn about lense types if u can. Again, thanks alot for helpping me out.

backcountryislife · Aug 19, 2010

With those types of cameras, you CAN add lenses on to them later, but for now just worry about the body itself. If you find you want one thing or another (wide angle, fisheye, longer tele) then you can look at add on lenses later for what you find lacking.

As for video performance, for sports 15fps is a bit slow, but when I shot clips with one of these I never noticed it being choppy. With my dslr I shoot at 24 pretty much all the time, I like the way it looks better with the slower fps.

Honestly, silly as this might sound to some, if I you care about pics & hope to learn, I can't imagine getting a camera without a hotshoe. Lighting is one of the biggest learning curves in the game, get started early. With the G you can even shoot with wireless flash & have the strobe sitting under the subject. I've got 6+fps on my 7, but if you're shooting with flash it doesn't matter. (btw, it's 1.5fps, not 2 sec per frame)

A shot I took at crankwerx a couple weeks ago to show the setup, you can run wireless in the same way with this.

arctic cat 4 life · Aug 19, 2010

backcountryislife said:
With those types of cameras, you CAN add lenses on to them later, but for now just worry about the body itself. If you find you want one thing or another (wide angle, fisheye, longer tele) then you can look at add on lenses later for what you find lacking.

As for video performance, for sports 15fps is a bit slow, but when I shot clips with one of these I never noticed it being choppy. With my dslr I shoot at 24 pretty much all the time, I like the way it looks better with the slower fps.

Honestly, silly as this might sound to some, if I you care about pics & hope to learn, I can't imagine getting a camera without a hotshoe. Lighting is one of the biggest learning curves in the game, get started early. With the G you can even shoot with wireless flash & have the strobe sitting under the subject. I've got 6+fps on my 7, but if you're shooting with flash it doesn't matter. (btw, it's 1.5fps, not 2 sec per frame)

A shot I took at crankwerx a couple weeks ago to show the setup, you can run wireless in the same way with this.

Wow that pic looks really good!! what is all those things specifically?(wide angle, fisheye, longer tele, hotshoe), what are these things? id like to start taking pics of snowmobiling then id like to start taking pics of when i play paintball to later on. How many pics can u fit on the stock memory card on a G9? Thanks alot

ruffryder · Aug 19, 2010

arctic cat 4 life said:
I think im going to be looking for a used g now. But...what about lenses?

The g series doesn't have interchangeable lenses.

ruffryder · Aug 19, 2010

backcountryislife said:
(btw, it's 1.5fps, not 2 sec per frame)

In continuous mode, you are correct, it is 1.5 fps. In single shot mode, it looks like 2 seconds per frame, or 0.5 fps.

arctic cat 4 life · Aug 19, 2010

ruffryder said:
The g series doesn't have interchangeable lenses.

Really? Is that necessarily a bad thing? Is there anything you can do to make them interchangeable? Also, I just found out that I will be working for my dad more and my new price range is about $800. Or a little more. Is there any suggestions on a Camera for that price? I wouldn't mind buying a very very nice camera and spending the extra time to learn it and never have to upgrade. Any cameras that would fit this? Thanks

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